Verified opportunity
The National Institutes of Health is accepting applications under PAR-24-325, Bioengineering Partnerships with Industry (U01 Clinical Trial Optional). The program supports academic-industrial research partnerships that accelerate development and adoption of promising biomedical engineering tools and technologies addressing important unmet biomedical needs.
Next application deadline: January 27, 2027 at 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. NIH also lists May 27, 2027 as a later due date. The NOFO expires September 8, 2027.
Funding
Application budgets are not limited, but requested costs must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The maximum project period is five years. Cost sharing is not required. The number of awards depends on NIH appropriations and the number of meritorious applications.
Mandatory academic-industry partnership
A responsive application must include an academic-industrial partnership. NIH states that collaboration with an industrial partner is required, and applications without an academic-industrial partnership will not proceed to peer review. Both academic and industrial partners are expected to make substantive intellectual or technical contributions. An industrial participant that merely supplies necessary but non-unique components does not satisfy the intended partnership model.
All applications must include a Leadership Plan, limited to six pages, describing the organizational structure, governance, communication and decision processes, intellectual-property arrangements, conflict-resolution procedures, partner roles and responsibilities, and quantitative milestones. The plan must clearly describe the role of the industrial partner.
Eligible scope
NIH identifies responsive technology areas including biosensors and biotransducers, algorithms and telemetry, biomedical imaging and imaging-device development, bioinformatics, remote diagnosis and therapy, computational modeling and simulation, bioelectrics and biomagnetics, nanotechnology, biomaterials, rehabilitation technologies and other integrative bioengineering tools. Funding may support development, adaptation, enhancement, optimization, validation or other work that accelerates adoption of promising biomedical engineering solutions.
The program does not support commercial production or later-stage Phase II or Phase III clinical trials. Clinical trials are optional and, when included, must remain consistent with the participating NIH Institute or Center’s scope.
Eligibility and submission
Eligible organization classes include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits, small businesses and other for-profit organizations, state and local governments, independent school districts, tribal organizations, eligible federal agencies and other listed entities. Required SAM, Grants.gov and eRA Commons registrations must be complete before submission.
Applications may be prepared and submitted through NIH ASSIST, an institutional system-to-system solution, or Grants.gov Workspace and are tracked through eRA Commons. Applicants should follow the current NIH application guide and all NOFO-specific instructions and notices.
Arkansas relevance
Arkansas has realistic applicant capacity in biomedical engineering, medical-device development, biosensing, connected physiological monitoring, cardiovascular technology, imaging, telehealth and translational research. The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is a particularly strong environment because its biomedical engineering faculty conduct device-development and translational research with clinical and industry collaborators.
Atlas fit
Atlas Opportunity Score: 99/100. The opportunity is open, has broad organizational eligibility, requires no cost sharing, supports substantial multi-year technology development, and explicitly requires academic-industry collaboration.
N9+ Fit: 94/100, conditional. A legitimate Nonagon N9+ or Dr. Miltie role could exist where an Arkansas academic team is developing or validating a bioengineering solution involving guided remote physical examination, physiologic sensing, connected vitals, telemetry, multimodal clinical data or remote diagnosis and therapy, and where Dr. Miltie contributes substantive, differentiated intellectual or technical work. N9+ should not be positioned as an off-the-shelf equipment purchase or a passive component-supply relationship.
QC Healthcare / Dr. Miltie fit: For-profit organizations are an eligible class, but the most realistic Arkansas path identified by Atlas is a qualified academic-led project with Dr. Miltie serving as a substantive industrial research partner when the scientific aims genuinely require its technology and expertise. Direct Dr. Miltie eligibility alone does not establish scientific responsiveness.
Official source
NIH PAR-24-325 – Bioengineering Partnerships with Industry
Participating NIH components are NIBIB, NEI, NIA and NCI. Investigators are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate Scientific/Research Contact listed in the NOFO before application to confirm institute mission fit, scope, milestones and partnership structure.