Part I
Overview Information
Department of Health and Human Services
Participating Organizations
National
Institutes of Health (NIH) (http://www.nih.gov)
Components of Participating Organizations
National
Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) (http://www.ncmhd.nih.gov)
Title: NCMHD Comprehensive
Centers of Excellence (P60)
Announcement Type
This is a reissue of RFA-MD-06-002.
Request For Applications (RFA) Number: RFA-MD-08-005
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number(s)
93.307
Key Dates
Release Date: May 28, 2008
Letters of Intent Receipt Date: July
30, 2008
Application Receipt
Date: August 29, 2008
Peer Review Date(s): February-March 2009
Council Review Date: May 2009
Earliest Anticipated Start Date: July 2009
Additional Information To Be Available Date (Url
Activation Date): Not
applicable
Expiration Date: August 30, 2008
Due Dates
for E.O. 12372
Not
Applicable
Additional
Overview Content
Executive Summary
- Purpose. This FOA issued
by the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD),
National Institutes of Health solicits grant applications from
institutions/organizations that propose to establish an Comprehensive NCMHD
Center of Excellence (COE) contributing to either the improvement of minority
health, the elimination of health disparities, or both. To be eligible for the COE in this FOA, applicant institutions must have
existing federal research support and/or research infrastructure as reflected
in a level of NIH institutional funding of more than or equal to $80 million
for the year 2007. An Comprehensive NCMHD COE supported under this
FOA must contain an Administrative core, a Research core, a Research
Training/Education core, and a Community/Engagement core. Pilot research
projects or feasibility projects/studies are not supported under this FOA.
- Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize
the P60 grant
mechanism
- Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. It is
anticipated that approximately six million dollars in total costs will be
available in FY 2009 to support approximately five awards.
- Budget
and Project Period. Direct
costs may not exceed $950,000 per year for a period of up to
five years. The total project period for an application submitted in
response to this FOA may not exceed five years.
- Research Component page Limit: Items
2-5 of the Research Plan for each research project must not exceed 25 pages.
- Eligible Institutions/Organizations.Institutions/organizations
listed in Section III, 1.A. are eligible
to apply.
- Eligible Project
Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs). Individuals with the
skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed
research are invited to work with their institution/organization to
develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented
racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are
always encouraged to apply for NIH support.
- Number of
PDs/PIs. More than one PD/PI (i.e.,
multiple PDs/PIs), may be designated on the application.
- Number of Applications. Applicant
Institutions may only submit only a single application. Multiple
applications from the same institution or university system (as
recognized by NIH) will be considered non-responsive and will not
be reviewed. The NCMHD strongly
encourages collaboration of various schools of multi-component
institutions by joining together in the submission of a single application.
- Resubmissions: Resubmission applications are permitted in response to this FOA.
- Renewals. Renewal applications are permitted
in response to this FOA.
- Special
Date(s). This FOA uses non-standard due dates. See Receipt,
Review and Anticipated Start Dates
- Application Materials. See Section IV.1for application
materials.
- Hearing Impaired. Telecommunications for the hearing
impaired are available at: TTY 301-451-0088.
Table
of Contents
Part I
Overview Information
Part II Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity
Description
1. Research Objectives
Section II. Award Information
1. Mechanism(s) of Support
2. Funds Available
Section III. Eligibility
Information
1. Eligible Applicants
A. Eligible Institutions
B. Eligible Individuals
2.Cost Sharing or Matching
3. Other - Special Eligibility Criteria
Section IV. Application and
Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Information
2. Content and Form of Application Submission
3. Submission Dates and Times
A. Receipt, Review and
Anticipated Start Dates
1.
Letter of Intent
B. Sending an Application to
the NIH
C. Application Processing
D. Application Assignment
4. Intergovernmental Review
5. Funding Restrictions
6. Other Submission Requirements and Information
Section V. Application Review
Information
1. Criteria
2. Review and Selection Process
A. Additional Review Criteria
B. Additional Review
Considerations
C. Resource Sharing Plan(s)
3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
Section VI. Award Administration
Information
1. Award Notices
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
3. Reporting
Section VII. Agency Contact(s)
1. Scientific/Research Contact(s)
2. Peer Review Contact(s)
3. Financial/ Grants Management Contact(s)
Section VIII. Other Information
- Required Federal Citations
Part II
- Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
1. Research Objectives
Nature of the Research Opportunity
The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) invites applications for establishing
Comprehensive NCMHD COE (P60). The Minority Health and Health Disparities
Research and Education Act of 2000 authorized the NCMHD to establish COE. The
first NCMHD COE (COE) were focused on partnerships for community outreach,
research on health disparities, and training. The NCMHD now seeks to expand the
number of active NCMHD COEs and accelerate extramural efforts to improve
minority health and to eliminate health disparities. There are clear and
pressing needs for continued research, research training/education, and
community engagement/outreach activities with a high likelihood for improving
minority health and eliminating health disparities. An NCMHD COE funded
under this FOA must establish an administrative core and cores for research,
research training, and community engagement/outreach. This NCMHD COE program
will support research, research training/education, and community
engagement/outreach activities exploring the multiple and complex factors
contributing to minority health and health disparities. These factors are
expected to include biological, genetic, environmental, behavioral and social
factors acting independently or dependently, across multiple social contexts,
and across multiple social levels. The Comprehensive NCMHD COE established
under this FOA is expected to contribute to the Department of Health and Human
Services initiative for eliminating health disparities.
An Comprehensive NCMHD COE
should propose to conduct original and innovative basic laboratory, behavioral,
clinical, or population based research directed toward improving minority
health, eliminating health disparities, or both, in any of the following
diseases or conditions: cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes,
HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, mental health, and obesity or other disease or
conditions of major public health importance. Research associated with lung and
liver diseases, psoriasis, scleroderma, and glomerular injury is also
encouraged when significant disparities for racial and ethnic populations and
medically underserved populations are known to exist. Intervention research studies
and intervention trials exploring multiple factors that cut across a single or
multiple diseases or conditions are of interest.
Pilot research or
feasibility projects/studies are not supported under this FOA.
The P60 grant award
provides a means through which an institution or consortium of institutions
can: 1) integrate and centralize ongoing minority health and health disparities
research and related research-based activities into a single interdisciplinary
and trans-disciplinary research enterprise; 2) establish novel effective
partnerships with organizations and communities for conducting original and
innovative cutting-edge research leading to improvements in minority health,
the elimination of health disparities, or both; 3) develop, enhance or strengthen
existing research training activities that prepare researchers from minority
and health disparity populations to conduct meritorious minority health and
health disparities research; and 4) establish, enhance or strengthen community
engagement/outreach and institutional partnerships for improving minority
health and the health of health disparity populations.
Background
The mission of the NCMHD is
to promote minority health and to eliminate health disparities. The NIH defines
health disparities as differences in the incidence, prevalence, morbidity,
mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that
exist among specific population groups (See, http://ncmhd.nih.gov/about_ncmhd/index2.asp ,
page 7). The specific population groups are African Americans, American
Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians,
Pacific Islanders, subpopulations of all of the above, and medically underserved
populations (i.e., socio-economically disadvantaged individuals in rural and
urban areas). These populations are hereafter referred to as health disparity
populations. Additional background information can be found in previous NCMHD
RFAs establishing centers of excellence, see RFA MD-02-003, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MD-02-003.html,
and MD-03-003, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MD-03-003.html.
I. The
NCMHD Center of Excellence Program
The NCMHD COE Program has
supported a total of 88 institutions in establishing resource related-centers
(R24), exploratory centers (P20), and comprehensive centers (P60) since its
inception in FY 2002. The NCMHD COE conduct research independently and in
formal partnership with one or more institutional partners, provide training
opportunities to researchers and junior faculty from health disparity
populations, engage in health promotion and health information dissemination
activities, and have established partnerships with community based
organizations. According to published research findings, these centers are
conducting research involving all health disparity populations and all of the
priority diseases and conditions identified by the Department of Health and
Human Services. This initiative provides opportunities to accelerate these and
other efforts by continuing to support: 1) original, innovative, leading-edge
multi- and trans-disciplinary research to improve minority health and to
eliminate health disparities; 2) establishing or strengthening of
exemplary research training/education activities for increasing the numbers of
well trained researchers from minority and health disparity populations; and 3)
engaging minority and health disparity communities in effective and sustainable
NCMHD COE – community partnerships and activities for improving the
health of their communities, increasing the numbers of individuals from
minority and health disparity populations engaged in clinical research
activities, including clinical trials, and for increasing health literacy and
knowledge of health disparities.
