Full Text PA-95-051

SENIOR SCIENTIST AWARD

NIH GUIDE, Volume 24, Number 15, April 28, 1995

PA NUMBER:  PA-95-051

P.T. 34

Keywords: 
  Biomedical Research, Multidiscipl 


National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute of Mental Health

Receipt Dates:  February 1, June 1, and October 1

PURPOSE

The Senior Scientist Award (K05) provides stability of support to
outstanding scientists who have demonstrated a sustained, high level
of productivity and whose expertise, research accomplishments, and
contributions to the field have been and will continue to be critical
to the mission of the particular NIH center or institute.  The award
provides salary support for award periods of five years as a means of
enhancing the individual recipient's skills and dedication to his/her
area of research.

The Senior Scientist Award (K05) permits NIH institutes and centers
to identify and support exceptionally talented investigators who are
well established in their field of research.  Since not all of the
NIH centers and institutes support this award, potential applicants
should contact the appropriate NIH program staff listed under
INQUIRIES, prior to preparing an application.

The NIH recently reviewed its career awards (K) used to develop the
research capabilities of clinicians and other scientists needed to
carry out the nation's research mission in the biomedical and
behavioral sciences.  This evaluation resulted in several changes:
(1) the total number of K mechanisms were reduced from 19 to six; (2)
the review criteria were refined to clarify the career development
goals of the K award; and (3) K award applications will be assigned
to initial review groups managed by the prospective funding institute
or center to which the application has been assigned.

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 PA,
Senior Scientist Award, is related to the priority area of human
resource development.  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) from the Superintendent
of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325
(telephone 202/783-3238).

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The candidate must be a senior scientist and a recognized leader in
the field with a distinguished record of original contributions; must
have long-term support from a funding institute or center;  and must
have peer-reviewed grant support at the time of the award.
Scientists whose work is primarily theoretical may, depending on the
policy of the institute or center, apply for this award in the
absence of research grant support.

Applications may be submitted on behalf of candidates by domestic,
non-Federal organizations, public or private, such as medical,
dental, or nursing schools or other institutions of higher education.
Minorities and women are encouraged to apply. Candidates must be U.S.
citizens or noncitizen nationals, or must have been lawfully admitted
for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt
Card (I-151 or I-551) or some other verification of legal admission
as a permanent resident.  Noncitizen nationals, although not U.S.
citizens, owe permanent allegiance to the U.S.  They are usually born
in lands that are not states but are under U.S. sovereignty,
jurisdiction, or administration.  Individuals on temporary or student
visas are not eligible.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

Awards in response to this PA will use the K05 mechanism.  Planning,
direction, and execution of the program will be the responsibility of
the candidate.  The institution must demonstrate a commitment to the
candidate and the candidate's goals for continued career development.
The project period for the K05 award is five years.  Awards are
renewable at the discretion of the NIH awarding unit.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

A.  Environment:  The institution must have a demonstrated commitment
to the continued support and development of the candidate.  The
institution must also provide assurance that the candidate will
continue to be an integral part of its research and academic
programs.

B.  Program:  The award provides five consecutive 12 month
appointments.  At least 75 percent of the recipient's full-time
professional effort must be devoted to the program and the remainder
devoted to other research-related and/or teaching pursuits consonant
with the objectives of the award.

C.  Allowable Costs:

1.  Salary:  The NIH will provide salary and fringe benefits for the
K recipient.  The salary limits are not uniform throughout the NIH
and are determined independently by each component of the NIH.
Therefore, prospective candidates should contact the NIH component to
which the application is targeted to ascertain the maximum
contribution to the candidate's salary.

The institution may supplement the NIH contribution up to a level
that is consistent with the institution's salary scale; however,
supplementation may not be from Federal funds unless specifically
authorized by the Federal program from which such funds are derived.
In no case, may PHS funds be used for salary supplementation.
Institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties
or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the
Senior Scientist Award.  Under expanded authorities, however,
institutions may rebudget funds within the total costs awarded to
cover salaries consistent with the institution's salary scale.

The total salary requested must be based on a full-time, 12-month
staff appointment.  It must be consistent both with the established
salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually
provided by the institutions from its own funds to other staff
members of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in
the department concerned.  If full-time, 12-month salaries are not
currently paid to comparable staff members, the salary proposed must
be appropriately related to the existing salary structure.

