dkNET community events and announcements in October, 2025

Dear dkNET Community,

dkNET provides updates on activities of interest to the NIDDK-supported community. You could keep up to date on these activities through our Twitter feed @dkNET_info, through our Community Calendar, or through dkNET e-mail list. If you have an event or funding opportunities you'd like to advertise, please contact us info_at_dknet.org.

dkNET News

• NIDDK Releases Research Recommendations on Diabetes Heterogeneity Dr. Wei Wang, dkNET MPI and Chair of the Data-Science Cross-Cutting Theme Focus Group, contributed to the NIDDK Working Group’s recommendations on diabetes heterogeneity, guiding future research on the biological and environmental factors underlying diabetes. More information: https://dknet.org/about/blog/2869

Events in October 2025

Oct. 10, 2025

Diabetes Research Virtual Seminar Series: Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease -From Bench to Bedside

Speaker: Mandeep Bajaj, MBBS
Professor of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston

More information: https:/ /diabetes-virtual-seminar.org/

Funding Opportunities Information and Deadlines in October 2025

Oct. 01, 2025

Funding Opportunity Application Due: Human Tissues and Organs for Research Resource (HTORR) Pilot Award Program

NIDDK supports the Human Tissues and Organs for Research Resource (HTORR) U42 program, which is now offering a new Pilot Award Program. This Pilot Award Program is intended to facilitate the generation of preliminary data necessary for an investigator to obtain subsequent funding, and will support individuals that meet at least one of the following high priority areas: (1) Early-stage investigators that are within 10 years of a terminal degree or completion of clinical residency. (2) Established investigators that are transitioning to use human biospecimens. Application Deadline: October 1, 2025.

More information: https ://dknet.org/about/dknetnews/2859

Oct. 06, 2025

George M. O’Brien Kidney Resource Alliance (OKRA) Funding Opportunity Application Due: OKRA Opportunity Pool Program

The George M. O’Brien Kidney Resource Alliance (OKRA) offers the OKRA Opportunity Pool Program on a yearly basis to early-stage investigators and investigators new to kidney research. This program supports pilot grants (up to a maximum of $50,000 total costs) that address scientific and technological gaps in kidney research and promotes new collaborations. To be eligible for this pilot program, projects must utilize existing O’Brien Kidney National Resource Center resources.

More information: https://www.uab.edu/okra/funding/okra-opportunity-pool-program

Oct. 15, 2025

Application Due: HIRN Association Membership

The Human Islet Research Network (HIRN) is now accepting applications for its Associate Membership Program, designed to welcome investigators with active, peer-reviewed funding who are conducting research aligned with HIRN’s mission to understand and restore islet function in type 1 diabetes. This program offers opportunities to collaborate with HIRN consortia, present research at annual meetings, and engage in interdisciplinary discussions that advance the field of islet biology and diabetes research. Eligible applicants must be Principal Investigators on active grants that advance the mission of HIRN and committed to participating in HIRN activities, including meetings, consortium calls, and presentations. No additional funding is provided, but members gain access to a vibrant research network and professional development opportunities.

More information: https://hirnetwork.org/news/associate_membership

Oct. 15, 2025

NIDDK Funding Opportunity Application Due: High Impact, Interdisciplinary Science in NIDDK Research Areas (RC2 Clinical Trial Optional)

The purpose of the High Impact, Interdisciplinary Science grants program is to support high impact ideas that may lay the foundation for new fields of investigation within the mission of NIDDK. The interdisciplinary approach encouraged by this NOFO is envisioned to generate a research resource and/or foster discovery-based or hypothesis-generating science that can have a significant impact on the broader scientific community. This NOFO seeks novel approaches in areas that address specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that will advance the area in significant ways designed to accelerate scientific progress in the understanding, treatment, and prevention of diseases, including the promotion of health equity, within the mission of the NIDDK.

More information: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/par-25-277.html