II. Scientific Knowledge to be Gained through the NCMHD COE
Program
It is expected that this
program will produce advances in biomedical and behavioral knowledge that will
be invaluable for improving minority health and for eliminating health
disparities within and across the priority areas of cardiovascular disease,
stroke, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, mental health, and
obesity, as well as lung and liver diseases, psoriasis, scleroderma, and
glomerular injury, and other diseases and conditions of public health importance.
New knowledge is also expected to result from continuing research initiated
under previous NCMHD COE support.
Healthy People 2010
identified the following six critical determinants of health: biology,
behaviors, the social environment, the physical environment, policies, and
access to care. It is expected that research conducted at an NCMHD COE will
discover knowledge on the interactions of significant biological factors with
behavioral and social variables, how they affect each other, and how these interactions
influence and contribute to minority health conditions and health disparities.
This new knowledge is expected to lead to the development of new
biopsychosocial interventions and strategies for improving minority health and
eliminating health disparities.
In addition to the above,
NCMHD anticipates that this program will contribute to increasing the number of
individuals from racial and ethnic health disparity populations 1) trained to
conduct minority health and health disparities research, 2) enrolling in
clinical trials, and 3) engaged in improving the health of their communities
though sustained partnerships and programs with NCMHD COE
institutions.
III. Examples
of Research, Research Training/Education, and Community Engagement/Outreach Activities
Applicants
may want to consider the following when developing activities for the COE.
These are examples and are not meant to suggest priority areas, nor are they
comprehensive or restrictive.
- Interdisciplinary
minority health and health disparities research, including basic,
clinical, and behavioral and social sciences research to advance
understanding of disease development and progression and the development
of interventions for preventing or delaying the onset and progression of
one or more diseases or conditions.
- Approaches
for improvement of techniques for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.
- Examination
of potential pathways and mechanisms leading to disparities in health
outcomes, including but not limited to behaviors and social factors,
genetic variations and/or other underlying biological, gender, ethnic and
familial factors, and environmental exposures, including, exposure
of children or adults to abuse, bias, discrimination or other potential
stressors; in particular, studies identifying the biological underpinnings
of differential responses to stressors, and to therapies (i.e.,
hypertension, diabetes, renal transplantation, depression), and the
differential prevalence of disease, and co-morbidities.
- Development
of methodological tools, measures, validated instruments, and novel
research designs for disentangling the contribution of biologic factors,
behaviors, and social factors to health disparities.
- Population-based
studies for reducing the incidence and prevalence of health disparities
among individuals living in different geographical regions of the US, in
particular, the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, U.S.-Mexico Border region,
and Tribal Communities, and studies designed to eliminate or decrease the
impact of factors, including natural disasters, contributing to the excess
risks, morbidity and mortality associated with living in such regions.
- Developmental
influences across the life span; specific health behaviors; discrimination
in health processes; psychosocial and socio-cultural influences, and
socioeconomic factors (such as, differential access to health care) that
have shaped the health care outcomes of the targeted populations.
Health processes include the technical and interpersonal activities
pertaining to disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment that occur
between the patient and practitioner, and other health care providers, and
consideration of the linguistic abilities of patients and practitioner and
its impact on communications between the patient and the practitioner.
- The
biological and biomedical bases of diseases/conditions affecting minority
health and the factors (biological, behavioral, environmental, social,
etc.) contributing to or influencing minority health and health
disparities.
- The
pathways and mechanisms by which biologic and non-biologic determinants
contribute to or influence minority health or health disparities.
- The
efficacy of a full range of health promotion, health services,
communication, and information dissemination approaches for improving
minority health or eliminating health disparities.
- Establishing
programs for the development of new and future investigators.
- Establishing
novel or enhancing existing training programs and curricula for enriching
the biomedical and behavioral research training and competence of
researchers and health care providers, especially those engaged in or
likely to conduct research on health of minority or health disparities.
- Establishing
innovative partnerships between academic institutions and community groups/organizations.
- Communications
research – how to reach minority and health disparity populations
and health care provider communities serving these populations with
information that will lead to positive changes in behaviors, practices,
and health.
- Translational
research – successfully translating research into interventions,
health promotion/prevention programs or policy or behavioral changes in
communities, schools, businesses, families, prisons, etc.
- Cultural
sensitivity/competency and its role in health promotion/disease
prevention.
- Interaction
of culture and other variables on recruitment into research studies and
clinical trials, utilization of services, adherence to lifestyle and
behavioral changes; and understanding individual cultural beliefs and
expressions within a multicultural setting.
See Section VIII, Other Information - Required Federal
Citations, for policies related to this announcement.
Section
II. Award Information
1. Mechanism of Support
This funding
opportunity will use the P60 award mechanism(s).
The PD/PI will be solely responsible for planning, directing,
and executing the proposed project.
Each application and subsequent NCMHD COE P60 award
must contain an Administrative Core, a Research Core, a Research
Training/Education Core, and a Community Engagement/Outreach Core. These cores
are to be organized as outlined in this FOA. In the Research Core, at
least one research project must be proposed, and a maximum of three research projects
can be proposed. To receive an NCMHD COE award, at least one research project
must be assessed meritorious by the scientific review group and subsequently
recommended for funding by NCMHD. A maximum of three research projects can be
supported. Support can be requested for up to five years. Pilot research
projects or feasibility projects/studies are not supported under this FOA.
This
FOA uses “Just-in-Time” information concepts. It also uses
non-modular budget formats described in the PHS 398 application instructions
(see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html).
2. Funds Available
The estimated amount of funds available for support of five projects awarded as a result of
this announcement is approximately six million dollars for
fiscal year 2009 with a maximum of $950,000 direct costs. An applicant may request a project
period of up to five years. Future year
amounts will depend on annual appropriations and acceptable progress.
Because the nature
and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application,
it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary.
Although the financial plans of the IC(s) provide support for this program,
awards pursuant to this funding opportunity are contingent upon the
availability of funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious
applications.
Facilities and
administrative costs requested by consortium participants are not included in
the direct cost limitation; see NOT-OD-05-004.
NIH grants
policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy
Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in
response to this FOA.
Section
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
1.A. Eligible Institutions
The following
organizations/institutions are eligible to apply:
- Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
- Private Institutions of Higher Education
- Hispanic-serving Institutions
- Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HBCUs)
- Tribally Controlled Colleges
and Universities (TCCUs)
- Alaska Native
and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
Foreign institutions are not
eligible to apply.
1.B.
Eligible Individuals
Any
individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to
carry out the proposed research as the PD/PI is invited to work with his/her
institution to develop an application for support. Individuals from
underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with
disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.
More than one PD/PI, or
multiple PDs/PIs, may be designated on the application for projects that
require a “team science” approach and therefore clearly do not fit
the single-PD/PI model. Additional
information on the implementation plans, policies and procedures to formally
allow more than one PD/PI on individual research projects is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi. All PDs/PIs must be registered in the NIH eRA Commons prior to the submission of the application (see http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm for instructions).
The decision of whether to
apply for a grant with a single PD/PI or multiple PDs/PIs is the responsibility
of the investigators and applicant organizations, and should be determined by
the scientific goals of the project. Applications for grants with multiple
PDs/PIs will require additional information, as outlined in the instructions
below. The NIH review criteria for approach, investigators, and environment
have been modified to accommodate applications involving either a single PD/PI
or multiple PDs/PIs. When considering multiple PDs/PIs, please be aware that
the structure and governance of the PD/PI leadership team as well as the knowledge,
skills and experience of the individual PDs/PIs will be factored into the
assessment of the overall scientific merit of the application. Multiple
PDs/PIs on a project share the authority and responsibility for leading and
directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PD/PI is
responsible and accountable to the grantee organization, or, as appropriate, to
a collaborating organization, for the proper conduct of the project or program,
including the submission of required reports. For further information on
multiple PDs/PIs, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
This
program does not require cost sharing as defined in the current NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
3. Other-Special Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the COE in this FOA, applicant institutions must have
existing federal research support and/or research infrastructure as reflected
in a level of NIH institutional funding of more than or equal to $80
million dollars for the year 2007. If your NIH institutional level is
less than this figure, your institution should consider applying for the
Exploratory NCMHD COE (P20) award. See the following link maintained by the NIH
Office of Extramural Research for determining the level of NIH funding for your
institution, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/award/trends/FindOrg.cfm.
