Psychological, Behavioral, and Neurocognitive-Focused Ancillary Studies to the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans Consortium (MoTrPAC) (U01) | RFA DK 17 009

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 17 009

This funding opportunity, titled "Psychological, Behavioral, and Neurocognitive-Focused Ancillary Studies to the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans Consortium (MoTrPAC) (U01)," is an NIH Common Fund-related call designed to add new layers of assessment to an existing, large human exercise study. The core idea is to fund one or more ancillary studies that plug into MoTrPAC clinical sites and collect psychological, behavioral, and/or neurocognitive data from adult participants (age 18 or older) who are already enrolled in the MoTrPAC exercise protocol. Rather than replacing or duplicating MoTrPAC, the funded project(s) are meant to complement it by capturing the kinds of individual-level characteristics that can shape how people respond to exercise and how well they stick with an exercise program over time.

The scientific purpose is centered on explaining variability: even when people follow the same physical activity program, they often differ a lot in outcomes (for example, fitness gains, metabolic changes, or other physiological responses) and in adherence (who completes the program, who drops out, and why). This FOA targets the psychological, behavioral, and neurocognitive factors that may account for those differences, with the expectation that these factors interact with the biological mechanisms MoTrPAC is measuring. In practical terms, the ancillary work would bring in validated assessments, tasks, surveys, or structured measures relevant to motivation, affect, stress, self-regulation, reward processing, cognition, decision-making, mood, or related constructs, and align those measurements with the MoTrPAC timeline so they can be analyzed alongside exercise exposure and the parent study outcomes.

The long-term goal is explicitly translational and personalized: by characterizing how individuals differ in their response to exercise across the MoTrPAC protocol, the research is intended to identify novel treatment targets and help shape future personalized physical activity interventions. In other words, the anticipated payoff is not only better description of who responds and who does not, but also actionable insight into what to target (psychologically, behaviorally, or cognitively) to improve adherence and optimize benefits, potentially allowing future interventions to be tailored based on an individuals profile.

Mechanistically and administratively, this opportunity uses a cooperative agreement (U01), which typically means there is substantial NIH involvement and coordination expectations, fitting the reality that the work must integrate with a multi-site consortium. The issuing agency is the National Institutes of Health, and the program is listed under CFDA 93.847 within the broad activity area of health (with categorization including food and nutrition and health). The funding opportunity number is RFA-DK-17-009. The FOA record indicates an award ceiling of $3,000,000, and the original closing date was 2017-10-24, reflecting that this was a time-bound call tied to the MoTrPAC study period and data collection schedule.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and government entities, reflecting NIH norms while also highlighting participation from institutions that serve underrepresented communities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and 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 governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories as specified); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicant types such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible agencies of the federal government, Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the opportunity draws a firm line on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations and foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed. This restriction signals that the ancillary studies were intended to be executed entirely within the U.S.-based MoTrPAC infrastructure and compliant with the consortiums data governance and clinical site operations.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted add-on to a major NIH consortium effort, aimed at enriching MoTrPAC with well-designed psychological, behavioral, and neurocognitive measurement so researchers can better explain and predict exercise adherence and response. The emphasis is on generating integrated, consortium-compatible data that can be analyzed jointly with MoTrPACs molecular and physiological measures to advance individualized and mechanistically informed physical activity interventions in the future.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Psychological, Behavioral, and Neurocognitive-Focused Ancillary Studies to the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans Consortium (MoTrPAC) (U01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-05-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-10-24. (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 $3,000,000.00 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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