Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Reporting Back Environmental Health and Non-Genomic Research Results

Key Dates

None

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), in partnership with the NIH Office of Science Policy (OSP) and the All of Us Research Program, intends to publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for applications that identify, develop, and test strategies for reporting back environmental health and non-genomic research results to study participants and/or key partners.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. 

The FOA is expected to be published in April 2023 with an expected application due date in June 2023.

This FOA will utilize the R01 activity code. Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

The research enterprise is increasingly moving towards greater return of individual-specific research results, both to increase the value for participants and improve scientific rigor and reproducibility. While commonly discussed in relation to return of genomic research results, there is also a growing movement toward greater report back of environmental and non-genomic research results. Of course, challenges remain in terms of the need for quality in returning research results and when this provides most value. There is a need for research to inform community engagement, guidelines, and additional educational resources for effective communication of research results to individual participants and, as appropriate, aggregate results to other key partners, such as Community-Based Organizations, Tribal Nations, Public Health Departments, schools, faith-based organizations, community workers, health care providers, policy makers, and Institutional Review Boards.

To inform future research activities, NIEHS, OSP, and the All of Us Research Program intend to publish an FOA to solicit applications that identify, develop, and test strategies for reporting back environmental health The and non-genomic research results to study participants and/or key partners. Reporting back of research results (RBRR) is defined as: When an investigator, or their designee, provides information to a participant or other key partner about data collected during a study, specifically individual or community-level research results. The information may be communicated using different methods and modalities (for example, verbally, in print, or electronically). Examples of environmental and non-genomic data include measurements of contaminants in air, water, soil, dust, blood, urine, saliva, examination of patient-reported outcomes, personal monitor data, GPS devices, surveys, focus group data, or other behavioral data.

Applications will be sought that advance the field of RBRR for environmental health and non-genomic research results to help establish best practices/guidelines through research and evaluation; improve understanding of perceived risks and benefits, challenges, and obstacles to inform the practice of RBRR; and better understand how RBRR can help improve health equity and reduce health disparities. Potential applicants are highly encouraged to contact the NIH staff person listed below.

This Notice is being provided for informational purposes to allow potential applicants additional time to develop responsive applications. NIH reserves the right to modify the scope and objectives as described in this Notice. Final scope, objectives, and requirements will be set forth in the published FOA.

TBD

Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Private Institution of Higher Education
Nonprofit with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)
Small Business
For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Business)
State Government
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized)
County governments
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Indian/Native American Tribally Designated Organization (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
U.S. Territory or Possession
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Other than Federally Recognized)
Regional Organization
Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

Applications are not being solicited at this time. 

Please direct all inquiries to:

Liam O'Fallon
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
919-802-6523
ofallon@niehs.nih.gov