MARC FACULTY RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS NIH GUIDE, Volume 23, Number 7, February 18, 1994 (see replacement PAR-03-048) PAR NUMBER: PAR-94-032 P.T. Keywords: National Institute of General Medical Sciences Application Receipt Dates: April 5 and December 5 THIS IS A RE-PUBLICATION OF THE PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT THAT APPEARED IN THE NIH GUIDE FOR GRANTS AND CONTRACTS ON FEBRUARY 4, 1994. PLEASE DISREGARD THE PREVIOUS VERSION. PURPOSE The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) provides research training opportunities for faculty and students at four-year colleges that have a substantial enrollment of students from underrepresented minority groups. As part of its ongoing commitment towards enhancing the research and research training environment at these colleges, NIGMS provides support for faculty at these institutions to enhance their research skills. This announcement describes the newly revised MARC Faculty Fellowship Programs. Faculty members who are recent recipients of the doctoral degree are encouraged to apply for the regular Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (F32) or to seek support at institutions with Institutional Postdoctoral Training Grants; there is no special MARC postdoctoral training program for these individuals. Information about F32 fellowships and training grants may be obtained from the relevant NIH Institute. MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship The purpose of this program is to strengthen the research and research training opportunities of minority institutions by providing an opportunity for eligible faculty who lack the Ph.D. degree (or equivalent) to obtain the research doctorate. The expectation is that the candidate's training in a setting away from the home institution will expose the candidate to new ideas and will enhance the research and teaching environment of the home institution when the candidate returns. MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship The purpose of this program is to allow eligible faculty of minority institutions the opportunity to update their research skills and/or move into new areas of research through a year-long period of intensive research in a state- of-the-art research environment. The faculty member would have only minimal responsibilities at the home institution during the training period. The expectation is that these new skills will enhance the research and teaching environment of the home institution. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS MARC Faculty predoctoral and senior fellowships have the following common requirements. In addition, each mechanism has a few of its own specific requirements. To be eligible for either type of fellowship a candidate must: o be full-time, permanent faculty in biomedically-related science or mathematics at the home institution for at least three years at the time of submission of the application; (Note, permanent does not mean tenured or tenure-track but implies the expectation of continued employment in the normal course of events. Adjunct or part-time faculty are not eligible.) o intend to return to the home institution at the end of the training period; o demonstrate a commitment to research and teaching in a minority institution; o be seeking training in a science (including mathematics) related to biomedical or behavioral research; AND o be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the U.S., or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S., at the time of application. In addition, at the time of application for a MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship, the candidate must be enrolled in OR have been accepted by and agreed to enroll in a Ph.D. or combined M.D./Ph.D. (or other combined professional doctorate/Ph.D.) training program in the biomedical or behavioral sciences. In addition, at the time of application for a MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship, at least seven years must have elapsed since the candidate received the Ph.D. degree or equivalent research or professional doctorate. The home institution is the college or university where the candidate is employed at the time of the application. The home institution must: o be a domestic private or public minority institution, that is, one with a significant enrollment of underrepresented minorities. For purposes of this announcement, underrepresented minorities are individuals belonging to racial/ethnic groups underrepresented in the biomedical or behavioral sciences. Nationally, these groups include African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. Institutions must document eligibility by providing appropriate enrollment data; o offer at least the baccalaureate degree in the biomedical or behavioral sciences or mathematics; o support the candidate's plans for training; AND o guarantee and provide appropriate release time for faculty for research training. The training institution is the research university or research institution/center at which the training takes place. It may be a public or private, domestic or foreign institution. The training institution: o must offer a solid research environment as evidenced by a high-level of faculty involvement in biomedical research and a high-level of research support through competitive grants (or similar quality-based support, such as Howard Hughes Medical Institute support); o may NOT be the candidate's home institution; and o will be the sponsoring (applicant) institution. In addition, the sponsor, who will direct the candidate's research, must be a faculty member (or equivalent) at the training institution and have a distinguished record of achievement in research documented by high quality research publications and/or competitive research grant support. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT Awards under the MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship will use the faculty fellowship (F34) award. Applicants may request up to five years of support. An applicant may request ONLY the following: a stipend equal to the actual annual salary, but not to exceed the stipend of a level 1 postdoctoral fellow (currently $20,700); tuition and fees as determined by the training institution; and an institutional allowance of $2000 per year to be used for costs directly related to the candidate's training. Funds will not be provided for purchasing equipment, although the institutional allowance may be used for this purpose PROVIDED that the equipment is DIRECTLY related to the candidate's training. No indirect costs will be paid. The candidate's stipend may be supplemented by either the home institution or the training institution using funds from non-Federal sources only. Awards under the MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship will use the senior fellowship (F33) award. Note that even though this mechanism is widely used throughout the NIH, applicants for the MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship should be aware of different eligibility requirements and review criteria. Applicants may request no less than one academic year (9 months) and no more than two years of support. A MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship