MINORITY SCHOOL FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARD

NIH GUIDE, Volume 22, Number 44, December 10, 1993



PAR NUMBER:  PAR-94-017



P.T. 34, FF



Keywords:

  Cancer/Carcinogenesis 

  Biomedical Research Training 



National Cancer Institute



PURPOSE



The Comprehensive Minority Biomedical Research Program, Division of

Extramural Activities, National Cancer Institute (NCI), invites

academic health centers and other health professional schools that

employ, educate, or serve a preponderance of minority faculty, staff,

trainees, and communities to submit applications for support of

activities directed at the development of faculty investigators at

minority schools in areas relevant to cancer.  The intent of the

award is to provide the awardee with increased access to research

opportunities through collaborative arrangements with outstanding

cancer research scientists, usually at institutions within a 100 mile

radius of the applicant organization.



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, Minority School Faculty Development Award, is related

to the priority area of cancer.  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



Minority School



A minority school is defined as a medical or nonmedical college,

university, or equivalent school in which students of minority ethnic

groups, including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and

Asian or Pacific Islanders, comprise a significant proportion of the

school enrollment and that has a commitment to the special

encouragement of minority faculty, students, and investigators.



Faculty Development Award Candidate



Candidates for this award are minority school faculty members who:

(1) are citizens of the United States, noncitizen nationals or

permanent residents at the time of application; (2) have a M.D.,

Ph.D., or equivalent degree in a biomedical or behavioral science;

(3) wish to receive specialized training in cancer research; and (4)

have the background and potential to become an independent biomedical

investigator.  A minimum of 50 percent effort annually must be

committed to the award.



Applicants may not apply for, or accept, other PHS research grant

support or its equivalent at the time of Minority School Faculty

Development Award application, nor may they apply concurrently for

any other type of academic award.  However, applicants may apply for

and accept research grant support subsequent to award of the Minority

School Faculty Development Award.



Mentor at Research Center



Each candidate must also identify and complete arrangements with a

mentor, at a preferably nearby (within reasonable commuting distance)

majority or minority institution who is recognized as an

accomplished, independently funded investigator in the research area

proposed and who will provide guidance for the candidate's

development and research plan.  Plans for obtaining an intensive

research experience must be developed with the mentor.



The commitment of the mentor and his/her institution to year- round

(i.e., summer and academic year) exposure to research must be

evidenced by a letter of support from each to be included in the

application.  A commitment from the mentor's department chair must be

included in the application.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



Support of this program will be through the National Institutes of

Health (NIH) Minority School Faculty Development Award (K14).

Applicants will be responsible for the planning, direction, and

execution of the proposed project.  Awards are nonrenewable and

nontransferable from one awardee to another.  Funding beyond the

first year of the grant is contingent on satisfactory progress during

the preceding year.



Awards may be requested for a period up to five years.  Allowable

costs include:



o  The salary of the applicant up to a maximum base salary of $50,000

per year and related fringe benefits.



o  Costs for further optional preparation of the applicant in

additional clinical or basic research methodologies (this aspect of

the program is not to exceed the equivalent of one academic year

total over the duration of the award).



o  Domestic travel expenses for the awardee to attend professional

meetings, training courses, and an annual two-day awardee meeting in

Bethesda, Maryland.



o  Partial salary support up to $40,000 per year for one additional

faculty or staff researcher as a direct participant in

research-related activities or services.



o  Up to $10,000 per year in supplies for research activities.



o  Indirect costs not to exceed a maximum of eight percent of direct

costs, exclusive of tuition fees, if any.



o  The total award may not exceed $100,000 in direct costs per year.



o  Equipment:  Specialized research equipment essential to the

proposed program.  In accordance with PHS policy, title to such

equipment will vest with the grantee institution.



o  Supplies:  Consumable supplies essential to the proposed program.



o  Tuition and Fees:  If essential to the awardee's individual

research development program.



o  Other:  Personnel, publication costs, computer costs, and other

costs necessary for the research program.



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES



This program is designed to offer support for cancer-related research

to minority school faculty members at the M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent

level who have the interest and capability of doing state-of-the-art

research in this area.



The objective of this Program Announcement is to broaden the

experience of faculty members at minority schools, to increase the

pool of biomedical and behavioral investigators in cancer research,

and have graduate and undergraduate students, most of whom will be

minority individuals, become more cognizant of research opportunities

in cancer research.



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 will be 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 should 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 should be provided.



The composition of the proposed study populations 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 should be included in the form PHS 398

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 should be provided.



For the purpose of this policy, clinical research includes 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.



For foreign awards, the policy on inclusion of women applies fully;

since the definition of minority differs in other countries, the

applicant must discuss the relevance of research involving foreign

population groups to the United States' populations, including

minorities.



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 PROCEDURE



Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS

398 (rev. 9/91) and will be accepted at the application deadlines

indicated in the application kit.



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 title and number of this announcement must be

typed on line 2a and the box checked YES.



The completed original application and five legible copies must be

sent or delivered to:



Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by the Division of

Research Grants (DRG) for completeness.  Incomplete applications will

be returned to the applicant without further consideration.

Evaluation for responsiveness to the program requirements and

criteria stated in the announcement is an NCI program staff function.

Applications that are judged non-responsive will be returned to the

applicant.  Questions concerning the relevance of proposed research

may be directed to program staff listed under INQUIRIES.



Those applications judged to be both competitive and responsive will

be reviewed for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate

review group convened by the Division of Extramural Activities, NCI.

The second level review by the National Cancer Advisory Board

considers the special needs of the Institute and the priorities of

the National Cancer Program.  The following criteria will apply:



o  The overall merit of the candidate's plan for research and the

development of research skills.



o  The background and potential of the proposed candidate for

development into an independent biomedical investigator.



o  The candidate's commitment to a research career.



o  The ability of both the minority institution and the training

center to provide facilities, resources, and opportunities necessary

for the candidate's research development.



o  The commitment of the minority institution to the faculty

candidate's research and development must clearly be presented in the

application, including statement(s) from the sponsor and the

department chair.



o  The qualifications, ability, and plans of the mentor who will

provide the candidate with the guidance necessary for career

development in research.  Recognition of the mentor is reflected by

receipt of support from national peer-reviewed funding sources.



INQUIRIES



Written and telephone inquiries concerning the objectives and scope

of this Program Announcement and inquiries about whether or not

specific proposed research would be responsive are encouraged.  The

Program Director welcomes the opportunity to clarify any issues or

questions from potential applicants.



Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:



Dr. Lemuel Evans

Division of Extramural Activities

National Cancer Institute

Executive Plaza North, Suite 620

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-7344

FAX:  (301) 402-4551



Direct inquiries regarding budgetary/administrative issues to:



Ms. Carolyn Mason

Grants Administration Branch

National Cancer Institute

Executive Plaza South, Room 243

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-7800, Extension 59



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance, No. 93.398, Cancer Research Manpower.  Awards are made

under the 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 Part 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.



.

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