This Program Announcement expired on December 5, 2004 NOT-DE-04-008). NIDCR INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL DENTAL SCIENTIST FELLOWSHIP Release Date: October 2, 2001 PA NUMBER: PA-02-004 (This PA has been reissued, see PAR-05-034) National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research This program announcement replaces PAR-97-094, which was published in the NIH Guide, Volume 26, Number 27, August 15, 1997. PURPOSE The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) seeks new National Research Service Award (NRSA) applications for an Individual Predoctoral Dental Scientist Fellowship (PDSF). The purpose of the PDSF is to offer an integrated dental and graduate research training program that leads to attainment of both the D.D.S./D.M.D. and Ph.D. (or equivalent) degrees. There is a critical need for clinician-scientists with the dental training and research experience to conduct basic and clinical research in areas relevant to the mission of the NIDCR, which is to improve the oral health of all people. The PDSF provides an approach to expanding the cadre of well-trained oral health scientists by stimulating early commitment to research careers by outstanding dental students. The NIDCR anticipates that graduates of the PDSF will be able to bring into basic and clinical studies of dental, oral and craniofacial health and disease the fundamental knowledge and insight from such fields as microbiology and microbial pathogenesis, immunology and immunotherapy, infectious diseases, AIDS and oral manifestations of immunosuppression, developmental biology, mammalian genetics, mammalian cell regulation, pharmacogenetics, molecular and cellular neurobiology, biotechnology and biomaterials, epidemiology, clinical trials methodology, behavioral and social sciences, biostatistics and health services research. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This program announcement, NIDCR INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL DENTAL SCIENTIST FELLOWSHIP, is related to one or more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Citizenship: By the time of award, individuals must be citizens or non- citizen nationals of the United States, or must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or other legal verification of such status). Non-citizen nationals are generally persons born in outlying possessions of the United States (i.e., American Samoa and Swains Island). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. Degree Requirements: The applicant must have a baccalaureate degree and show evidence of both high academic performance in the sciences and substantial interest in research in areas of high priority to the NIDCR. The applicant must be enrolled in a DDS/DMD program at an accredited dental school, accepted in a related scientific PhD (or an equivalent degree) program, and supervised by a senior, recognized mentor in that scientific discipline when the application is submitted. The typical applicant will apply during the first year of dental school for funding to begin in the second year. Trainees must begin their PDSF not later than the third year of dental school. Individuals currently enrolled in a joint DDS/DMD-PhD program are eligible for consideration as trainees. Dental students who obtained a PhD prior to entering dental school and desire to pursue another research doctorate are not eligible. Sponsor: Before submitting a fellowship application, the applicant must identify a sponsoring institution and an individual who will serve as a sponsor (also called mentor or supervisor) and will supervise the training and research experience. The applicant"s sponsor should be an active investigator in the area of the proposed research who will directly supervise the candidate"s research. The sponsor must document the availability of staff, research support, and facilities for high-quality research training. The institutional setting must be domestic, and may be private (profit or nonprofit) or public. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT Awards made under this program announcement will use the F30 Individual Predoctoral Dental Scientist Fellowship mechanism to provide combined dental school and predoctoral PhD support. No other NRSA support may be received during this time. Any exception to these limitations requires a waiver from the NIDCR based on a review of the justification provided by the individual awardee and his or her sponsor. Continued support beyond the first year is dependent upon satisfactory progress toward both degrees. Annual reports are to be provided by the fellow, the PhD department and sponsor, and the dental school. Although NRSAs are not usually made for training leading to a health professional degree, or for training that is part of a clinical residency leading to an advanced dental specialty, this program is specifically designed to support training in an established, combined DDS/PhD program. NIDCR intends to award up to five new fellowships per year. Allowable Costs Stipends: The annual stipend for predoctoral individuals will remain fixed for the period of support, unless the stipend level is changed in the NIH annual appropriation. Applicants should consult with Institute Program Staff for the latest stipend level. Alternatively, applicants may obtain information about current stipend levels and other policy documents from the URL for "NIH Training Related Policy Documents": http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm. Tuition and Fees and health insurance: The NIDCR will offset the combined cost of tuition and fees at the following rate: 100 percent of all costs up to $3,000 and 60 percent of costs above $3,000. Costs associated with tuition and fees are allowable only if they are