CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AWARD IN NEUROINFORMATICS RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS Release Date: August 5, 1999 PA NUMBER: PAR-99-135 National Institute of Mental Health National Institute on Drug Abuse National Science Foundation National Institute on Aging National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders National Library of Medicine Fogarty International Center National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Letter of Intent Receipt Dates: August 15, 1999; April 1, and October 1 in 2000 and beyond Application Receipt Date: October 20, 1999; July 11, and January 11 in 2000 and beyond PURPOSE The purpose of this program announcement is to encourage and support applications from individuals, with the requisite scientific expertise and leadership, for the development of courses and curricula designed to train interdisciplinary Neuroinformatics scientists at U.S. educational institutions. The field of Neuroinformatics combines neuroscience research with informatics research developed from the computer sciences, mathematics, physics, engineering or closely related sciences. It is anticipated that these courses or curricula would be useful to students and scientists who wish: (1) to develop new conceptual approaches to basic and/or clinical neuroscientific research and analysis; or (2) to acquire, store, retrieve, organize, manage, analyze, visualize, manipulate, integrate, synthesize, disseminate, and share data about the brain and behavior. Development of courses at the graduate and undergraduate level is encouraged. As part of this program, awardees will be expected to develop and implement the courses or curricula in their institution. It is expected that such courses and curricula will be models that could be transferable to other institutions in whole or in part. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This Program Announcement (PA), Curriculum Development Award in Neuroinformatics Research and Analysis, is related to the priority area of human resource development. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" at http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/pubs/hp2000/ ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS The principal investigator must be engaged in neuroscience research or research in one of the following areas: computer science; mathematics; physics; engineering or a related informatics field. Collaborator(s) must be identified who will contribute to the interdisciplinary nature of the courses or curricula. The principal investigator must be willing to spend at least 20 percent of full- time professional effort on course(s) and curricula development during the period of the award. The principal investigator must also identify appropriate researcher(s) who will agree to collaborate on the development of course(s) and curricula. Applications may be submitted, on behalf of eligible individual principal investigators affiliated with a domestic, non-Federal educational institution, or public or private institutions of higher education. Only a single application may be submitted per Institution. Each campus from a multi-campus Institution may submit its own application. Applications with minority and women scientists and scientists with disabilities as principal investigators are encouraged. Principal investigators must be U.S. citizens or noncitizen nationals, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt Card or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. Principal Investigators on other Federal Grants are eligible provided they do not exceed the time or salary caps. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT Awards in response to this program announcement will use the Curriculum Development Award (K07) mechanism, using the Leadership provision of this award to support the curriculum development. (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-95-052.html). This program is organized and supported by several Agencies and NIH Institutes and is coordinated by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The coordination takes place under the activities of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee for the Human Brain Project (FICC-HBP) and is chaired by the NIMH. Planning, direction, and execution of the program will be the responsibility of the principal investigator. However, the institution must demonstrate a commitment to the purposes of this award for course or curriculum development in the specified area. The project period is for three to five years. Competing renewals will not be considered. Support of the development and implementation of new courses that are an integral part of the overall curriculum design will be considered. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Background Since its inception in 1993 (under Program Announcement PA-93-068), the FICC-HBP sponsored Program has greatly benefitted from the application of the concepts and principles developed in the traditional quantitative disciplines of informatics (including computer sciences, mathematics, physics, engineering, and other closely related sciences) towards addressing research problems in neuroscience. The success of this Neuroinformatics Program, then, is due in large part to the cross-fertilization of research approaches and findings in the neuroscience and informatics research fields. A recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Megascience Forum (OECD-MSF) documents the vital national and global need to further generate new requisite interdisciplinary courses and curricula to support the career development of undergraduate and graduate students in this unique interdisciplinary field