Environmental Exposures and Health: Exploration of Non-Traditional Settings (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PA 18 160

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 160

Environmental Exposures and Health: Exploration of Non-Traditional Settings (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (PA-18-160) designed to support early-stage, exploratory research on how environmental exposures affect health in everyday places that are not typically studied as formal clinical or occupational environments. The focus is on interdisciplinary projects that can improve health, prevent or reduce symptoms and disease, and address health disparities across the lifespan for people who live in, receive services in, or routinely spend time in these non-traditional settings. The FOA explicitly positions this work as advancing nursing science by emphasizing practical risk identification and symptom management strategies grounded in prevention, behavior change, and actions that individuals, families, and communities can use to maintain health and reduce disease risk.

A central idea behind this opportunity is that many real-world community settings can create meaningful exposure to environmental pollutants and toxins, sometimes in combination with non-chemical stressors that amplify harm. The FOA highlights health risks and outcomes such as lower respiratory disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, and other conditions linked to complex environmental mixtures. It also calls attention to sensitive life stages and physiological vulnerability, including the developing organs and systems of the fetus, child, and adolescent, where exposures may have lasting effects. In addition to chemical hazards (for example, pollutants and toxins), the announcement underscores that stressors in community settings that are not strictly chemical in nature can worsen the impact of exposures and contribute to disparities in who is harmed and how severely.

The "non-traditional settings" covered by this FOA are intentionally broad and reflect places where people gather, learn, receive care, or reside outside of conventional hospital or clinic contexts. Examples include community centers; pre-school and non-traditional school environments such as churches, daycare facilities, home-based schools, dormitories, alternative schools, and playgrounds; child and older adult foster care facilities; older adult day care facilities; half-way homes; assisted living residences; and long-term care facilities, including nursing homes. The emphasis is on understanding exposure scenarios that arise from the built environment, daily routines, and community-level conditions in these locations, and then using that knowledge to inform prevention, symptom reduction, and health-promoting interventions.

Because this is an R21 mechanism, the intent is to fund exploratory and developmental work, including innovative concepts, pilot studies, proof-of-concept projects, and early testing of promising approaches that could later justify larger-scale studies. The FOA is marked "Clinical Trial Optional," meaning applicants may propose studies that do or do not include a clinical trial component, depending on what best fits the research question. Projects should align with the FOA's prevention and symptom management orientation, often with practical implications for real-world implementation in community and care settings and with particular attention to populations experiencing disproportionate exposure burdens or worse outcomes.

In terms of funding parameters provided in the source data, the award ceiling is listed as $200,000, and the opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant. The activity areas noted include education, environment, and health, with CFDA numbers 93.113 and 93.361. The NIH is the sponsoring agency. The original closing date in the listing is 2019-09-07 and the creation date is 2017-11-07, which signals that anyone considering applying today would need to verify the current status, open receipt dates, and any reissued or successor announcements on NIH and Grants.gov.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of domestic institutions and organizations, reflecting the community-based nature of the work. Eligible applicants listed include state, county, and 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; tribal organizations other than federally recognized governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) IRS status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories as stated); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs); 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; U.S. territories or possessions; tribal governments other than federally recognized; and even non-U.S. (foreign) organizations. This wide eligibility scope supports partnerships among universities, health systems, local governments, and community organizations that have direct access to the settings and populations of interest.

Overall, this FOA is aimed at generating actionable evidence about environmental exposures and related health effects in places like playgrounds, day care sites, community centers, foster care environments, and long-term care facilities, and translating that evidence into prevention and symptom management approaches that can realistically be adopted by individuals, families, and communities. The strongest fit is work that recognizes complex exposure patterns, considers life-stage vulnerability and disparities, and bridges environmental health science with community-informed strategies that improve real-world health outcomes in these under-studied settings.

• 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 (R21 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.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• 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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