Data Science Research: Personal Health Libraries for Consumers and Patients (R01) | PAR 17 159

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 159

Data Science Research: Personal Health Libraries for Consumers and Patients (R01), Funding Opportunity Number PAR-17-159, is a National Institutes of Health grant run through the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The program is looking for research projects that create or test new informatics and data science methods that help people collect, organize, manage, and actually use information about their own health. The central idea is the "personal health library" concept: tools, data resources, and approaches that let consumers and patients bring together health data from different places and turn it into something usable for decision-making, self-management, communication with clinicians, or participation in research.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is practical impact and broad benefit beyond a single project team. NLM explicitly states that it wants the research community and patients to be able to build on what is produced. Because of that, applicants are expected to share results widely through traditional academic channels like publications, and also through open mechanisms such as open-source software, openly shared datasets (when appropriate and ethical), or other community-accessible resources. In other words, the program is not just funding a one-off prototype; it is encouraging work that can be adopted, replicated, and extended by others.

This is an R01 mechanism, meaning it supports full-scale research projects rather than small pilots. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is listed as Education and Health under CFDA 93.879. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary federal funding. The listed award ceiling in the provided record is $250,000 (as given in the source data). The posting indicates an original closing date of 2018-03-19, with a creation date of 2017-02-08, which suggests this particular announcement cycle is historical, even though the summary describes the program goals and requirements that would matter for understanding or tracking similar opportunities.

Eligibility is broad across many U.S.-based organization types. Eligible applicants 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 tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and an "other" category that NIH sometimes uses to capture additional eligible entities. The announcement 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, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, there are clear restrictions related to non-U.S. participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities or foreign institutions are explicitly not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. In addition, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. Practically, this means the applicant organization must be U.S.-based and the project work must not rely on a formal foreign component arrangement under NIH definitions.

Overall, this opportunity is aimed at advancing the science and infrastructure around consumer- and patient-facing personal health information management. Competitive projects under this type of program would typically focus on innovative ways to integrate heterogeneous health data (for example, clinical records, lab results, medications, wearable or home monitoring data, patient-reported outcomes, and reliable health information content), make that information understandable and actionable for individuals, and support safe sharing and reuse. The program description also signals that NLM values dissemination and reusability, so proposals that include thoughtful plans for open-source release, documentation, community engagement, and responsible data/resource sharing align strongly with the stated goals.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Data Science Research: Personal Health Libraries for Consumers and Patients (R01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-02-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-03-19. (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 $250,000.00 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.

Apply for PAR 17 159

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