Additionally, there are specific eligibility criteria established by law
that must be satisfied in order to receive an award under this FOA. Pursuant to Public
Law 106-525, awards under this program may only be made to institutions of
higher learning having a history of enrolling and graduating racial and ethnic
minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students from their degree
programs. The recruitment, and retention, and promotion of racial and ethnic
minority faculty and staff is also a priority at such institutions. In previous
FOAs establishing comprehensive NCMHD COE, institutions having the above
priorities were referred to as designated institutions. In this FOA, designated
institutions are now referred to as eligible institutions, meaning these
institutions are eligible to establish an NCMHD COE independently as the sole
applicant or as the lead applicant in a partnership or consortium. Four
operational characteristics previously set forth for designated institutions
have been restated as eligibility criteria. Responsive applicants must be able
to document that, for the past four years, they have:
• Had
a significant number of members of health disparity populations enrolled as
students in the institution, including individuals accepted for enrollment in
the institution.
• Been
effective in assisting students from health disparity populations to complete a
program of study or training and receive the advanced degree(s) offered.
• Made
significant efforts to recruit and enroll health disparity population students
into and graduate from the institution, which may include providing
means-tested scholarships and other financial assistance as appropriate.
• Made
significant recruitment efforts to increase the number of members of health
disparity populations serving in full-time faculty or administrative positions
at the institutions.
Applicants that are unable to provide documentation that satisfies all
of the above criteria should establish a partnership or consortium with an
eligible institution serving as the lead applicant. Applicants unable to meet
all of the above eligibility criteria, or those lacking sufficient
documentation to establish eligibility, will be considered non-responsive and
will be returned without peer review. Applicants are invited to contact the
program official listed in this FOA for assistance in identifying the necessary
documentation prior to submission of an application.
An eligible institution may only
submit a single application as the sole or lead institution. If more than one
application is received identifying the same institution as the sole applicant
or as the lead applicant in a partnership or consortium, all applications from
this institution may be returned without review. In such cases, NCMHD
will contact the appropriate institutional official to identify which
application is to be accepted. The NCMHD strongly encourages
collaboration of various schools of multi-component institutions by joining
together in the submission of a single application. There are no
limitations on the number of inter-institutional partnerships an institution
may establish. An applicant may be the lead institution on one application and
be a non-leading partner or consortium member on another. However, duplicative
costs are not allowed. Applicants will be required declare and resolve any real
or potential overlap issues prior to the making of an award.
Applicants holding a NCMHD P20 or
P60 award funded in fiscal year 2002, 2003, 0r 2004 are not required to submit
the above requested documentation. They are deemed eligible by having
previously received an NCMHD Project EXPORT award.
This
competition is open to all eligible institutions as described herein. NCMHD COE
grantees funded in 2002, 2003, and 2004 are eligible. NCMHD COE grantees
that received NCMHD COE interim support funds in FY 2007 or FY2008 are also
eligible. Institutions holding a Research Infrastructure In Minority
Institutions (RIMI) grant may apply. If successful, plans for phasing out the
RIMI grant must be negotiated.
Competing renewal applications will
be permitted for this FOA.
DEFINITIONS
The definitions below are intended to clarify concepts that are
expressed in this FOA.
APPLICANT INSTITUTION: The applicant institution is the entity at which
the NCMHD center will be physically located and/or integrated into its
administrative structure. The Project Director/Principal Investigator must have
his/her primary appointment at the applicant institution.
COLLABORATING INSTITUTION: The collaborating institution is the
institution with which the applicant institution has partnered.
PREDOMINANTLY MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION: A predominantly minority
serving institution is an academic, health care, or research institution with
an enrollment and/or faculty that consists predominantly of racial and ethnic
minorities.
HEALTH DISPARITY POPULATIONS: African Americans, Alaskan Natives,
American Indians, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians,
Pacific Islanders, and other medically underserved populations, which includes
socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals in rural and urban areas. (P.L.
106-525)
PARTNERSHIP AND CONSORTIUM ARRANGEMENTS: A formalized arrangement
whereby a research project is carried out by the grantee and one or more other
organizations that are separate legal entities. Such activities are
encouraged in this FOA.
HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION: A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is
defined as an institution that has at least 25% Hispanic full-time equivalent
(FTE) enrollment, and of the Hispanic student enrollment at least 50% are low
income. Low income is defined as 100 and 199% of the poverty threshold as
determined by the Bureau of the Census. (See U.S. Census Bureau, Current
Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 1975-2007.)
DESIGNATED INSTITUTION: See Public Law 106-525.
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address
to Request Application Information
The PHS 398 application
instructions are available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html in an interactive format. Applicants must use the currently approved version of
the PHS 398. For further assistance contact GrantsInfo, Telephone (301)
435-0714, Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov.
Telecommunications for the hearing impaired: TTY
301-451-0088.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission
Applications must be
prepared using the most current PHS 398 research grant application instructions
and forms. Applications must have a D&B Data Universal Numbering System
(DUNS) number as the universal identifier when applying for Federal grants or
cooperative agreements. The D&B number can be obtained by calling (866)
705-5711 or through the web site at http://www.dnb.com/us/. The
D&B number should be entered on line 11 of the face page of the PHS 398
form.
The title and
number of this funding opportunity must be typed in item (box) 2 only of the
face page of the application form and the YES box must be checked.
Applications
with Multiple PDs/PIs
When multiple PD/PIs are
proposed, use the Face Page-Continued page to provide items 3a – 3h for
all PD/PIs. NIH requires one PD/PI be designated as the “contact
PD/PI” for all communications between the PD/PIs and the agency. The
contact PD/PI must meet all eligibility requirements for PD/PI status in the
same way as other PD/PIs, but has no special roles or responsibilities within
the project team beyond those mentioned above. The contact PD/PI may be changed
during the project period. The contact PD/PI should be listed in block 3 of
Form Page 1 (the Face Page), with all additional PD/PIs listed on Form Page
1-Continued. When inserting the name of the PD/PI in the header of each
application page, use the name of the “Contact PD/PI, et. al.” The
contact PD/PI must be from the applicant organization if PD/PIs are from more
than one institution.
All individuals designated
as PD/PI must be registered in the eRA Commons and must be assigned the PD/PI
role in that system (other roles such as SO or IAR will not give the PD/PI the
appropriate access to the application records). Each PD/PI must include their
respective eRA Commons ID in the eRA Commons User Name field.
All projects proposing
Multiple PDs/PIs will be required to include a new section describing the
leadership plan approach for the proposed project.
Multiple
PD/PI Leadership Plan: For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, a new
section of the research plan, entitled “Multiple PD/PI Leadership
Plan” must be included. A rationale for choosing a multiple PD/PI
approach should be described. The governance and organizational structure of
the leadership team and the research project should be described, and should
include communication plans, process for making decisions on scientific
direction, and procedures for resolving conflicts. The roles and
administrative, technical, and scientific responsibilities for the project or
program should be delineated for the PDs/PIs and other collaborators.
If
budget allocation is planned, the distribution of resources to specific
components of the project or the individual PDs/PIs should be delineated in the
Leadership Plan. In the event of an award, the requested allocations may be
reflected in a footnote on the Notice of Award.
Additional information
is available in the PHS 398 grant
application instructions.
3. Submission Dates and Times
Applications must be
received on or before the receipt date described below (Section
IV.3.A). Submission times N/A.
3.A. Receipt, Review and Anticipated Start Dates
Letter of Intent
Receipt Date: July 30, 2008
Application Receipt Date: August 29, 2008
Peer Review Date: February-March 2009
Council Review Date: May
2009
Earliest
Anticipated Start Date: July 2009
3.A.1.
Letter of Intent
Prospective
applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following
information:
- Descriptive title of proposed research
- Name, address, and telephone number of the Principal
Investigator
- Names of other key personnel
- Participating institutions
- Number and title of this funding opportunity
Although a letter of
intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a
subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to
estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.
The letter of intent is to be sent by the date listed
in Section IV.3.A.
The letter of intent
should be sent to:
Nathan
Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH
Division of Extramural
Activities and Scientific Programs
National Center on
Minority Health and Health Disparities
6707 Democracy Boulevard
Suite 800, MSC 5465mber
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 402-1366
FAX: (301) 480-4049
Email: stinsonn@mail.nih.gov
3.B. Sending an
Application to the NIH
Applications must be
prepared using the forms found in the PHS 398 instructions for preparing a
research grant application. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the
application, including the checklist, and five signed photocopies in one package to:
Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040, MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20892-7710 (U.S. Postal Service Express
or regular mail)
Bethesda, MD 20817 (for express/courier service;
non-USPS service)
Personal deliveries of applications are no longer
permitted (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-040.html).
