---
kind: "section"
citation: "42 U.S.C. § 287a–2"
title: "42"
title_heading: "The Public Health and Welfare"
number: "287a–2"
heading: "Rare disease regional centers of excellence"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/42/287a-2"
units:
  - "Chapter 6A — Public Health Service"
  - "Subchapter III — National Research Institutes"
  - "Part E — Other Agencies of NIH"
  - "Subpart 1 — national center for advancing translational sciences"
---

# §287a–2. Rare disease regional centers of excellence

- (a) **Cooperative agreements and grants—**
  - (1) **In general—** The [Director](/usc/42/11851.md?p=5) of the Office of Rare Diseases (in this section referred to as the “[Director](/usc/42/11851.md?p=5)”), in collaboration with the [directors](/usc/42/11851.md?p=5) of the other relevant institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health, may enter into cooperative agreements with and make grants to public or private [nonprofit](/usc/42/300s–3.md?p=3) entities to pay all or part of the cost of planning, establishing, or strengthening, and providing basic operating support for regional centers of excellence for [clinical research](/usc/42/284d.md?p=b) into, training in, and demonstration of diagnostic, prevention, control, and [treatment](/usc/42/11851.md?p=11) methods for rare diseases.
  - (2) **Policies—** A cooperative agreement or grant under [paragraph (1)](#a-1) shall be entered into in accordance with policies established by the [Director](/usc/42/11851.md?p=5) of NIH.
- (b) **Coordination with other institutes—** The [Director](/usc/42/11851.md?p=5) shall coordinate the activities under this section with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes, centers and [agencies](/usc/42/8262.md?p=1) of the National Institutes of Health and by the Food and [Drug](/usc/42/11851.md?p=4) Administration to the extent that such institutes, centers and [agencies](/usc/42/8262.md?p=1) have responsibilities that are related to rare diseases.
- (c) **Uses for Federal payments under cooperative agreements or grants—** Federal payments made under a cooperative agreement or grant under [subsection (a)](#a) may be used for—
  - (1) staffing, administrative, and other basic operating costs, including such patient care costs as are required for research;
  - (2) clinical training, including training for allied health professionals, continuing education for health professionals and allied health professions personnel, and information [programs](/usc/42/274l–1.md?p=4) for the public with respect to rare diseases; and
  - (3) [clinical research](/usc/42/284d.md?p=b) and demonstration [programs](/usc/42/274l–1.md?p=4).
- (d) **Period of support; additional periods—** Support of a center under [subsection (a)](#a) may be for a period of not to exceed 5 years. Such period may be extended by the [Director](/usc/42/11851.md?p=5) for additional periods of not more than 5 years if the operations of such center have been reviewed by an appropriate technical and scientific peer review group established by the [Director](/usc/42/11851.md?p=5) and if such group has recommended to the [Director](/usc/42/11851.md?p=5) that such period should be extended.

## Source credit

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title IV, § 481A, formerly § 404G, as added Pub. L. 107–280, § 4, Nov. 6, 2002, 116 Stat. 1990; amended Pub. L. 109–482, title I, § 103(b)(6), Jan. 15, 2007, 120 Stat. 3687; renumbered § 481A, Pub. L. 112–74, div. F, title II, § 221(c)(3), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1089.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 283i of this title.

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 481A of act July 1, 1944, was renumbered section 404I, and is classified to section 283k of this title.

### Amendments

2007—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 109–482 struck out heading and text of subsec. (e). Text read as follows: “For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as already have been appropriated for fiscal year 2002, and $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2006.”

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2007 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 109–482 applicable only with respect to amounts appropriated for fiscal year 2007 or subsequent fiscal years, see section 109 of Pub. L. 109–482, set out as a note under section 281 of this title.