Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)
and Human Services (HHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
National Eye Institute (NEI)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
R61
See Notices of Special Interest associated with this funding opportunity
The goal of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to solicit Initial Analgesic Development R61 applications that propose 2-year exploratory/planning awards that are expected to enable a future application for RFA-NS-21-015 HEAL Initiative: Team Research - for Initial Translational Efforts in Non-addictive Analgesic Development [Small Molecules and Biologics] (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).Thus, the limited scope of aims and approach of these applications are expected to establish a strong research team, feasibility, validity, or other technically qualifying results that support, enable, and/or lay the groundwork for a subsequent Team Research U19 application. These R61 awards will support the building of a research team to collect initial data and recruit additional collaborators. The application must include a plan for developing a strong research team, as well as a strategy to collect preliminary data linking putative therapeutic targets to the proposed pain indication and supporting the hypothesis that altering target activity will produce desirable outcomes for the disease.
30 days prior to application due date.
| Application Due Dates | Review and Award Cycles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) | AIDS | Scientific Merit Review | Advisory Council Review | Earliest Start Date |
| July 19, 2021 | July 19, 2021 | Not Applicable | November 2021 | January 2022 | February 2022 |
| October 13, 2021 | October 13, 2021 | Not Applicable | March 2022 | May 2022 | June 2022 |
| June 09, 2022 | June 09, 2022 | Not Applicable | November 2022 | January 2023 | February 2023 |
| October 11, 2022 | October 11, 2022 | Not Applicable | March 2023 | May 2023 | June 2023 |
| June 09, 2023 | June 09, 2023 | Not Applicable | November 2023 | January 2024 | February 2024 |
| October 10, 2023 | October 10, 2023 | Not Applicable | March 2024 | May 2024 | June 2024 |
All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on the listed date(s).
Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.
Not Applicable
It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).
Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.
Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.
The goal of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to solicit 2-year exploratory/planning awards that are expected to enable a future application for RFA-NS-21-015 HEAL Initiative: Team Research - for Initial Translational Efforts in Non-addictive Analgesic Development [Small Molecules and Biologics] (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Thus, the limited scope of aims and approach of these applications are expected to establish a strong research team, feasibility, validity, or other technically qualifying results that support, enable, and/or lay the groundwork for the assay development, screening, discovery and/or validation of pharmacodynamic markers and efficacy and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic projects in the subsequent RFA-NS-21-015 HEAL Initiative: Team Research U19 application. These R61 awards will support the building of a research team to collect initial data and recruit additional collaborators. The application must include a plan for developing a strong research team, as well as a strategy to collect preliminary data linking putative therapeutic targets to the proposed pain indication and supporting the hypothesis that altering target activity will produce desirable outcomes for the disease.
This FOA also intends to foster collaborative team building. Investigators are encouraged to form collaborations with individuals with the following expertise:
In addition to scientific diversity, applicants should strive to incorporate diversity in their team development plan. Research shows that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogenous teams. Scientists and trainees from diverse backgrounds and life experiences bring different perspectives, creativity, and individual enterprise to address complex scientific problems. There are many benefits that flow from a diverse NIH-supported scientific workforce, including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved or health disparity populations participate in, and benefit from health research, and enhancing public trust. Please refer to Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity NOT-OD-20-031 for more details.
This FOA is not specific to any one or group of pain conditions. Projects to develop therapeutics for acute pain, chronic pain, painful neuropathy, musculoskeletal pain, headache disorders, osteoarthritis, diabetic neuropathy, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, eye pain, sickle-cell pain, cancer pain, visceral pain, post stroke pain, myofascial pain, painful disorders of the orofacial region and other conditions will be considered. Projects to develop analgesics for a combination of chronic overlapping pain conditions or for specific disease or pathological conditions will also be considered. We encourage projects that seek to identify novel targets in specific populations, including women, children, older adults and other underrepresented groups. The goal of the 2-year application should be to develop a strong biological rationale, establish a research team, and collect preliminary data that will be used to submit a therapeutics development plan under the companion U19 funding mechanism, RFA-NS-21-015.