3.C. Application Processing
Applications must be received on or before the
application receipt date) described above (Section
IV.3.A.). If an application is received after that date, the application
may be delayed in the review process or not reviewed. Upon receipt,
applications will be evaluated for completeness by the CSR and for
responsiveness by the reviewing Institute Incomplete and/or non-responsive
applications will not be reviewed.
The NIH will not
accept any application in response to this funding opportunity that is
essentially the same as one currently pending initial review, unless the
applicant withdraws the pending application. However, when a previously
unfunded application, originally submitted as an investigator-initiated
application, is to be submitted in response to a funding opportunity, it is to
be prepared as a NEW application. That is, the application for the funding opportunity
must not include an Introduction describing the changes and improvements made,
and the text must not be marked to indicate the changes from the previous
unfunded version of the application.
Information on the
status of an application should be checked by the Principal Investigator in the
eRA Commons at: https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/.
4. Intergovernmental Review
This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental
review.
5. Funding Restrictions
All NIH awards are
subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations
described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The Grants Policy Statement can
be found at NIH Grants
Policy Statement.
Pre-award costs
are allowable. A grantee may, at its own risk and without NIH prior approval,
incur obligations and expenditures to cover costs up to 90 days before the
beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or renewal award if such costs: 1) are necessary to conduct the
project, and 2) would be allowable under the grant, if awarded, without NIH prior
approval. If specific expenditures would otherwise require prior approval, the
grantee must obtain NIH approval before incurring the cost. NIH prior approval
is required for any costs to be incurred more than 90 days before the beginning
date of the initial budget period of a new or renewal award.
The incurrence
of pre-award costs in anticipation of a competing or non-competing award
imposes no obligation on NIH either to make the award or to increase the amount
of the approved budget if an award is made for less than the amount anticipated
and is inadequate to cover the pre-award costs incurred. NIH expects the
grantee to be fully aware that pre-award costs result in borrowing against
future support and that such borrowing must not impair the grantee's ability to
accomplish the project objectives in the approved time frame or in any way
adversely affect the conduct of the project (see NIH Grants Policy Statement http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part6.htm.)
Pilot research projects or
feasibility projects/studies are not supported under this FOA. No NCMHD funds
may be used to support any research project (regardless of the size of the
budget or the length of the project period) that was not peer reviewed and
approved for funding by NCMHD at the time of award.
6. Other
Submission Requirements and Information
Modify the PHS 398, starting with
the Table of Contents, to include the following and in the following order:
- Composite Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period (Entire
Project, 398 Form Page 4)
- Composite Budget for Entire Proposed Period (398-Form Page
5)
- Budgets Pertaining to Consortium/Contractual Arrangements
- Detailed Budgets (Initial and Entire Period) and Budget
Justification (by Core, and for each Research project or Activity within a
Core)
- Biographical Sketch – COE PD/PI
- Other Biographic Sketches – Key Personnel, etc.
- Resources
- Checklist
- Narrative Overall Description of the Proposed NCMHD COE
- Summary Progress Report (required for competing renewals
only)
- Administrative Core
- Research Core
- Research Plan for Project 1 (2, and 3, if applicable)
- Research Training/Education Core
- Community Engagement/Outreach Core
- Appendix
Supplemental instructions for major
areas:
I. Description of
the Proposed Comprehensive NCMHD Center of Excellence (15-page maximum)
Provide and discuss the
documentation submitted to meet the eligibility requirements for establishing a
center independently or as the lead applicant in a partnership or
consortium. Applicants should describe the center, its scientific focus,
for example, minority health, health disparities, or both, its goals and
objectives, its cores, the type of research to be conducted, disciplines involved,
disease/conditions, determinants, etc. In addition, assuming baseline data are
available, the applicant should provide the expected improvement over the
relevant baseline for any given disease, condition, or significant
activity. Describe the dedicated facilities to be utilized by the center.
If requesting a shared resources core or additional center components provide
the appropriate rationale.
The NCMHD, through this FOA, will
make a substantial investment in these comprehensive NCMHD COE and expects
similar commitments of the institution(s) to the center. Discuss and provide
evidence (for example, a letter from the provost) of the institutional
commitments to the center, including the recognition of the center as a formal
organizational component, the provision of space, administrative, faculty and
staff positions and discretionary resources, the authorities of the director;
the status of the director in comparison to department chairs; institutional
lines of authority, and responsibilities of institutional leaders to
ensure the long-term stability (viability) of the center, and the plans for
assuring the continued commitment of the center in the event of a change in
directorship.
If establishing a partnership,
discuss briefly the history of previous partnerships with the proposed partners
if any, and the rationale, scientific and geodemographic, for partnering.
Describe how the partnership was established, and describe the complementary
institutional strengths and expertise; for example, strengths and expertise in
basic, clinical, or population-based research, research training, community
engagement, etc, as appropriate, that contribute to the likelihood that this
partnership will achieve the proposed scientific goals and objectives and
thereby make significant contributions to improving minority health or
eliminating health disparities. Describe efforts that have been taken to ensure
the success of the partnership generally and the steps taken to ensure that it
is and will remain a true partnership throughout the course of the award.
Specifically address and justify the proposed distribution of essential
resources and administrative responsibilities between the partnering
institutions, organizations, faculty and staff. Describe any official letters
of understanding established between the partnering institutions and any
significant inter-institutional commitments. Applicants should decide what and
how much is appropriate to include about the partnership in this section versus
the administrative core.
II. Summary Progress Report (required for competing renewals
only and grantees receiving interim support funding)
Previously funded NCMHD COE must
include in this section a summary progress report generally describing how the
success of the center has been measured, what the center considers its most
important successes and accomplishments and how these accomplishments have
contributed to realizing the funded goals and objectives of the center. For
example, describe recent scientific discoveries and successes, awards and
additional grant funding obtained by NCMHD funded investigators,
accomplishments in community outreach, dissemination, dissemination, and
efforts towards the development of new and future health disparity
researchers.
Describe improvements in the
infrastructure for conducting minority health or health disparities research
established at the institution or in the community using NCMHD funding. Discuss
how this infrastructure is sufficient for accomplishing the proposed goals and
objectives to be supported under this FOA. If a significant decrease in a
health disparity or a significant improvement in minority health has been
realized, provide the baseline data supporting such results. While the page
count of the progress report does not count against the 15 page maximum,
applicants should be as succinct as possible, utilize tables and graphs, and
report on only the most significant accomplishments to be assessed by
reviewers.
Include a table listing the title of
all research projects, including pilot projects, funded with the NCMHD dollars
to date. List the PI, title of projects, health disparity population
studied, and a listing of all publications resulting from each project.
Indicate whether NCMHD was acknowledged in the publications listed.
Given the differences in grant
awards, goals and objectives, funding levels, and the number and types of
personnel supported by the NCMHD Center of Excellence, applicants should
provide a table summarizing the total man-hours, and dollars, contributing to
the outcomes and progress of the center.
III. Administrative
Core (mandatory) -- 10-page maximum
Applicants should describe the
administrative structure of the center and the roles and responsibilities of
all key personnel. The administrative core is responsible for 1) the allocation
and oversight of all COE resources, 2) establishing and maintaining all
partnerships, advisory and executive boards, cores, and training and community
activities essential to the success of the COE, 3) the selection of key
personnel and the minority health or health disparities research to be
conducted within the center, 4) establishing and overseeing the process for the
initial solicitation, review, and selection and justification of the research
projects and activities included in the application, and 5) for working with
the local IRB(s) to ensure that all projects involving human subjects or
vertebrate animal subjects are in full compliance at all times and that
appropriate measures and safe guards are in place and utilized for ongoing data
safety and data monitoring.
All Comprehensive NCMHD COE are
expected to establish and maintain a website.
Additionally, through the efforts of
the administrative core, each NCMHD COE is expected to become a valued,
trusted, institution-wide resource for expanding the capacity and competence of
the institution, and that of NIH funded researchers and students in conducting
minority health and health disparities research. The center director is also
expected to interact with the administrative leadership of the institution to
enhance the success of the center.
