Interdisciplinary Research Networks to Advance Biomedical Research on Resilience and Health Optimization

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the Office of Dietary Supplements intend to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Fiscal Year 2027. This NOFO aims to support interdisciplinary research networks to advance biomedical research on resilience, aligning with the priorities of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Make America Healthy Again Commission, and the Department of Health and Human Services to optimize the health and well-being of all Americans.

Resilience is defined by the NIH Resilience Research Working Group as the capacity to resist, recover, adapt, or grow from challenges or stressors. Americans across the lifespan face an alarming number of acute and chronic stressors, such as viral infections, burnout, bullying, financial hardship, environmental toxins, and natural disasters that can contribute to development or worsening of chronic diseases, ultimately impacting population health and well-being. Resilience outcomes (i.e., resistance, recovery, adaptation, or growth) can be measured over time and across interconnected systems encompassing the whole person, including individual (e.g., molecular, physiological, psychological), environmental, and community domains.

Utilizing the U24 funding mechanism, this NOFO will support interdisciplinary research networks to grow the resilience research community and accomplish high-impact scientific activities that foster an innovative, rigorous, and reproducible body of resilience research. Appropriate activities include meetings, conferences, interdisciplinary cross-training (e.g. workshops, visiting scholar programs), research collaborations, and other training opportunities. The networks will also support innovative small-scale pilot projects to generate preliminary data in preparation for future NIH grants. Furthermore, the networks will be expected to engage in dissemination and outreach strategies (e.g., publications of research frameworks, reviews, design protocols, and best practices). This NOFO encourages interdisciplinary collaborations of researchers and clinicians with expertise in several domains of resilience science (e.g., cellular, physiological, psychological, social, and environmental). Grant authorities that allow NCCIH to forecast this opportunity are as follows:  Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 2 CFR Part 200.