Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet): SenNet Technology Projects (SenTecs) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA RM 27 007

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA RM 27 007

This funding opportunity is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) cooperative agreement aimed at accelerating the development of new or improved technologies for studying cellular senescence through the Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet). The program specifically supports SenNet Technology Projects, referred to as SenTecs, which are tools, platforms, and methods designed to identify and characterize senescent cells (SnCs), map and explain their heterogeneity, and clarify how different types of senescent cells behave in real tissue environments. A major emphasis is on understanding how senescent cells interact with their surroundings, including their secretomes (often discussed as senescence-associated secretory phenotypes, or SASP), and using that knowledge to inform strategies for modulating senescent cells in living systems and predicting what happens when senescent cells are targeted in human aging and disease contexts. Clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement.

The scientific scope is technology-centered rather than hypothesis-only biology. NIH is looking for projects that either create genuinely innovative senescence technologies from the ground up or adapt strong existing technologies so they become clearly useful for senescence research. In practical terms, that can include technologies that help detect senescent cells more specifically, resolve different senescent subtypes, capture spatial or tissue-context information, quantify and interpret senescence-linked secreted factors, or connect senescent cell states to downstream biological consequences. The common thread is that the proposed technology should help the field move beyond treating senescence as a single uniform state and instead enable rigorous study of senescent cell diversity across tissues, conditions, and disease settings, with an eye toward translational relevance in aging biology.

The award structure is a five-year, milestone-driven, two-phase UG3/UH3 mechanism. The first phase is the UG3 period, lasting up to two years, and it is focused on building and demonstrating feasibility of the SenTec. That phase is essentially the proof-of-concept and early validation stage, where clear performance expectations and go/no-go milestones matter. The second phase is the UH3 period, lasting up to three additional years, and it is intended for broader application of the technology, along with continued optimization, refinement, and validation so that the tool becomes robust and broadly usable. Importantly, applicants must submit both the UG3 and UH3 components together as a single integrated proposal; this is not a situation where you apply for UG3 now and decide later whether to pursue UH3.

Transition from UG3 to UH3 is not automatic. At the end of Year 2, NIH will conduct an administrative review to determine whether the project has met the required milestones and is ready to move into the UH3 phase. This makes the early milestones and feasibility demonstrations central to competitiveness, since the program is explicitly designed to push projects forward only when the technology is performing as promised and is positioned for meaningful network-wide impact.

A distinctive feature of the UH3 phase is that, in the final year of the award, the funded teams are expected to undertake a demonstration project conducted collaboratively within SenNet. This is meant to provide additional validation of the SenTec in a broader, network context, rather than only within the originating lab or institution. The cooperative agreement mechanism also signals that NIH expects active program involvement and coordination, which typically includes alignment with network standards, sharing practices, collaborative planning, and contributing to community-facing outputs that strengthen SenNet as a whole.

From an eligibility standpoint, the opportunity is broad and includes many organization types that NIH commonly supports. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)); for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and a range of other entities. The announcement also explicitly notes eligibility for groups such as Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (including those other than federally recognized), eligible federal agencies, U.S. territories or possessions, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and even non-U.S. (foreign) institutions. That wide eligibility reflects the technology-development focus and the likelihood that strong solutions may come from academic labs, engineering groups, computational teams, or industry partners.

Administratively, this is a discretionary health-related funding opportunity under CFDA (Assistance Listing) 93.310, offered by NIH as a cooperative agreement. The funding opportunity number is RFA-RM-27-007, with an expected number of awards listed as 15, and an original closing date of 2026-11-23. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided summary, which often means applicants need to rely on the full NOFO for budgeting expectations, limits, and any institute-specific guidance. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted push to equip the senescence and aging field with better, validated, network-ready technologies that can rigorously measure senescent cell diversity and its consequences in biologically realistic tissue settings, while enabling more predictive and actionable approaches to senescence-targeting strategies.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet): SenNet Technology Projects (SenTecs) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" 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 2026-10-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-11-23. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• 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 RFA RM 27 007

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