Background
The NIH HEAL Initiative:
This study is part of the NIH’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) initiative to speed scientific solutions to the national opioid public health crisis. The NIH HEAL Initiative bolsters research across NIH to (1) improve treatment for opioid misuse and addiction and (2) enhance pain management. More information about the HEAL Initiative is available at: https://heal.nih.gov/.
More than 25 million Americans suffer from daily chronic pain, a highly debilitating medical condition that is complex and difficult to manage. In recent decades, there has been an overreliance on the prescription of opioids for chronic pain despite their poor ability to improve function and high addiction liability. This contributed to a significant and alarming epidemic of opioid addiction, overdose, and death. Thus, there is a critical need for innovative scientific solutions to develop alternative pain treatment options.
Through targeted research efforts, the NIH HEAL Initiative proposes to accelerate the discovery and preclinical development of new medications to treat pain. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is part of a suite of FOAs to support the development of safe and effective therapeutics to treat pain with little or no addiction liability.
The following is a list of these coordinated funding announcements:
RFA-NS-21-029 will support planning projects that are designed to support building a strong research team, develop feasibility, validity, or other technically qualifying results that support, enable, and/or lay the groundwork for a subsequent U19 application, RFA-NS-21-015.
RFA-NS-21-015 will support team-based research projects that develop assays, screen and propose early optimization work to develop a non-addictive therapeutic to treat pain. Discovery and/or validation of pharmacodynamic markers and efficacy and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) studies are responsive to RFA-NS-21-015.
Applications to RFA-NS-21-010 require a promising small molecule or biologic hit or lead for optimization, a rigorous biological rationale for the intended approach, and scientifically sound assays for testing the optimization of the hit or lead. In addition, a strong package of data linking the putative therapeutic target to the proposed disease indication and supporting the hypothesis that altering the target activity will produce desirable outcomes for the pain type is required.
The goal of this FOA (RFA-NS-21-029) is to establish feasibility, validity, or other technically qualifying preliminary data that will support, enable, and/or lay the groundwork for a subsequent Team Research U19. At the conclusion of this 2-year award, applicants are expected to produce sufficient preliminary data and evidence of a strong interdisciplinary research team with sufficient translational expertise to prepare a competitive application for RFA-NS-21-015 HEAL Initiative: Analgesic Development Initial Translational Efforts [Small Molecules and Biologics] (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). There is no opportunity for renewal of this award.
Research Objectives
Applications deemed to be non-responsive will not proceed to review. Studies that are NOT responsive for this FOA:
Leveraging Existing Research Resources
Applicants are strongly encouraged to leverage existing research resources for their studies whenever possible. Such resources may include tissue, cellular, or DNA samples from NINDS BioSEND https://www.biosend.org/ or other existing biospecimen, imaging and data repositories. The NINDS BioSEND repository receives, processes, stores, and distributes biospecimen resources from NINDS funded studies that can be shared by the neuroscience research community, and currently banks a variety of biospecimens including DNA, plasma, serum, RNA, CSF, and saliva. Leveraging the resources and support from pain advocacy groups, private research foundations, academic institutions, other government agencies and the NIH Intramural program is also encouraged. Studies are also encouraged that leverage the resources of ongoing clinical trials supported through other Federal or private funds.
Applicants are encouraged to utilize the state-of-the-art capabilities at the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NIH/NCATS) in support of HEAL initiatives. A detailed description of the capabilities can be found at: https://ncats.nih.gov/heal/intramural-capabilities.
Pre-Application Consultation
Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with NINDS Scientific/Research Staff early on during the planning for an application. This early contact will provide an opportunity to discuss and clarify NIH policies and guidelines, including the scope of project relative to the HEAL initiative mission and intent of this FOA.
See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.
Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.
Resubmission to RFA-NS-21-016
The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this FOA.
Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials.
Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?
The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
NIH intends to fund an estimate of up to 6 awards for fiscal year 2021. Future year number of awards and funding amounts will depend on annual appropriations.
The direct costs for each year of the project may not exceed $500,000, including consortium costs.
2 years
NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA.
Higher Education Institutions
The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:
Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education
For-Profit Organizations
Local Governments
Federal Governments
Other
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
Applicant organizations
Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.
Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))
All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.
Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.
For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.
For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Number of Applications
Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.
The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time. This means that the NIH will not accept:
The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this FOA. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.
Letter of Intent
Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.
By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information, prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:
The letter of intent should be sent to
Julia L. Bachman, PhD
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-827-7383
Email: julia.bachman@nih.gov
All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan will be attached in the Other Plan(s) attachment in FORMS-H and subsequent application forms packages. For due dates on or before January 24, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan GDS) will continue to be attached in the Resource Sharing Plan attachment in FORMS-G application forms packages.
The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
R&R Budget
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
A minimum total effort for the PD/PI or MPI of the R61 application is 2.4 person months. Effort cannot be reduced below this level during the entire project period.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
Other Plan(s):
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Management and Sharing Plan will be attached in the Other Plan(s) attachment in FORMS-H and subsequent application forms packages. For due dates on or before January 24, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan GDS) will continue to be attached in the Resource Sharing Plan attachment in FORMS-G application forms packages.
All applicants planning research (funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH) that results in the generation of scientific data are required to comply with the instructions for the Data Management and Sharing Plan. All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, must address a Data Management and Sharing Plan.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:
Specific Aims: Provide a concise description of the goals of the 2-year application, including a development plan that produces a strong research team that can develop a biological rationale, and collect the data needed to submit a therapeutics development plan under the companion U19 funding mechanism, RFA-NS-21-015. Briefly provide the context for the proposed set of projects/studies, with an emphasis on the interdisciplinary research rationale to rigorously design, develop, validate and deliver appropriate proof-of-efficacy data for the proposed non-addictive pain therapeutic discovery program. Summarize how the team development plan in this application will prepare the necessary preliminary data to provide the scientific rationale that can be used to submit an application to the NIH HEAL Initiative's Team Research U19 (RFA-NS-21-015).
Research Strategy: Consistent with NIH HEAL Initiative goals, applications must balance innovation, advanced thinking and methodology with convincing tractability and potential impacts.
This FOA welcomes applications involving a wide range of ideas that could be translated into non-addictive, clinically beneficial pain therapeutics. Projects should be supported by a cogent biological rationale. The application should make clear how the proposed concept offers the best potential for becoming a viable pain therapeutic, and how preliminary data will be collected to strengthen the application in preparation for moving forward with therapeutic development. Applicants should also discuss how the described experimental approach will lead to (a) non-addictive, novel pain therapeutic(s).
The R61 application should also include a plan to recruit a strong research team with a diverse set of skills to produce qualifying preliminary results that will lay the groundwork for a subsequent NIH HEAL Initiative’s Team Research U19 (RFA-NS-21-015) application.
Furthermore, applicants who have assembled a strong collaborative research team and identified a putative therapeutic target are invited to apply directly to the NIH HEAL Initiative’s Team Research U19 (RFA-NS-21-015). This FOA is not intended to support optimization of an established therapeutic. Rather, the goal of this FOA is to support initial team planning and preliminary data generation to support a subsequent submission of a therapeutics development plan to the companion Team Research U19.
Applications may include preliminary data, but inclusion of such data is not required for this R61 RFA.
Applications must apply NIH standards of experimental and publication rigor (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-18-228.html), should strive to promote ethnic, racial, gender and career stage diversity of the research teams, and must comply with NIH policy on reporting disaggregated sex-based data and other consideration of sex as a biological variable as elaborated in NOT-OD-15-102, NOT-OD-15-103 and NOT-OD-16-031. The NIH HEAL Initiative will not accept applications under this announcement that include clinical trials (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-015.html).
Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
The following modifications also apply:
All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, must address a Data Sharing Plan.