IV. Research
Core (mandatory, 10 page maximum for the narrative description of the core) and
Research Projects (mandatory, items 2-5 of research plans for individual
research projects cannot exceed 25 pages)
Within the research core narrative
describe the overall purpose, structure, function, and the qualifications of
the core director. Provide a brief description of the proposed research
projects. An Comprehensive NCMHD COE application must propose at least one
research project and may propose a maximum of three research projects. To be
funded as an NCMHD COE, at least one research project must be judged
meritorious by peer review and be recommended and approved for funding by NCMHD.
Each research project will be
reviewed on its own merit and must include all of the components (face page,
see below, project description, table of contents, etc.) described in the PHS
398 guidelines for research projects and adhere to all of the PHS 398 page
limits and guidelines within, with the exception of the page limit for the
research plan. The research plan, items 2-5, should not exceed 25 pages. Include the title and page number for each project in the table of
contents for the COE and provide in the proposal a face page for each project.
The face page should include the title, name(s) and affiliation of the PI(s),
disease/conditions, factors, and minority or health disparity or health
disparity targeted and whether human subjects or vertebrate animals will be
used. Provide a project description (PHS 398, form page 2). Do not exceed 25 pages for the research plan (items 2-5) of a given project. Include detailed
budget pages for each project in the composite budget section and within each research
project (do not use modular budgets) along with a narrative budget
justification. Also include the role and responsibilities of all of the members
of the research team. If research using human subjects is proposed provide a
human subjects section as directed in the PHS 398 guidelines. If a continuing
project and previously funded by the NCMHD, provide a progress report. If
multiple PD/PI will be designated, include a multiple PD/PI Leadership
Plan.
Each research project must address a
significant issue in minority health or health disparities. A single
principal investigator or multiple co-investigators from the same or different
institutions may conduct the proposed research. The research team can include
senior and junior faculty, post-doctoral or other trainees, as well as
community members, all with the appropriate justification. Expected
improvements in health relative to an existing baseline measure for the health
disparity population(s) under study should be provided when possible. For
example, if the proposed research involves an intervention documented to be
effective for only 50% of a given population, the applicant should make the
case for increasing the effectiveness to 75%, and address the basis for the
expected improvement.
Pilot research projects or
feasibility projects/studies are not supported under this FOA. No NCMHD funds
may be used to support any research project (regardless of the budget or length
of the project period) that was not peer reviewed and approved for funding by
NCMHD at the time of award.
In case of extenuating
circumstances, such as the departure of a research project PD/PI from the
institution, the grantee may submit a written request to NCMHD for the
re-budgeting of allocated funds. When submitting such requests, the
instructions specified in NOT-MD-08-002 must be followed.
V. Research
Training/Education Core (mandatory) --10-page maximum
Training activities may be provided
at the undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, or junior faculty level.
Undergraduate/Graduate Students.
Training components for students may include establishing academic term and/or
summer training opportunities. The enhancement of existing curricula to include
subjects related to minority health and health disparities may be proposed. The
development of curricula for preparing students to conduct research on minority
health or health disparities is of special interest. For consortia
arrangements, new research training programs might provide students the
opportunity to fulfill their research requirements in research laboratories at
the partner institution or to take courses not offered at the student’s
home institution.
Post-Doctoral Training. Training
components may also support post-doctoral training for individuals that have earned
the doctorate degree or equivalent and who are from health disparity
populations.
Faculty at Minority Serving
Institutions (MSI). With respect to faculty at MSIs, mentored research
components may be developed to provide assistance in learning new methodologies
or to encourage faculty participation in research. Support for new faculty
research positions to build capacity in biomedical and behavioral research and
research training can be requested. Applicants must justify the position(s)
relative to the goals and objective of the proposed COE. Up to 50% support
(time and effort) may be requested for MSI faculty at a partnering institution
to engage in research.
The applicant institution and its
partners must demonstrate or give reasonable assurances that it has the
capacity to train predoctoral and/or postdoctoral students for careers in
biomedical, behavioral, epidemiological or health services research. For
partnerships and consortia, training initiatives should represent true
collaborations that function across institutional boundaries.
Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research.
Every trainee supported by the COE grant must receive instruction in the
responsible conduct of research (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not92-236.html).
Applications must describe a program to provide formal and informal
instruction on scientific integrity and ethical principles in research.
- Although the NIH does not
establish specific curricula or formal requirements, all programs are
encouraged to consider instruction in the following areas: conflict of
interest, responsible authorship, policies for handling misconduct, data
management, data sharing, and policies regarding the use of human and
animal subjects. Within the context of training in scientific integrity,
it is also beneficial to discuss the relationship and the specific
responsibilities of the institution and the predoctoral trainees appointed
to the program.
- Plans must address the subject
matter of the instruction, the format of the instruction, the degree of
training faculty participation, trainee attendance, and the frequency of
instruction.
- The rationale for the proposed
plan of instruction must be provided.
VI. Community
Engagement/Outreach Core (mandatory) -- 10-page maximum
The mission of each Community
Engagement/Outreach Core is expected to vary depending on the overall goals of
the COE, the proposed research, and the needs and capabilities of the community
and of the applicant institution. Ideally, activities within this core
should contribute to improvements within the community and not simply provide a
service. Improvements can be, for example, in health literacy, including
knowledge of health disparities and ways to recognize, prevent, reduce or
eliminate them. Activities that are service only will not be supported.
All proposed activities must include a means of assessing the effectiveness and
or efficacy of the activities. In disseminating health information
to a minority or health disparities community, an applicant might seek to
determine what dissemination methods are most effective in preventing, reducing
or eliminating health disparities associated with a given disease and or
condition. Is it important to disseminate health science research information
in a culturally sensitive way? What fraction of the community actually uses the
information? Applicants should describe how the use and effectiveness of the
disseminated information would be measured. Accordingly, this core may focus on
1) how to access and build public trust, 2) how to engage the community for
potential participation in clinical studies and clinical trials and for
eventual partnering in the conduct of community-based health disparity
interventions; and 3) how to engage the community in science education
activities (e.g., K-12 science programs within area middle schools, high
schools, or adult community groups) and assessing the effectiveness of these
activities in contributing to improving minority health or the elimination of
health disparities, or increasing the pool of researchers from health disparity
and minority populations.
NCMHD COE may request support for
disseminating health information, as well as sponsor activities that encourage
community participation in research as study participants or that equip
community-based organizations for partnering in and/or conducting disease
prevention and/or intervention activities. In particular, for information
dissemination purposes, the audiences should include health care students and
professionals, community-based organizations and researchers at the host
institution as well as investigators at partnering institutions. Information
transfer activities may include, but are not limited to activities such as
training programs, short courses, telemedicine, presentations at professional
meetings and publications. Applicants should address the expected effectiveness
of the proposed activities and describe how the actual effectiveness of these
activities will be measured and documented. .
With respect to equipping health disparity communities to
develop and manage their own culturally sensitive programs for educating their
populations and/or participating in prevention and intervention activities, the
focus could be, for example, on addressing community level and individual risk
factors for priority diseases and conditions, chronic disease management,
screening, prevention, and decision making with respect to available therapeutics
and behavioral interventions. Plans to evaluate the success and/or
effectiveness of the proposed community outreach/information dissemination
should be described. Activities for engaging the health provider community in
improving minority health or eliminating health disparities at the local,
regional or state levels should also be considered.
Research
Plan Page Limitations
Items 2-5 of the Research Plan for each research project
must not exceed 25 pages.
Appendix
Materials
All paper PHS 398 applications submitted for May 25, 2008 and subsequent
due dates must provide
appendix material on CD only, and include five identical CDs in the same
package with the application. Paper applications submitted for due dates
prior to May 25, 2008 may voluntarily provide the appendix on five identical
CDs; if submitting CDs it is not necessary to include a paper appendix. (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-031.html.)
Do
not use the Appendix to circumvent the page limitations of the Research Plan
component. An application that does not observe the required page limitations
may be delayed in the review process.
Resource Sharing
Plan(s)
NIH considers the sharing of unique research resources
developed through NIH-sponsored research an important means to enhance the
value of, and advance research. When resources have been developed with NIH
funds and the associated research findings published or provided to NIH, it is
important that they be made readily available for research purposes to
qualified individuals within the scientific community. If the final data/resources are not amenable to sharing,
this must be explained in Resource Sharing section of the application. See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/data_sharing_faqs.htm.