applicant may request a stipend equal to the actual annual salary, but not to exceed the stipend of a level 7 postdoctoral fellow (currently $32,300); the actual amount of the stipend awarded will be prorated by the length of the award if the award is for less than 12 months. An applicant may also request an institutional allowance of $3000 per year to be used for expenses directly related to the candidate's training. No funds will be provided for purchasing equipment, travel, or housing. However, the institutional allowance may be used for equipment or travel to a scientific meeting provided that these are DIRECTLY related to the candidate's training. No indirect costs will be paid. The candidate's stipend may be supplemented by either the home institution or the training institution using non-Federal sources of funds only. MARC Faculty Senior Fellows will incur a payback obligation during the first 12 months of training, which can be satisfied on a month-by-month basis either by additional research training or by resuming a career in research or teaching. See the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 22, No. 27, July 30, 1993, for more details. TRAINING OBJECTIVES The purpose of the MARC Faculty Fellowship Program is to enhance the research and research training capabilities of the home institution by offering faculty the opportunity to obtain training for the research doctorate OR, for those faculty with doctorates, to update or enhance their research skills through high quality research experiences. The expectation is that this training will enable the faculty to be better researchers, mentors, trainers, and role models in the home institution. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Applicants for MARC Faculty Predoctoral or MARC Faculty Senior Fellowships must use the Individual National Research Service Award form PHS 416-1 (rev. 10/91). These forms are available in most institutional offices of sponsored research; from the Office of Grants Information, Division of Research Grants, NIH, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone (301) 435-0714; and from the NIGMS MARC Program Office, at the address listed under INQUIRIES. If, at the time of application for a MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship, the candidate has selected a research thesis advisor, that individual should serve as the sponsor. If a candidate has not yet selected a research thesis advisor, the head of the graduate program should nominate someone to serve as the candidate's sponsor. The application should indicate clearly that this is an interim arrangement and should describe procedures for selecting a permanent research thesis advisor. An application for either MARC Faculty Fellowship must contain a letter signed by appropriate officials of the HOME INSTITUTION, including the candidate's department head, (1) supporting the candidate's training plans; (2) guaranteeing the necessary release time for the candidate; (3) certifying the candidate's eligibility for the program; and (4) establishing the institution's eligibility as a minority institution through enrollment data. In addition, for MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship candidates, this latter must describe the institution's commitment to the candidate. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the Checklist, at least three reference letters, the letter of support from the home institution, and two photocopies of the signed application in one package to: Division of Research Grants National Institutes of Health Westwood Building, Room 240 Bethesda, MD 20892** Applications will be accepted for the April 5 and December 5 fellowship receipt dates ONLY. They will not be accepted for the August receipt date. In item 3, applicants must give the Program Announcement number, PAR- 94-032. In item 2, the name of the appropriate MARC Faculty Fellowship Program, Predoctoral or Senior, must be typed. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Division of Research Grants and eligibility by staff in the NIGMS before review. Only those found to be complete and eligible will be reviewed for technical merit; others will be returned without review. Applications will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria stated below for scientific, technical, and training merit by appropriate peer review groups. NIGMS review committees will review the MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship applications and committees from the Division of Research Grants will review the MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship applications. The second level of review for both types of fellowships will be provided by the senior staff in the NIGMS. It is critical that each application contain sufficient information about each element to enable the reviewers to make a reasoned evaluation. Review criteria o the applicant's qualifications and potential for a career as a researcher and teacher: for MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship candidates, assessment will include academic record, honors, research experience, scientific publications and/or presentations, references, and training and career goals; for MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship candidates, assessment will include research and teaching experience, professional honors and awards, scientific publications and/or presentations, training and career goals, references, and plans for using research training to enhance research and teaching at the home institution; o quality and appropriateness of the proposed research training, including the specific research proposal; and o quality of the training environment, including, but not limited to, the qualifications and grant support of the sponsor. AWARD CRITERIA Awards will be made on the basis of the technical merit of the application. Among highly qualified candidates, preference may be given to those who demonstrate a strong commitment to research and teaching at a minority institution and who present evidence of strong support from the home and the training institutions, including the research sponsor. Review Schedule Application Receipt Dates: April 5 December 5 Initial Review: June February Secondary Review: August April Earliest Start: September May INQUIRIES Inquiries about the MARC Faculty Fellowship Programs are welcome. Questions concerning programmatic issues, including institutional eligibility, may be addressed to: Dr. Yvonne Maddox Minority Access to Research Careers Program National Institute of General Medical Sciences Westwood Building, Room 950 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 594-7823 Questions concerning fiscal matters may be addressed to Ms. Toni Holland National Institute of General Medical Sciences Westwood Building, Room 935 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 594-7819 AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.880, Minority Access to Research Careers. Awards are authorized by sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended and administered under PHS grants policies and federal Regulations 45 CFR Part 74 and 45 CFR Part 92. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health systems Agency review. .
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