Key Dates

Related Announcements

RFA-HG-22-002: Educational Hub for Enhancing Diversity in Computational Genomics and Data Science (U24 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

Issued by

Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to inform potential applicants that the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS), the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), and the All of Us Research Program will participate in Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) RFA-HG-22-002: Educational Hub for Enhancing Diversity in Computational Genomics and Data Science (U24 Clinical Trials Not Allowed).

The following sections of RFA-HG-22-002 have been modified to reflect the participation of multiple Offices, Institutes, and Centers (OIC) in this FOA (changes in italics).

Part 1. Overview Information

Components of Participating Organizations

Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

All of Us Research Program (All of Us), Office of the Director (OD)

Assistance Listing Number(s):

93.310 (ODSS)

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section 1. Funding Opportunity Description

Scientific Interests of Partnering NIH Institutes and Centers Are Delineated Below:

Specific Areas of Research Interest for ODSS:

ODSS will support research education and training activities that lead to enhanced data science access, knowledge, skills and proficiency, including individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences, in alignment with the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031). Activities are encouraged that help students develop foundational competencies in data science-relevant subjects, gain insight on the application of data science in biomedical research, or grow a biomedical data science community of peers and mentors.

Specific Areas of Research Interest for NIMHD:

NIMHD will support training activities that advance scientific understanding of the causes of health disparities and efforts to reduce health disparities and improve minority health. As part of its efforts to strengthen the national research capacity for minority health and health disparities research, NIMHD is committed to increasing the number of investigators from diverse backgrounds, including those from underrepresented groups (see, Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity, NOT-OD-20-031), pursuing biomedical research, particularly on diseases that disproportionately impact populations with health disparities https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/strategic-plan/. To this end, NIMHD is interested in supporting programs that increase educational opportunities for research projects that use approaches encompassing multiple domains of influence (e.g., biological, behavioral, sociocultural, environmental, physical environment, health system) and multiple levels of influence (e.g., individual, interpersonal, family, peer group, community, societal) to understand and address health disparities (see the NIMHD Research Framework, https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/research-framework.html).

Specific Areas of Research Interest for All of Us:

The All of Us Research Program is part of an effort to advance individualized health care by enrolling one million or more participants to contribute their health data over many years. The comprehensiveness and availability of the cloud-based All of Us dataset directly supports an initiative to increase the pipeline of researchers from diverse backgrounds, including those who are underrepresented in the biomedical workforce. See, Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity, NOT-OD-20-031. Program efforts are creating capacity for an inclusive and diverse community of researchers using All of Us data to investigate questions that can lead to new discoveries that may one day prevent and treat disease for all communities.

All of Us is building a database to help transform the future of health research by equipping researchers nationwide with expansive health data from diverse populations. It is built in partnership with participants spanning different ages, races and ethnicities, and regions of the country. To date, All of Us has enrolled more than 372,000 participants who have completed the initial steps of the program, with nearly 50% from racial or ethnic minority populations as defined by the U.S. Census and approximately 80% from individuals who have been historically underrepresented in biomedical research. The All of Us Research Program defines populations that are underrepresented in biomedical research (UBR) as groups historically not well represented in biomedical research including clinical trials. Diversity is one of the core values of the All of Us Research Program. Participants are from different races, ethnicities, age groups, and regions of the country. They are also diverse in gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, educational attainment, and health status.

Data collected includes physical measurements, lifestyle questions, electronic health records, and social determinants of health. All of Us provides custom tools and software to registered researchers to analyze participant data while keeping information secure.

The All of Us dataset is a unique opportunity for students and faculty that are studying computational genomics and data science (CGDS), to have access to one of the largest and most diverse datasets to advance training opportunities. The uniqueness of the data and diversity of the All of Us dataset can provide student trainees and their faculty mentors an unprecedented opportunity to begin to address complex questions in genomics while also investigating the intersectionality of how social determinants of health impact health inequities.

Available to registered researchers includes:

• data from 372,000+ participants [about 50% racial and ethnic minorities, approximately 80% from communities historically underrepresented in biomedical research overall (including racial and ethnic minorities, sexual and gender minorities, people living in rural areas, and other groups)].
• whole genome sequence data from nearly 100,000 participants (nearly 50% of whom self-identify as a member of a racial or ethnic minority group)
  • 593,000,000+ unique variants, which include 100M+ variants with = 3 occurrences not seen in gnomAD 3.0 (n = 71,702)
• electronic health record data from 258,000+ participants (including demographics, visits, diagnoses, and medications)
• survey data from 372,000+ participants from ninedifferent questionnaires capturing participant data on lifestyle, and health care utilization and access
• Fitbit data from more than 12,800+ participants who linked their personal data to their All of Us account
• physical measurements from 306,000 participants (including blood pressure, heart rate, body mass index, and more)

Using the All of Us dataset, CGDS students and faculty will be able to pair high powered genetics analysis with social determinants of health information to investigate complex, multidimensional, and intersecting influences on human health using one of the largest, most diverse, and well-curated datasets in the U.S.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

Office of Data Science Strategy
Alison Lin, Ph.D.
Telephone: 301-480-9395
Email: [email protected]

National Institute on Minority and Disparities (NIMHD)
Rina Das, Ph.D.
Telephone: 301-496-3996
Email: [email protected]

All of Us Research Program
Karriem S. Watson, DHSc, MS, MPH
Telephone: 301-451-4333
Email: [email protected]

All other aspects of this Funding Opportunity Announcement are unchanged.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Shurjo K. Sen, Ph.D
National Human Genome Research Institute
Telephone: 301-827-7028
Email: [email protected]