Through the NIH HEAL Initiative Public Access and Data Sharing Policy (the Policy), NIH seeks to create an infrastructure that addresses the need for researchers, clinicians, and patients to collaborate on sharing their collective data and knowledge about opioid misuse and pain to provide scientific solutions to the opioid crisis. Under the Policy, applicants for extramural research funding (grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and other transactions; "Applicants") for NIH HEAL Initiative Research Projects are required to submit a Public Access and Data Sharing Plan that (1) describes their proposed process for making resulting Publications and, to the extent possible, the Underlying Primary Data immediately and broadly available to the public or (2), if applicable, provides a justification to NIH if such sharing is not possible. Underlying Primary Data should be made as widely and freely available as possible while safeguarding the privacy of participants and protecting confidential and proprietary data.
Budgets should include sufficient resources to administer, prepare and disseminate data for the research and core components, and to coordinate all of the data-related activities identified by the NIH HEAL Initiative Public Access and Data Sharing division -https://heal.nih.gov/about/public-access-data).
When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:
If you answered Yes to the question Are Human Subjects Involved? on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.
Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources
Information in this section must focus only on authentication of key biological and/or validation of key resources to be used in the study; all other methods and preliminary data must be included within the page limits of the research strategy. See NOT-OD-18-228 for detailed information on authentication of key biological and/or chemical resources. Applications identified as non-compliant with this limitation will be withdrawn from the review process (see NOT-OD-17-105). Separate plans for authentication of key biological and/or validation of key resources for other individual components are not required.
Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start).All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
Foreign (non-U.S.) institutions must follow policies described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, and procedures for foreign institutions described throughout the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
See Part 1. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov.
Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.
Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Policy on Late Application Submission.
Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.
Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.
All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.
Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.
For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit How to Apply Application Guide. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.
Important reminders:
All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this FOA for information on registration requirements.
The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
See more tips for avoiding common errors.
Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by components of participating organizations, NIH. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.
The requests by NIH intramural scientists will be limited to the incremental costs required for participation. As such, these requests will not include any salary and related fringe benefits for career, career conditional or other Federal employees (civilian or uniformed service) with permanent appointments under existing position ceilings or any costs related to administrative or facilities support (equivalent to Facilities and Administrative or F&A costs). These costs may include salary for staff to be specifically hired under a temporary appointment for the project, consultant costs, equipment, supplies, travel, and other items typically listed under Other Expenses. Applicants should indicate the number of person-months devoted to the project, even if no funds are requested for salary and fringe benefits.
If selected, appropriate funding will be provided by the NIH Intramural Program. NIH intramural scientists will participate in this program as PDs/PIs in accord with the Terms and Conditions provided in this FOA. Intellectual property will be managed in accord with established policy of the NIH in compliance with Executive Order 10096, as amended, 45 CFR Part 7; patent rights for inventions developed in NIH facilities are NIH property unless NIH waives its rights.
Should an extramural application include the collaboration with an intramural scientist, no funds for the support of the intramural scientist may be requested in the application. The intramural scientist may submit a separate request for intramural funding as described above.
Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy. Any instructions provided here are in addition to the instructions in the policy.
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS) as part of the Resource Sharing Plan will not be evaluated at time of review.
Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.
For this particular announcement, note the following:
The HEAL Initiative invites applications with high levels of innovation, which assumes some degree of risk. Although reviewers will consider feasibility, they will be instructed to not penalize unavoidable risks that are intrinsic to new and innovative approaches.
This R61 will support exploratory research that establishes feasibility, validity or other technically qualifying results of a novel or existing pain therapeutic concept with little to no abuse liability that, if successful, would support, enable, and/or lay the groundwork for further validation and early therapeutic development as part of a Team Research U19. Reviewers should evaluate whether projects are supported by a sound biological rationale and provide evidence to characterize the relevance of the identified pain target for subsequent pain therapy development if this planning project is successful.
Of equal importance, reviewers should evaluate the team development plan to determine whether applicants include a strong proposal to recruit scientific experts with a diverse set of skills that can develop a viable pain target for further therapeutics development. Preliminary data are not required; however, they may be included if available. This RFA is not intended to support further optimization of an established therapeutic. Rather, the goal of this FOA is to support initial team planning and preliminary data generation to support a subsequent submission of a therapeutics development plan to the companion Team Research U19.
Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to develop a research team and the preliminary data needed to support a subsequent submission of a therapeutics development plan to the companion FOA U19 RFA-NS-21-015. In addition, reviewers should consider the potential for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on pain therapeutics development, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).
Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.
Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? Is the prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project rigorous? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?
Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or those in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project?
Is the team development plan that is presented collaborative and multidisciplinary, such that it is comprised of appropriate content experts recognizable as leaders in their field?
Do the applicants demonstrate extensive knowledge in pain biology and research activities needed for full target discovery, validation and drug development process. Do the applicants have expertise in:
Pain biology (such as pain pathways and circuits, relevant disease pathology, relevant pain and reward models).
Data management, statistical analysis, experimental design, and rigor.
Assay development and drug discovery (such as assay development, screening, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry).
Early drug development (such as pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, biomarkers, and in vitro ADME (Absorption, Disposition, Metabolism, Excretion).
In addition, the team should include those who can help the team plan for future therapy development beyond this RFA (such as later stage drug development experts, regulatory experts, clinicians).
Are the team management plans clear and appropriate?
Team Director: Has the proposed Team Director demonstrated extensive knowledge, experience and leadership in the area of pain therapeutic discovery and development, with a strong record of scientific achievements? Has the proposed Team Director demonstrated her/his ability to organize, direct, and administer a complex research and therapeutic development program?
Individual Team/Group Leaders: Have the leaders on the individual team/group demonstrated knowledge, experience and leadership in the proposed research component? Are there prior demonstrations of collaborative teamwork?
Is there evidence that the research team has been/will be able to work together effectively to accomplish the research proposed in the projects?
Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?
Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Have the investigators included plans to address weaknesses in the rigor of prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project? Have the investigators presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? Have the investigators presented adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or human subjects?
If the project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, are the plans to address 1) the protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion or exclusion of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults), justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?
How well does the Data Sharing Plan conform to the the HEAL data sharing requirments such as providinga summary of the data to be shared, a description fo the data reporting standards, a plan for the data archiving, and a timeline for data submission to an archive and sharing data with the research community?
Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?
As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.
Protections for Human Subjects
For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.
For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Human Subjects.
Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Individuals Across the Lifespan
When the proposed project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults) to determine if it is justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research.
Vertebrate Animals
The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following criteria: (1) description of proposed procedures involving animals, including species, strains, ages, sex, and total number to be used; (2) justifications for the use of animals versus alternative models and for the appropriateness of the species proposed; (3) interventions to minimize discomfort, distress, pain and injury; and (4) justification for euthanasia method if NOT consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. Reviewers will assess the use of chimpanzees as they would any other application proposing the use of vertebrate animals. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.
Biohazards
Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.
Resubmissions
For Resubmissions, the committee will evaluate the application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the project.
Renewals
Not Applicable
Revisions
Not Applicable
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS) as part of the Resource Sharing Plan will not be evaluated at time of review.
As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.
Applications from Foreign Organizations
Reviewers will assess whether the project presents special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions that exist in other countries and either are not readily available in the United States or augment existing U.S. resources.
Select Agent Research
Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).
Resource Sharing Plans
Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans are reasonable: (1) Sharing Model Organisms; and (2) Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS).
Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources:
For projects involving key biological and/or chemical resources, reviewers will comment on the brief plans proposed for identifying and ensuring the validity of those resources.
Budget and Period of Support
Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.
Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by NINDS, in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.
As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.
Applications may undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact score.
Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this FOA.
Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council (NANDSC). The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's business official.
Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.
Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to terms and conditions found on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website. This includes any recent legislation and policy applicable to awards that is highlighted on this website.
Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the awardee must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.
All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Recipients, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.
Recipients of federal financial assistance (FFA) from HHS must administer their programs in compliance with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age and, in some circumstances, religion, conscience, and sex. This includes ensuring programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency. The HHS Office for Civil Rights provides guidance on complying with civil rights laws enforced by HHS. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/provider-obligations/index.html and http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/section1557/index.html.
HHS recognizes that research projects are often limited in scope for many reasons that are nondiscriminatory, such as the principal investigator’s scientific interest, funding limitations, recruitment requirements, and other considerations. Thus, criteria in research protocols that target or exclude certain populations are warranted where nondiscriminatory justifications establish that such criteria are appropriate with respect to the health or safety of the subjects, the scientific study design, or the purpose of the research. For additional guidance regarding how the provisions apply to NIH grant programs, please contact the Scientific/Research Contact that is identified in Section VII under Agency Contacts of this FOA.
