Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit
Funds a Rocky Mountain CESU participating partner to develop a standardized, automated RT-QuIC assay data-analysis pipeline for chronic wasting disease surveillance and management.
⚑ Eligibility limited to participating partners of the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU); non-partners are ineligible. · Cooperative agreement mechanism; award ceiling $145,220.
This is wildlife disease assay standardization and analytical pipeline development, which is far outside IPPRA’s social-behavioral risk, policy, energy, weather, and education lines. It is applied bioscience/technical methods work, not the kind of public opinion, communication, evaluation, or policy research this team would pursue.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-11-06
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 80 strong | technical depth: central; funds applied research |
| IPPRA | 45 partial | portfolio topics: environment, public_health (primary); social/behavioral work is none; funds applied research; capped at 45 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 45 partial | funds applied research; prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research focused on improving the efficiency and standardization of Real-Time Quaking Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay data analysis for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance, research, and management.
CWD continues to expand geographically and intensify in prevalence, placing growing strain on wildlife management agencies. RT-QuIC is among the most promising tools for the detection of low-level CWD prions, but current analytical approaches lack standardization and rely heavily on subjective interpretation. This opportunity supports development of a robust, automated, and reproducible analytical pipeline that improves efficiency, repeatability, and inter-laboratory consistency.
Eligibility
This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) Program. CESU's are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Geological Survey <katherine_calder@ios.doi.gov>
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