MARC FACULTY RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

NIH GUIDE, Volume 23, Number 7, February 18, 1994 (see replacement PAR-03-048)



PAR NUMBER:  PAR-94-032



P.T.





Keywords:



National Institute of General Medical Sciences



Application Receipt Dates:  April 5 and December 5



THIS IS A RE-PUBLICATION OF THE PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT THAT APPEARED IN

THE NIH GUIDE FOR GRANTS AND CONTRACTS ON FEBRUARY 4, 1994.  PLEASE

DISREGARD THE PREVIOUS VERSION.



PURPOSE



The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program of the

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) provides

research training opportunities for faculty and students at four-year

colleges that have a substantial enrollment of students from

underrepresented minority  groups.  As part of its ongoing commitment

towards enhancing the research and research training environment at

these colleges, NIGMS provides support for faculty at these

institutions to enhance their research skills.  This announcement

describes the newly revised MARC Faculty Fellowship Programs.

Faculty members who are recent recipients of the doctoral degree are

encouraged to apply for the regular Postdoctoral Fellowship Award

(F32) or to seek support at institutions with Institutional

Postdoctoral Training Grants; there is no special MARC postdoctoral

training program for these individuals.  Information about F32

fellowships and training grants may be obtained from the relevant NIH

Institute.



MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship



The purpose of this program is to strengthen the research and

research training opportunities of minority institutions by providing

an opportunity for eligible faculty who lack the Ph.D. degree (or

equivalent) to obtain the research doctorate.  The expectation is

that the candidate's training in a setting away from the home

institution will expose the candidate to new ideas and will enhance

the research and teaching environment of the home institution when

the candidate returns.



MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship



The purpose of this program is to allow eligible faculty of minority

institutions the opportunity to update their research skills and/or

move into new areas of research through a year-long period of

intensive research in a state- of-the-art research environment.  The

faculty member would have only minimal responsibilities at the home

institution during the training period.  The expectation is that

these new skills will enhance the research and teaching environment

of the home institution.



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



MARC Faculty predoctoral and senior fellowships have the following

common requirements.  In addition, each mechanism has a few of its

own specific requirements.



To be eligible for either type of fellowship a candidate must:



o  be full-time, permanent faculty in biomedically-related science or

mathematics at the home institution for at least three years at the

time of submission of the application;  (Note, permanent does not

mean tenured or tenure-track but implies the expectation of continued

employment in the normal course of events.  Adjunct or part-time

faculty are not eligible.)



o  intend to return to the home institution at the end of the

training period;



o  demonstrate a commitment to research and teaching in a minority

institution;



o  be seeking training in a science (including mathematics) related

to biomedical or behavioral research; AND



o  be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the U.S., or have been

lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S., at the time of

application.



In addition, at the time of application for a MARC Faculty

Predoctoral Fellowship, the candidate must be enrolled in OR have

been accepted by and agreed to enroll in a Ph.D. or combined

M.D./Ph.D. (or other combined professional doctorate/Ph.D.) training

program in the biomedical or behavioral sciences.



In addition, at the time of application for a MARC Faculty Senior

Fellowship, at least seven years must have elapsed since the

candidate received the Ph.D. degree or equivalent research or

professional doctorate.



The home institution is the college or university where the candidate

is employed at the time of the application.  The home institution

must:



o  be a domestic private or public minority institution, that is, one

with a significant enrollment of underrepresented minorities.  For

purposes of this announcement, underrepresented minorities are

individuals belonging to racial/ethnic groups underrepresented in the

biomedical or behavioral sciences.  Nationally, these groups include

African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific

Islanders.  Institutions must document eligibility by providing

appropriate enrollment data;

o  offer at least the baccalaureate degree in the biomedical or

behavioral sciences or mathematics;

o  support the candidate's plans for training; AND

o  guarantee and provide appropriate release time for faculty for

research training.



The training institution is the research university or research

institution/center at which the training takes place.  It may be a

public or private, domestic or foreign institution.  The training

institution:



o  must offer a solid research environment as evidenced by a

high-level of faculty involvement in biomedical research and a

high-level of research support through competitive grants (or similar

quality-based support, such as Howard Hughes Medical Institute

support);

o  may NOT be the candidate's home institution; and

o  will be the sponsoring (applicant) institution.



In addition, the sponsor, who will direct the candidate's research,

must be a faculty member (or equivalent) at the training institution

and have a distinguished record of achievement in research documented

by high quality research publications and/or competitive research

grant support.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



Awards under the MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship will use the

faculty fellowship (F34) award.  Applicants may request up to five

years of support.  An applicant may request ONLY the following: a

stipend equal to the actual annual salary, but not to exceed the

stipend of a level 1 postdoctoral fellow (currently $20,700); tuition

and fees as determined by the training institution; and an

institutional allowance of $2000 per year to be used for costs

directly related to the candidate's training.  Funds will not be

provided for purchasing equipment, although the institutional

allowance may be used for this purpose PROVIDED that the equipment is

DIRECTLY related to the candidate's training.  No indirect costs will

be paid.  The candidate's stipend may be supplemented by either the

home institution or the training institution using funds from

non-Federal sources only.



Awards under the MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship will use the senior

fellowship (F33) award.  Note that even though this mechanism is

widely used throughout the NIH, applicants for the MARC Faculty

Senior Fellowship should be aware of different eligibility

requirements and review criteria.  Applicants may request no less

than one academic year (9 months) and no more than two years of

support.



A MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship applicant may request a stipend

equal to the actual annual salary, but not to exceed the stipend of a

level 7 postdoctoral fellow (currently $32,300); the actual amount of

the stipend awarded will be prorated by the length of the award if

the award is for less than 12 months.  An applicant may also request

an institutional allowance of $3000 per year to be used for expenses

directly related to the candidate's training.  No funds will be

provided for purchasing equipment, travel, or housing.  However, the

institutional allowance may be used for equipment or travel to a

scientific meeting provided that these are DIRECTLY related to the

candidate's training.  No indirect costs will be paid.  The

candidate's stipend may be supplemented by either the home

institution or the training institution using non-Federal sources of

funds only.



MARC Faculty Senior Fellows will incur a payback obligation during

the first 12 months of training, which can be satisfied on a

month-by-month basis either by additional research training or by

resuming a career in research or teaching.  See the NIH Guide for

Grants and Contracts, Vol. 22, No. 27, July 30, 1993, for more

details.



TRAINING OBJECTIVES



The purpose of the MARC Faculty Fellowship Program is to enhance the

research and research training capabilities of the home institution

by offering faculty the opportunity to obtain training for the

research doctorate OR, for those faculty with doctorates, to update

or enhance their research skills through high quality research

experiences.  The expectation is that this training will enable the

faculty to be better researchers, mentors, trainers, and role models

in the home institution.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



Applicants for MARC Faculty Predoctoral or MARC Faculty Senior

Fellowships must use the Individual National Research Service Award

form PHS 416-1 (rev. 10/91).  These forms are available in most

institutional offices of sponsored research; from the Office of

Grants Information, Division of Research Grants, NIH, 5333 Westbard

Avenue, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone (301) 710-0267; and

from the NIGMS MARC Program Office, at the address listed under

INQUIRIES.



If, at the time of application for a MARC Faculty Predoctoral

Fellowship, the candidate has selected a research thesis advisor,

that individual should serve as the sponsor.  If a candidate has not

yet selected a research thesis advisor, the head of the graduate

program should nominate someone to serve as the candidate's sponsor.

The application should indicate clearly that this is an interim

arrangement and should describe procedures for selecting a permanent

research thesis advisor.



An application for either MARC Faculty Fellowship must contain a

letter signed by appropriate officials of the HOME INSTITUTION,

including the candidate's department head, (1) supporting the

candidate's training plans; (2) guaranteeing the necessary release

time for the candidate; (3) certifying the candidate's eligibility

for the program; and (4) establishing the institution's eligibility

as a minority institution through enrollment data.  In addition, for

MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship candidates, this latter must

describe the institution's commitment to the candidate.



Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including

the Checklist, at least three reference letters, the letter of

support from the home institution, and two photocopies of the signed

application in one package to:



Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building, Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**



Applications will be accepted for the April 5 and December 5

fellowship receipt dates ONLY.  They will not be accepted for the

August receipt date.



In item 3, applicants must give the Program Announcement number, PAR-

94-032.  In item 2, the name of the appropriate MARC Faculty

Fellowship Program, Predoctoral or Senior, must be typed.



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



Applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Division of

Research Grants and eligibility by staff in the NIGMS before review.

Only those found to be complete and eligible will be reviewed for

technical merit; others will be returned without review.



Applications will be evaluated in accordance with the criteria stated

below for scientific, technical, and training merit by appropriate

peer review groups.  NIGMS review committees will review the MARC

Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship applications and committees from the

Division of Research Grants will review the MARC Faculty Senior

Fellowship applications.  The second level of review for both types

of fellowships will be provided by the senior staff in the NIGMS.  It

is critical that each application contain sufficient information

about each element to enable the reviewers to make a reasoned

evaluation.



Review criteria



o  the applicant's qualifications and potential for a career as a

researcher and teacher:



for MARC Faculty Predoctoral Fellowship candidates, assessment will

include academic record, honors, research experience, scientific

publications and/or presentations, references, and training and

career goals;



for MARC Faculty Senior Fellowship candidates, assessment will

include research and teaching experience, professional honors and

awards, scientific publications and/or presentations, training and

career goals, references, and plans for using research training to

enhance research and teaching at the home institution;



o  quality and appropriateness of the proposed research training,

including the specific research proposal; and



o  quality of the training environment, including, but not limited

to, the qualifications and grant support of the sponsor.



AWARD CRITERIA



Awards will be made on the basis of the technical merit of the

application.  Among highly qualified candidates, preference may be

given to those who demonstrate a strong commitment to research and

teaching at a minority institution and who present evidence of strong

support from the home and the training institutions, including the

research sponsor.



Review Schedule



Application Receipt Dates:  April 5       December 5

Initial Review:             June          February

Secondary Review:           August        April

Earliest Start:             September     May



INQUIRIES



Inquiries about the MARC Faculty Fellowship Programs are welcome.

Questions concerning programmatic issues, including institutional

eligibility, may be addressed to:



Dr. Yvonne Maddox

Minority Access to Research Careers Program

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Westwood Building, Room 950

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 594-7823



Questions concerning fiscal matters may be addressed to



Ms. Toni Holland

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Westwood Building, Room 935

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 594-7819



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance No. 93.880, Minority Access to Research Careers.  Awards

are authorized by sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service

Act, as amended and administered under PHS grants policies and

federal Regulations 45 CFR Part 74 and 45 CFR Part 92.  This program

is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of

Executive Order 12372 or Health systems Agency review.



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