(a) Data Sharing Plan: Investigators seeking
$500,000 or more in direct costs in any year are expected to include a brief
1-paragraph description of how final research data will be shared, or explain
why data-sharing is not possible. Applicants
are encouraged to discuss data-sharing plans with their NIH program contact.
See Data-Sharing
Policy or http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-032.html.
(b) Sharing Model Organisms: Regardless of
the amount requested, all applications where the development of model organisms
is anticipated are expected to include a description of a
specific plan for sharing and distributing unique model organisms and related
resources, or state appropriate reasons why such sharing is restricted or not
possible. See Sharing
Model Organisms Policy, and NIH
Guide NOT-OD-04-042.
(c) Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS): Regardless of the amount requested,
applicants seeking funding for a genome-wide association study are
expected to provide a plan for submission of GWAS data to the NIH-designated GWAS data repository, or provide an appropriate explanation why
submission to the repository is not possible. A genome-wide association
study is defined as any study of genetic variation across the entire genome
that is designed to identify genetic associations with observable traits (such
as blood pressure or weight) or the presence or absence of a disease or
condition. For further information see Policy for Sharing of Data
Obtained in NIH Supported or Conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies, NIH Guide NOT-OD-07-088, and http://grants.nih.gov/grants/gwas/.
Section
V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria
Only the review
criteria described below will be considered in the review process.
2. Review and Selection Process
Applications that are complete and responsive to
the FOA will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by
an appropriate peer review group convened by the CSR and in accordance with NIH peer review procedures (http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/peer/),
using the review criteria stated below. Responsiveness will be evaluated by
NCMHD program staff using the criteria listed in this FOA.
Incomplete and/or non-responsive applications will not be reviewed.
As part of the scientific peer
review, all applications will:
- Undergo a
selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the
highest scientific and technical merit, generally the top half of
applications under review, will be discussed and assigned a priority
score.
- Receive a
written critique.
- Receive a
second level of review by the NCMHD National Advisory Council
The
following will be considered in making funding decisions:
- Scientific
and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by peer review
- Availability
of funds
- Relevance
of the proposed project to NCMHD program priorities
- Balance in
the target diseases/conditions to ensure an NCMHD is appropriately
balanced in breadth and depth of projects
- Balance in
geographic locations (for example, rural areas, border regions, and urban
and other areas with significant numbers of health disparity populations
as justified by scientific data
- Balance in
the minority and health disparity populations within the NCMHD COE
portfolio
The
goals of NIH supported research are to advance our understanding of biological
systems, to improve the control of disease, and to enhance health. In their
written critiques, reviewers will be asked to comment on each of the following
criteria in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have
a substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. Each of these criteria will
be addressed and considered in assigning the overall score, weighting them as
appropriate for each application. Note that an application does not need to be
strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact
and thus deserve a meritorious priority score. For example, an investigator may
propose to carry out important work that by its nature is not innovative but is
essential to move a field forward.
Significance: Does this study
address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how
will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be advanced? What will be the
effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments,
services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?
Approach: Are the
conceptual or clinical framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed,
well integrated, well reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the project?
Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative
tactics?
Innovation: Is the project original and innovative? For
example: Does the project challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice;
address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field?
Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies,
tools, or technologies for this area?
Investigators: Are the
PD/PI(s) and other key personnel appropriately trained and well suited to carry
out this work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the
principal investigator and other researchers? Does the PD/PI(s) and
investigative team bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project
(if applicable
Environment: Do(es) the scientific environment(s) in which
the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed
studies benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, or subject
populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of
institutional support?
In addition to the above, NIH
considers the following in evaluating Center grant applications:
- The
scientific and technical merit of the proposed program;
- The
qualifications and experience of the center director and other key personnel;
- The
statutory and program purposes to be accomplished;
- The
extent to which the various components of the proposed program would be
coordinated into one multi-disciplinary effort within the center;
- The
extent to which the center's activities would be coordinated with similar
efforts by other organizations;
- The
administrative and managerial capability of the applicant; and
- Other
factors which the awarding IC considers appropriate in light of its particular
statutory mission. The extent to which
the center and all mandatory core activities are focused on improving minority health, eliminating health disparities, or both,
and its potential to favorably establish or enhance and sustain the fields of
minority health or health disparities research at the institution and its
engagement and partnerships with the community past the project period.
The ADMINISTRATIVE CORE will be evaluated with the
following criteria:
Approach: Are the arrangements and organizational structure
adequately developed, well reasoned and appropriate to the aims of the project?
Does the application describe how day-to-day management will be accomplished?
Are the plans to facilitate and monitor attainment of Center objectives
appropriate? Are contractual and consortium arrangements adequately described,
if applicable? What is proposed for long-term management and periodic
evaluation of goal attainment? If a partnership is involved, are the resources
and responsibilities appropriately distributed and justified given the goal and
objectives of the proposed COE? Does the grantee describe an effective process
for resolving conflicts between the partners? Are plans in place to
sustain efforts, partnerships, and relationships with engaged communities and
community organizations past the proposed project period?
Investigator: Are the qualifications,
experience, commitment and administrative competence of the Administrative Core
Director appropriate, if different than the PI? Is there an appropriate time
and effort commitment made by the Administrative Core Director? If applicable,
is there evidence that the researchers and faculty of the partnering
institutions have worked closely together in the preparation of the application
or will do so in meeting the proposed objectives?
Environment: Is institutional commitment
to the pursuit of minority health and health disparities research and other
proposed activities, including provision of resources, administrative authority
and recognition, convincing?
The RESEARCH CORE will be evaluated with the following
criteria:
Approach: Are the goals of the Research Core significant and
explained in the context of potential to contribute to improving minority
health, the elimination of health disparities, or both? Is there evidence that
the applicant utilized an effective process for selecting the research projects
submitted in the application? What are the quality control and oversight mechanisms
in place for the proposed projects?
Investigator: Are the qualifications,
experience, commitment and administrative competence of the Research Core
Director appropriate? Is there an appropriate time and effort commitment made
by the Research Core Director? Are there adequate plans for communication and
cooperation among investigators?
Environment: Are there appropriate plans
for resource allocation? Does the scientific environment in which the work will
be done contribute to the probability of success? If the research sites are not
all located on a single campus, do the additional sites contribute to the
probability of success?
The RESEARCH PROJECTS within the RESEARCH CORE will be
evaluated with the following criteria:
Significance: Does this study address an
important minority health or health disparity problem? If the aims of the
application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be
advanced? How will minority health be improved? Will a disparity be eliminated
or significantly reduced? What will be the effect of these studies on the
concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative
interventions that drive this field? For a continuing research project,
has adequate progress been made in achieving the stated goals of the previously
funded research?
Approach: Are the conceptual or clinical framework, design,
methods, and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, well reasoned, and
appropriate to the aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge
potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics?
Innovation: Is the project original and innovative? For
example: Does the project challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice;
address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field?
Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies,
tools, or technologies for this area?
Investigators: Are key personnel
appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the work
proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and
other researchers? Does the PD/PI(s) and investigative team bring complementary
and integrated expertise to the project (if applicable)?
Environment: Do(es) the scientific
environment(s) in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of
success? Do the proposed studies benefit from unique features of the scientific
environment, or subject populations, or employ useful collaborative
arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support? Has the
applicant appropriately recognized, designed, and considered the role of
culture and ethnicity for all proposed research and activities?
The RESEARCH TRAINING/EDUCATION, and COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT/OUTREACH, will be evaluated with the following criteria:
Significance: Is there evidence that these
cores will make significant contributions to the goals/specific aims of the
COE? Will the proposed activities of the community engagement/outreach
core contribute to the translation of research findings to the community? What
is the potential impact of the core on improving minority health and
eliminating health disparities? Does the community engagement core contribute
increased health literacy, increased enrollment in clinical trials, and
increased knowledge of health disparities and ways to identify, prevent,
reduce, or eliminate them? Does the training core contribute to
increasing the number of individuals from health disparity populations engaged
in research? Does the applicant’s plan provide adequate trainee
instruction in the responsible conduct of research? Will it contribute to
improved research training in minority health and health disparities all
participating institutions? Will it contribute significantly to the development
of future researchers?
Approach: Are the arrangements and organizational structure
adequately developed, well reasoned and appropriate to the aims of the program?
Do the proposed cores benefit from unique features of the scientific
environment, subject populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements?
