Maximizing the Scientific Value of Data Generated by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: Dissertation Grant (R36) | RFA OD 23 020

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA OD 23 020

The Maximizing the Scientific Value of Data Generated by the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: Dissertation Grant (R36) is an NIH funding opportunity designed specifically to help doctoral candidates complete dissertation research that addresses high-priority questions in child health. The central purpose of the award is to accelerate impactful, dissertation-level research by encouraging doctoral students to analyze and publish findings using the ECHO Cohort data resource, thereby strengthening the evidence base on how early-life environmental factors shape child health and development.

A key feature of this opportunity is structured access to the ECHO data through the NICHD Data and Specimen Hub (DASH) repository. ECHO's DASH dataset is a large, integrated, deidentified longitudinal dataset drawn from more than 41,000 participants across the United States. Because it includes repeated measures over time, it supports analyses of trajectories and timing of exposures and outcomes, which is especially important for prenatal and early childhood research. The dataset covers a broad range of prenatal and child exposures, including physical exposures (such as aspects of the built environment), chemical exposures (for example, pollutants and toxicants), social exposures (like socioeconomic and neighborhood factors), behavioral influences (including health behaviors and related patterns), and biological factors. This breadth is meant to help students test complex, real-world hypotheses where multiple exposures and contexts interact over the course of development.

The ECHO Program organizes its child health research priorities into five primary pediatric outcome areas, and dissertation projects supported under this R36 are expected to align with one or more of them. These outcome areas include: (1) pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes, which broadly cover pregnancy and birth-related outcomes and early neonatal health; (2) upper and lower airway outcomes, relevant to conditions such as asthma and other respiratory concerns; (3) obesity and related growth and metabolic outcomes; (4) neurodevelopment, encompassing cognitive, behavioral, and developmental processes; and (5) positive health, which focuses on protective factors and wellness rather than only disease endpoints. In practical terms, this means the grant is aimed at dissertations that can generate strong, publishable conclusions about how early environmental influences are linked to these major child health outcomes.

Another stated goal of the program is workforce development. By targeting dissertation-stage researchers, the award is intended to support the entry of promising new investigators into the field of early environmental exposures and child health research, building a pipeline of scientists who can continue working in this area beyond graduate training. NIH also explicitly encourages applications from individuals who would contribute to diversifying the biomedical research workforce, consistent with the Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031). This emphasis signals that the program values not only the scientific questions being asked, but also strengthening the range of perspectives and backgrounds represented among researchers working with major national health datasets.

From an eligibility and applicant-organization standpoint, the opportunity is offered as a discretionary NIH grant (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-OD-23-020) under the health-related assistance listing (CFDA/Assistance Listing) 93.310. A wide range of U.S.-based organizations may apply on behalf of eligible doctoral candidates, including public and private institutions of higher education, state and local governments, certain tribal governments and tribal organizations, independent school districts, special district governments, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The eligibility language also highlights and welcomes applications from organizations such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, the announcement makes clear that non-U.S. entities are not eligible to apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in its Grants Policy Statement) are not permitted.

Finally, in terms of timing and basic administrative details, the opportunity was posted by the National Institutes of Health with an original closing date of November 1, 2023, and a creation date of June 22, 2023. Overall, the R36 mechanism here is positioned as a dissertation-completion support tool that pairs doctoral training needs with access to a uniquely large, longitudinal child health dataset, with the expectation that recipients will produce rigorous analyses that increase the scientific return on the federally supported ECHO Cohort resource.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Maximizing the Scientific Value of Data Generated by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: Dissertation Grant (R36)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.310.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-06-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-11-01. (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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