Full Text PA-95-042

NIAID/MODELL MINORITY FELLOWSHIPS IN PRIMARY IMMUNE DEFICIENCY

NIH GUIDE, Volume 24, Number 11, March 24, 1995

PA NUMBER:  PA-95-042

P.T. 22

Keywords: 
  Immune System Disorders 
  Etiology 
  Pathogenesis 
  Diagnosis, Medical 
  Treatment, Medical+ 


National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The Jeffrey Modell Foundation

Application Receipt Dates:  April 5, August 5, and December 5, 1995

PURPOSE

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Jeffrey Modell
Foundation (JMF) invite applications for Individual Postdoctoral
Fellowships from racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and
persons with disabilities for research on the etiology, pathogenesis,
diagnosis and/or treatment of primary immune deficiency diseases.

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 (PA), NIAID/Modell Minority Fellowships in Primary
Immune Deficiency, is related to the priority area of immunization
and infectious diseases.  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of
"Healthy People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0 or
Summary Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the
Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402-0325 (telephone 202-783-3238).

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Individuals must be, at time of application, citizens or noncitizen
nationals of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted to the
United States for permanent residence and have in their possession an
Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551).  Noncitizen
nationals are persons who, although not citizens of the United
States, owe permanent allegiance to the United States.  They are
generally persons born in lands that are not States, but are under
United States sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration (e.g.,
American Samoa).  Individuals on temporary or student visas are not
eligible.

Individuals must have received, as of the beginning date of the
National Research Service Award (NRSA) appointment, a Ph.D., M.D.,
D.O., D.D.S., D.V.M., O.D., D.P.M., Sc.D., Eng. D., Dr.P.H., or
D.N.S., or equivalent degree from an accredited domestic or foreign
institution.  Certification by an authorized official of the degree
granting institution that all degree requirements have been met is
also acceptable.

This PA is intended to support racial/ethnic minority individuals,
women, and persons with disabilities.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

The mechanism of support will be the NRSA for individual postdoctoral
fellows (F32).  The total project period for an application submitted
in response to this PA may not exceed three years.

FUNDS AVAILABLE

The estimated funds available for the total (direct and indirect)
first-year costs of awards made under this PA, for applications
assigned to the NIAID, will be $64,600.  In Fiscal Year 1996, the
NIAID and the JMF plan to jointly fund two F32 awards.  This level of
support is dependent on the receipt of a sufficient number of
applications of high scientific merit.  The usual PHS policies
governing NRSA administration and management will apply.  Although
this program is provided for in the financial plans of the NIAID and
the JMF, awards pursuant to this program announcement are contingent
upon the availability of funds for this purpose.  Funding beyond the
first and subsequent years of the grant will be contingent upon
satisfactory progress during the preceding years and availability of
funds.

New applications submitted for the April 5, August 5, and December 5,
1995 receipt dates will be eligible for funding under this
announcement.  Competing continuation applications for already funded
projects will NOT be eligible for award from NIAID and JMF under this
PA.   Although NIAID has a continuing interest in the research areas
of this PA, the latest anticipated award date with set-aside funds is
September 30, 1996.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

Background

Research on the immune system and diseases that result from
abnormalities of this system are part of the mission of the NIAID.
Primary immune deficiency diseases are a heterogenous group of
diseases in which immune system dysfunction causes such things as
abnormal susceptibility to infection and abnormal inflammatory
responses.  There are more than 70 such diseases (e.g.,
Wiscott-Aldrich Syndrome, Ataxia-telangiectasia, Bare Lymphocyte
Syndrome) and although many are rare, it is estimated that as many as
500,000 individuals in the United States are affected, of whom
5,000-10,000 (primarily children) are severely affected.  The genes
for most of these diseases have not yet been identified.  Morbidity,
mortality, medical and social costs for severely affected individuals
and their families are extremely high.

The Jeffrey Modell Foundation was started by Vicki and Fred Modell in
memory of their son, Jeffrey, who died in 1986, at the age of 15, of
an inherited immune deficiency.  This research foundation provides
funding to advance investigations, trials, diagnosis, and clinical
services needed for those with primary immunodeficiency diseases.