Investigator: Are the qualifications,
experience, commitment and administrative competence of the Core Director
appropriate? Is there an appropriate time and effort commitment made by the
Core Director? Are there adequate plans for communication and cooperation among
core participants?
The CENTER AS AN INTEGRATED WHOLE will be evaluated
with the following criteria:
Significance: Do the Center’s
research goals address an important problem? Is there potential for favorably
impacting the fields of minority health and health disparities research?
Approach: Does the Center demonstrate a multidisciplinary
approach appropriate for its goals? Is the coordination among the
administrative and other cores adequately explained? Is there synergistic
potential among the Center’s research components? Is there justification
for each research and core component in terms of the overall goals of the
Center? Does the Center have the potential to achieve a whole greater than the
sum of its parts? For Renewal Applications: Has adequate progress been
made in achieving the stated goals of the previously funded Center and its
concomitant research projects and activities?
Innovation: Will the Center make a unique contribution or fill a
significant gap in the areas of minority health and health disparities
research?
Investigators: Are the investigators
appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work? Do the
investigators bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project? Is
the Center Director capable of providing the scientific leadership and
administrative oversight required to lead a Center?
Environment: Is the academic and physical
environment, including availability of space, equipment and materials well
defined? Is there evidence of institutional commitment to the pursuit of
improving minority health and eliminating health disparities for the long-term?
Is there evidence of prior institutional commitment to establishing and
sustaining lasting relationships with the local minority and health disparity
communities essential for the success of this Center of Excellence and the
mission of the NCMHD? Is the environment within and around the institution
suitable for the advancement of minority health research and health disparities
research? Is there evidence of true collaboration with institutional and
community partners if applicable?
The initial review for scientific and technical merit
of applications will emphasize three major aspects: (1) the review of each
mandatory core: administrative, research, research training/education, and
community engagement/outreach; (2) the quality of the research projects within
the research core; and (3) the review of the proposed Center as an effectively
integrated whole working together to focus on improving minority health,
eliminating health disparities, or both, and its potential to favorably
establish or enhance the fields of minority health or health disparities
research at the institution.
2.A.
Additional Review Criteria:
In addition to the
above criteria, the following items will continue to be considered in the
determination of scientific merit and the rating:
Protection of Human Subjects from Research Risk: The involvement of human
subjects and protections from research risk relating to their participation in
the proposed research will be assessed (see the Research Plan section on Human
Subjects in the PHS 398 instructions).
Inclusion
of Women, Minorities and Children in Research: The adequacy of plans to
include subjects from both genders, all racial and ethnic groups (and
subgroups), and children as appropriate for the scientific goals of the
research will be assessed. Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects
will also be evaluated (see the Research Plan section on Human Subjects in the
PHS 398 instructions).
Care
and Use of Vertebrate Animals in Research: If vertebrate animals are to
be used in the project, the five points described in the Vertebrate Animals
section of the Research Plan will be assessed.
Biohazards: If materials or procedures
are proposed that are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the
environment, determine if the proposed protection is adequate.
2.B. Additional Review
Considerations
Budget: The reasonableness of the
proposed budget and the requested period of support in relation to the proposed
research. The reasonableness of the detailed budgets for each proposed Core,
each research project or activity within a Core, and any consortium/contractual
arrangements. The priority score should not be affected by the evaluation of
the budget.
2.C. Resource Sharing
Plan(s)
When relevant, reviewers will be instructed to comment
on the reasonableness of the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale
for not sharing the following types of resources. However, reviewers will not
factor the proposed resource sharing plan(s) into the determination of
scientific merit or priority score, unless noted otherwise in the FOA. Program
staff within the IC will be responsible for monitoring the resource sharing.
3. Anticipated Announcement and Award
Dates
Not
Applicable
Section
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices
After the peer review
of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her
Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.
If the application is under consideration for funding,
NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant. For
details, applicants may refer to the NIH
Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards,
Subpart A: General.
A
formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be
provided to the applicant organization. The NoA signed by the grants management
officer is the authorizing document. Once all administrative and programmatic
issues have been resolved, the NoA will be generated via email notification
from the awarding component to the grantee business official (designated in
item 12 on the Application Face Page). If a grantee is not email enabled, a
hard copy of the NoA will be mailed to the business official.
Selection of an application for award is not an
authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the
NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the
extent considered allowable pre-award costs. See Also Section
IV.5. Funding Restrictions.
2. Administrative and National
Policy Requirements
All NIH grant and
cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of
the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II:
Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part4.htm)
and Part II Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and
Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_part9.htm).
3.
Reporting
Awardees will be
required to submit the Non-Competing
Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial
statements as required in the NIH Grants
Policy Statement.
As part of the Continuation Progress Report
include the following:
Overall Summary for the Center. Summarize the
progress made for the entire Center of Excellence over the past year (narrative
part limited to six pages, include tables and graphs as needed). State
the originally funded specific aims or objective for the Center. Indicate
the aims for which progress will be presented in this report. The PHS
2590 subsections A-F may not be relevant for preparing the overall summary of
progress. Do not feel compelled to use them if other headings are more
suitable
- Highlight only the most
significant progress based on outcomes, accomplishments, and recognitions
resulting from programmatic, scientific, training, capacity building,
organizational, community outreach, or other activities. This
summary should be prepared for a general audience. National Honors
and/or significant promotions or recognitions of key personnel should be
mentioned if related to NCMHD funding. Include the same for research
trainees or community members if honors were based on their associations
and accomplishments within the Center. Focus on what is significant
rather than the routine. For example, do not provide a listing of
all meetings of boards, steering groups, etc., but do highlight any
meeting results or outcomes that have since had a significant impact on
the Center’s operation, Cores, individuals or community
collaborators, or in improving the health of the community or meeting
specific aims.
- State in lay terms the
scientific, medical or public health significance of the actual
progress. Also, state the significance of the progress relative to
achieving the goals of the grant, core, or specific research. Do not
simply include a generic statement pulled from the original application or
a previous progress report.
- Be sure to state the plans for
the upcoming year.
Summary for each Core. Using the PHS
2590 subsection headings A-F, as relevant, summarize the progress in each
Center Core (two-page limit per Core). Do not include a section for the
Administrative Core if its activities were sufficiently covered in the overall
summary above.
- In the Research
Training/Education Core progress report summary, include information on
the training in responsible conduct of research that specifies the
type of instruction provided, topics covered, and other relevant
information, such as attendance by trainees and faculty participation,.
Summary for each Research Project. Using the PHS
2590 subsection headings A-F summarize the progress for each funded research
project (two-page limit per research project). Generally, report on what
is new since the last progress report. When reporting on the progress for
a new or continuing research project, include the name of the project PI(s),
the project title and a project description or abstract. If the project or
study includes human subjects include an updated inclusion enrollment
report.
Summary for each Subcontractors/Partners. Provide a
narrative summary of the progress made by subcontractors or partners in
achieving particular specific aims or objectives of the Center (two page limit
per subcontractor/partner).
When meeting page limits, do not include the
list of publications, the “inclusion enrollment report” or
scientific highlights in the page count.
A final
progress report, invention statement, and Financial Status Report are required
when an award is relinquished when a recipient changes institutions or when an
award is terminated.
Section
VII. Agency Contacts
We
encourage your inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the
opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Inquiries may fall
into three areas: scientific/research, peer review, and financial or grants
management issues:
1. Scientific/Research Contacts:
Nathan
Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH
Division of Extramural
Activities and Scientific Programs
National Center on Minority
Health and Health Disparities
Suite 800, MSC 5465
6707 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 402-1366
FAX: (301) 480-4049
Email: stinsonn@mail.nih.gov
2. Peer Review Contacts:
Dr. Sooja
Kim
Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040, MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20892-7710
Telephone:301-435-1780
E-mail: kimso@mail.nih.gov
3. Financial or Grants Management Contacts:
Priscilla
Grant, JD, CRA
Division of Extramural
Activities and Scientific Programs
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Suite 800, MSC 5465
6707 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 402-1366
FAX: (301) 480-4049
Email: grantp@mail.nih.gov
Section
VIII. Other Information
Required Federal Citations
Use of Animals in
Research:
Recipients of
PHS support for activities involving live, vertebrate animals must comply with
PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/PHSPolicyLabAnimals.pdf)
as mandated by the Health Research Extension Act of 1985 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/hrea1985.htm),
and the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations (http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/usdaleg1.htm)
as applicable.
