Secondary Analysis of Existing Datasets in Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases and Sleep Disorders (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 25 056

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 25 056

The National Institutes of Health, through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is offering the grant opportunity "Secondary Analysis of Existing Datasets in Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases and Sleep Disorders (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" under funding opportunity number PAR-25-056. This is a discretionary NIH research grant using the R21 mechanism, which is typically intended to support exploratory, early-stage projects that can generate new insights or open up promising new directions. A key point is that clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement, meaning applicants should propose secondary analyses of already-existing human datasets rather than interventional studies that assign participants to treatments or conditions.

The central purpose of the opportunity is to stimulate creative and well-focused secondary analyses of existing human data to address novel scientific questions or to test new ideas that could move the field forward. NHLBI is looking for projects that use existing datasets in ways that are not simply incremental, but that have clear potential for meaningful impact in biomedical or biobehavioral research aligned with NHLBI's mission areas: heart, lung, and blood diseases, as well as sleep disorders. The scope explicitly includes work that investigates new scientific ideas and also work that develops or applies new models, systems, tools, methods, or technologies, as long as the core activity is secondary analysis rather than new data collection through a clinical trial.

Because the emphasis is on existing human datasets, competitive applications will typically make a strong case that the dataset(s) are appropriate for the proposed question, that the analysis plan is rigorous and feasible, and that the team has the expertise to carry out the work. Projects might involve reanalyzing large cohort studies, clinical registry data, electronic health record-derived datasets, biobehavioral datasets related to sleep, or other human-subject data resources that have already been collected. The expectation is not to build a brand-new data resource from scratch, but to extract new value from data that already exist by applying sharper questions, better analytic strategies, improved methods, or innovative computational approaches.

The eligible applicant pool is broad, reflecting NIH's general eligibility standards and an explicit effort to include a wide range of institutions and organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township 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; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education, where separate categories apply); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. In addition, the announcement specifically calls out other eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal government agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). This broad eligibility suggests NHLBI is interested in drawing in diverse perspectives and analytic capabilities, including from community-based and international groups, so long as the work fits the mission and requirements.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, the opportunity is categorized under health-related federal assistance and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, and 93.840. The original closing date listed is January 7, 2026. The opportunity indicates an award ceiling of $75,000 and an expected total of 18 awards, which signals a relatively small, targeted funding level designed to catalyze exploratory secondary analyses rather than support large multi-year infrastructure or extensive new data generation.

In practical terms, this opportunity is best suited for investigators or teams who already have access to, or can obtain access to, high-quality human datasets and who can articulate a compelling, testable, and potentially high-impact research question that can be answered through secondary analysis. Strong proposals will usually highlight what is genuinely new about the idea, why existing data can answer it now, how the proposed analytic approach improves on prior work, and how the findings could shift understanding, influence future research directions, or improve methods in heart, lung, blood, or sleep research without crossing into clinical trial territory.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Secondary Analysis of Existing Datasets in Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases and Sleep Disorders (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): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-01-07. (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 $75,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 18 candidate(s).
• 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 25 056

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