This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) invites eligible United States small business concerns (SBCs) to submit Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications. United States SBCs that have the research capabilities and technological expertise to contribute to the R&D mission(s) of the NIH, CDC, FDA or ACF awarding components identified in this FOA are encouraged to submit SBIR grant applications in response to identified topics. The NIDCR conducts and fosters research on the etiology, pathogenesis, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of oral, craniofacial and dental diseases and conditions.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invites eligible United States small business concerns (SBCs) to submit Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant applications. United States SBCs that have the research capabilities and technological expertise to contribute to the R&D mission(s) of the NIH awarding components identified in this FOA are encouraged to submit STTR grant applications in response to identified topics. The NIDCD supports research on the normal mechanisms of, as well as on diseases and disorders of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language. The Institute also supports research related to disease prevention and health promotion. The NIDCD addresses special biomedical and behavioral problems associated with people who have communication impairments or disorders. The NIDCD also supports efforts to create and refine devices, as well as develop cellular-based applications that may replace or substitute for lost and impaired sensory and communication functions.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) research grant applications to develop next-generation tools that distinguish heterogeneous states among cells and have commercial potential. Applications should define the current state of technology as a benchmark against which the new tool(s) will be measured.  Applications should also propose proof-of-concept testing of the tool(s) in a complex biological tissue or living organism. The new tools should provide substantially increased sensitivity, selectivity, spatiotemporal resolution, scalability or non-destructive analysis of multiple global or functional measures of single cells. These novel technologies will aid in obtaining a fine-grained, integrative and dynamic view of heterogeneous cellular states/classes and will provide innovative platforms to transform research into the cellular basis of diseases.