Human
Subjects Protection:
Federal
regulations (45CFR46) require that applications and proposals involving human
subjects must be evaluated with reference to the risks to the subjects, the
adequacy of protection against these risks, the potential benefits of the
research to the subjects and others, and the importance of the knowledge gained
or to be gained (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm).
Data and
Safety Monitoring Plan:
Data and safety
monitoring is required for all types of clinical trials, including physiologic
toxicity and dose-finding studies (phase I); efficacy studies (Phase II);
efficacy, effectiveness and comparative trials (Phase III). Monitoring should
be commensurate with risk. The establishment of data and safety monitoring
boards (DSMBs) is required for multi-site clinical trials involving
interventions that entail potential risks to the participants (NIH Policy for
Data and Safety Monitoring, NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-084.html).
Sharing
Research Data:
Investigators
submitting an NIH application seeking $500,000 or more in direct costs in any
single year are expected to include a plan for data sharing or state why this
is not possible (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing).
Investigators
should seek guidance from their institutions, on issues related to
institutional policies and local IRB rules, as well as local, State and Federal
laws and regulations, including the Privacy Rule. Reviewers will consider the
data sharing plan but will not factor the plan into the determination of the
scientific merit or the priority score.
Policy
for Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS):
NIH is interested in advancing genome-wide association
studies (GWAS) to identify common genetic factors that influence health and disease
through a centralized GWAS data repository. For the purposes of this policy, a
genome-wide association study is defined as any study of genetic variation
across the entire human genome that is designed to identify genetic
associations with observable traits (such as blood pressure or weight), or the
presence or absence of a disease or condition. All applications, regardless of
the amount requested, proposing a genome-wide association study are expected to
provide a plan for submission of GWAS data to the NIH-designated GWAS data
repository, or provide an appropriate explanation why submission to the
repository is not possible. Data repository management (submission and access)
is governed by the Policy for Sharing of Data Obtained in NIH Supported or
Conducted Genome-Wide Association Studies, NIH Guide NOT-OD-07-088.
For additional information, see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/gwas/.
Access
to Research Data through the Freedom of Information Act:
The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 has been revised to provide access
to research data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) under some
circumstances. Data that are (1) first produced in a project that is supported
in whole or in part with Federal funds and (2) cited publicly and officially by
a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law
(i.e., a regulation) may be accessed through FOIA. It is important for
applicants to understand the basic scope of this amendment. NIH has provided
guidance at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/a110/a110_guidance_dec1999.htm.
Applicants may wish to place data collected under this funding opportunity in a
public archive, which can provide protections for the data and manage the
distribution for an indefinite period of time. If so, the application should
include a description of the archiving plan in the study design and include
information about this in the budget justification section of the application.
In addition, applicants should think about how to structure informed consent
statements and other human subjects procedures given the potential for wider
use of data collected under this award.
Sharing of Model
Organisms:
NIH is committed to
support efforts that encourage sharing of important research resources
including the sharing of model organisms for biomedical research (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/model_organism/index.htm).
At the same time the NIH recognizes the rights of grantees and contractors to
elect and retain title to subject inventions developed with Federal funding
pursuant to the Bayh Dole Act (see the NIH Grants Policy Statement http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/index.htm).
All investigators submitting an NIH application or contract proposal, beginning
with the October 1, 2004 receipt date, are expected to include in the
application/proposal a description of a specific plan for sharing and
distributing unique model organism research resources generated using NIH
funding or state why such sharing is restricted or not possible. This will
permit other researchers to benefit from the resources developed with public
funding. The inclusion of a model organism sharing plan is not subject to a
cost threshold in any year and is expected to be included in all applications
where the development of model organisms is anticipated.
Inclusion of Women
And Minorities in Clinical Research:
It is the policy of the
NIH that women and members of minority groups and their sub-populations must be
included in all NIH-supported clinical research projects unless a clear and
compelling justification is provided indicating that inclusion is inappropriate
with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of the research. This
policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public
Law 103-43). All investigators proposing clinical research should read the
"NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in
Clinical Research (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-001.html);
a complete copy of the updated Guidelines is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001.htm.
The amended policy incorporates: the use of an NIH definition of clinical
research; updated racial and ethnic categories in compliance with the new OMB
standards; clarification of language governing NIH-defined Phase III clinical
trials consistent with the new PHS Form 398; and updated roles and
responsibilities of NIH staff and the extramural community. The policy
continues to require for all NIH-defined Phase III clinical trials that: a) all
applications or proposals and/or protocols must provide a description of plans
to conduct analyses, as appropriate, to address differences by sex/gender
and/or racial/ethnic groups, including subgroups if applicable; and b)
investigators must report annual accrual and progress in conducting analyses,
as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group differences.
Inclusion of
Children as Participants in Clinical Research:
The NIH maintains a
policy that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) must be included
in all clinical research, conducted or supported by the NIH, unless there are
scientific and ethical reasons not to include them.
All investigators
proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Policy
and Guidelines" on the inclusion of children as participants in research
involving human subjects (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/children/children.htm).
Required Education
on the Protection of Human Subject Participants:
NIH policy requires
education on the protection of human subject participants for all investigators
submitting NIH applications for research involving human subjects and
individuals designated as key personnel. The policy is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-039.html.
Human Embryonic Stem
Cells (hESC):
Criteria for federal
funding of research on hESCs can be found at http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp and at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-005.html.
Only research using hESC lines that are registered in the NIH Human Embryonic
Stem Cell Registry will be eligible for Federal funding (http://escr.nih.gov).
It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide in the project description
and elsewhere in the application as appropriate, the official NIH identifier(s)
for the hESC line(s) to be used in the proposed research. Applications that do
not provide this information will be returned without review.
NIH Public Access Policy Requirement:
In
accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html)
investigators must submit or have submitted for them their final, peer-reviewed
manuscripts that arise from NIH funds and are accepted for publication as of
April 7, 2008 to PubMed Central (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/), to be made publicly
available no later than 12 months after publication. As of May 27, 2008,
investigators must include the PubMed Central reference number when citing an
article in NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports that fall under
the policy, and was authored or co-authored by the investigator or arose from
the investigator’s NIH award. For more information, see the Public
Access webpage at http://publicaccess.nih.gov/.
Standards
for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information:
The Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued final modification to the
"Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health
Information", the "Privacy Rule", on August 14, 2002. The
Privacy Rule is a federal regulation under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 that governs the protection of individually
identifiable health information, and is administered and enforced by the DHHS
Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
Decisions about applicability and implementation of the
Privacy Rule reside with the researcher and his/her institution. The OCR
website (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/)
provides information on the Privacy Rule, including a complete Regulation Text
and a set of decision tools on "Am I a covered entity?" Information
on the impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule on NIH processes involving the review,
funding, and progress monitoring of grants, cooperative agreements, and
research contracts can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-025.html.
URLs in NIH
Grant Applications or Appendices:
All applications and
proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page
limitations. For publications listed in the appendix and/or Progress report,
internet addresses (URLs) must be used for publicly accessible
on-line journal articles. Unless otherwise specified in this solicitation, Internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide
any other information necessary for the review because reviewers are
under no obligation to view the Internet sites. Furthermore, we caution
reviewers that their anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an
Internet site.
Healthy
People 2010:
The Public
Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease
prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a PHS-led national
activity for setting priority areas. This FOA is related to one or more of the
priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People
2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople.
Authority and
Regulations:
This
program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance at http://www.cfda.gov/ and is not
subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372
or Health Systems Agency review. Awards are made under the authorization of
Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241
and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.
All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other
considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The NIH Grants Policy Statement can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/policy.htm.
The PHS strongly
encourages all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and
discourage the use of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103-227,
the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in
some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education, library,
day care, health care, or early childhood development services are provided to
children. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect and advance the
physical and mental health of the American people.
Loan
Repayment Programs:
NIH encourages
applications for educational loan repayment from qualified health professionals
who have made a commitment to pursue a research career involving clinical,
pediatric, contraception, infertility, and health disparities related areas.
The LRP is an important component of NIH's efforts to recruit and retain the
next generation of researchers by providing the means for developing a research
career unfettered by the burden of student loan debt. Note that an NIH grant is
not required for eligibility and concurrent career award and LRP applications
are encouraged. The periods of career award and LRP award may overlap providing
the LRP recipient with the required commitment of time and effort, as LRP
awardees must commit at least 50% of their time (at least 20 hours per week
based on a 40 hour week) for two years to the research. For further
information, please see: http://www.lrp.nih.gov.