Alcohol-Induced Effects on Tissue Injury and Repair (R21) | PA 17 296

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 17 296

The Alcohol-Induced Effects on Tissue Injury and Repair (R21) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PA 17-296) is a National Institutes of Health grant announcement from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). It uses the Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant mechanism (R21), which is intended to support early-stage, high-impact projects that are still in a formative phase and need targeted funding to generate foundational data, test a novel idea, or establish feasibility for a larger future study. The overall purpose is to spur research that clarifies how alcohol use influences the biological processes that drive tissue damage and the body’s ability to heal, with an emphasis on molecular and cellular mechanisms in humans and on integrative approaches that connect findings across tissues, pathways, and organ systems.

The scientific focus centers on the idea that excessive alcohol consumption can harm many organs and physiological systems, not just the liver. The announcement specifically highlights adverse effects across the liver, brain, heart, pancreas, lung, kidney, endocrine and immune systems, as well as bone and skeletal muscle. Beyond direct organ toxicity, the FOA points to growing evidence that long-term alcohol use can reduce the body’s capacity to recover after trauma, implying that alcohol may interfere with normal repair programs like inflammation resolution, regeneration, extracellular matrix remodeling, angiogenesis, and immune defense. Because these injury and repair pathways are complex and interconnected, NIAAA is particularly interested in integrative research that can untangle whether alcohol disrupts common repair mechanisms shared across organs (for example, immune signaling, oxidative stress responses, or mitochondrial function) versus mechanisms that are organ-specific (for example, distinct resident cell populations or unique regenerative niches).

A notable feature of the announcement is encouragement to study alcohol’s effects on stem cells, embryonic development, and regeneration. This invites projects that look at how alcohol exposure changes stem or progenitor cell function, differentiation capacity, and tissue renewal, including developmental contexts where injury and repair processes can have lifelong consequences. The FOA also explicitly welcomes research on the molecular and cellular actions of moderate alcohol consumption, not only heavy use, reflecting interest in understanding dose-dependent effects and potentially distinct biological signatures tied to different drinking patterns. In practical terms, that could include investigating how varying levels of alcohol exposure influence cell signaling, immune responses, wound healing dynamics, or regenerative potential.

The broader goal is translational: by identifying the underlying mechanisms through which alcohol alters injury and healing, the research could open new paths for improved prognosis and diagnosis (such as biomarkers of impaired repair), and for interventions and treatments that either prevent alcohol-related organ damage or enhance recovery after injury in people who drink. While the FOA is mechanistic at its core, it is framed around outcomes that matter clinically, such as reduced resilience after trauma, persistent inflammation, delayed tissue repair, and progression to chronic organ dysfunction.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary health research grant (CFDA 93.273) with an award ceiling listed at $200,000, and it was originally posted on 2017-05-25 with an original closing date of 2020-09-07. Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. and non-U.S. organizations. Eligible applicants span state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and other entities. The announcement also calls out additional eligible applicant categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, faith-based and community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, eligible federal agencies, and foreign (non-U.S.) organizations. Overall, the FOA is designed to pull in diverse research teams and institutional contexts to accelerate discovery on how alcohol changes the fundamental biology of injury, repair, and regeneration across the body.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Alcohol-Induced Effects on Tissue Injury and Repair (R21)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.273.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-05-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-09-07. (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.

Apply for PA 17 296

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: