Screening for Conditions by Electronic Nose Technology (SCENT) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA TR 21 009

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA TR 21 009

The NIH grant opportunity titled "Screening for Conditions by Electronic Nose Technology (SCENT) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-TR-21-009) is a cooperative agreement program aimed at pushing forward portable diagnostic technology that can detect disease-related chemical signals from the human body. The core idea is to build and validate a portable sensing device that can measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) coming off the skin, treat those VOC patterns like detectable "scent" fingerprints, and use them to screen for health conditions. In parallel with device development, the program also expects teams to build a structured catalog of VOC signatures that correspond to at least 20 different human diseases or conditions, creating a reference library that can be used for identification and comparison across patient groups.

A major technical expectation is that the device is not just a sensor, but a smart diagnostic platform. Applicants are expected to incorporate artificial intelligence approaches capable of learning and associating VOC patterns with specific patient conditions in a way that supports diagnostic or screening use. In practical terms, this implies collecting high-quality VOC data from well-characterized participants, developing pattern recognition or machine learning pipelines, and demonstrating that the system can meaningfully classify or differentiate conditions based on the VOC signature profiles. The FOA also emphasizes that the platform should have the ability to incorporate and integrate vital signs, suggesting a more comprehensive point-of-care tool rather than a single-purpose chemical sensor. While the program name highlights electronic-nose approaches, the FOA is flexible about the sensing modality: it allows electronic nose technology, gas chromatography (GC), or other sensing methods, as long as they can reliably detect VOC patterns associated with disease.

The program is framed as team-science by design, and that requirement is not subtle. NIH is explicitly signaling that success depends on multidisciplinary collaboration spanning hardware, chemistry, data science, and clinical validation. Competitive teams would typically include combinations of biomedical engineers and material scientists (for sensor design and fabrication), biosensing and analytical chemistry experts (for VOC detection strategies and calibration), software engineers and data analysts (for AI models and data pipelines), and clinicians, clinical trialists, and biostatisticians (for study design, patient recruitment, ground-truth labeling, and statistical validation). The "Clinical Trial Optional" label means applications may include clinical trial activities if needed, but a clinical trial is not mandatory for every project; applicants can propose the clinical scope that matches the maturity of their technology and validation plan.

From an administrative and eligibility standpoint, this is a discretionary NIH opportunity under the health category (CFDA 93.350) using the U01 cooperative agreement mechanism, which generally means NIH program staff are expected to have substantial involvement during the project rather than operating purely as a hands-off funder. Eligible applicants are broad and include many U.S.-based government entities (state, county, city/township), special district governments, independent school districts, public and state-controlled higher education institutions, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The FOA also highlights inclusion of organizations such as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, AANAPISI institutions, tribal governments and organizations, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it clearly excludes non-U.S. entities: foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH policy) are not allowed, keeping the work fully within eligible U.S. organizational structures.

Key logistics included in the source data indicate the opportunity was created on 2021-02-03 with an original closing date of 2021-06-10. The award ceiling listed is $650,000, and the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, reinforcing that applicants should be prepared for active coordination with NIH and for meeting program milestones typical of U01 awards. Overall, SCENT is essentially a translational push to bring VOC-based "smell analytics" into practical, portable, clinically meaningful screening tools, with strong expectations around rigorous validation, AI-driven pattern recognition, integration of physiological signals, and a well-structured multidisciplinary plan that can credibly deliver a VOC signature catalog spanning at least 20 diseases or conditions.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Screening for Conditions by Electronic Nose Technology (SCENT) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.350.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-02-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-10. (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 $650,000.00 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 RFA TR 21 009

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