Scope

The objective of this PA is to encourage postdoctoral training of
individuals in state-of-the-art research that focuses on the
etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and/or treatment of primary immune
deficiency diseases.

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 is provided
that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the
subjects or the purpose of the research.  This new policy results
from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law
103-43) and supersedes and strengthens the previous policies
(Concerning the Inclusion of Women in Study Populations, and
Concerning the Inclusion of Minorities in Study Populations), which
have been in effect since 1990. The new policy contains some
provisions that are substantially different from the 1990 policies.

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should
read the "NIH Guidelines For Inclusion of Women and Minorities as
Subjects in Clinical Research," which have been published in the
Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (FR 59 14508-14513) and printed in
the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Volume 23, Number 11, March
18, 1994.

Investigators also may obtain copies of the policy from the program
staff listed under INQUIRIES.  Program staff may also provide
additional relevant information concerning the policy.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Applications must be made on the Application for Public Health
Service Individual Research Service Award (PHS 416-1).  Applications
may be submitted for the following receipt dates only:  April 5,
August 5, and December 5, 1995.  Application kits are available at
most institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained
from the Office of Grants Information, Division of Research Grants,
National Institutes of Health, Westwood Building, Room 449, Bethesda,
MD 20892, telephone (301) 710-0267.

The completed original and two legible, single-sided copies of the
application must be sent or delivered to (NOTE NEW ADDRESS):

Division of Research Grants
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040 MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD  20892-7710
Bethesda, MD  20817 (for express/courier service)

NRSA (F32) applications must include at least three sealed letters of
reference attached to the face page of the original application.  F32
applications submitted without the required number of reference
letters will be considered incomplete and will be returned without
review.

Applicants from institutions that have a General Clinical Research
Center (GCRC) funded by the NIH National Center for Research
Resources may wish to identify the Center as a resource for
conducting the proposed research.  If so, a letter of agreement from
the GCRC Program Director must be included in the application
material.

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS
referral guidelines.  Applications that are complete and responsive
to the Program Announcement will be evaluated for scientific and
technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened in
accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures.

Review Criteria

The review criteria focus for individual fellowship applications on
three main components:

o  the applicant;

o  the research proposed (both its scientific merit and training
potential); and

o  the training resources and environment, including the sponsor.

It is important to remember that the F32 program is a training
mechanism and not a research mechanism.  Major considerations in the
review are the applicant's potential for a productive scientific
career, the applicant's need for the proposed training, and the
degree to which the research training proposal, the sponsor, and the
environment will meet the needed training.  For more details, see
Review Criteria on page 4 of the instructions for application form
PHS 416-1.

AWARD CRITERIA

Applications assigned to the NIAID will compete for available
set-aside funds provided by the NIAID and the JMF.  The following
will be considered when making funding decisions:  quality of the
proposed project as determined by peer review, program balance among
research areas of the announcement, availability of funds, and
whether the applicant is a racial/ethnic minority, a woman, or
disabled.

INQUIRIES

Written and telephone inquiries are encouraged.  The opportunity to
clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants is welcome.

Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:

Howard B. Dickler, M.D.
Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Solar Building, Room 4A19
Bethesda, MD  20892-7640
Telephone:  (301) 496-7104
FAX:  (301) 402-2571
Email:  hd7e@nih.gov

Daniel Rotrosen, M.D.
Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Solar Building, Room 4A24
Bethesda, MD  20892-7640
Telephone:  (301) 496-8973
FAX:  (301) 402-2571
Email:  daniel_rotrosen@exec.niaid.pc.niaid.nih.gov

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:

Maryellen Connell
Division of Extramural Activities
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Solar Building, Room 4B28
Bethesda, MD  20892-7610
Telephone:  (301) 496-7075
FAX:  (301) 480-3780
Email:  mc40u@nih.gov

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance No. 93.855 - Immunology, Allergy and Transplantation
Research.  Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health
Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended by
Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS
grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part 74.
This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review
requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency
review.

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, any
portion of a facility) in which regular or routing 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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