Notice Number: NOT-MH-19-038
Key Dates
Release Date: September 4, 2019
First Available Due Date: October 5, 2019
Expiration Date: September 8, 2021
PA-18-906, Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Issued by
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Eye Institute (NEI)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Purpose
This Notice encourages eligible awardees in the BRAIN Initiative community to apply for administrative supplements in response to PA-18-906, Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed). The NIH has a strong interest in the diversity of the NIH-funded workforce (see NOT-OD-18-210) and encourages institutions to diversify their populations by enhancing the participation of individuals from groups identified as underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences.
The foundational BRAIN 2025 report states that "the BRAIN Initiative should be a catalyst that will drive outstanding young people to enter this area at their most creative career stage." The NIH diversity supplement offers an opportunity for BRAIN awardees to request additional funds to train and mentor the next generation of researchers, including those from underrepresented groups, who will contribute to advancing the goals of the BRAIN Initiative.
Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) of active BRAIN Initiative research program grants are encouraged to identify eligible individuals across the career development pipeline (from high school students to the faculty level) for support and scientific mentorship under the auspices of this administrative supplement. The research activities proposed in the supplement application must fall within the scope of the parent grant. Proposed career development activities should be appropriate for the career stage of the supplement candidate and should demonstrate both a strong commitment by the mentor and a clear path forward for the candidate. BRAIN Initiative PD/PIs are strongly encouraged to incorporate training activities that will help prepare the supplement candidate to conduct research relevant to the goals of the BRAIN Initiative 2025 Report.
Educational goals for the NIH component of the BRAIN Initiative (see BRAIN 2025: A Scientific Vision) include acquisition of quantitative skills; the appropriate use and integration of newly developed tools, technologies and methods developed under the BRAIN Initiative; and consideration of the ethical implications of neuroscience research. Special emphasis is placed on training in quantitative neuroscience (i.e., theory and statistics for biologists) and exposing physicists, engineers and statisticians to experimental neuroscience. The BRAIN 2025 Report strongly encourages scientists to cross traditional areas of expertise to conduct interdisciplinary research and emphasizes the need to leverage perspectives from quantitative disciplines (e.g., statistics, computer science, physics, mathematics, and engineering) to address neuroscience questions.
Application and Submission Information:
This Notice applies to due dates on or after October 5, 2019 and expires on September 8, 2021.
Applications for this initiative must be submitted using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent PA-18-906 - Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed).
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and PA-18-906 must be followed, with the following additions:
- As the first sentence of the Research Strategy, applicants are requested to state that the parent grant was awarded as a BRAIN Initiative award and to identify the specific FOA of the parent grant (e.g., RFA-NS-18-030) to facilitate processing of the supplement application.
- For funding consideration, applicants must include "NOT-MH-19-038" (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. Only existing awardees of BRAIN program are eligible to apply. Supplement applications will be evaluated by the BRAIN Initiative research training committee.
- The process for Streamlined Submissions using the eRA Commons cannot be used for this initiative.
- Diversity supplement applications to a parent grant that is a multiple-PD/PI (MPI) BRAIN Initiative award to a foreign institution are permitted. Specifically, a diversity supplement may be submitted if the supplement candidate meets the eligibility criteria specified in PA-18-906 and will work with a subaward MPI at a U.S. domestic institution. Potential applicants are encouraged to confirm eligibility with the Program contact listed below.
- BRAIN diversity supplement awardees are strongly encouraged to participate in annual PD/PI meetings and in other activities with their mentors. Applicants may request funds, in addition to the research costs specified in PA-18-906,to enable the supplement candidate to attend the annual BRAIN Initiative PD/PI meeting in the Washington, DC area. This request for additional funds should be reasonable and well justified in the application.
- Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to review the supplemental guidance for BRAIN Initiative diversity supplement applications on the NIH BRAIN Initiative web site. Consultation with the Program Official for the qualifying BRAIN award or the individual named under Inquiries below is highly recommended.
- Supplement applications will be evaluated by the BRAIN Initiative research training committee.
Applications will be considered according to the following schedule:
Application Due Date (Funding Decision)
October 5 December 1 (January)
December 2 February 15 (March)
February 16 April 15 (May)
April 16 June 15 (July)
For tracking purposes, applicants are encouraged to inform Dr. James Churchill via email (James.Churchill@nih.gov) when a diversity supplement application is submitted. Please include the PD/PI name and grant number in the subject line of this email.
Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will be not be considered for the NOSI initiative.
Inquiries
Please direct all inquiries to:
James Churchill, Ph.D.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Telephone: 301-443-3621
Email: BRAIN.Initiative.Training@nih.gov
and Human Services (HHS)
