Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU | G19AS00077

Opportunity Information: Apply for G19AS00077

This grant opportunity, titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU" (Funding Opportunity Number G19AS00077), was issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) within the Department of the Interior. It is a discretionary funding opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning the work would be carried out collaboratively with substantial involvement from the federal partner rather than as a simple pass-through award. The program sits in the Science and Technology/Research and Development category (CFDA 15.808) and is specifically limited to eligible partners within the relevant Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network, with eligibility clarified in the full announcement under the additional eligibility information.

The purpose of the award is to support the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in developing and optimizing Real-time Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay procedures for detecting Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) prions in fecal and environmental samples. RT-QuIC is a laboratory technique designed to amplify and detect very small amounts of misfolded prion proteins by leveraging their ability to seed the conversion of normal prion protein into an abnormal form, allowing sensitive, real-time detection. The focus here is not simply running existing tests, but refining and standardizing procedures so that detection from challenging sample types like feces and environmental matrices (for example, contaminated soil, surfaces, or other materials exposed to infected animals) becomes more reliable and practical.

The disease target, Chronic Wasting Disease, is emphasized as an invariably fatal neurodegenerative prion disease affecting cervids such as elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, and moose. The opportunity highlights why improved detection matters: research has shown CWD can meaningfully affect free-ranging wildlife populations, and the disease continues to expand geographically across North America. It is also being identified in new contexts and species, with the announcement pointing to detection in reindeer in Norway as a notable example. That broader spread raises concerns for wildlife management, surveillance programs, and ecological impacts, increasing the value of diagnostic tools that can identify prions outside of traditional tissue-based sampling.

In practical terms, the funded partner would be assisting USGS NWHC with method development work to make RT-QuIC better suited for non-invasive and environmental surveillance. Detecting prions from fecal samples could support approaches that avoid lethal sampling and can be applied to live-animal monitoring or population-level surveillance. Environmental detection would help assess contamination and persistence of prions in habitats, which is important because prions can remain infectious in the environment and contribute to ongoing transmission risk. The announcement frames this as part of an assigned tasking for USGS NWHC to explore RT-QuIC for these sample types, indicating the work is intended to advance agency capacity and improve tools available for CWD monitoring and response.

The funding parameters are modest and targeted: the award ceiling is $49,670, with an expectation of a single award. The opportunity was created on July 8, 2019, with an original closing date of July 22, 2019, reflecting a short application window typical of some CESU partner competitions. Overall, the grant is best understood as a small, focused research-and-methods development collaboration intended to improve sensitive laboratory detection of CWD prions from fecal and environmental sources using optimized RT-QuIC procedures, thereby strengthening surveillance capabilities as CWD continues to expand in range and host species.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 08, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 22, 2019. (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 $49,670.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for G19AS00077

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