required for specific courses in support of the research training experience supported by the fellowship. A full description of the tuition policy is contained within the NRSA Policy Guidelines on the NIH website at http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm. Institutional Allowance: An allowance of up to $2,500 per predoctoral fellow per twelve month period will be provided to the sponsoring institution to help defray such expenses as research supplies, equipment, and related items for the individual fellows, and to otherwise offset, to the extent possible, appropriate administrative costs of graduate research training. The allowance is provided only upon official activation of the award, and the sponsoring institution is expected to administer the allowance and disburse the funds. If an individual fellow is in a training status for less than six months of the award year, only one-half of that year"s allowance may be charged to the grant. Travel: An additional allowance of up to $800 per year will be provided for travel to scientific meetings. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES An individual PDSF must provide integrated clinical and graduate research training required to obtain the D.D.S./D.M.D. and Ph.D. (or equivalent) degrees. Applicants for the NIDCR PDSF awards must propose to conduct research in areas of high priority/public health significance to dental, oral and craniofacial conditions and document that the proposed graduate program and research project offers them an opportunity to develop expert research skills and knowledge leading to a research career in the sciences involved with dental, oral and craniofacial health and disease. Each fellow’s program must offer two distinct and integrated components. A clinical component must ensure the acquisition of requisite clinical knowledge and technical expertise in order to meet the requirements for a D.D.S./D.M.D. degree and to obtain a license to practice dentistry. A scientific component must be a doctoral (Ph.D. or equivalent) level program that ensures development of knowledge and research skills in scientific areas relevant to dental, oral and craniofacial health and disease. The research training experience must provide a strong foundation in research design, methods and analytic techniques, the development or enhancement of the fellow’s ability to conceptualize and think through research problems with increasing independence, experience in conducting, presenting and publishing independent research, the opportunity to interact with members of the scientific community at meetings and workshops (including NIH sponsored meetings), and the development and documentation of a well thought-out career plan to increase the applicant"s ability to secure federal support for his/her research. The applicant’s program should be under the guidance and supervision of a committed sponsor or mentor who is an active and established investigator in the area of the applicant"s proposed research. Usually, a mentor will be the doctoral thesis advisor. The mentor must be committed to continue this involvement throughout the individual"s total period of development under the award. A co-mentor, representing the clinical component, also may be named. Where feasible, women and minority mentors should be involved as role models. The research training program should be carried out in a research- intensive environment that includes appropriate human and technical resources and is demonstrably committed to research training in the particular program proposed by the applicant so that the applicant can grow as a creative scientist. The interdisciplinary program for the fellow should maximize the research and educational resources of his/her academic institution(s) and any collaborating organizations. The program should be tailored to meet the unique research and clinical development needs of the fellow and ensure that the individual completes the program with requisite competencies. The sequence in which the two components are offered and their integration should be based on the specific circumstances and organization of the training institution and should represent what is deemed most desirable, feasible and efficient by the administration of the dental and graduate institutions. The application must include evidence that instruction in the principles of responsible conduct of research will be incorporated into the proposed research training plan. Applications without plans for training in responsible conduct of research will be considered incomplete and will be returned without review. Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Awards must be activated within six months of receipt of award notice (see below for application receipt, review, and start dates). No funds may be disbursed until the individual has started training under the award and an Activation Notice (PHS 416-5) has been submitted to and accepted by the NIDCR. Individuals are required to pursue their DDS/DMD-PhD training program on a full-time basis, devoting at least 40 hours per week to the training program. INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and their sub-populations must be included in all NIH-supported biomedical and behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and compelling rationale and justification are provided indicating that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of the research. This policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43). All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the UPDATED "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts on August 2, 2000 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-048.html), a complete copy of the updated Guidelines are