Optimal Treatment Strategies for use of Anti-Obesity Medications (AOMs) in Children and Adolescents Research Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Source-based overview

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites applications for a Research Coordinating Center (RCC) to participate in a consortium of clinical centers that will test anti-obesity medication (AOM) treatment strategies for youth with obesity that maximize benefits and minimize risks of AOM use. Such intervention strategies should support the promotion of healthy growth and development; adequate nutritional status/intake, healthy eating and physical activity behaviors; mental health and well-being (e.g., body image, self-esteem, mood, etc.), and quality of life and be feasible to implement in clinical care settings. Priority areas include testing strategies to determine optimal developmental stage for AOM initiation, rate and amount of weight loss, AOM class, dose, frequency, and duration, and content and intensity of adjunct lifestyle therapies that may be imperative to ensure normal psychological and physical development and to potentially avoid lifelong dependence on AOMs. Investigators should also evaluate potential predictors of response/ nonresponse to various treatment strategies under evaluation. The clinical centers may conduct independent or multicenter trials but will collaborate on the development of protocols, use of common measures and data elements, use of a central laboratory and standardized procedures to collect data and biospecimens, and data analyses and manuscriptsThe RCC will lead, manage, and harmonize efforts for the Consortium including 1) providing management and administrative support; 2) providing leadership and expertise on statistical design and analysis, 3) providing research coordination with a central laboratory, 4) harmonizing data collection methods and use of common data elements, 5) developing the database; 6) conducting data management and data analyses for Consortium studies; and 7) fostering research collaborations. This NOFO uses a cooperative agreement mechanism (U24) and runs in parallel with a companion NOFO (RFA-DK-27-121). Eligibility: Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/Foreign Collaborations:Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. Opportunity number: RFA-DK-27-136. Closing date: 2026-10-09. Funding: up to none.

Eligibility

Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/Foreign Collaborations:Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Funding and benefits

up to none

Themes and supported activities

Health and Biomedical Sciences

United States

Opportunity number: RFA-DK-27-136.

Deadline and timeline

Closes 2026-10-09: Closes 2026-10-09: Oct 9, 2026.

Applicants should confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, required documents, portal steps and any institutional approvals on the official call page before submitting.

How to apply

Use the official Grants.gov listing for the application package, attachments, forms and agency-specific instructions. Submit by 2026-10-09 unless the agency updates the official listing.

Before applying, check eligibility rules, budgets, attachments, page limits, partner requirements, cost-share conditions and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration or nomination stage.