Notice Number: NOT-ES-06-016

Key Dates
Release Date: August 8, 2006
Receipt Date: November 17, 2006
Earliest Award Date: July 1, 2007

Issued by
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/)

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) announces a change to RFA-ES-06-001 which solicits applications for the Disease Investigation through Clinically Oriented Ventures in Environmental Research (DISCOVER) P50 Centers.

The original Funding Opportunity Announcement required applicants to include, in addition to a minimum of two mechanistically-driven projects, two patient-oriented clinical research projects that met a strict definition of clinical research as defined in RFA-ES-06-001 (Section III, subsection 3).  There is no change in the RFA in regards to the requirements relating to the two mechanistically-driven projects.  However, the requirement for patient-oriented clinical research has been modified to allow increased flexibility for applicants interested in responding to this RFA. 

Under the new requirement, one project must still meet the original definition of clinical research as given in the RFA; however, the second required clinical research project may encompass a less restrictive definition of patient-oriented clinical research allowing the utilization of clinical/pathological specimens of human origin (such as autopsy materials) as long as there is linked medical information for those samples.  Anonymous samples from tissue repositories and the use of cultured human cells will not fulfill this requirement.  This modified requirement, therefore, relaxes the limitation that samples obtained from study participants must result from an investigator directly interacting with participants in an outpatient or inpatient setting.

Inquiry

Direct inquiries regarding this notice to:

David M. Balshaw, PhD
Division of Extramural Research and Training
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
111 TW Alexander Drive, MD EC-23
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2233
Phone: 919-541-2448
Fax: 919-541-4937
Email: [email protected]