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PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

Issued by

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Purpose

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is providing the opportunity for supplemental funding to (i) enhance the capture of individual-level environmental exposure information in ways that are efficient, cost-effective, consecutive, and non-burdensome, and (ii) evaluate novel environmental exposure assessment approaches and validate such approaches with that of traditional assessment methods. 

Background

Cancer risks and outcomes are strongly influenced by environmental factors. Rigorous assessments that capture the complexity of human environmental exposures are therefore important for understanding the associations between environment and disease. However, traditional environmental exposure assessment methods can present a number of challenges in population-based studies. For example, measurement of biomarkers of environmental exposures, in certain instances considered the gold standard, may provide limited temporal information. In addition, exposure assessments based on environmental samples and modeling (e.g. geospatial methods) often rely on assumptions about individual behavior, for which there can be incomplete information. These types of limitations in the measurement of environmental exposures can impact investigations of associations with health in epidemiologic studies.

Addition of personal monitoring devices or other technologies for the measurement of individual-level environmental exposures can improve exposure assessments in existing epidemiologic studies. However, the validity of these instruments to assess biologically relevant exposures for investigations of cancer and cancer-related outcomes or the degree to which they can improve exposure assessments in combination with traditional exposure assessment methods is not fully computed. To address these issues, this supplement will support proposals to (i) enhance the capture of individual-level environmental exposure information in ways that are efficient, cost-effective, consecutive, and non-burdensome, and/or (ii) evaluate novel approaches and validate whether such approaches would advance epidemiologic studies of the external environment and health. Proposals that include novel exposure assessment methods and validation/comparisons with existing exposure assessment approaches are highly encouraged. Research topics of specific interest include, but are not limited to the following:

• Validation of novel environmental exposure assessment technologies in comparison to or in combination with traditional exposure assessment methods in epidemiology studies;  
• Investigation of the feasibility and efficacy of incorporating cost-effective, valid, and non-burdensome technologies to measure external environmental exposures (e.g., wearable devices, monitors, remote sensing data, mobile apps) to existing cohort studies;
• Preliminary or pilot studies that add novel technologies or methods to assess external environmental exposures to both expand the number of environmental exposures and improve accuracy of individual-level assessments in epidemiology studies. 

Eligibility

• Administrative supplement applications are limited to currently funded R01, R37, P01, U01, U2C, UH3, U19 projects supported by NCI. Requests for no-cost extensions on the parent grant to accommodate a supplement will not be permitted.
• PDs/PIs must hold an active award supported through NCI with sufficient time (minimum 1 year) left to complete the study proposed after the supplement has been awarded within the existing project period.
• The proposed project for supplemental funding is required to be within the scope of the parent award and be a logical extension of the original aims.
• For supplements to parent awards that include multiple PDs/PIs, the supplement may be requested by any or all of the PDs/PIs (in accordance with the existing leadership plan) and submitted by the awardee institution of the parent award.
• The awardees of multi-projects must submit their request as a single project application for the supplemental funding.

Application and Submission Information

Administrative supplements may only be used to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award, but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted.

Applications for this initiative must be submitted using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent.

• PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and PA-20-272 must be followed, with the following additions:

• Application Due Date: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis between March 13, 2023 and April 21, 2023, at 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization for FY 2023 funding. This NOSI will expire on April 22, 2023.
• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-CA-23-048” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.
• Applicants should begin the supplement application abstract by stating “This application is being submitted in response to the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) identified as NOT-CA-23-048”.
• Applicants are encouraged to discuss their application with the scientific contact listed below prior to submission to ensure responsiveness and facilitate processing of the application. 
• Applicants are also strongly encouraged to notify the assigned NCI Program Official for the parent award that a request has been submitted in response to this NOSI.

Budget and Period of Support: 

• Budget requests cannot exceed $100,000 in total costs and must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. 
• At least one full year on the parent grant must remain at the time of funding. The application budget is limited to 1 year only.
• Requests for no-cost extensions on the parent grant to accommodate a supplement will not be permitted.
• If an applicant anticipates a balance of 50% or more of the current total costs for the parent grant, please contact the scientific research contact prior to submitting an application.
• Requests must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. Administrative supplements can be used to cover cost increases that are associated with achieving certain new research objectives as long as the research objectives are within the original scope of the peer-reviewed and approved project (i.e., award); supplements designed to meet cost increases for unanticipated expenses within the original scope of the project will not be considered.
• Only one supplement application per grant will be accepted for consideration through this NOSI.

Page limits - these sections have the following limits:

• Project Summary/Abstract: 30 lines of text
• Project Narrative: 3 sentences
• Research Strategy: 5 pages
• Biographical Sketch: for Senior/Key Personnel and Significant Contributors only

Administrative Review Process

NCI will conduct administrative reviews of submitted applications submitted and will support the most meritorious applications submitted for consideration, based upon the availability of funds.

Criteria:

• Does the administrative supplement reasonably allow for the proposed project to be completed, given the time and budget requested?
• Are the proposed activities relevant to the parent grant and original work scope?
• Does the applicant demonstrate satisfactory progress towards achieving the aims of the parent grant, as appropriate to the current stage of the project?
• Does the proposed project for supplemental funding fill an identified gap in the scientific literature that advances exposure assessment in epidemiologic research?
• Do the results from the proposed project have the potential to provide new information on methodologic approaches that would advance exposure assessment in epidemiologic research?
• Does the proposed project appropriately justify the inclusion of unrepresented, underserved, and/or vulnerable populations?
• Will the proposed activities meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award, but were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the program contact at the Institute supporting the parent award that a request has been submitted in response to this NOSI to facilitate efficient processing of the application.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Curt DellaValle, Ph.D., MPH
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-7225
Email: [email protected]

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Crystal Wolfrey
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-6277
Email: [email protected]