NIDCD MINORITY DISSERTATION RESEARCH GRANTS IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION
Release Date: February 28, 2000
RFA: DC-00-001
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Application Receipt Date: June 12, 2000
PURPOSE
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
(NIDCD) announces the availability of small grants (R03) to support
doctoral dissertation research in human communication for doctoral
candidates who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups that
are under-represented in biomedical and behavioral research. The goals
of this program are to aid the research of new minority investigators
and to encourage minority individuals from a variety of academic
disciplines and programs to conduct research in hearing, balance,
smell, taste, voice, speech, and language.
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 Request for
Applications (RFA), NIDCD Minority Dissertation Research Grants in
Human Communication, is related to several priority areas applicable to
human communication.
Potential candidates for the awards 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 20402-9325 (telephone 202-
512-1800).
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Candidates for this award must be graduate students in good standing
and must be identified by the grantee institution as a member of an
ethnic or racial group that is under-represented in biomedical or
behavioral research. Awards will be limited to citizens or non-citizen
nationals of the United States or to individuals who have been lawfully
admitted for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of an Alien
Registration Receipt Card) at the time of application. Within this
group, women and persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged
to apply.
The doctoral candidate must have a dissertation topic approved by
his/her institutional committee established for that purpose. This
information must be verified in a letter of certification from the
thesis committee chairperson and submitted with the grant application
(see APPLICATION PROCEDURES). Research topics must address issues in
human communication, focusing on one or more of the seven NIDCD
scientific mission areas described under RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.
The applicant organization must be a domestic institution, such as a
university or college, supporting doctoral level training. The
performance site may be foreign or domestic.
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
The mechanism of support is the NIH small grant (R03). Grants to
support dissertation research may be requested for up to two years.
These grants will provide up to $36,000 in direct costs over the two-
year period, with no more than $30,000 in direct costs in any one year.
FUNDS AVAILABLE
The NIDCD has committed approximately $272,000 to award up to seven
grants in response to this RFA. These grants are not eligible for
renewal.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
This grant initiative is to provide students who are members of
minority groups with grants-in-aid to perform their dissertation
research on a topic related to human communication, and thereby
increase the pool of minority researchers in the sciences of human
communication. The research supported by NIDCD encompasses the basic or
fundamental sciences and the clinical or applied sciences subserving
hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language.
The descriptions below of the research foci of NIDCD are provided to
guide potential applicants in determining whether a given scientific
topic may be appropriate for this initiative. These descriptions are
not intended to be comprehensive. Questions on the relevance of a
particular topic to the NIDCD scientific mission and other questions
about this RFA should be addressed to the program contact listed under
INQUIRIES. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss
their application with the program contact.
HEARING. Diseases and disorders of the auditory system including
otitis media, otosclerosis, autoimmune-mediated hearing loss, tinnitus,
and genetic deafness/hearing impairment, the normal auditory system,
including plasticity, development and regeneration of auditory
structures, cochlear mechanics, and perception of complex auditory
signals, and rehabilitation devices, including but not limited to,
cochlear prostheses and hearing aids.
BALANCE. Human balance control, structure and function of the
peripheral and central vestibular system, development and regeneration
of vestibular structures, molecular bases of vestibular function,
adaptive plasticity in the vestibular system, vestibulo-autonomic
regulation, diseases and disorders primarily affecting balance and the
vestibular system, including, but not limited to, Meniere"s disease,
vestibular toxicity and age-related changes in vestibular functioning,
clinical assessment of balance and vestibular function, and
medical/surgical therapeutics and physical rehabilitation of balance
and vestibular disorders.
SMELL. Normal and abnormal olfactory functions, including development
and regeneration of olfactory receptor neurons, transport of substances
to and from the brain via the olfactory receptor neurons, including
transport of pathogens, and associations between olfaction and diseases
throughout life.
TASTE. Normal and abnormal sense of taste, including development and
regeneration of taste bud cells, central processing, gustatory
determinants of food intake, and the diagnosis of gustatory disorders.
