ImmuneChip: Engineering Microphysiological Immune Tissue Platforms (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 19 138

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 138

ImmuneChip: Engineering Microphysiological Immune Tissue Platforms (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement funding opportunity (PAR-19-138) aimed at accelerating the creation and improvement of lab-based, human-relevant immune system models. The core goal is to push beyond traditional 2-D cell culture and develop in vitro platforms that more realistically mimic key components and behaviors of the human immune system. The FOA is centered on building and validating microphysiological immune tissue platforms, meaning engineered 3-D tissue-like systems that can reproduce important immune functions in a controlled environment and make immune biology easier to study, measure, and translate.

The program emphasizes three main technical directions. First, it encourages engineering new 3-D in vitro immune tissues, which could include constructs that recreate immune-cell organization, trafficking, signaling, and functional responses that are difficult to capture in simpler models. Second, it supports adding immune responsiveness to existing in vitro platforms, which speaks to integrating immune components into organ-on-chip or tissue-chip systems so that immune interactions (such as inflammation, immune-mediated injury, or immune modulation) can be studied alongside the target tissue. Third, it invites in vitro modeling of autoimmune diseases and inflammation, focusing on platforms that can reproduce disease-relevant immune dysregulation and inflammatory pathways, potentially enabling better mechanistic studies and more predictive testing of interventions without relying on animal models or clinical trials.

This is a U01 mechanism, which is a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant. In practical terms, that usually signals substantial programmatic involvement from NIH staff during the project period, often including coordinated milestones, shared standards, or collaboration across awardees. The FOA is explicitly labeled “Clinical Trial Not Allowed,” which means proposed work must remain preclinical and platform-focused, without testing interventions in human participants as a clinical trial. The activity category is health-related, with CFDA numbers listed as 93.286, 93.350, and 93.846, reflecting NIH program areas connected to advanced biomedical research infrastructure, immunology, and bioengineering-oriented efforts.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and includes state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding higher education when specified); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. It also highlights a wide range of mission-driven and capacity-building institution types as “other eligible applicants,” including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Federally recognized tribal governments are eligible, and tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments are also listed among eligible applicant categories.

At the same time, the FOA draws clear boundaries around foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In other words, the work needs to be fully U.S.-based in terms of the applicant organization and project components, with no formal foreign components embedded in the funded project structure.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity was created on 2018-12-27 and had an original closing date of 2019-03-26. The listing does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the source data provided, so applicants would typically look to the full FOA text for budget expectations, project period norms, and any milestone-driven cooperative agreement requirements. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted NIH effort to build next-generation immune tissue and immune-integrated microphysiological systems that can model immune function, inflammation, and autoimmune mechanisms more faithfully in vitro, improving the tools available for biomedical discovery and preclinical evaluation while staying outside the scope of clinical trials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "ImmuneChip: Engineering Microphysiological Immune Tissue Platforms (U01 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): 93.286, 93.350, 93.846.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-12-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-03-26. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 19 138

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