Please contact the HHS Office for Civil Rights for more information about obligations and prohibitions under federal civil rights laws at https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/contact-us/index.html or call 1-800-368-1019 or TDD 1-800-537-7697.
In accordance with the statutory provisions contained in Section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110-417), NIH awards will be subject to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) requirements. FAPIIS requires Federal award making officials to review and consider information about an applicant in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS) prior to making an award. An applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through FAPIIS and comment on any information about itself that a Federal agency previously entered and is currently in FAPIIS. The Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in FAPIIS, in making a judgement about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 45 CFR Part 75.205 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants. This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.
Not Applicable
Data Management and Sharing
Note: The NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing is effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023.
Consistent with the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing, when data management and sharing is applicable to the award, recipients will be required to adhere to the Data Management and Sharing requirements as outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Upon the approval of a Data Management and Sharing Plan, it is required for recipients to implement the plan as described.
A final RPPR, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.
In accordance with the regulatory requirements provided at 45 CFR 75.113 and Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75, recipients that have currently active Federal grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding agencies with a cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of a Federal award, must report and maintain the currency of information reported in the System for Award Management (SAM) about civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings in connection with the award or performance of a Federal award that reached final disposition within the most recent five-year period. The recipient must also make semiannual disclosures regarding such proceedings. Proceedings information will be made publicly available in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS). This is a statutory requirement under section 872 of Public Law 110-417, as amended (41 U.S.C. 2313). As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111-212, all information posted in the designated integrity and performance system on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews required for Federal procurement contracts, will be publicly available. Full reporting requirements and procedures are found in Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75 Award Term and Conditions for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.
We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.
eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues)
Finding Help Online: http://grants.nih.gov/support/ (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
General Grants Information (Questions regarding application instructions, application processes, and NIH grant resources)
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-480-7075
Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and Workspace)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov
Michael L. Oshinsky, PhD
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-496-9964
Email: michael.oshinsky@nih.gov
D.P. Mohapatra, PhD
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-496-9964
Email: dp.mohapatra@nih.gov
Rebecca Roof, PhD
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-496-1779
Email: Rebecca.Roof@nih.gov
Julia L. Bachman, PhD
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-827-7383
Email: julia.bachman@nih.gov
Melissa Ghim, PhD
National Institute Of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Phone: (301) 496-7853
E-mail: melissa.ghim@nih.gov
Inna Belfer, MD, Ph.D.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Phone: 301-435-1573
Email: inna.belfer@nih.gov
Charles H. Washabaugh, Ph.D.
National Institute Of Arthritis And Musculoskeletal And Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Phone: 301-594-5050
E-mail: Charles.Washabaugh@nih.gov
Jenica Dawn Patterson
National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Phone: 301-827-6166
E-mail: jenica.patterson@nih.gov
Houmam H Araj
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Phone: (301) 451-2020
E-mail: ha50c@nih.gov
Asif Rizwan, PhD
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-435-0070
E-mail: asif.rizwan@nih.gov
Chief, Scientific Review Branch
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Email: nindsreview@nih.gov
Chief Grants Management Officer
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Email: ChiefGrantsManagementOfficer@ninds.nih.gov
Diana Rutberg, MBA
National Institute Of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Phone: (301) 594-4798
E-mail: dr258t@nih.gov
Shelley Carow
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Phone: 301-594-3788
Email: CarowS@mail.nih.gov
Erik Edgerton
National Institute Of Arthritis And Musculoskeletal And Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Phone: 301-594-7760
E-mail: erik.edgerton@nih.gov
Judy Fox
National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Phone: (301) 443-4704
E-mail: jfox@mail.nih.gov
Karen Robinsonsmith
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Phone: (301) 451-2020
E-mail: kyr@nei.nih.gov
Nina Hall
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-827-2393
E-mail: nina.hall@nih.gov
Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 75.
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