Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements for Research on Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Populations (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)
Notice Number:
NOT-OD-22-032

Key Dates

Release Date:

December 2, 2021

First Available Due Date:
January 31, 2022
Expiration Date:
February 01, 2024

Related Announcements

NOT-MD-22-007 - Notice of National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Participation in NOT-OD-22-032, NOSI: Administrative Supplements for Research on Sexual and Gender Minority Populations (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

PA-20-272 Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

Issued by

Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO)

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

Fogarty International Center (FIC)

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers. The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Office of AIDS Research (OAR)

Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)

Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)

Purpose

The mission of the NIH is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. The NIH is committed to supporting research that will increase scientific understanding of the health and well-being of various population and subpopulation groups and that will help to establish the effectiveness of evidence-based health interventions and services for individuals within these groups. NIH places high priority on research with populations that have distinct health risk profiles and who have also received insufficient attention from the scientific research enterprise. To this end, this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) announces the availability of administrative supplements to provide funding for the expansion of existing research projects to incorporate sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations or SGM-relevant research questions. SGM populations include, but are not limited to, those populations described in NOT-OD-19-139. Basic, social, behavioral, clinical, translational, and health services research relevant to the missions of the sponsoring NIH Institutes or Centers (ICs) may be proposed in response to this solicitation. Potential applicants are encouraged to review the most recent annual Portfolio Analysis of NIH-funded SGM research to identify potential research gaps that may be relevant to this NOSI. More information about the SGM administrative supplements program and previously awarded research projects can be found on the SGMRO website.

Background

The collective knowledge base on SGM health has grown substantially since the release of the groundbreaking 2011 Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) report on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. However, in their comprehensive 2020 report on the status and well-being of people who identify as SGM, the National Academies Committee on Population ultimately concluded that SGMs still face numerous disparities across multiple domains of well-being. In October 2016, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, in collaboration with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, announced that SGMs had been officially designated a health disparity population for NIH research purposes. This designation has facilitated the creation of tailored research projects, programs, activities, and funding opportunities to tackle the unique health-related issues encountered by SGM individuals. In addition, ascertainment of SGM status in ongoing and planned population studies has been enhanced. However, it is apparent that SGM-specific health disparities persist today, and there is still an urgent need for novel strategies to understand, measure, address, and prevent them.

As of August 28, 2019, the NIH definition of "sexual and gender minorities" includes, but is not limited to, individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, two-spirit, queer, and/or intersex. Individuals with same-sex or -gender attractions or behaviors and those with a difference in sex development are also included. These populations also encompass those who do not self-identify with one of these terms but whose sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or reproductive development is characterized by non-binary constructs of sexual orientation, gender, and/or sex. Applicants to this administrative supplement may propose to study relevant SGM subpopulations not explicitly identified in this definition and/or adopt other classification frameworks and terminologies as appropriate.

Specific Areas of Research Interest

This NOSI calls for research that will enrich scientific understanding of how sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or being born with differences/disorders in sex development (DSDs) or intersex characteristics relate to health outcomes, health risks, health behaviors, perceptions and expectations about health, and access to health-related services or associated barriers.

Appropriate topics or studies for these supplements may include, but are not limited to, those listed below:

  • Addition of SGM participants to an ongoing study which either did not originally include them or has not enrolled enough SGM participants to make meaningful comparisons between groups; proposed studies must be sufficiently powered to allow for meaningful comparisons
  • Expansion of an ongoing study focused on one SGM group to add another; proposed studies must be sufficiently powered to allow for meaningful comparisons
  • Expansion of data collection (e.g., in surveys, questionnaires, etc.) to add items related to sexual attraction, sexual behavior, sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, and/or non-binary sex when relevant and appropriate
  • Secondary analyses of existing data to generate new information or hypotheses about SGM health
  • Assessment of reliability and/or validity of measures relevant to sexual attraction, sexual behavior, sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, and/or non-binary sex
  • Methodological and strategic innovations to improve the recruitment and retention of SGM individuals in any research activity
  • Expansion of prevention, screening, and wellness research tailored to SGM populations that aims to reduce health inequities
  • Ethical, legal, or social science research on the implications of data collection and/or research findings on SGM populations

Scope of Support

Administrative supplements can be used to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved parent award, but that were unforeseen when the new or renewal application or grant progress report for non-competing continuation support was submitted. Applicants to this NOSI should propose research that, if successful, would contribute to a greater understanding of the health and well-being of SGM communities. Clinical trials cannot be proposed to be added to grants that do not include a clinical trial as that would constitute a change in scope.

