Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) Clinical Networks of Diagnostic Excellence

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) plans to fund multiple Clinical Networks of Diagnostic Excellence (NODEs) as part of the next phase of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN). Each NODE will serve as a geographically distributed regional hub that partners with academic medical centers, hospitals, clinics, federally qualified health centers, and other community‑based providers to expand access to advanced diagnostic expertise for patients with rare, hard‑to‑diagnose conditions. Responsibilities include recruiting and enrolling participants, reviewing medical records, making enrollment decisions, communicating results to patients and referring clinicians, coordinating multidisciplinary evaluations with local partners, contributing to the development and testing of novel diagnostic tools, supporting systematic re‑evaluation of unsolved cases, and participating in network governance, training, and community engagement activities. The forecast is intended to give prospective applicants time to build collaborations and prepare proposals; no formal solicitation has been issued yet. • Regional clinical network leadership and coordination across multiple health‑care sites. • Participant recruitment, enrollment, and multidisciplinary case review. • Development and testing of innovative genomic and non‑genomic diagnostic methods. • Ongoing research on case re‑evaluation and patient‑experience optimization. • Governance, training, and community‑advisory board participation. • Funding will be provided via a NIH Cooperative Agreement.