VOICE. The neural basis of vocal learning and vocalization, neural
mechanisms and physiology of the larynx, voice disorders, including
assessment, characteristics of specific populations, and treatment of
voice disorders.
SPEECH. Speech perception, characterization of normal speech
production, and disorders of speech production, such as neurogenic
speech disorders (apraxia and dysarthia), speech of deaf individuals,
and stuttering.
LANGUAGE. Normal language processing, brain bases of language, adult
aphasia, the grammatical abilities and writing deficits associated with
Alzheimer"s disease, language acquisition in deaf individuals, American
Sign Language, literacy in deaf individuals, and language disorders in
children, including specific language impairment, early expressive
language delay, and language deficits associated with autism.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
Additional Material. In addition to the completed PHS 398 form
described under APPLICATION PROCEDURES, applicants must also submit:
o A letter from the faculty committee or university official directly
responsible for supervising the development and progress of the
dissertation research. The letter must be countersigned by a
representative of the graduate school of the sponsoring institution.
The letter must: (a) fully identify the members of the committee and
certify their approval of the dissertation topic and, (b) certify that
the author of the letter has read the application and believes that it
reflects the work to be completed in the dissertation,
o A tentative timeline for completion of the research, the
dissertation, and the dissertation defense,
o A transcript of the candidate’s graduate school record,
o A biography of the dissertation advisor, limited to 2 pages (use the
Biographical Sketch page in form PHS 398).
o A statement of the candidate’s career goals, to be placed under
"Background" (see the Research Plan instructions in form PHS 398), and
o A signed statement from the sponsoring institution establishing the
eligibility for support under this program, including information on
the candidate’s ethnic and/or racial origin and citizenship. (See
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS).
Grant Conditions. The following conditions apply to dissertation
research grants:
o The doctoral candidate must be the designated Principal Investigator
on the grant and must be the only individual named in the application
for whom salary support is requested.
o The principal investigator"s salary may not exceed $15,000 per
twelve months.
o Work on the funded project must be initiated within three months
after the date of the award.
o The principal investigator may request support for up to 24 months.
An application that requests support beyond this time period will be
returned.
o A copy of the dissertation must be submitted to the NIDCD and
constitutes the final report of the grant. The dissertation must be
officially accepted by the faculty committee or university official
responsible for the candidate"s dissertation and must be signed by the
responsible officials.
An applicant who receives support for dissertation research from the
NIDCD under this research grant program may not receive concurrent
stipend or salary support under a Federal predoctoral traineeship or
fellowship grant, or be supported under any other research project
grant awarded by a Federal agency.
Allowable Costs. Expenses usually allowed under a PHS research grant
will be covered by this program, but may not exceed $36,000 in direct
costs for the total project period. Of this amount, no more than
$30,000 may be budgeted for a 12-month period. Allowable costs
include: 1) the investigator"s salary (not to exceed $15,000 per 12
months), and 2) direct research project expenses, such as supplies,
data processing costs, dissertation preparation costs and travel to one
scientific meeting per year (the latter limited to $1,000 per year).
Candidates are generally expected to devote their full time effort to
the dissertation project. Any level of effort by the candidate that is
less than full time must be fully justified.
No tuition support is allowed. It is expected that most equipment
needed for the research will be available at the site or laboratory in
which the dissertation is to be performed. Therefore, any requests for
equipment must be specifically justified. Facilities and administrative
costs are limited to eight percent (8%) of requested direct costs, less
equipment.
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 policy results from the
NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43).
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 in the NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts, Volume 23, Number 11, March 18, 1994.
INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN
SUBJECTS
It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age
of 21) must be included in all human subjects research conducted or
supported by the NIH, unless there are scientific and/or ethical
reasons not to include them. This policy applies to all initial (Type
1) applications submitted for receipt dates after October 1, 1998.
All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should
read the "NIH Policy and Guidelines" on the Inclusion of Children as
Participants in Research Involving Human Subjects that was published in
the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, March 6, 1998, and is available
at the following URL address:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
The research grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) is to be used
in applying for these grants. These forms are available at most
institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of
Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of
Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910,
telephone (301) 710-0267, FAX (301) 480-0525, email GrantsInfo@nih.gov
The RFA label available in the PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) application form
must be affixed to the bottom of the face page of the application.