2.  Research Development Support:  It is expected that candidates for
a K05 award will have research support at the time of the award.
However, there are some research specialties in which only minimal
research support is needed, i.e., theoreticians and computer
scientists.  In such cases, incidental research expenses may be
provided at the discretion of the individual institute or center.
Candidates may request funds to offset the cost of tuition, fees, and
books related to career development.  Applicants should contact the
relevant NIH institute or center program staff for additional
information.

3.  Ancillary Personnel Support: Salary for secretarial, technical,
and/or administrative assistance, etc., is not allowed.

4.  Indirect costs: Indirect costs will be reimbursed at eight
percent of modified total direct costs, or at the actual indirect
cost rate, whichever is less.

F.  Evaluation:  In carrying out its stewardship of human resource
related programs, the NIH may begin requesting information essential
to an assessment of the effectiveness of this program.  Accordingly,
recipients are hereby notified, that they may be contacted after the
completion of this award for periodic updates on various aspects of
their employment history, publications, support from research grants
or contracts, honors and awards, professional activities, and other
information helpful in evaluating the impact of the program.

G.  Other Income:  Fees resulting from clinical practice,
professional consultation, or other comparable activities required by
the research and research-related activities of this award may not be
retained by the career award recipient.  Such fees must be assigned
to the grantee institution for disposition by any of the following
methods:

The funds may be expended by the grantee institution in accordance
with the NIH policy on supplementation of career award salaries and
to provide fringe benefits in proportion to such supplementation.
Such salary supplementation and fringe benefit payments must be
within the established policies of the grantee institution.

The funds may be used for health-related research purposes.

The funds may be paid to miscellaneous receipts of the U.S. Treasury.
Checks must be made payable to the Department of Health and Human
Services, NIH and forwarded to the Director, Division of Financial
Management, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.  Checks must identify the
relevant award account and reason for the payment.

Awardees may retain royalties and fees for activities such as
scholarly writing, service on advisory groups, or honoraria from
other institutions for lectures or seminars, provided these
activities remain incidental and provided that the retention of such
pay is consistent with the policies and practices of the grantee
institution.

Usually, funds budgeted in an NIH supported research or training
grant for the salaries or fringe benefits of individuals, but freed
as a result of a career award, may not be rebudgeted.  The funding
component will give consideration to approval for use of released
funds only under unusual circumstances.  Any proposed retention of
funds released as a result of a career award must receive prior
written approval of the funding component.

H.  Special Leave: Leave to another institution, including a foreign
laboratory, may be permitted if directly related to the purpose of
the award.  Only local, institutional approval is required if such
leave does not exceed 3 months.  For longer periods, prior written
approval of the NIH funding component is required.  To obtain prior
approval, the award recipient must submit a letter to the NIH
describing the plan, countersigned by his or her department head and
the appropriate institutional official.  A copy of a letter or other
evidence from the institution where the leave is to be taken must be
submitted to assure that satisfactory arrangements have been made.
Support from the career award will continue during such leave.

Leave without award support may not exceed 12 months.  Such leave
requires the prior written approval of the NIH funding component and
will be granted only in unusual situations.  Support from other
sources is permissible during the period of leave.  Such leave does
not reduce the total number of months of program support for which an
individual is eligible.  Parental leave will be granted consistent
with the policies of the NIH and the grantee institution.

I.  Termination or Change of Institution: When a grantee institution
plans to terminate an award, the NIH funding component must be
notified in writing at the earliest possible time so that appropriate
instructions can be given for termination.  If the individual is
moving to another eligible institution, career award support may be
continued provided:

A new career award application is submitted by the new institution;

The period of support requested is no more than the time remaining
within the existing award period; and

The new application is submitted far enough in advance of the
requested effective date to allow the necessary time for review.

The funding component may require a new review by an initial review
group and/or the appropriate national advisory council or board.
Alternatively, review may be carried out by staff within the NIH
funding component depending upon the circumstances.

The Director of the NIH may discontinue an award upon determination
that the purpose or terms of the award are not being fulfilled.  In
the event an award is terminated, the Director of the NIH shall
notify the grantee institution and career award recipient in writing
of this determination, the reasons therefor, the effective date, and
the right to appeal the decision.

A final progress report, invention statement, and Financial Status
Report are required upon either termination of an award or
relinquishment of an award in a change of institution situation.