available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_update.htm: The revisions relate to NIH defined Phase III clinical trials and require: a) all applications or proposals and/or protocols to provide a description of plans to conduct analyses, as appropriate, to address differences by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic groups, including subgroups if applicable, and b) all investigators to report accrual, and to conduct and report analyses, as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group differences. INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) must be included in all human subjects research, conducted or supported by the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them. This policy applies to all initial (Type 1) applications submitted for receipt dates after October 1, 1998. All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Children as Participants in Research Involving Human Subjects" that was published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, March 6, 1998, and is available at the following URL address: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html. Investigators also may obtain copies of these policies from the program staff listed under INQUIRIES. Program staff may also provide additional relevant information concerning the policy. URLs IN NIH GRANT APPLICATIONS OR APPENDICES All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page limitations. Unless otherwise specified in an NIH solicitation, internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide information necessary to the review because reviewers are under no obligation to view the Internet sites. Reviewers are cautioned that their anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an Internet site. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Staff listed under INQUIRIES, for pre-application consultation. The Individual National Research Service Award application kit PHS 416-1 (rev 12/98) must be used in applying for fellowships. These forms 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) 710-0267, FAX: (301) 480-0525, Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov. Application kits are also available on the Internet at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/416/phs416.htm. At least three completed letters of reference in sealed envelopes must be attached to the application. Applications without the required number of reference letters will be returned without review. Application Receipt and Review Schedule: Applications responding to this Program Announcement will be accepted and reviewed three times a year according to the following schedule: Application Receipt Date: April 5 August 5 December 5 Review Meeting: June October March Notification: September January May Earliest Possible Start Date: December April July Applications received after these receipt dates are subject to assignment to the next cycle, or may be returned to the applicant upon request by the applicant. An original and one copy of the completed and signed application are to be submitted 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 to the Center of Scientific Review, one additional copy of the completed and signed application and all copies of the appendix materials (if any) to: George Hausch, Ph.D. Director, Division of Extramural Activities National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research 45 Center Drive Bethesda, MD 20892-6402 Applicants are advised to pay special attention to the following important items in PHS 416-1: Part 1: (Prepared by Applicant): Page AA (Face page) Item 1. Title of Research Training Proposal. Type in Individual Predoctoral Dental Scientist Fellowship Item 2. Level of Fellowship. Type in predoctoral Item 3. Program Announcement/Request for Applications. Type in the number and title of this program announcement. Item 5. Training Under Proposed Award. Identify the PhD discipline according to the NIH Lexicon of NRSA disciplines in Section IV of the instructions. Item 8. Degree Sought During Proposed Award. Type in both the dental (DDS or DMD) and Ph.D. (or equivalent) with expected completion dates for each. Page DD (Form Page 4) Item 23. Scholastic Performance. In addition to the information requested in the application, applicants should provide scores for DAT, GRE, and other exams relevant to dental and graduate school that they have taken recently. Page FF (Form Page 6) Item 30a. Activities Under Award. Applicants should describe how they expect to divide their time between dental and graduate school, e.g., dental school courses, graduate school courses, research, research training, etc., during both the school year and the summer for each year of the program. A minimum of 40 hours/week are required for support under the NRSA program. Item 30b. Research Training Proposal. All applicants should provide a research plan, including a description of a research proposal in which they will be involved as part of their training. The plan should include substantive detail that adds to the information about time allocations requested in Item 30a. Part 2: Facilities and Commitment (Prepared by Sponsor): Page II (Form Page 8) Items 33 and 34. Sponsor"s Previous Fellows/Trainees, Training Plan, Environment, and Research Facilities. The sponsor must currently be funded to conduct independent research (e.g., Principal Investigator on an R01 or equivalent) and must describe past experience in the guidance of other research trainees and fellows. In addition, the sponsor must describe in detail his/her commitment to and proposed role in guiding the individual applicant. The chairman of the graduate committee for the PhD program must also describe the department"s commitment to and proposed role in guiding the individual applicant and any modifications to the department"s usual PhD requirements that are necessary to facilitate this trainee"s special needs. The application must include evidence that training in the principles of responsible conduct of research will be incorporated in the research experience of each fellow. This should be presented under Item 34. Issues such as conflict of interest, data recording and retention, professional standards and codes of conduct, responsible authorship, protection of human subjects, and ethics in biological and behavioral research can provide the substantive base of such training. