The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) announces the availability of funds to support the development and implementation of modules aimed at providing health care professionals with genomic medicine training. Genomic medicine topics include: clinical use of genomic data, genomic tests, analysis of clinical genomic data, pharmacogenomics, use of genomic information for preventive medicine, etc. For the purpose of this opportunity, health care professionals include physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, genetic counselors, pharmacists, etc. Development of training materials and/or curriculum needs to be within the scope of the parent grant.

Research Objectives

Modules can be designed to stand alone or to build upon each other to form a certificate in genomic medicine that will identify health care professionals with specialized expertise and consultative capabilities. The resulting modules will be units of training of sufficient depth and coverage to improve the medical practitioner’s expertise in genomic medicine.

Applicants are expected to describe the modular training materials they propose to develop and their plans for validation, implementation and, if successful, incorporation of the materials into the ongoing continued medical education programs at their institutions. They should also describe their experience developing and disseminating modular and other training materials focused on genomics. Specifically, applicants must address the following:

• The need for the proposed activities.
• A description of the activities and their potential impact on genomic medicine.
• Outline of syllabus or concepts to be conveyed.
• How the effectiveness of the activities will be assessed.
• If proven to be effective,
  • how the activities will be incorporated into the existing continued medical education program of the institution and
  • what are the plans to make the module(s) available to the biomedical research community through public access.
• The business model for sustaining the proposed training module(s).
• Plans for disseminating the activities and outcomes.
• Plans for updating the modules post funding.
• Institutional commitment for sustainability of the proposed activities.

During the two year period of the supplement, grantees are expected (a) to develop and assess the modules for their effectiveness in conveying theirinformation successfully (b) obtain state and continuingmedical education accreditation, and (3) perform research on the best methods for developing and delivering these modules.

Applicants are encourage to work in collaboration with their institutional continued medical education programs in the development of these modules.

Eligibility

Applicants must have an active grant from NHGRI or NCATS. The requested number of years of support must align with the active parent project period. Examples of programs that are eligible to apply include Initiative to Maximize Research Education in Genomics: Courses (R25), National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grants, Implementing Genomics in Practice (IGNITE), Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE), The Clinical Genome (ClinGen) Resource, and Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs).

For CTSAs applying to this supplement opportunity, the supplement must comply with all of the parent funding opportunity announcement requirements for the CTSA UL1 (as applicable).

An applicant institution, normally identified by having a unique Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number or National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutional Profile File (IPF)Number, may only submit one application.

Application and Submission Information

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

• PA-18-591 - 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-18-591 must be followed, with the following additions.

• Application Due Date May 1, 2020, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
• Electronic submissions is required for this funding opportunity. Note, the process for Streamlined Submissions using the eRA Commons cannot be used for this initiative.
• All page limitations applicable to the parent award as described in the Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed, with the following exceptions:
  • The Program Plan is limited to 6 pages.

• R&R Cover form: In addition to the instructions to select "Revision" in the "Type of Application" field, the following instructions must also be followed for the Agency Routing Identified field:

• For funding consideration, applicants must include NOT-HG-20-020 (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.

Budget

Application budgets are limited to $125,000 total costs per year. Applicants can request a maximum of two years of support. NHGRI anticipates making two awards contingent upon funds available and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Budgets must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. Funds from this supplement may be used for salary support of individuals designing, directing, and implementing the proposed activity. Funds may also be used for administrative staff salaries, consultant costs and other expenses directly related to the proposed activity. These expenses must not duplicate items generally available at the applicant institution. Applicants should note that the funds from this supplement are for the creation of new training materials, cannot be used to support current participant training costs, such as stipends, tuition, etc. or additional trainee slots in the parent grant.

Administrative Evaluation Process

NIH staff will consider:

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• Whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed .
• The likelihood for the supplement to exert a sustained, powerful influence on genomic medicine training.
• The potential impact of the proposed activities.
• The likelihood that the plans to assess the outcomes will provide evidence of the effectiveness of the activity.
• The plans to incorporate the activities, if successfully developed, into the ongoing continued medical education provided by the institution.
• The feasibility and likelihood of reaching the intended audience of the plans to disseminate the activities and outcomes.
• The appropriateness of the institutional commitment for sustaining the proposed activities.