NOT-CA-18-077: Notice of Availability of Administrative Supplements to Support Tool and Resource Development to Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Multiple Myeloma

Notice of Availability of Administrative Supplements to Support Tool and Resource Development to Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Multiple Myeloma

Notice Number: NOT-CA-18-077

Key Dates
Release Date: June 15, 2018

Related Announcements
PA-18-591

Issued by
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Purpose

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) participates in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Parent Program Announcement PA-18-591, "Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)." Through this Notice, NCI announces interest in supporting the development of research tools and resources within the scope of eligible active NCI-funded awards (see below) that will enable and enhance research to understand and address the disparities in biology and prevalence of multiple myeloma (MM) and its premalignant stages experienced by racial/ethnic minorities, including African American (AA), Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Asian populations. Special emphasis on the development of tools and resources that can enable and enhance AA-focused MM research is encouraged. Only qualifying active NCI-funded R01, P01, P30, and P50 grant awards and U01, U54, and UG1 cooperative agreement awards will be considered through this opportunity.

This opportunity is a first step in addressing scientific research gaps in the field of MM disparities research. Evaluation of this supplemental funding will help to inform future funding opportunities for MM disparities research.

Specifically, the goals are to:

Support the creation of new biologic, basic, preclinical, and/or epidemiologic tools and/or resources for conducting MM research with special consideration for patients in racial/ethnic groups having heavier disease burdens of MM and related premalignant condition burdens.
Support the expansion of ongoing research studies to address relevant scientific questions related to MM and its premalignant conditions in AAs and other disparate populations. This expansion may include screening for premalignant patients in longitudinal studies and expanding biospecimen collection.
Support exploratory research and/or research activities that will strengthen the ability of an existing study or research infrastructure (such as the NCI Community Oncology Research Program [NCORP] sites) with access to significant resources and diverse populations (e.g., cohort studies with pre-diagnostic or premalignant samples, networks with special emphasis on racial/ethnic populations with a high burden of MM) to investigate MM and its premalignant conditions in AAs and other disparate populations.

NOTE: Supplements that include investigators from underrepresented groups, including those from racial/ethnic diverse groups, and early-stage investigators as collaborators are highly encouraged, but not required. Given the rarity of MM in populations and its complex, multi-stage etiology in patients, collaborative research approaches in creating and enhancing tools/resources are also encouraged. Supplement applications will be expected to present a resource or data sharing plan for evaluation by program staff.

Research activities of interest include, but are not limited to:

Generating tools and resources (e.g., reagents, disease models, and samples) for expanding the understanding of disparities-associated MM disease etiology and progression. Examples include the development of biologic and preclinical tools or models, cell lines, humanized or genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs), or other tools that could better represent race/ethnic differences in MM.
Developing resources for the expansion of population-based research (e.g., the collection of blood, tumor, liquid biopsies and appropriate clinical and treatment data).
Expanding the use of existing biospecimen samples and resources (e.g., blood serum) in available epidemiological studies for monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) testing.
Retrospectively characterize existing MM biospecimens from diverse populations participating in completed clinical trials in order to create a database to examine treatment outcomes.

The parent grant must have sufficient time remaining to achieve the goals of the administrative supplement. Specifically, at least one full year must remain on the grant at the time of funding for the administrative supplement from the potential start date of the supplement. Requests for no-cost extensions on the parent grant to accommodate a supplement will not be permitted. Investigators can submit one administrative supplement per eligible grant award. Administrative supplements will be considered for active awards that are eligible include: R01, P01, P30, or P50 grants or UG1, U01, or U54 cooperative agreements.

The application must include an appropriate resource or data sharing plan, in which applicants are expected to provide the following information:

What data/resources will be shared;
When the data/resources be shared; and
How the data/resources will be shared and with whom.

Supplement budgets are limited to 1 year and may not exceed $150,000 in direct costs.

Application Due Date

Applications should be submitted to PA-18-591 by July 22, 2018.

Review and Selection

Applications will be administratively reviewed according to the criteria of PA-18-591. Selections will be made in August 2018 based on: overall responsiveness/eligibility determinations, including in scope requirement; the qualifications of the applicant; determination of acceptable/satisfactory progress made on the parent grant at the time of the supplement application; scientific review of the merit of the proposed supplemental studies; the appropriateness and adequacy of the proposed data-sharing plan; and the amount of available funds.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences

Damali Martin, M.P.H., Ph.D.

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Telephone: 240-276-6746

Email: [email protected]

Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities

John Ojeifo, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Telephone: 240-276-6186

Email: [email protected]