Notice Number: NOT-OD-07-006

Key Dates
Release Date: October 12, 2006

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH) (http://www.nih.gov )

Components of Participating Organizations
These RFAs were developed as part of the NIH-wide Genes and Environment Initiative. All NIH Institutes and Centers participate in NIH-wide initiatives. The referenced RFAs will be administered by NHGRI (http://www.genome.gov) on behalf of the NIH (http://www.nih.gov).

RFA-HG-06-014: Genome-wide Association Studies in the Genes and Environment Initiative - Genotyping Facilities (U01) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HG-06-014.html
RFA-HG-06-032: Genome-wide Association Studies in the Genes and Environment Initiative - Coordinating Center (U01) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HG-06-032.html
RFA-HG-06-033: Genome-wide Association Studies in the Genes and Environment Initiative - Study Investigators (U01) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HG-06-033.html

This notice is to inform potential applicants that investigators from the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) will be eligible to participate in the NIH-wide Genes and Environment Initiative (GEI). NIH is seeking a broad range of studies for inclusion in GEI, and recognizes that potentially eligible and meritorious studies may be ongoing within the IRP. Expanding this program to include IRP investigators will help GEI meet its goals of including the most highly scientifically meritorious projects, accessing diverse population samples, and ensuring programmatic balance across disease areas. It will also assist in meeting goals for enhancing intramural-extramural collaborations as outlined in the 2003 Institute of Medicine Report, Enhancing the Vitality of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, it may expand the resources available to GEI, by encouraging significant participation of intramural investigators and staff whose salaries are already supported by the NIH. Requests for the participation of the NIH IRP in the GEI will be peer reviewed.

The financial resources of the GEI include an allocation of funds to support related meritorious research at the Intramural Research Program at the NIH. This allocation is independent of the financial commitments for current RFAs and future extramural funding opportunities. As such, it does not diminish the funds allocated to the referenced RFAs to fund extramural applications submitted in response to these RFAs.

To ensure that all GEI projects are reviewed in a comparable manner, the NIH has determined that intramural investigators may submit requests for the resources required to participate in the programs described in the referenced RFAs that were recently issued as a part of the GEI.

NIH intramural investigators will be eligible to submit requests for intramural funding to provide support to address the objectives of:

RFA-HG-06-014: Genome-wide Association Studies in the Genes and Environment Initiative - Genotyping Facilities (U01)
RFA-HG-06-032: Genome-wide Association Studies in the Genes and Environment Initiative - Coordinating Center (U01)
RFA-HG-06-033: Genome-wide Association Studies in the Genes and Environment Initiative - Study Investigators (U01)

The requests from NIH intramural scientists will be submitted using the format of PHS 398 application kit (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html). The NIH intramural scientist requests will be reviewed in a separate peer review meeting, but using the same review criteria and procedures as the applications from extramural investigators and using the same peer review group members.

The requests by intramural scientists will be limited to the incremental costs required for participation. As such, these requests will not include any salary and related fringe benefits for career, career conditional or other Federal employees (civilian or uniformed service) with permanent appointments under existing position ceilings or any costs related to administrative or facilities support (equivalent to Facilities and Administrative or F&A costs)

If selected, NIH intramural scientists will participate in GEI programs as Principal Investigators in accord with the Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award provided in the referenced RFAs. Intellectual property will be managed in accord with established policy of the NIH in compliance with Executive Order 10096, as amended, 45 CFR Part 7; patent rights for inventions developed in NIH facilities are NIH property unless NIH waives its rights.

Should an extramural application include the collaboration with an intramural scientist, no funds for the support of the intramural scientist may be requested in the application. The intramural scientist may submit a separate request for intramural funding as described in this announcement.

Because the funding opportunity for NIH intramural scientist in GEI had not been completely developed prior to issuing the current RFAs, notification of the intramural investigators of their eligibility to apply was delayed. Thus, to provide them with the same amount of time to prepare their requests as extramural investigators have, the receipt date for the proposals from NIH intramural scientists only will be December 18, 2006. The receipt date for letters of intent is the same for intramural and extramural investigators: November 1, 2006 Applications from extramural scientists that include collaboration with NIH intramural scientists are due on the extramural application receipt date: November 29, 2006.

Inquiry

Inquiries regarding this Notice and the related RFAs may be directed to:
Office of Extramural Research
National Institutes of Health
Email: [email protected]