Environmental Exposures and Health: Exploration of Non-Traditional Settings (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PA 18 142

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 142

The Environmental Exposures and Health: Exploration of Non-Traditional Settings (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) funding opportunity (PA-18-142) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant that supports interdisciplinary research focused on how environmental exposures in everyday, non-traditional settings affect health across the lifespan. The core idea is that a large portion of people, especially children and older adults, spend meaningful time in places that are not typically treated as primary exposure environments in research, even though these locations can carry significant exposure burdens. By targeting these overlooked settings, the FOA aims to generate practical, science-based knowledge that can promote health, prevent disease, reduce symptoms, and address health disparities in real-world community contexts.

A central emphasis of the announcement is on the health risks that arise when people are exposed to environmental pollutants and toxins in places like playgrounds, daycare facilities, churches used as schools, community centers, dormitories, foster care settings, older adult day care facilities, half-way homes, assisted living, and long-term care or nursing home environments. The FOA highlights that these exposures can be linked to a wide range of adverse health outcomes, including lower respiratory disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, and other complex exposure-related conditions. It also recognizes that exposure experiences are rarely purely chemical; they can be compounded by non-chemical stressors commonly encountered in community and institutional settings, such as psychosocial stress, crowding, noise, limited access to resources, or other contextual factors that may worsen vulnerability or amplify the effects of pollutants.

The opportunity is framed around understanding and reducing risk in ways that are relevant to individuals, families, and communities. It calls for research that identifies risks and advances symptom management and prevention through behavior changes and actionable strategies designed to maintain health and prevent disease. This focus aligns closely with advancing nursing science, particularly where nursing perspectives can connect environmental conditions to day-to-day health management, patient and caregiver decision-making, and community-level interventions. The lifespan scope is explicit, with attention to sensitive developmental periods and physiological functioning of organ systems in the fetus, child, and adolescent, while also addressing the needs of older adults who may face higher exposure susceptibility in congregate or supportive living environments.

Mechanistically, the FOA uses the NIH R01 research project grant mechanism, and it is designated as "clinical trial optional," meaning applicants may propose studies that do or do not include a clinical trial, as long as the proposed work fits NIH definitions and the FOA’s objectives. The activity areas associated with the announcement span education, environment, and health, signaling that projects can be integrative, for example combining exposure science, health outcomes measurement, implementation strategies, and community-engaged approaches in the same research plan.

Eligibility for this opportunity is broad, reflecting the FOA’s community and setting-based focus. Eligible applicants include many types of government entities (state, county, city/township, special district governments), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, tribal governments (federally recognized), and tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments), along with public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. Nonprofit organizations are eligible whether or not they hold 501(c)(3) status, and for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses may also apply. The FOA also notes eligibility for a wide range of mission-driven and underserved-serving institutions and organizations, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations), which can be important for comparative work or research in settings with similar exposure challenges.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under CFDA numbers 93.113 and 93.361, was created on 2017-11-07, and had an original closing date of 2019-09-07. The public summary does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards, so applicants typically would need to consult the full NIH FOA text and related NIH institute guidance to understand budget norms, project period expectations, review considerations, and any institute-specific priorities tied to this announcement.

Overall, this FOA is designed to push environmental health research beyond traditional home or workplace frameworks and into the community and care settings where exposure, vulnerability, and health disparities often intersect. It supports studies that do more than document hazards by also developing and testing prevention and symptom-management approaches that can realistically be adopted by individuals, families, and community systems, with the broader goal of improving health outcomes and reducing inequities linked to environmental conditions in these non-traditional environments.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Environmental Exposures and Health: Exploration of Non-Traditional Settings (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.361.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-09-07. (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.

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