NIAID Funding News March 18, 2015

Feature Articles

Opportunities and Resources

In The News

Advice Corner

New Funding Opportunities

Header: Feature Articles.

Anatomy of a Funding Opportunity Announcement

We moved the contents of this article to Anatomy of a Funding Opportunity Announcement. As part of the Strategy for NIH Funding, the resource reviews the components and structure of a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to help you understand the information in a FOA and apply correctly.

Header: Opportunities and Resources.

R01 Grants Still Available to Study Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases

NIAID has reissued the Investigations on Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases (R01) funding opportunity announcement (FOA). Researchers studying defects in the immune system caused by genetic variants are invited to apply, particularly those who seek funding for these primary objectives:

  • Detecting primary immunodeficiency diseases.
  • Identifying the molecular basis of primary immunodeficiency diseases.
  • Preclinical development of innovative therapies.

Also consider applying if your research is aimed at discovering novel therapeutic approaches by deepening our understanding of the following:

  • How a genetic variant results in immunodeficiency.
  • Existing treatments of primary immunodeficiency diseases.
  • Complications associated with primary immunodeficiency diseases.
  • Environmental, epigenetic, and other causes that trigger complications associated with primary immunodeficiency diseases.
  • Biomarkers for primary immunodeficiency diseases. 

The FOA will not support 1) studies of secondary immunodeficiency diseases—those that result from infections, including HIV/AIDS, treatments, exposures, therapies, aging, or immaturity, or 2) the study of phenocopies of primary immunodeficiency diseases or most basic immunologic mechanisms.

You are encouraged to propose studies using human samples, but you cannot propose clinical trials or clinical interventions.

Follow NIH’s Standard Due Dates to apply. The first application deadline is June 5, 2015, and the opportunity expires on May 8, 2018.

To learn more about the FOA's research objectives, scope, and application information, read the March 4, 2015, Guide notice. 

If you are still unsure whether your research project qualifies for this FOA, touch base with NIAID's scientific/research contact Dr. David Johnson.

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Funding for Video Games, Web Sites, Mobile Apps, Networking Sites, Virtual Worlds...

You could receive up to $200,000 each year for up to two years under a cooperative agreement with NIH to develop interactive digital media that solves a significant public health problem.

For this funding opportunity, crowdsourcing is key, as you will have to show how crowdsourcing can yield a computational answer to a biomedical research problem.

You can be as creative, innovative, and adaptive as you want—as long as you accomplish two goals:

  • Develop a product or design that presents your biomedical research problem using interactive digital media.
  • Engage a large group of experts and nonexperts to develop solutions that could lead to publishable scientific results.

At the end of two years, you don't need a finished product, just a feasible design and a solid plan for implementation.

Get details, instructions, and a list of potential topics (and topics that are not acceptable) in the February 23, 2015, Guide announcement.

Applications are due June 3, 2015.

This opportunity comes out of the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) program; NIH's effort to develop new approaches, standards, methods, tools, software, and competencies to improve your use of data sets and databases that are too large or complex for conventional biomedical research approaches.

Learn more at Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K).

Header: Other News.

Additional Instruction for Applicants Using Subawards

A note for applicants using subawards: You will experience system processing errors on your SF 424 (R&R) Budget form if you leave inactive budget periods blank on the subaward form.

For example, suppose you propose a grant project period of five years and you plan to use a subaward for some research component in the first and fifth years of the project. If you leave the second, third, and fourth years empty on the subaward budget form, the form will not process.

Here's the workaround: For years in which the subaward is inactive, list the subaward as performing 0.01 calendar months of effort with requested salary and fringe benefits of $0.

For full details, read the February 26, 2015, Guide notice. 

Where they differ, the instructions provided in the Guide notice supersede those given in section 4.8 Special Instructions for Preparing Applications with a Subaward/Consortium of the General Application Guide SF424 (R&R) - Forms Version C.

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News Briefs

Extended Period for Public Comments on Clinical Trials Registration and Results Submission. You now have until March 23, 2015, to comment on the Proposed Rulemaking for Clinical Trials Registration and Results Submission Under the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA), originally announced in the November 19, 2014, Guide notice. Submit your comments electronically to Docket No. NIH-2011-0003 at Regulations.gov.

Submit SBIR/STTR Applications for the April 6, 2015, Omnibus Deadline. The next HHS Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Omnibus deadline is April 6, 2015. As you prepare your application, be sure to check out our SBIR/STTR Sample Applications.

Header: Advice Corner.

Test Your Knowledge of NIAID Vocab

Need a refresher on NIAID’s terminology? Take the quiz below and pay close attention to the explanations after each answer.

Questions

  1. “SF” stands for:
    • A. A program announcement with set-aside funds
    • B. Standard forms
    • C. Selective pay funding (See answer)
  2. A revision to an award is a:
    • A. Text correction made to an application after submission but before peer review
    • B. Budget adjustment made during grant negotiation
    • C. Request from a grantee for a significant expansion of a project's scope and for additional funds (See answer)
  3. A “new” application is:
    • A. A Type 1 application
    • B. An A0 application
    • C. Both can be true (See answer)
  4. Resetting a grant start date refers to:
    • A. Shortening the budget period by giving a new grant anniversary date
    • B. Resubmitting an unfunded application to a different activity code
    • C. A grantee delaying their research start date for one year or more (See answer)
  5. NIAID’s training mechanism does not include the activity code:
  6. A deferred grant application may be funded:
    • A. Once you send just-in-time information
    • B. During the next funding cycle
    • C. In the next fiscal year (See answer)
  7. Phase I research is:
    • A. The Feasibility and Proof of Concept stage of small business research
    • B. Testing a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects
    • C. Both are true (See answer)
  8. F&A costs include:
    • A. General administration and expenses
    • B. Equipment and supplies
    • C. Alterations and renovations (See answer)
  9. Expanded Authorities do not include:
    • A. Changes in scope
    • B. Carryovers
    • C. No-cost extensions (See answer)
  10. Scientific overlap occurs when:
    • A. Project-supported personnel have time commitments exceeding 100 percent
    • B. Substantially similar research is proposed in concurrent PHS grant applications
    • C. Budgetary items requested in a grant application are already provided by another source (See answer)