Failure to use this label could result in delayed processing of the
application such that it may not reach the review committee in time for
review. In addition, the RFA title and number (NIDCD Minority
Dissertation Research Grants in Human Communication, DC-00-00X) must be
typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form and on the RFA
label, and the YES box must be marked. The sample RFA label available
at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/label-bk.pdf has been
modified to allow for this change. Please note this is in pdf format.
Instructions for completing the application are found in the PHS 398
form. These instructions must be followed except that under C.
Specific Instructions - Research Plan, no more than 10 pages may be
used for items A to D (instead of 25 pages as stated in the standard
instructions). Applications that exceed the 10 page limit for this
section will be returned. Appendices may not be used to circumvent the
page limitations.
Submit a signed original of the application (with the supporting letter
and the graduate school transcript), including the Checklist, and three
signed photocopies, in one package to:
CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040 - MSC 7710
BETHESDA, MD 20892-7710
BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service)
At the time of submission, send two additional copies of the
application (with the supporting letter and the graduate school
transcript) to:
Chief, Scientific Review Branch
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
6120 Executive Boulevard, Room 400-C - MSC-7180
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180
Telephone: (301) 496-8683
FAX: (301) 402-6250
ATTN: Minority Dissertation
Applications must be received by June 12, 2000. If an application is
received after that date, it will be returned to the applicant without
review. The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) will not accept any
application in response to this RFA that is essentially the same as one
currently pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the
pending application. The CSR will also not accept any application that
is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not
preclude the submission of substantial revisions of applications
already reviewed, but such applications must include an introduction
(not exceeding one-half page) addressing the previous critique.
REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS
Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed for completeness by CSR and
for responsiveness to this RFA by the NIDCD. Applications that are
complete and responsive to the RFA will be evaluated for scientific and
technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by the
NIDCD, in accordance with standard NIH peer review procedures. As part
of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written
critique and may 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 and assigned a priority
score.
Review Criteria
o Scientific and technical merit, significance, and originality of the
proposed research,
o Appropriateness and adequacy of the literature review and soundness
and feasibility of the experimental approach and methodology proposed
to carry out the research,
o Qualifications of the Principal Investigator (the student), based on
the candidate’s history as a student, past and current research
experience, and potential for a productive scientific career,
o Qualifications of the mentor, based on the mentor’s research and
research training experience, particularly, but not exclusively, in the
proposed area of research,
o Quality and availability of research resources needed to complete
the dissertation research,
o Appropriateness of the requested budget and the duration of support
in relation to the research proposed,
o Adequacy of plans to include both genders, minorities and their
subgroups, and children, if applicable, as appropriate for the
scientific goals of the research. Plans for the recruitment and
retention of subjects will also be evaluated.
The initial review group will also examine the provisions for the
protection of human and animal subjects, and the safety of the research
environment.
AWARD CRITERIA
The anticipated date of award is September 2000. Final funding
decisions are based on the recommendations of the reviewers, the
relevance of the project to NIDCD priorities, and the availability of
funds.
INQUIRIES
Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the NIDCD
program official named below for inquiries concerning this RFA.
Daniel A. Sklare, Ph.D.
Program Branch
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 6120
Executive Boulevard, Room 400-C - MSC 7180
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180
Telephone: (301) 496-1804
FAX: (301) 402-6251
Email: daniel_sklare@nih.gov
Direct inquiries relating to fiscal matters to:
Castilla McNamara, M.P.A.
Grants Management Branch
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 6120
Executive Boulevard, Room 400-B - MSC 7180
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180
Telephone: (301) 402-0909
FAX: (301) 402-1758
Email: macnamara@exchange.nih.gov
AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
No. 93.173 Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health
Service Act Title IV, Part A (Public Law 79-410, 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. The
requirements of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of
Federal Programs, are not applicable to NIDCD research grant programs.
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 routine 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.
Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
|
|
|
|
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
|
|
|
|
NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health®
|