ACADEMIC RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT AWARD NIH GUIDE, Volume 26, Number 12, April 11, 1997 P.T. 34 Keywords: Grants Administration/Policy+ Biomedical Research, Multidiscipl Behavioral/Social Studies/Service National Institutes of Health This notice is to highlight for the research community recent changes to the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program. In response to comments and suggestions from interested parties, an NIH committee examined the program and recommended several changes to it. NIH extramural officials have decided that the following changes will be implemented immediately: o Applications will be accepted in response to ongoing Program Guidelines (which appear elsewhere in this issue of the NIH Guide as Program Announcement PA-97-052), and will not be solicited through a request issued annually. o Applications for these awards will be accepted and reviewed three times per year, instead of once per year. The receipt dates will be January 25, May 25, and September 25. However, in view of the short time frame, the May 25, 1997 receipt date will be extended to June 25, 1997. o Applications for competing continuations (or renewals or Type 2s) of AREA grants will be accepted. Thus, recipients of AREA awards may apply for an AREA grant to continue their research project. o Applications for AREA grants may now include appendices, and must follow the instructions for submitting these in the Application for a Public Health Service Grant PHS 398 Form. o As part of the initial merit review, a streamlined review process, which is employed for the review of most NIH research grant applications, will be used. Under this process, reviewers are asked to identify the approximate upper half of applications. These applications are discussed at the review group meeting and receive a "priority score" ranging from "best" (100) to "average" (250-300), while the lower half of applications are normally not discussed nor given a priority score. Nevertheless, all applicants will receive summary statements which will consist of the written critiques of two or more assigned reviewers. o Applications must provide specific information regarding the investigator~s experience in supervising students in research, the institution~s student population, its success in training students who pursue careers in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, and its suitability for an AREA award. And, in the initial scientific review, applications will be evaluated on these factors in addition to the usual scientific merit considerations. o AREA grantees will be required to submit both annual Progress Reports and a Final Progress Report. The AREA Program Guidelines are provided as PA-97-052, elsewhere in the issue of the NIH Guide. The Guidelines give detailed information on the features of AREA grants, including eligibility criteria, "just-in-time" application procedures, and the names of NIH officials to contact regarding scientific issues. The Program Guidelines are also available on the NIH Homepage on the World Wide Web (http://www.nih.gov) under the Grants and Contracts sub-menu. INQUIRIES For further information regarding this notice, contact: Dr. Janet M. Cuca Office of Extramural Research National Institutes of Health 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 6192 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 435-2691 Email: janet_cuca@nih.gov .
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