INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH TRAINING IN ARTHRITIS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL ANDSKIN DISEASES



NIH GUIDE, Volume 21, Number 44, December 11, 1992



PA NUMBER:  PA-93-32



P.T. 44



Keywords:

  Behavioral Medicine 

  Musculoskeletal System 

  Neuromuscular Disorders 

  Arthritis 

  Rheumatic Diseases 

  Skin Diseases 

0720005 1002004, 0790000, 0710070



National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases



PURPOSE



The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin

Diseases (NIAMS) invites applications to develop or enhance research

training for individuals who conduct basic and clinical research on the

tissues and diseases within its mandate.  The proposed training plan

may include short-term training for health professionals as well as

full time predoctoral and post-doctoral positions.  The purpose of this

announcement is to ensure a cadre of well trained scientists interested

in pursuing research careers in areas relevant to the mission of the

NIAMS.



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, Institutional Research Training Awards in Arthritis and

Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, is related to the priority areas of

chronic disabling conditions and physical activity and fitness.

Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" (Full

Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or "Healthy People 2000" (Summary

Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of

Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325,

(telephone 202-783-3238).



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



Applications may be submitted by domestic, non-profit, private and

public institutions to support research training programs.  The

applicant institution must have, or be able to develop, the staff and

facilities required for the proposed program.  The training program

director at the institution will be responsible for the selection and

appointment of trainees to receive support and for the overall

direction of the program.



The individuals to be trained on a National Research Service Award

(NRSA) training grant must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the

United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence

(i.e., in possession of the Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551 or

I-151) at the time of appointment.  Individuals on temporary or student

visas are not eligible.  NRSA research training grants may not be used

to support studies leading to the M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.V.M., or other

similar health-professional degree.  Individuals holding an M.S., a

Ph.D, or M.D./Ph.D. or an equivalent graduate level research degree,

are not eligible for short term training positions.  Programs able to

provide postdoctoral training to both M.D.s and Ph.D.s are encouraged.

Institutions are encouraged to develop multi-year plans that provide

strong research training for health professionals, while cognizant of

requirements for board certification.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



The mechanism of support for this program announcement will be the NRSA

institutional training grant (T32).  Institutions may request support

for predoctoral students, postdoctoral trainees, and short- term

research training.  Stipends will be awarded at levels commensurate

with NIH policy at the time of award and may be supplemented from

non-Federal sources.  Training related expenses, tuition and fees, and

travel expenses may also be requested for trainees, although the levels

vary depending on the type of training to be supported.  Postdoctoral

trainees should be appointed for at least two years.



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES



The NIAMS is committed to increasing the number of well-trained health

professionals and basic scientists interested in conducting high

quality research in areas of its mission and able to both compete

successfully for NIH grant support and provide leadership in the areas

of clinical research.  The research program of training grant

applications should be related to the mission of the NIAMS.



Major areas of interest to the NIAMS, with respect to institutional

awards, include:



o  Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases

o  Muscle Biology and Muscle Diseases

o  Musculoskeletal Diseases and Disorders, including Orthopaedic

Research

o  Skin Biology and Skin Diseases

o  Bone Biology and Bone Diseases

o  Rheumatic Diseases in Children

o  Epidemiology of Arthritis, Bone, Muscle, and Skin Diseases

o  Multidisciplinary Approaches



Due to the complexity of the tissues and diseases, it is becoming

increasingly clear that research excellence in arthritis, muscle

biology, musculoskeletal disorders, bone and skin diseases requires

interdisciplinary approaches.  Thus, the NIAMS encourages institutions

to develop training programs that support individuals in acquiring

expertise in several disciplines such as molecular biology, cell

biology, structural biology, biophysics, immunology, developmental

biology, genetics, and epidemiology.  Additionally, research training

programs may be strengthened by combining or crossing traditional

departmental or specialty divisions.



STUDY POPULATIONS



SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF NIH

POLICIES CONCERNING INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN CLINICAL

RESEARCH STUDY POPULATIONS



NIH policy is that applicants for NIH clinical research grants and

cooperative agreements are required to include minorities and women in

study populations so that research findings can be of benefit to all

persons at risk of the disease, disorder or condition under study;

special emphasis must be placed on the need for inclusion of minorities

and women in studies of diseases, disorders and conditions which

disproportionately affect them.  This policy is intended to apply to

males and females of all ages.  If women or minorities are excluded or

inadequately represented in clinical research, particularly in proposed

population-based studies, a clear compelling rationale must be

provided.



