Notice Number: NOT-HD-05-006

Key Dates
Release Date: January 10, 2005

The Republic of India and the United States of America share a strong commitment to improve the health and well being of women, children, and adolescents through the expansion of cooperative biomedical and behavioral research. Although the health of women, children, and adolescents has improved significantly in both countries, it is recognized that important research questions remain to be answered in order to achieve additional reductions in morbidity and mortality. Building on a 30-year history of maternal and child health research cooperation, representatives of India and the United States signed a joint statement on June 13, 2000 to enhance this cooperation through an expanded program of Maternal and Child Health and Human Development Research.

Program Structure

The Indo-U.S. Program on Maternal and Child Health and Human Development Research (MCHDR) is administered by a Secretariat consisting of staff from the U.S. and Indian nodal agencies. The nodal agencies are the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) . Indian collaborating agencies involved in support of this program include the Department of Women and Child Development, MHFW, the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National AIDS Control Organization.

U.S. collaborating agencies include other NIH Institutes and Centers, other Department of Health and Human Services agencies, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In addition to the Secretariat, the overall scientific goals and procedures are overseen by a Joint Working Group (JWG) consisting of independent U.S. and Indian investigators and staff from participating agencies with expertise covering the range of topics to be addressed by the MCHDR program.

Scope of the Program

The goal of the MCHDR program is to "facilitate collaboration on maternal and children's health and human development research, in part, to contribute to global understanding of the causes of morbidity and mortality in women, particularly mothers, children and adolescents." To address shared women and children's health and developmental research concerns, Indian and U.S. scientists will undertake a coordinated program that will involve participation in collaborative, peer-reviewed research projects, scientific workshops and conferences, research training, and technology transfer. Building on a history of productive biomedical and behavioral research collaboration, this cooperation will be based on mutual benefit, trust, and a shared commitment to the advancement of scientific knowledge and its application to improve health.

Specific areas to be addressed within this program include, but are not limited to:

• Prevention and treatment of leading causes of maternal, neonatal, and pediatric morbidity and mortality (including toxemia, hemorrhage, sepsis, birth asphyxia and trauma, accidents, diarrhea and other infectious diseases, etc.);
• Prevention and treatment of low birth weight and intrauterine growth retardation;
• Maternal and child nutrition and the role of micronutrients in healthy child bearing and pediatric and adolescent health and development;
• Birth defects, genetic disorders, and developmental research;
• Improved understanding of pathophysiology, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases in women and children, including childhood asthma, acute respiratory tract infections, gastrointestinal infections, reproductive tract infections, malignancies, and HIV/AIDS;
• Reproductive health including socio-behavioral aspects, birth practices, and evaluation of new contraceptives;
• Traditional systems of medicine and practices that have an important impact on the health and wellbeing of women, children, and adolescents;
• Emergency obstetric care for miscarriages and other problems of pregnancy, including severe preeclampsia, hemorrhage, and embolism;
• Relationship among maternal nutrition, fetal growth/development, and degenerative diseases in later life; and
• Analysis, consensus building, and policy formulation on public health benefits of new approaches to improve maternal and child health.

In addition, since the publication of the last Notice for the MCHDR program (NOT-HD-03-010) several areas have emerged as high priority. These include:

• Risk factors for maternal morbidity and mortality in India;
• Risk factors for adverse birth outcomes , including low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, and other
• Risk factors for infant morbidity and mortality.

Application Requirements

Support of the U.S. components of MCHDR projects will be accomplished using the NIH Small Grant (R03) award mechanism as described in the Program Announcement for the NIH Small Research Grant Program (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-108.html).

