The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is inviting applications for the Viral INfections in the Young Lung (VINYL) Clinical Consortium, a cooperative agreement aimed at establishing a consortium of clinical sites to conduct a comprehensive observational study on viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in children aged 0-2 years. The primary objective is to deep phenotype 1500 hospitalized infants and toddlers with viral LRTI, followed by longitudinal assessments to evaluate long-term pulmonary outcomes, including asthma, and other developmental factors. This initiative addresses critical knowledge gaps in understanding the condition and its management, with a total funding availability of up to $2.624 million for one award over a maximum project period of seven years. Interested applicants must submit their proposals by November 10, 2025, and can direct inquiries to NIH Grants Information at grantsinfo@nih.gov.

RFA-HL-26-006-Full-Announcement.html

RFA-HL-26-006.html

The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) are seeking applications for the Viral INfections in the Young Lung (VINYL) Clinical Consortium (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional). This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) aims to establish a Clinical Coordinating Center (CCC) with five Clinical Centers (CCs) and one Biorepository, as well as a companion Data and Analytics Coordinating Center (DACC). The consortium will conduct a seven-year observational cohort study to deep-phenotype 1500 children aged 0-2 years hospitalized with viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and follow them until preschool age to understand long-term pulmonary outcomes. The project also requires 2-4 prospective interventional mechanistic studies. The total funding available is up to $2.624 million in FY26 for one award, with a maximum project period of seven years. Eligible applicants include various organizations in the U.S., but foreign organizations are not eligible. Substantial federal involvement is expected, and data and biospecimens will be made publicly available to the research community.

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HL-26-006.html

The objective of this program is to create a consortium of clinical sites that will perform deep phenotyping in 1500 babies, infants, and toddlers (0-2 years of age) with viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and hospitalized with acute bronchiolitis, pneumonia and/or pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS), and longitudinal follow up of participants for evidence of lung disease including asthma at age 4-5 years. Bronchiolitis, a condition unique to the young lung, is the leading cause of hospitalization for viral LRTI in 02-year-old children, including those born preterm. There are critical knowledge gaps in defining the condition, predicting its severity, and understanding the reasons for hospitalization, including the immature host respiratory immune response to viral infection, heterogeneity in response to different viruses, current interventions, significant practice variation in diagnosis and management and subsequent impact on lung health. To meet the need for deep phenotyping, identify appropriate subgroups, refine the diagnosis and management of these vulnerable patients during their hospitalization, and identify prognostic biomarkers for future airway and parenchymal disease, we propose the VINYL (Viral INfections in the Young Lung) clinical consortium, a pragmatic observational study, to perform deep phenotypic characterization of 1500 babies, infants and toddlers admitted to the pediatric floor and pediatric intensive care unit with viral LRTI. A longitudinal follow-up of participants after discharge using electronic health records and questionnaires and assessment of respiratory status at age 4-5 years will elucidate pulmonary outcomes from early viral LRTI, specifically asthma. Neurocognitive and general development, and sleep will also be assessed during follow up.

See Section VII. Agency Contacts within the full opportunity announcement for all other inquires.

NIH Grants Information&lt;br/&gt;grantsinfo@nih.gov

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