NIAID Funding News July 17, 2013

Feature Articles

Opportunities and Resources

In The News

Advice Corner

New Funding Opportunities

Header: Feature Articles. 

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SBIR/STTR Applicants–Don’t Forget to Register!

We want to remind all small business applicants about the required registrations needed to apply for or receive an award.  

The registrations listed below must be completed before you submit your application. Since registrations can take six weeks or more, we encourage you to start the process early:

  • Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)–You must obtain a DUNS number first. After you get one, you can begin the System for Award Management (SAM), Small Business Administration (SBA) Company registry, and eRA Commons registrations. Use the same DUNS number for all registrations, as well as on your grant application.
  • System for Award Management  (formerly Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system)–You need to register and maintain an active registration, and you must renew it annually. Keep in mind the renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code for domestic organizations that haven’t already been assigned one.
  • SBA Company Registry–New requirement, referenced in our May 1, 2013,article “SBIR/STTR Size Rule Expands FOA Eligibility Requirements.”  This applies to all small businesses, including those that are majority-owned by venture capital operating companies (VCOCs), hedge funds, or private equity firms. Check your funding opportunity announcement for how to register and how to attach proof of registration to your application package. Again, you must have your DUNS number to complete this registration. However, this registration is not required before SAM, Grants.gov, or eRA Commons registration.
  • eRA Commons–You must have an active DUNS number to complete this registration. Your organization can register with the eRA Commons as it works its way through the SAM or Grants.gov registration. For eRA Commons, organizations must identify at least one signing official and at least one program director/principal investigator account in order to submit an application.
  • Grants.gov–You must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration to complete this registration.

These requirements are also described in the SF 424 Application Guides. Remember, the NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failing to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.

Header: Opportunities and Resources.

Get Funds for Hurricane Sandy Restorations

NIH would like to help you rebuild research or research infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Sandy through a one-time construction grant. You can request funds for facilities, fixed equipment, or both.

To qualify, your damaged facility must be located in a FEMA-declared "major disaster" state. Get a list of states and other qualification information in the July 3, 2013, Guide notice. The applicant institution must be located in one of these states—if only a collaborator’s (or subcontractor’s) site in an eligible state was damaged, then you are not eligible.

Since there are rules for what equipment qualifies and more, we advise that you discuss your application plans with the program contacts listed at Section VII. Agency Contacts.

Applications are due August 30, 2013. For more details, see the July 3, 2013, Guide notice.

This opportunity is one of a Sandy-related set that we wrote about in our May 15 article, "Sandy-Related Opportunities Can Help Get Research Back On Its Feet." If you need a non-construction administrative supplement instead, there's one with a due date of September 27; see that article for details.

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Updated NIAID Research Resource for Preclinical Data

Check out the ChemDB HIV, Opportunistic Infection and Tuberculosis Therapeutics Database, which compiles preclinical data on compounds with potential therapeutic action against HIV and related opportunistic infections.

You can use the database to access information on over 200,000 compounds and over 15,000 abstracted papers, patents, and posters.

Refine your search by using one of three main search portals: chemical, biological, or literature. You can also use the Boolean search function to look for any combination of terms.

The database is continually updated with information extracted from published literature on the structure and activity of compounds that have been tested against HIV, HIV enzymes or opportunistic pathogens.

For more information and to use the database, go to the ChemDB HIV, Opportunistic Infection and Tuberculosis Therapeutics Database.

Header: Other News. 

Enter the Age of Electronic P01 Applications—NIAID Reissued the Parent FOA

From now on, submit investigator-initiated program project (P01) applications electronically, including AIDS-related applications for the September 7, 2013, receipt date. NIH will post electronic application forms soon.

For instructions, read the reissued NIAID Investigator-Initiated Program Project Applications (P01) funding opportunity announcement.

P01s are awards for research bringing together multiple projects that share resources, facilities, and a common theme. For more information, go to:

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Take a Look at the Latest Approved Concepts

If you are looking for leads on NIAID’s research interests for future investigator-initiated applications, make sure to check out the concepts approved at the most recent advisory Council.

As a reminder, concepts represent the early planning stages for initiatives, including program announcements, requests for applications, and solicitations. Not all will necessarily become initiatives, but they can provide insight into NIAID’s high-priority research areas. See how you can make the most of them at Unsolicited, Investigator-Initiated Research in our Strategy for NIH Funding.

To read up on approved concepts from all three NIAID extramural program divisions, see Concepts: Potential Opportunities. For more details on the process of approving concepts, see Concepts May Turn Into Initiatives.

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News Briefs

FAQs on Short Courses RFA. NIH's Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research has posted FAQs about its R25 funding opportunity Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies in the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Because that opportunity allows applicants to propose courses related to big data, we also covered it in the May 29, 2013, article "OBSSR Can Boost Your Big Data Education."

Coming Soon: PMS for All Grants. NIH plans to pay all new and noncompeting FY 2014 grant awards using subaccounts in the Payment Management System (PMS). For more information, read the July 3, 2013, Guide notice.

Header: Advice Corner.

Get NIAID's Permission for Some Changes on Your Grant

As you work on experiments funded by your grant, you may need to change your project's structure, personnel, technology, or direction. If those changes require our "prior approval," contact your grants management specialist at least 30 days before you act, and possibly earlier.

Here are examples of actions that require prior approval:

  • Changing the scope of your research. For example, expanding or significantly revising your Specific Aims.
  • Adding or removing PIs and key personnel.
  • Deviating from any term or condition of award.
  • Taking a second no-cost extension.
  • Rebudgeting more than 25 percent in any budget category.
  • Moving to a new institution. Note:
    • Your current institution must agree to relinquish your grant to your new institution.
    • Your new institution's business office requests approval to accept your grant by responding to the Change of Grantee Organization (Type 7 Parent) announcement at least two months before your planned arrival.

For a full list and more information, read Some Actions Require Our Approval in the Strategy for NIH Funding.

Header: Reader Questions. 

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

"Is there a way to know how much funding NIH grants through R01s for a specific disease?"—anonymous reader

You can get this information from NIH RePORT. Select your own parameters such as disease keyword and funding mechanism (e.g., R01) using the advanced NIH RePORTER Query form.

It also offers a report of funding by disease area, Estimates of Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories (RCDC), but that information doesn't differentiate between research supported by R01 and other funding mechanisms.

"I am working on an R01 renewal application. We are instructed to attach a Progress Report Publication List. Is this list included in the 12-page limit for the overall Research Strategy section?"—anonymous reader

No, it's not. The SF 424 (R&R) Application Guides state that the Progress Report Publication List should not be included in the Approach part of the Research Strategy. Therefore, it’s not part of the 12-page limit for that section.

Instead, the Progress Report Publication List is a separate attachment for the PHS 398 Research Plan, item 2.5. The application guides don't specify a page limit for that attachment.

Header: New Funding Opportunities. 

See other announcements at NIAID Funding Opportunities List.

Content last reviewed on September 1, 2016