Development of Wearable Smart Devices for Continuous Monitoring of Circulating Nutrients, Metabolites and Hormones (R21/R33 Clinical Trial Required) | PAR 20 134

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 134

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled "Development of Wearable Smart Devices for Continuous Monitoring of Circulating Nutrients, Metabolites and Hormones (R21/R33 Clinical Trial Required)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR 20 134) supports the creation and early validation of wearable or smart-device technologies that can continuously track a wider range of circulating nutrients, metabolites, hormones, and related metabolic signals. The core aim is to move beyond today’s limited set of continuously measurable markers and enable richer, real-time biological data streams that can strengthen research in precision nutrition, the microbiome, and circadian metabolism. In practical terms, the program is looking for tools that can capture dynamic changes in human metabolism as they happen over time, rather than relying on occasional blood draws or intermittent sampling that can miss important fluctuations tied to diet, sleep-wake cycles, or microbial activity.

This announcement uses an NIH R21/R33 phased innovation structure and explicitly requires a clinical trial component. The R21 phase is generally used for early-stage, high-risk development work, such as proving feasibility, building prototypes, and generating initial evidence that a sensing approach can work in relevant conditions. The R33 phase is typically intended for the next step: more advanced development and demonstration, which often includes more robust validation, refinement of device performance, and testing in people under real-world or clinically meaningful settings. Because the opportunity is tagged as "Clinical Trial Required," applicants should expect that human-subjects testing is not optional and that the project plan needs to include a clinical evaluation strategy appropriate to the maturity of the technology, including how measurements will be verified against reference standards and how safety, usability, and data quality will be assessed.

The scientific focus is on continuous monitoring of circulating biology, meaning the technology should be aimed at tracking analytes or signals present in blood or other bodily fluids that reflect systemic levels. While the summary language emphasizes circulating nutrients, metabolites, and hormones, it also references broader "metabolic signals," which can reasonably include biochemical indicators linked to metabolism and metabolic regulation. The intent is to expand the menu of measurable targets relevant to nutrition and metabolic research, including signals that change with meals, fasting, physical activity, sleep timing, and microbiome-driven metabolite production. The value for the field is that continuous data can reveal patterns like post-meal excursions, circadian phase shifts, and individualized responses to identical foods, all of which are central to precision nutrition and modern metabolic science.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is a discretionary grant mechanism administered by NIH, and it aligns with activity areas spanning education, food and nutrition, and health. It is associated with CFDA numbers 93.393 and 93.847. The listed award ceiling in the provided source data is $200,000, and the original closing date shown is 2021-06-08, with a creation date of 2020-03-11. (The expected number of awards is not specified in the provided excerpt.) Since the closing date in the source data is in the past, anyone interested in applying would need to check NIH for current status, reissues, or related active opportunities, but the summary here reflects the stated goals and eligibility rules in the text you provided.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and government entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city, 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 that are not federally recognized; 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 specific categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant categories, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI); Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs); eligible federal government agencies; faith-based or community-based organizations; regional organizations; Indian/Native American tribal governments other than federally recognized ones; and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the opportunity places clear limits on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S. applicant organization may be able to include certain foreign collaborations or elements if they meet NIH’s definition and requirements for foreign components. This structure typically supports U.S.-led projects while still permitting narrowly defined international contributions when scientifically justified and compliant with NIH policy.

Overall, this grant opportunity is designed for teams that can blend biosensing, wearable engineering, analytical chemistry or bioassays, clinical validation, and data handling into an end-to-end system that produces trustworthy continuous measurements. Strong applications would typically be expected to address not just whether a sensor can detect a target, but whether it can do so continuously, reliably, and safely in people, with appropriate calibration and ground-truth comparison methods. The larger scientific payoff NIH is signaling here is the ability to generate high-resolution metabolic datasets that enable more personalized and time-aware nutrition research, improve understanding of microbiome-metabolism links, and capture circadian effects that are often invisible in traditional, low-frequency sampling designs.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Development of Wearable Smart Devices for Continuous Monitoring of Circulating Nutrients, Metabolites and Hormones (R21/R33 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.393, 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-03-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-08. (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 $200,000.00 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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