IC-Specific Considerations

All applications submitted in response to this NOSI should fall within the mission of the IC of the awarded parent grant. Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their proposed supplement project with the IC Program Officer of the funded parent award prior to submission of a supplement application in order to ensure that the proposed activity aligns with the scientific priorities of the IC and is within the scope of the parent award. Scientific inquiries may also be addressed to the contacts listed in the Inquiries section below.

Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Authority and Regulations

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 75.

Please recognize that all SGM administrative supplement awards are made specifically for conducting the research proposed in each application. Progress reports specific to the SGM administrative supplement may be requested by SGMRO at any point. These progress report requests will be sent under separate cover from the Research Performance Progress Report. Unsatisfactory progress or reallocation of supplement funds to another purpose outside of the proposed research plan may lead to disqualification of participating programs from future consideration for this opportunity.

Application and Submission Information

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

  • PA-20-272 - 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-20-272 must be followed, with the following additions:

  • Application Due Dates January 31, 2022 for FY 2022; January 31, 2023 for FY 2023; and January 31, 2024 for FY 2024, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
  • The expiration date is February 1, 2024.
  • The project and budget periods must be within the currently approved project period for the existing parent award.
  • For funding consideration, applicants must include NOT-OD-22-032 (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.
  • Requests may be for one year of support only.
  • The project budget cannot exceed $100,000 in total costs.
  • The Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 6 pages.
  • The process for Streamlined Submissions using the eRA Commons cannot be used for this initiative.
  • Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the Program Officer at the IC supporting the parent award that a request has been submitted in response to this NOSI in order to facilitate efficient processing of the application.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions or are deemed otherwise non-responsive to the terms of this NOSI, will not be accepted for review.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to the Program Officer associated with the parent award and/or the designated contact at the ICO supporting the parent award listed below:

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Brad Newsome, PhD
Fogarty International Center (FIC)
Telephone: 301-496-1653
Email: brad.newsome@nih.gov

Inna Belfer, MD, PhD
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Telephone: 301-435-1573
Email: inna.belfer@nih.gov

Whitney Barfield, PhD
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-6170
Email: whitney.barfield@nih.gov

Tina L Gatlin, PhD
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Telephone: 301-480-2280
Email: gatlincl@mail.nih.gov

Melissa Gerald, PhD
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-496-3136
Email: melissa.gerald@nih.gov

Keith Crawford, PhD
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 240-669-2816
Email: keith.crawford@nih.gov

Heiyoung Park, PhD
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Telephone: 301-594-5032
Email: parkh1@mail.nih.gov

Richard A Jenkins, PhD
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Telephone: 301-443-6504
Email: jenkinsri@mail.nih.gov

Carol B Hubner, PhD
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Telephone: 301-827-5926
Email: chubner@nida.nih.gov

Janet Cyr, PhD
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Telephone: 301-402-3458
Email: cyrj@nidcd.nih.gov

Dena Fischer, DDS, MSD, MS
National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Telephone: 301-594-4876
Email: dena.fischer@nih.gov

Vanessa A White, MPH
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: 301-827-5505
Email: vanessa.white@nih.gov

Beshaun Davis, Ph.D.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Telephone: 301-827-5098
Email: beshaun.davis@nih.gov

Erica Littlejohn, PhD
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-435-2719
Email: Erica.Littlejohn@nih.gov

Shalanda A Bynum, PhD, MPH
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Email: shalanda.bynum@nih.gov

Elizabeth L Neilson, PhD, MPH, MSN
Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)
Telephone: 301-827-5578
Email: Elizabeth.Neilson@nih.gov

Elizabeth Anne Barr, PhD
Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
Telephone: 301-402-7895
Email: elizabeth.barr@nih.gov

Melissa Mera, MPH
Office of AIDS Research (OAR)
Telephone: 301-761-7689
Email: melissa.mera@nih.gov

Robert Freeman PhD
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Telephone: 301-443 8820
Email: Robert.Freeman@nih.gov