NIH: Renewal of the Interventions Testing Program

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) invites renewal applications to the Interventions Testing Program. The Interventions Testing Program (ITP) tests potential intervention strategies that may delay aging in mammals under standardized conditions. The interventions’ effects on aging are measured by lifespan extension and/or delayed onset/severity of late-life pathologies.

Donor Name: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

State: All States

Deadline: 06/19/2023

Size of the Grant: $3 million

Grant Duration: 5 years

Details:

This FOA is for the renewal and further development of the Interventions Testing Program (ITP). The ITP tests, under standardized conditions, potential intervention strategies which may delay aging in mammals. The effect on aging is measured by lifespan extension and/or delayed onset/severity of late life pathologies that can be attributed to the intervention. The ITP uses lifespan as a primary outcome. Secondary outcomes currently include geropathology assessment at old ages and pathology at time of death, functional phenotypes (e.g. measures of strength) and measurements of animal vitals at intervals across the lifespan.

Purpose and Research Objectives

The ITP aims to achieve the following goals through its renewal:

• Continue the testing of compounds for effects on lifespan in the “four-way cross” mice UM-HET3 using well-established protocols and SOPs
  • The protocol details for lifespan studies, statistical analyses, and Stage I and II interventions have been evaluated in the review of applications submitted in response to the original and subsequent renewals of the ITP. Several articles detailing the protocols and testing results have been published. Only newly introduced major changes/modifications will be evaluated in response to this FOA.
• Continue pilot studies of optimal drug formulation, stability, and bioavailability for new compounds
  • Optimal drug formulation and tests of compound stability during preparation and storage should continue for compounds proposed for lifespan studies in Stage I. Pilot testing should include studies of blood levels, potential toxicity, and likely optimal dose based on hepatic response or other biological markers.
• Expand geropathology analyses at a minimum of one time point after starting the intervention and continue pathology studies at time of death
  • Evaluation of age-related pathological changes and post-mortem organ/tissue examination for diagnosis aimed at assessing and quantifying the impact of tested compounds on the aging of tissues and organs and on chronic diseases of aging (those typically observed in the control cohorts of UM-HET3 mice).
• Introduce transcriptomic analyses (i.e., “bulk” RNA sequencing)
  • The detection of changes in gene expression in selected organs at selected timepoint(s) after starting an intervention will help determine the gene regulatory and molecular pathways at the tissue and/or organ level affected by aging and modified by the interventions.
• Expand tissue collection for ancillary studies
  • The interventions tested by the ITP may result in perturbations of processes at the molecular, tissue, and organ level that can be associated with aging. Therefore, tissues from treated and matched untreated mice are collected by the ITP and are a highly valuable resource for ancillary studies aimed at elucidating the biology of aging, geropathology, pathways involved in aging, and other questions regarding diseases of aging. Ancillary studies could incorporate a broad range of experimental platforms (e.g., genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, spatial omics, advanced microscopy) and could focus on one or more tissues/organs. Currently, tissues from treated and control animals are made available to the research community through the Collaborative Interactions Program (CIP) that was initiated in a previous iteration of the ITP. Starting with this new funding cycle, all biospecimens will be recorded and managed through the Interventions Biospecimens Repository.

Funding Information

Direct costs for awards may not exceed $3 million per year for the entire consortium.

Project Period

The maximum project period is 5 years.

Eligibility Criteria

Higher Education Institutions

• Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
• Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

• Hispanic-serving Institutions
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
• Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
• Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
• Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

• Small Businesses
• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Local Governments

• State Governments
• County Governments
• City or Township Governments
• Special District Governments
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)

Federal Government

• Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
• U.S. Territory or Possession

Other

• Independent School Districts
• Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
• Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
• Regional Organizations

Foreign Institutions

• Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
• Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.
• Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.