of neuroinformatics. These courses and curricula are to be concentrated upon teaching new skills in the implementation and application of a family of future-oriented, state-of-the- art informatics technologies, both electronic (e.g., computer networks) and digital (e.g., databases) to help advance our understanding of brain structure and function in health and illness. In particular, these technological advances would include the development of databases, querying approaches and information retrieval, data visualization and manipulation, data integration and synthesis, sophisticated platforms and tools for electronic collaboration, and algorithms for elucidating and integrating neurobiologic structure-function relationships at all levels of organization of the nervous system (i.e., from the molecular, genetic, cellular, and subcellular levels to those at the neuronal network and bioregulatory systems levels). Thus, the primary objective of this Program Announcement is to encourage the creation of interdisciplinary courses and curricula on the development and application of neuroinformatics tools for basic and clinical research within the relevant neuroscience fields. For a more detailed description on the research objectives of the FICC-HBP sponsored Human Brain Project/Neuroinformatics Initiative, refer to PAR-99-138, The Human Brain Project (Neuroinformatics): Phase I & Phase II. (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-99-138.html) Program Description Program: The principal investigator is expected to develop a series of courses or a curricula at the graduate and undergraduate level that applies principles and conceptual approaches in neuroinformatics (including computer sciences, mathematics, physics, engineering, and other closely related sciences) to the application of neuroscience research. Principal investigators are expected to commit at least 20 percent full-time professional effort to this activity. The product, whether course(s) or curricula, must be dynamic and must embody principles of curricula development. There must be a commitment from the nominating institution that the courses or curricula will become an integral part of the academic offerings of the institution. Environment: The educational institution: (1) must have strong training program(s) in the field of neuroscience for which the course(s) or curricula are being developed; (2) must be able to demonstrate a commitment to research in areas of interest to the Human Brain Project/Neuroinformatics program; and, (3) must be committed to the further development and implementation of courses and/or curricula in the proposed area following the award. The institution must provide assurance that the principal investigator is an integral part of its research and training programs, and allow the applicant a minimum of 20 percent of full time professional effort to be devoted to the development of courses and curricula associated with the neuroinformatics award. Allowable Costs Salary: The percent effort requested (at least 20 percent) must be consistent with the proposed project. This award will provide salary and fringe benefits for the awardees. The total salary requested must be based on a full-time, 12- month staff appointment. It must be consistent both with the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned. If full- time, 12-month salaries are not currently paid to comparable staff members, the salary proposed must be appropriately related to the existing salary structure. The salary will always be pro-rated for the percentage of time/effort of a full time position, based on the institutional salary scales, keeping the DHHS salary cap as a maximum for which the amount is determined. The institution may supplement this award contribution up to a level that is consistent with the institution's salary scale; however, supplementation may not be from Federal funds unless specifically authorized by the Federal program from which such funds are derived. In no case, may DHHS funds be used for salary supplementation. Institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the Curriculum Development Award. Research Support: A maximum of $25,000 per year may be requested for ancillary needs, such as collaborators, consultants, equipment, computer time, etc. All requests for ancillary support must be justified. In no case will the allowance provided exceed $25,000. Salaries for secretarial, technical or administrative assistance, etc. is not allowed. Funds to support travel to the two-day Annual Spring Human Brain Project Meeting of Agencies and Grantees in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area should be included in the budget for the principal investigator and other relevant collaborator(s) as part of the research costs. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs: F&A costs will be reimbursed at 8 percent of modified total direct costs, or at the actual indirect cost rate, whichever is less. LETTER OF INTENT Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate program official(s) listed under INQUIRIES and submit a letter of intent. The letter should include a descriptive title of the proposed research, the name, address, and telephone number of the Principal Investigator, names of other key personnel, and participating institutions, and the number and title of the program announcement in response to which the application may be submitted. Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of subsequent applications, the information that it contains is helpful in planning for the review of applications. The letter of intent is to be submitted to Dr. Stephen H. Koslow at the address listed above. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Applications are to be submitted on the standard grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) and will be accepted at only the application receipt dates listed below. Application kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone (301) 435-0714, email: grantsinfo@nih.gov. The PHS 398 application kit is also available on the Internet at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding.htm. Follow the PHS 398 instructions for "Preparing Your Application" with modifications and additions as described in the sections below. Note that, as in the standard PHS 398 Instructions, sections "a-d" of the Research Plan in the Table of Contents (form CC; page 3) are limited to 25 pages. Specific instructions for all applications submitted under this Program Announcement: To identify the application as a response to this Program Announcement, check "Yes" on item 2, and the title and number of this program announcement must by typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form. Research Plan: part "c" of this section should be retitled "Preliminary Data and Activities" and included if applicable. This section should contain information on steps that have led to the proposed Education Project. Future competitive renewals should include a section entitled "Progress Report." Research Plan: part "d" of this section should be retitled "Education Program Plan" and should contain material organized under the following subheadings, as appropriate to the specific project: Principal Investigator: Describe the principal investigator's commitment to developing and implementing academic course(s) or curricula, which meet the scientific and educational requirements of the interdisciplinary field and the institution. Provide evidence that the principal investigator has the capacity to develop and implement course(s) or curricula that are based on sound research concepts and educational principles. Describe the immediate and long-term objectives of the award and how those objectives will meet the needs for expansion or enhancement of the academic or research capacity of the institution in neuroscientific research. Course or Curricula Development Plan: Describe the plan and how it fits into the institutional plans and goals. Environment and Institutional Commitment: The institution must provide evidence of commitment and support for the proposed program. There must be evidence of support for the principal investigator and his/her course and/or curricula development and implementation plans and for the further enhancement of the interdisciplinary scientific area. Collaborator's Statement: Principal investigators must include information about any collaborator(s) including her/his research qualifications. The application must also include information describing the nature and extent of collaboration that will occur during the proposed award period. Budget: Budget requests must be provided according to the instructions in form PHS 398. The request for ancillary support, i.e. tuition and fees, essential books, travel, consultants, equipment, computer time, etc. must be justified and specified by category. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the Checklist, and three 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 BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service) At the time of submission, two additional copies of the application (including appendices) also must be sent to: Stephen H. Koslow, Ph.D. Director, Office on Neuroinformatics National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6167, MSC 9613 Bethesda, MD 20892-9613 Rockville, MD 20852 (for express/courier service) Telephone: (301) 443-1815 FAX: (301) 443-1867 Email: koz@helix.nih.gov It is important to send these two additional copies at the same time as the original and three copies are sent to the CSR; otherwise, it cannot be guaranteed that the applications will be reviewed in competition with other applications received in response to this Program Announcement. Schedule 1999 Calendar Year 2000 & Beyond Letter of Intent Receipt Date: Aug 15, 1999 Apr 1, 2000 Oct 1, 2000 Application Receipt Date: Oct 20, 1999 Jul 11, 2000 Jan 11, 2000 Administrative Review: Oct 1999 Jul 2000 Jan 2001 Scientific Review: Feb/Mar 2000 Sep/Oct 2000 Mar/Apr 2001 Advisory Council Review: May/Jun 2000 Jan/Feb 2001 May/Jun 2001 Earliest Starting Date: Jul 2000 Mar 2001 Jul 2001 REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Applications that are complete will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by one of the FICC-HBP organizations sponsoring the Human Brain Project. As part of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written critique and undergo a process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed, and assigned a priority score. Subsequent processing of the application will follow the procedures of the respective agency, institute and/or center to which it has been assigned. For applications assigned to a Public Health Service (PHS) institute or center, the application will receive further review by the appropriate National Advisory Council. All successful projects will be identified as "A Unit of the NIH/NSF/DOE Human Brain Project/Neuroinformatics" Program. Review Criteria The goals of NIH-supported research are to advance our understanding of biological systems, improve the control of disease, and enhance health. In the written comments reviewers will be asked to discuss the following aspects of the application in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. Each of the criteria listed below will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall score, weighting them as appropriate for each application. Note that the application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact and thus deserve a high 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 be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts or methods that drive this field? Approach: Are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics? Innovation: Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches or method? Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project challenge existing paradigms or develop new methodologies or technologies? Investigator: Is the investigator 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 (if any)? Environment: Does the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed experiments take advantage of unique features of the scientific environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support? These five review criteria should be applied, as relevant, to the evaluation of the following key components of the application: Principal Investigator: Evidence of excellence in research and academic activities; Potential to become a leader in developing educational interdisciplinary scientific programs at the institution; and Quality and breadth of prior scientific training experience. Course/Curricula Development Plan: Quality and feasibility of course or curricula development and implementation plans; and Appropriateness of the plan to the goals of this program. Environment: Commitment of the institution to strengthening interdisciplinary research and education activities in the area of interest to the FICC-HBP sponsored Human Brain Project; Merit of the institution's plan to strengthen their interdisciplinary training; and Scope and nature of collaboration among participating schools and departments. Collaborator(s): The collaborator's capabilities to contribute to the goals of the program. In addition to the above criteria, in accordance with NIH policy, all applications will also be reviewed with respect to the following: the reasonableness of the proposed budget and duration in relation to goals of the program; the adequacy of plans to include both genders, minorities and their subgroups, and children as appropriate for the scientific goals of the research, and plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects; adequacy of the provisions for the protection of human and animal subjects; and the safety of the research environment. AWARD CRITERIA Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions: Quality of the proposed project as determined by peer review, availability of funds, and program priority. POST-AWARD MANAGEMENT The FICC-HBP committee maintains a WWW site containing information about this and related programs and activities. Each funded grant application will be listed and briefly described and hotlinks provided to connect interested parties to the grantees web site that should provide greater details about research activities and the state and availability of research tools and products. In addition, grantees are expected to participate in the Annual Spring Human Brain Project Meeting of Agencies and Grantees. These meetings will promote communications among different groups of investigators, who are involved in research, curricula development, and career development and/or other cross-training activities in Neuroinformatics. Therefore, budget requests should include travel funds for the principal investigator and other relevant collaborator(s) to attend this meeting in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. INQUIRIES Inquiries are encouraged. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions regarding an application from potential applicants is welcome. The following FICC-HBP representatives from each of the participating agencies, institutes and center can be contacted for further information or clarification. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the agency or institute representative to discuss their plans prior to preparing an application. General programmatic inquiries regarding the Human Brain Project/ Neuroinformatics program may be directed to the chair of the coordinating committee: Stephen H. Koslow, Ph.D. Office on Neuroinformatics National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6167, MSC 9613 Bethesda, MD 20892-9613 Telephone: (301) 443-1815 Fax: (301) 443-1867 Email: koz@helix.nih.gov Inquiries regarding fiscal matters may be directed to: Diana S. Trunnell Grants Management Branch National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6120, MSC 9605 Bethesda, MD 20892-9605 Telephone: (301) 443-3065 FAX: (301) 443-6885 Email: dtrunnel@mail.nih.gov Questions regarding scientific issues, management issues, issues on cores related to participating Institutes and Centers (ICs), and fiscal matters should be directed to the programmatic and fiscal contacts for each participating IC. A current list of the contacts for the participating ICs may be found at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/neuroinformatics/agencycontacts.cfm. AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance Nos. 93.281 (NIMH), 93.279 (NIDA), 47.074 (NSF), 93.866 (NIA), 93.173 (NIDCD), 93.879 (NLM), 93,934 (FIC), 93.273 (NIAAA), and 93.833 (NHLBI). Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR part 74. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 as implemented through Department of Health and Human Services regulations at 45 CFR part 100 or Health Systems Agency Review. Awards by PHS agencies will be administered under PHS grants policy as stated in the NIH Grants Policy Statement October 1, 1998. PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the nonuse 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.
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