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Upon receipt, all F30 fellowship applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant without further consideration. Fellowship applications that are complete will be evaluated for merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by the NIDCR Scientific Review Branch. As part of the merit review, all applications will receive a written critique and will be assigned a priority score. Review Criteria The NIDCR PDSF is designed to train future generations of outstanding clinician-scientists committed to pursuing a research career involving dental, oral and craniofacial health and disease. The PDSF is a mechanism for research training, not exclusively one for performing a research project. Therefore, the review of an application will focus primarily on the following: the applicant, the research training plan, the sponsor, and the institutional environment/commitment. Information from the letters of reference will be used to inform considerations of these factors, and the final priority score will reflect the overall evaluation of the entire application. Applicant: o The applicant"s potential for, and commitment to, a productive scientific career. The reviewers may take into account the applicant"s history as a student, as well as past and current involvement in research activities Research Training Plan: o Feasibility and adequacy of proposed integration of the DDS/DMD educational program and Ph.D. training o Objectives, design, and direction of the proposed research training program o Specificity and clarity of the description of the research skills and knowledge to be acquired and objective evaluation of progress in each area o Clarity, completeness, originality, and significance of the goals of the proposed research training plans o Adequacy of knowledge of relevant literature and current methods in the proposed research area o Potential of proposed research training to serve as a sound foundation that will lead the applicant to a productive career in dental, oral and craniofacial research o Adequacy of plans for the protection of human subjects, animals, or the environment, to the extent they may be adversely affected by the research proposed o Adequacy of plans to include women, children and minorities as subjects in research, if applicable o Adequacy of plans to provide training in the responsible scientific conduct of research. This belongs in sponsor or environment Sponsor: o Caliber of the sponsor as a researcher, including successful competition for research support o Evidence of the proposed sponsor"s understanding of and commitment to fulfilling the role of sponsor and mentor o Evidence of an understanding of the applicant"s research training needs and a demonstrated ability, on the part of the sponsor, to assist in meeting those needs o Past research training record of the sponsor in terms of the rate at which former predoctoral trainees obtain their doctoral degree and go on to postdoctoral or other scientific careers o Plan to provide the fellow with individualized supervised experiences that will develop his/her research skills Institutional Environment/Commitment: o Training environment including the institutional commitment to research training and career development, the quality of the facilities and related resources (e.g., equipment, laboratory space, computer time, subject populations) and the availability of research support. AWARD CRITERIA The responsibility for award decisions resides solely with authorized program staff of the sponsoring Institute. The following criteria will be used in making award decisions: (1) overall merit of the application, (2) relevance of the application to the mission and research priorities of the NIDCR, (3) program balance, and (4) availability of funds. INQUIRIES Inquiries are encouraged. Prospective applicants are encouraged to visit the NIDCR Research Training and Career Development website in order to obtain current information about program priorities and policy guidelines: http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/intr-res.asp. Inquiries regarding programmatic issues may be directed to: James A. Lipton, DDS, PhD Director, Office of Training and Career Development National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Building 45, Room 4AS-37J Bethesda, MD 20892-6402 telephone: (301) 594-2618 fax: (301) 480-8318 e-mail: James_Lipton@nih.gov Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Mr. Martin Rubinstein Division of Extramural Research National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Natcher Building, Room 4AS-55 45 Center Drive, MSC 6402 Bethesda, MD 20892-6402 Telephone: (301) 594-4800 FAX: (301) 480-8303 AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.121. Awards are made under authorization of section 487 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 288) and administered under Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 66. The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use 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, and 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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