NIH Issues Emergency R01 Supplement: "Algal Removal From Decorative Surfaces"

BETHESDA, MD—The National Institutes of Health announced Monday that active R01 holders may apply for emergency administrative supplements of up to $250,000 to redirect a portion of their research toward algal removal from decorative surfaces, provided they can “ichthyologically or otherwise” justify the pivot and deliver results by July 3rd.

The notice, NOT-OD-26-147, encourages investigators across all NIH institutes to consider whether their current research “could be extended, adapted, or enhanced” to address what the notice describes as “an acute and nationally visible biofilm challenge.”

“We want to emphasize that this is investigator-initiated,” said NIH spokesperson Dana Chow. “No one is being told to study algae. We are simply making $40 million available to anyone who decides on their own that they want to, within the next eleven days."

The announcement has generated confusion across the research community. Dr. Yun Park, a mycologist at University of Wisconsin, said his program officer called him Tuesday to ask if his expertise in fungal biology was transferable to algal biology.

“I said no,” said Park. “She said to think about it.”

The supplement application requires a two-page specific aims document, a statement of relevance to “the national decorative surface mission,” and a letter from the PI explaining how the proposed work connects to their parent R01. Sample language provided in the notice includes “While our laboratory has traditionally focused on [insert current research area], recent developments have made clear that algae removal from painted federal surfaces represents an equally pressing scientific challenge.”

At press time 7 applications were funded. None of the funded investigators study algae. One is a particle physicist who described his proposal as "responsive to the FOA."