Applications for R03 grants can be characterized as follows:

• Applicants for an R03 award may request a project period of up to two years and a budget for direct costs of up to two $25,000 modules or $50,000 per year;
• Small grant support is for new projects only; competing continuation applications will not be accepted.
• Small grant support may not be used for thesis or dissertation research;
• Only one revision of a previously reviewed small grant application may be submitted;
• The Research Plan (Specific Aims, Background and Significance, Preliminary Studies, and Research Design and Methods) of an application for a small grant may not exceed a total of 10 pages;
• A Progress Report is not needed; competing continuation applications for a small grant will not be accepted; and
• The appendix may include only original, glossy photographs or color images of gels, micrographs, etc. provided that a photocopy (may be reduced in size) is also included within the page limits of the research plan. No publications or other printed material, with the exception of preprinted questionnaires or surveys may be included in the appendix.

Examples of the types of projects supported by NICHD through the small grant (R03) mechanism include:

Pilot or feasibility studies; development of research methodology; applied research; high risk/high payoff studies; development of new research technology; small-scale, self-contained projects; and analysis of existing datasets.

The application should propose a research project involving a collaborative effort between the U.S. Principal Investigator and an Indian scientist. Because this is a joint partnership between U.S. (NICHD) and Indian (ICMR) agencies involving both dollar and rupee funding decisions, it is essential that:

• Both NIH/NICHD and ICMR receive the identical Research Plan with all pertinent details and a description of the relative role of the U.S. and Indian collaborators;
• Justification must be provided for the collaboration and must include all necessary supporting documents and signed agreements from respective institutions; and
• U.S. applications must complete the requisite budgetary sections in the PHS 398 form, and must include a description and justification of the Indian component of the project.

Application Submission

U.S. Applications:

U.S. applicants must submit applications according to standard procedures described in the R03 Program Announcement. All applications must be completed using the most current version of the PHS 398 application form. The PHS 398 application instructions are available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html in an interactive format. For further assistance contact GrantsInfo, Telephone (301) 710-0267, Email: [email protected].

Using the RFA Label: The RFA label available in the PHS 398 application instructions must be affixed to the bottom of the face page of the application. Type the Notice number (NOT-HD-05-006) on the label. In addition, the Notice title ( Indo-U.S. Program on Maternal and Child Health and Human Development Research ) and number (NOT-HD-05-006) must be typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form. The RFA label is also available at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/labels.pdf. Personal deliveries of applications are no longer permitted.

The deadline for the submission of R03 applications for U.S. funding is March 22, 2005.

Indian Applications:

The Indian collaborator(s) must submit appropriate materials as determined by the Indian Secretariat (see contact information listed below).

Evaluation Procedures

Small Grant (R03) applications assigned to the Institute are evaluated for scientific and technical merit by Scientific Review Groups convened by the NICHD Division of Scientific Review, according to standard NIH review criteria.

After the initial and independent merit review by both partners, the JWG will conduct a secondary review, coordinated by the CRHR Secretariats, which will:

• Consider the results of the respective primary reviews conducted according to the established institutional review procedures for the nodal agencies, NICHD and ICMR;
• Determine responsiveness to program areas listed above;
• Assess the strength of the collaboration; and
• Determine relative priorities in the context of current MCHDR program objectives.

Final funding decisions will be made based on mutual agreement of both nodal agencies, NICHD and ICMR, and the availability of funds.

MCHDR Secretariats

U.S. Secretariat MCHDR

Daniel J. Raiten, Ph.D.
Office of Prevention Research and International Programs
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institutes of Health
6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 2A01, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
Telephone: (301) 435-7568
Email: [email protected]

Indian Secretariat MCHDR

N.C. Saxena
Deputy Director General
Chief, Division of Reproductive Health and Nutrition
Indian Council of Medical Research
Ansari Nagar
New Delhi 110029

Inquiries

For further information, contact:

Daniel Raiten, Ph.D.
Office of Prevention Research and International Programs and
Endocrinology, Nutrition and Growth Branch
Center for Research on Mothers and Children
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institutes of Health
6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 2A01, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
Telephone: +1 301-435-7568 (direct)
+1 301-435-7565 (main office)
+1 301-435-0009 (fax)
Email: [email protected]

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