Novel Approaches to Safe, Non-Invasive, Real Time Assessment of Human Placenta Development and Function Across Pregnancy (R21 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 18 885

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 885

The grant opportunity titled "Novel Approaches to Safe, Non-Invasive, Real Time Assessment of Human Placenta Development and Function Across Pregnancy (R21 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding announcement that supports early-stage, exploratory research aimed at improving how clinicians and researchers can monitor the human placenta during pregnancy. The central goal is to spur the development of new methods that can assess placental development and function in vivo, in real time, using approaches that are safe and non-invasive, or at least minimally invasive. In practical terms, the FOA is looking for tools, technologies, or measurement strategies that could track placental health and performance across the full course of pregnancy, rather than relying on indirect or late-stage indicators that often appear only after complications have progressed.

This is an R21 mechanism, which typically emphasizes innovation and proof-of-concept work rather than large, fully scaled clinical validation programs. The announcement explicitly states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning applicants should not propose studies that meet the definition of a clinical trial (for example, prospectively assigning human participants to an intervention to evaluate health-related outcomes). Projects can still involve human subjects when appropriate, but the work needs to remain within non-trial boundaries, such as technology development, feasibility testing, observational data collection, or validation work that does not involve interventional assignment in the clinical-trial sense. The intent is to get promising ideas off the ground and generate foundational evidence that could justify more extensive follow-on studies under other mechanisms.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, this opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant within the federal Health, Income Security and Social Services activity area and is associated with CFDA number 93.865. The opportunity number is PAR-18-885, and it was created on 2018-08-01, with an original closing date listed as 2021-12-06. The listed award ceiling is $200,000, signaling that NIH expects relatively modest budgets consistent with an exploratory R21 scope. While the source text does not provide a specific number of expected awards, the ceiling gives applicants a clear sense of the scale of work NIH expects: focused, high-impact, and technically ambitious, but not a multi-site, long-duration clinical effort.

A major theme of this FOA is the emphasis on real-time assessment of the placenta across pregnancy. That framing matters because placental disorders and dysfunction can evolve dynamically, and many existing clinical approaches provide limited insight into placental biology until problems become severe. By encouraging real-time, in vivo measurement, the FOA is pushing the field toward methods that can capture placental changes as they occur, potentially enabling earlier detection of dysfunction and a better understanding of pregnancy complications linked to placental development and performance. The "non-invasive (or minimally invasive)" requirement highlights safety and feasibility in pregnant populations, where risk tolerance is necessarily low and repeated measurements over time are often essential.

Eligibility is broad and includes a wide range of U.S. and non-U.S. entities. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits both with and without 501(c)(3) IRS status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in that category); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly names additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-domestic (foreign) entities as well as regional organizations. This wide eligibility suggests NIH is interested in attracting ideas from traditional academic labs, technology developers, community-connected organizations, and international groups that may bring unique measurement capabilities or perspectives.

Overall, the opportunity is designed to accelerate innovation in placental monitoring by funding the creation and early demonstration of new measurement approaches that are safe for pregnancy and capable of providing real-time information on placental development and function. The R21 structure and the clinical-trial restriction together signal that NIH wants high-risk, high-reward methodological advances and feasibility evidence, setting the stage for later-stage translational work that could eventually improve clinical monitoring and outcomes related to placental health.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Novel Approaches to Safe, Non-Invasive, Real Time Assessment of Human Placenta Development and Function Across Pregnancy (R21 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.865.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-08-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-12-06. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 18 885

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