Notice Number: NOT-OD-07-007

Key Dates
Release Date: October 17, 2006

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

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 NIEHS ( http://www.niehs.nih.gov ), NIDA ( http://www.nida.nih.gov ), and NCI ( http://www.nci.nih.gov ) on behalf of the NIH ( http://www.nih.gov )

RFA-ES-06-011 Environmental Sensors for Personal Exposure Assessment (U01)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-06-011.html

RFA-ES-06-012 Biological Response Indicators of Environmental Stress Centers (U54)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-06-012.html

RFA-ES-06-013 Biological Response Indicators of Environmental Stress (U01)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-06-013.html

RFA-DA-07-005 Field-Deployable Tools for Quantifying Exposures to Psychosocial Stress and to Addictive Substances for Studies of Health and Disease (U01)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-07-005.html

RFA-CA-07-032 Improved Measures of Diet and Physical Activity for the Genes and Environment Initiative (GEI) (U01)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-CA-07-032.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-ES-06-011 Environmental Sensors for Personal Exposure Assessment (U01)

RFA-ES-06-012 Biological Response Indicators of Environmental Stress Centers (U54)

RFA-ES-06-013 Biological Response Indicators of Environmental Stress (U01)

RFA-DA-07-005 Field-Deployable Tools for Quantifying Exposures to Psychosocial Stress and to Addictive Substances for Studies of Health and Disease (U01)

RFA-CA-07-032 Improved Measures of Diet and Physical Activity for the Genes and Environment Initiative (GEI) (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.

The receipt date for letters of intent is the same for intramural and extramural investigators: November 22, 2006. Intramural scientists are encouraged to submit letters of intent. All applications are due on December 22, 2006 for the NIEHS and NIDA RFAs, and January 22, 2007 for the NCI RFA.

Inquiry

Inquiries regarding this Notice and the related program announcement may be directed to:

Office of Extramural Programs
Office of Extramural Research
National Institutes of Health
Email:  Ellisj1@mail.nih.gov