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 subpopulations 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 new
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 reprinted
in the NIH GUIDE FOR GRANTS AND CONTRACTS of March 18, 1994, Volume
23, Number 11.

Investigators may obtain copies from these sources or from the
program staff or contact person listed INQUIRIES.  Program staff may
also provide additional relevant information concerning the policy.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

This is a generic program announcement for the NIH Senior Scientist
Award (SSA).  Since not all NIH institutes and centers support the
SSA and the features of the award may vary, prospective applicants
are strongly advised to  contact the staff person in the relevant
institute or center listed under "INQUIRIES" early in the planning
phase of application preparation.  Such contact will help ensure that
applications are responsive to the career development goals of
individual institutes and centers.

Applications are to be submitted on form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91) and will
be accepted on or before the receipt deadlines indicated in the
application kit (February 1, June 1 and October 1).  Forms are
available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and
from the Office of Grants Information, Division of Research Grants,
NIH, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone
301/710-0267.

Applicants are strongly advised to follow the instructions in the
form PHS 398.  The narrative for this award should be divided into
three sections: (1) Candidate, (2) Career and Research Plan; and (3)
Institutional Environment.

(1) Candidate:  Include information on background, training and
experience.  In addition to completing the biographical sketch
requested in the application kit, the candidate should provide an
overview of the clinical and/or research experience to date,
including a list of scientific accomplishments and the record of
research funding.  Candidates should also describe their current
involvement in science education including training/mentoring future
researchers and other activities that could be considered science
advocacy, scientific integrity training, or education.  Finally,
there should be a summary of future career goals, a statement of
short-term and long-term research goals, and a statement of how the
award will benefit the candidate by release from duties unrelated to
research.

(2) The candidate must provide evidence of a continuing and
productive commitment to a research career that is relevant to the
mission of the funding institute or center by submitting a statement
of research career interests and a three-part plan:

(a) a description of specific activities that will sustain the
candidate's outstanding performance and the capacity to address
relevant research problems;

(b) a description of the research that the candidate proposes to
pursue during the period of support, including fully developed, high-
quality career and research plans that demonstrate a commitment to
the research goals of the awarding institute.  Provide plans for
obtaining research support for such activities.

(c) a description of science education activities in which the
applicant intends to participate.  Candidates are expected to engage
in mentoring and where possible, other science education activities
that will enhance training or public understanding of science.

(3) The awardee institution must document a strong, well-established
research program related to the candidate's area of research interest
including a high-quality research environment with staff capable of
productive collaboration with the candidate.  The sponsoring
institution also must provide a statement of commitment to the
candidate's research career.  Specifically, evidence must be provided
to assure the applicant is on a full-time faculty appointment and
that the appointment is not contingent upon receipt of this award and
to ensure the feasibility of the proposed research plan, including
availability of and access to clinical populations, laboratory space,
and other resources.  The sponsoring institutions should also
describe actions it will take to ensure that the candidate will be
able to devote at least 75 percent of his/her full-time professional
effort to research.

A description of the department's overall research program and
details of relevant research are required.  The department
chairperson or research director is to submit information on the
institution's research programs; plans for development of these
programs; and specific plans for the candidate.

The institution should provide plans for use of any institutional
funds that will be released as a result of the award.  It is expected
that such funds will revert to the individual recipient's department
and will be used in a manner which will further the spirit of the
award.

Budget requests must be provided according to the instructions in
form PHS 398.  The request for tuition and fees, books, travel, etc.,
must be justified and specified by category.

To identify the application as a response to this PA, check "YES" on
item 2a of page 1 of the application and enter "PA-95-051, Senior
Scientist Award" and the name of the NIH institute or center that you
would like your application to be assigned.

Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application with
Checklist, and five signed photocopies, in one package to:

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)

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Division of
Research Grants and responsiveness to the PA by the appropriate
institute or center staff.  Incomplete or nonresponsive applications
will be returned to the applicant without further consideration.
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.  As part of the initial merit
review, all applications will receive a written critique and undergo
a process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest
scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under
review, will be discussed, assigned a priority score, and receive a
second level review by he appropriate national advisory council or
board.