The composition of the proposed study population must be described in

terms of gender and racial/ethnic group.  In addition, gender and

racial/ethnic issues should be addressed in developing a research

design and sample size appropriate for the scientific objectives of the

study.  This information must be included in the form PHS 398 (rev.

9/91) in Sections 1-4 of the Research Plan AND summarized in Section 5,

Human Subjects.  Applicants are urged to assess carefully the

feasibility of including the broadest possible representation of

minority groups.  However, NIH recognizes that it may not be feasible

or appropriate in all research projects to include representation of

the full array of United States racial/ethnic minority populations

(i.e., Native Americans (including American Indians or Alaskan

Natives), Asian/Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics).  The rationale

for studies on single minority population groups must be provided.



For the purpose of this policy, clinical research is defined as human

biomedical and behavioral studies of etiology, epidemiology, prevention

(and preventive strategies), diagnosis, or treatment of diseases,

disorders or conditions, including but not limited to clinical trials.



The usual NIH policies concerning research on human subjects also

apply.  Basic research or clinical studies in which human tissues

cannot be identified or linked to individuals are excluded.  However,

every effort should be made to include human tissues from women and

racial/ethnic minorities when it is important to apply the results of

the study broadly, and this should be addressed by applicants.



If the required information is not contained within the application,

the review will be deferred until the information is provided.



Peer reviewers will address specifically whether the research plan in

the application conforms to these policies.  If the representation of

women or minorities in a study design is inadequate to answer the

scientific question(s) addressed AND the justification for the selected

study population is inadequate, it will be considered a scientific

weakness or deficiency in the study design and will be reflected in

assigning the priority score to the application.



All applications for clinical research submitted to NIH are required to

address these policies.  NIH funding components will not award grants

or cooperative agreements that do not comply with these policies.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398

(rev. 9/91).  Application kits are available from most institutional

offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the Office of

Grants Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of

Health, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone

(301) 496-7441.



Prior to preparing an application, prospective applicants should

consult the "National Research Service Award Guidelines for Individual

Awards - Institutional Awards," available from most grantee offices of

sponsored research and from the Office of Grants Inquiries at the

address listed above. Applicants should note the "Modification of

Existing Review Criteria for NRSA Institutional Research Training

Grants" issued in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 21, No.

11, March 20, 1992.  Institutional Research Training Grant Applications

may be submitted on January 10, May 10, and September 10 of each year.

Applications submitted in response to this announcement must be

identified by typing PA-INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH TRAINING IN NIAMS and

PA-93-32 on line 2a of the face page, below the title of the project.



The typed original application and five signed exact single-sided

photocopies must be submitted or delivered to:



Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building, Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**



Applicants from institutions that have a General Clinical Research

Center (GCRC) funded by the NIH National Center for Research Resources

may identify the GCRC as a resource for conducting the proposed

activity.  In such a case, a letter of agreement from either the GCRC

program director or Principal Investigator should be included with the

application.



REVIEW PROCEDURES



Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed initially by the Division

of Research Grants (DRG) for completeness.  Incomplete applications

will be returned to the applicant without further consideration.



All applications responding to this announcement that are assigned to

the NIAMS will be reviewed for scientific and technical merit by the

AMS initial review group (IRG), followed by a second level review by

the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory

Council.  Applications not recommended for further consideration by the

IRG will not undergo secondary review.  Applications assigned to

Institutes/Centers other than the NIAMS will undergo a similar

two-level review process within the designated Institute/Center.



Review criteria used by initial review groups in reviewing NRSA

Institutional Training applications are given in the booklet "National

Research Service Award Guidelines for Individual Awards - Institutional

Awards," dated March 20, 1992, available from the Office of Grants

Inquiries at the address listed under APPLICATION PROCEDURES.



AWARD CRITERIA



Applications will compete for available funds with other approved

applications.  The following will be considered in making funding

decisions:



o  scientific and technical merit of the application as determined by

peer review,

o  availability of funds, and

o  program balance.



INQUIRIES



For further information about these awards, contact:



Richard W. Lymn, Ph.D.

Program Director

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Westwood Building, Room 403

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 402-3346



For administrative and fiscal matters, contact:



Diane Watson

Grants Management Officer

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Westwood Building, Room 732

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 402-3352



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

No. 93.846, Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research.

Awards will be made under the authority of the Public Health Service

Act, Title III, Section 301 (Public Law 78-410, as amended; 42 USC 241)

and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42

CFR Part 52, 45 CFR Part 74 and 42 CFR Part 66.  This program is not

subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order

12372 or Health Systems Agency review.



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