For Program Announcement with Special Receipt, Referral, and/or Review Considerations (PAR) for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort Data and Biospecimen Access (X01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program Office, is preparing to release a Program Announcement with Special Receipt, Referral, and/or Review Considerations (PAR). This funding opportunity, identified as FOR-PAR-25-437, will support access to ECHO Cohort data and biospecimen resources for the purpose of conducting ancillary studies. The PAR, which falls under the discretionary category and uses the X01 activity code, will not support clinical trials. It is intended for researchers interested in exploring high-priority issues in maternal and child health using existing data and biological samples collected by the ECHO Cohort Consortium. The ECHO Cohort includes longitudinal data from over 130,000 maternal and child participants across the United States. These data encompass prenatal and child exposures—environmental, behavioral, biological, and social—as well as outcomes in five priority pediatric health areas: prenatal and postnatal outcomes, airway health, obesity, neurodevelopment, and positive health. The ECHO Biorepository stores more than 100,000 biospecimen samples, including blood and urine, which will be accessible to qualified researchers under this program. Applicants are expected to propose ancillary studies that investigate the relationships between environmental exposures and child health outcomes. These may include natural and built environments as well as physical, chemical, and social exposures. The studies should aim to elucidate the biological or behavioral pathways linking exposures to health outcomes in children. The PAR invites applications from researchers with external funding (non-ECHO) to conduct these investigations. To be eligible, applicants must be from organizations registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov. Eligible institutions include state and county governments, nonprofits, tribal organizations, public housing authorities, institutions of higher education (both public and private), small and for-profit businesses, and independent school districts. Additionally, applicants must submit a letter of support from the ECHO Cohort Consortium Steering Committee and provide evidence of funding or pending applications to support ECHO Cohort Consortium cores and centers. The PAR is expected to be published on June 2, 2025, with applications due by July 15, 2025. Awards are anticipated to be issued by September 15, 2025, with the same date as the estimated project start. Approximately 20 awards are expected, although specific funding amounts per award are not disclosed at this time. The total funding available for this program is also not specified. For more information or to address specific questions, applicants are encouraged to contact Melissa Zajdel, Ph.D., at the NIH Office of the Director. She can be reached via phone at 301-435-5236 or by email at melissa.zajdel@nih.gov.