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Grants / Department of Health and Human Services / Food and Drug Administration

FOR-FD-20-030: Development of a model selection method for population pharmacokinetics analysis by deep-learning based reinforcement learning

Closed Closed Opportunity FOR-FD-20-030

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Flexible Funding Model - Advancing Domestic Mutual Reliance Through Strengthened Infrastructure Development and Maintenance for Manufactured Food Regulatory Programs (PAR-27-017). Status: Rolling or no fixed deadline. It is in our archive of Food and Drug Administration notices from 2021.

Food and Drug Administration offered grants to nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses. It is no longer open on Grants.gov.

From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed May 25, 2021. Checked November 7, 2026.

Key dates

PostedMay 25, 2021
Archived by Grants.govMay 26, 2021

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses.

All 13 applicant types the notice lists

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Is this a realistic fit?

What the grant funds

For generic drug development, population pharmacokinetics (popPK) analysis is a critical part of the emerging technology of model-based bioequivalence (BE) analysis. PopPK models provide support for generalizing the conclusion of BE to groups that were not included in a BE study. The popPK model selection is essentially a multiple-objectives/variables optimization problem. Recent years have witnessed the overwhelming success of the reinforcement learning (RL) approaches in addressing optimization problem. Thus, the objective of this project is to develop a model selection method for the popPK analysis using the deep-learning based RL algorithm. Specific Aim 1: Develop a model selection method using a deep-learning based RL algorithm. A thorough survey should be conducted to gain a good understanding of the current state of the art for deep-learning based RL algorithms and their applications. The most appropriate algorithm/pipeline should be adopted to develop the model selection method. Specific Aim 2: Design simulations reflecting different scenarios of PK data, such as independent/correlated covariates, simple/complex (e.g., multiple peaks) time-concentration profiles and sparse-sampling design. The simulated datasets should be used to conduct systematic performance checks. Specific Aim 3: Identify proper metrics for performance evaluation. The selected metrics should be unbiased and mathematically/statistically meaningful. Specific Aim 4: Conduct performance evaluation. The developed model selection method and at least a stepwise regression and a genetic algorithm-based approach should be applied to the simulated datasets to perform popPK model building. The selected performance evaluation metrics should be used to compare the performance of the different methods. Specific Aim 5: Use real PK dataset(s) to demonstrate the applicability and advantage of using the developed method in popPK model building.

Category: Consumer Protection, Health, Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Who has won Food and Drug Administration Research grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Food and Drug Administration Research (93.103) awarded $1.2 billion across 940 grant awards, an average of $1.3 million per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Critical Path InstituteArizona13$94.0 million
National Environmental Health AssociationColorado9$55.4 million
Association of Food & Drug OfficialsPennsylvania14$50.3 million
The Medical Device Innovation ConsortiumVirginia1$48.6 million
Duke UniversityNorth Carolina11$35.6 million

Top states: Arizona ($102 million), California ($95.7 million), Pennsylvania ($83.3 million), Maryland ($80.1 million), Virginia ($79.7 million).

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, PAR-27-017, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.

Questions people ask

Is FOR-FD-20-030 still open?

No. It is no longer open on Grants.gov. A newer notice is open: PAR-27-017, rolling or no fixed deadline.

Who can apply for Development of a model selection method for population pharmacokinetics analysis by deep-learning based reinforcement learning?

Food and Drug Administration accepted applications from nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses.

What is the deadline for Development of a model selection method for population pharmacokinetics analysis by deep-learning based reinforcement learning?

Closed. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

Who has won Food and Drug Administration Research grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were The Critical Path Institute, National Environmental Health Association, Association of Food & Drug Officials. The program made 940 awards worth $1.2 billion in that time.

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