The following review criteria will be applied:

Candidate

o  The extent to which the award will enable the candidate to devote
full-time to research and research-related activities and will permit
release from teaching, administrative, clinical, and other non-
research related responsibilities;

o  A consistent record of outstanding research productivity including
program research funding and record of publication of scientific
reports, including publication of influential research papers or
seminal theoretical papers;

o  Likelihood of continuing and  significant contributions to
scientific knowledge;

o  Recognition as a leading senior scientist as judged by peers;

o  Leadership of a productive research program; and

o  Ability to develop and maintain an environment for training high-
quality investigators.

Career Development and Research Plan

o  Long-term substantive plan for future research;

o  Consistency of the career development plans with the candidates'
career goals; and

o  Quality of plans for mentoring and science education activities.

o  Scientific and technical merit of the research plan;

o  Significance of the research plan and the probability of
significant contributions to scientific knowledge;

o  adequancy of plans to include both genders and minorities and
their subgroups as appropriate for the scientific goals of the
research.  Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects will
also be evaluated.

Institutional Environment and Commitment to the Candidate

o  Adequacy of facilities and general environment to conduct the
research program;

o  Availability of collaborative opportunities with other
investigators;

o  Reputation of the applicant institution and the candidate's
department as a center of active, high-quality research; and

o  Institutional support of the candidate's commitment to research
and research training.

AWARD CRITERIA

The institute or center will notify the applicant of the board or
council's action shortly after its meeting.  Funding decisions will
be made based on the recommendations of the initial review group and
council/board, the need for research personnel in specific program
areas, and the availability of funds.

INQUIRIES

Written and telephone inquiries concerning this PA are encouraged
especially during the planning phase of the application.  Below is a
listing of each institution's or center's program and grants
management contacts.

Dr. Ernestine D. Vanderveen, Ph.D.
Division of Basic Research
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 402 MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD  20892-7003
Telephone:  (301) 443-1273
FAX:  (301) 594-0673
Email:  tvanderv@willco.niaaa.nih.gov

Ms. Frances Cotter
Division of Clinical and Prevention Research
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 505 MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD  20892-7003
Telephone:  (301) 443-1207
FAX:  (301) 443-8744
Email:  fcotter@willco.niaaa.nih.gov

Dr. Mary C. Dufour
Division of Biometry and Epidemiology
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 514 MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD  20892-7003
Telephone:  (301) 443-4897
FAX:  (301) 443-8614
Email:  m.dufour@willco.niaaa.nih.gov

Timothy P. Condon, Ph.D.
Office of Science Policy, Education, and Legislation
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Parklawn Building, Room 10A-55
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-6072
FAX:  (301) 443-6277
Email:  tc52x@nih.gov

Charles W. Sharp, Ph.D.
Division of Basic Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Parklawn Building, Room 10A-31
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-1887
FAX:  (301) 594-6043
Email:  cs107m@nih.gov

Arthur Horton, Ed.D.
Division of Clinical Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Parklawn Building, Room 10A-30
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-4060
FAX:  (301) 443-2317
Email:  ah61x@nih.gov

Ann Blanken
Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Parklawn Building, Room 9A-55
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-6543
FAX:  (301) 443-9847
Email:  ab108v@nih.gov

Jamie Biswas, Ph.D.
Medications Development Division
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Parklawn Building, Room 11A-55
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-5280
FAX:  (301) 443-2599
Email:  jb168r@nih.gov

George T. Niederehe, Ph.D.
Division of Clinical and Treatment Research
National Institute of Mental Health
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 18-105
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-3264
FAX:  (301) 594-6784
Email:  gniedere@aoamh4.ssw.dhhs.gov

Kenneth G. Lutterman, Ph.D.
Division of Epidemiology and Services Research
National Institute of Mental Health
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-95
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-3373
FAX:  (301) 443-4045
Email:  klutterm@nih.gov

Henry Khachaturian, Ph.D.
Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science
National Institute of Mental Health
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 11-103
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-8033
FAX:  (301) 443-1731
Email:  hkhach@helix.nih.gov

Leonard Mitnick, Ph.D.
Office of AIDS Programs
National Institute of Mental Health
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-75
Rockville, MD  20857
Telephone:  (301) 443-9719
FAX:  (301) 443-9719
Email:  lmitnick@aoamh2.ssw.dhhs.gov

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

The Senior Scientist Awards are made under the authority of Title
III, Section 301 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act as amended
(Public Law 78-410, as amended, 42 USC 241).  The Code of Federal
Regulations, Title 42 Part 52, and Title 45 part 74, are applicable
to this program.  This program is described in the Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance No. 93.121.  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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