Answers

  1. B. Standard Forms—the SF 424 (R&R) is the standard set of forms that investigators use to apply for grants electronically. The set includes the Research and Related Budget Component, Research and Related Other Project Information, Research and Related Project/Performance Site Locations, and Research and Related Senior/Key Person Profile forms. A program announcement with set-aside funds uses the abbreviation PAS. (Go to the next question)

  2. C. Request from a grantee for a significant expansion of a project's scope and for additional funds—this used to be called a competing supplement, and the term revision formerly referred to a resubmission. If you apply for a revision, your application must undergo peer review. Read Applying for a Revision to a Grant Award SOP to learn more. (Go to the next question)

  3. C. Both can be true—a Type 1 application provides funding for a new grant, as opposed to a renewal (Type 2), supplement (Type 3), extension (Type 4), or noncompeting continuation (Type 5) application. An A0 application is an application being submitted for the first time, as opposed to a resubmission (A1). An A0 is considered “new” if it's a Type 1, A0. If it’s a Type 2, A0, it’s a renewal application. (Go to the next question)

  4. A. Shortening the budget period by giving a new grant anniversary date—NIAID resets grant start dates in some fiscal years to avoid having too many awards start at the end of a fiscal year. This process was formerly called recycling. If your grant's anniversary date is reset, it will affect when you submit your Type 5 progress report and may affect when you need to submit a renewal application. (Go to the next question)

  5. B. U19—both the fellowship (F) activity code group, including the NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31), and the career development (K) activity code group, including the Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08), are part of the training mechanism. The cooperative agreement (U) activity code group, including the Cooperative Research Program (U19), is part of the research project grant mechanism. (Go to the next question)

  6. B. During the next funding cycle—grants may be deferred in two situations: first, a scientific review group or NIAID’s advisory Council may defer an application due to missing information; second, NIAID may postpone a funding decision until the end of a fiscal year for applications that rank beyond the payline, including some selective pay applications. If your application is deferred, we recommend that you talk to your program officer immediately. They may instruct you to submit additional information or to make revisions to prepare for a resubmission. (Go to the next question)

  7. C. Both are true—the NIH Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs divide research objectives into a Three-Phase Program. ClinicalTrials.gov divides research into five Clinical Trial Phases. (Go to the next question)

  8. A. General administration and expenses—formerly known as indirect costs, facilities and administrative (F&A) costs include expenses associated with the general operation of an institution and the conduct of its research activities. Institutions negotiate F&A rates with NIH. Equipment and supplies and alterations and renovations (also known as rearrangement and reconversion under Uniform Guidance) are both direct cost budget categories. (Go to the next question)

  9. A. Changes in scope—regulation 45 CFR Part 74 gives grantees expanded authority in grant management, including no-cost extensions and, often, carryover of funds from one budget period to the next. Read Grantees Can Take Many Actions Independently for additional examples and Some Actions Require Our Approval for examples that, like additional no-cost extensions, require our preapproval. (Go to the next question)

  10. B. Substantially similar research is proposed in concurrent PHS grant applications—scientific overlap also applies when another organization is already supporting the research you outline in your Research Plan. Conversely, budgetary overlap and commitment overlap can occur even if you submit only one application. Read Prepare Your Other Support Submission to learn more.

Header: Reader Questions.

Feel free to send us a question at deaweb@niaid.nih.gov. After responding to you, we may ask your permission to include your question in the newsletter, incorporate it into the NIAID Research Funding site, or both.

"Since a progress report is due annually for all funded NIH projects, should the final progress report cover progress over the entire period of performance or progress made in only the final year of funding?"—anonymous reader

Your final progress report should cover the entire period of performance, meaning a “summary of progress made toward the achievement of the originally stated aims, a list of significant results (positive or negative), and a list of publications.” For specific instructions on what you need to include, see U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Final Progress Report Instructions.

To learn when your final progress report and other closeout information is due, see the correspondence from the Division of Central Grants Processing in the eRA Commons. Find additional information on NIH's Closeout Web page.

You can also get advice on completing progress reports from our Web pages Progress Reports Questions and Answers and File Your Final Reports at Award End in the Strategy for NIH Funding.

“What dictates whether AIDS dates apply to an application? For example, would a fellowship application with an AIDS-related project qualify?”—anonymous reader

Any application that seeks funding for HIV/AIDS research should follow the Standard AIDS Dates. There are no limitations or guidelines based on the specific types of proposed experiments.

For applications for fellowship and career development awards, like the NRSA Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (Parent F32) andNIAID Career Transition Award (K22), respectively, use the Standard AIDS Dates if you propose to fund AIDS-related research.

So long as the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) does not list the AIDS Application Due Date(s) as "Not Applicable" in Part 1. Overview Information, as seen in the Predoctoral Training in Biomedical Big Data Science (T32) FOA, then you should apply following the Standard AIDS dates if your research has anything to do with HIV/AIDS.

Header: New Funding Opportunities.

See other announcements at NIAID Funding Opportunities List.

Content last reviewed on August 30, 2016