Glycans are saccharides that can be attached to a wide variety of biological molecules to augment their function. They play important roles in virtually all biological processes including early development, immune regulation, disease processes, and vaccine development. Often, glycans are the predominant molecule on the cell surface and serve as the first point of contact between cells, the extracellular matrix and pathogens. Although carbohydrates play important roles in both normal and disease processes, their complexity presents challenges to their study by most biomedical researchers.

To address these challenges, the NIH Common Fund Glycoscience Program (CF-GSP) was started in 2015. The program supports the development of methodologies, tools, and resources to simplify and expand the synthesis of large libraries of glycans; for glycan identification, tracking, manipulation, and functional analysis; and informatics to integrate gene, protein, and glycan datasets. Access to robust glycan libraries and tools to study N- and O-glycosylation, proteoglycans, polysaccharides, and glycolipids are expected to facilitate studies of the roles these molecules play in normal cellular processes and in disease.

Both the program’s resources and the tools being produced by the CF-GSP’s investigators are available to all NIH-funded investigators as well as the broader scientific community for exploration of the roles of carbohydrates in normal and disease processes. Chemical standards and reference data developed by investigators in the Glycoscience Program are freely available and can be found here: https://commonfund.nih.gov/Glycoscience/programresources

In addition, NIH-funded investigators are encouraged to test and adopt the many tools and technologies being developed by the CF-GSP for use in their own research programs. https://commonfund.nih.gov/Glycoscience/fundedresearch

Research Objectives

To encourage broad adoption of CF-GSP tools/technologies, the Common Fund will support administrative supplements to NIH-supported investigators who are NOT part of the Glycoscience program and NOT established glycoscientists. These will be one-year administrative supplements to existing NIH awards for:

• Non-specialists who need access to glycobiology tools
• Engaging core facilities to adopt glyco tools/technologies developed by the CF-GSP
• Intensive collaboration between CF-GSP technology/methodology developers and non-glycoscientist adopters
• Validation and refinement of CF-GSP technologies and methods
• Faster demonstration of effectiveness of CF-GSP technologies and methods
• Feedback for documentation and tutorials related to the technologies and methods developed by the CF-GSP

Budget

To be eligible, the parent award must be able to receive funds in FY2020 (Oct 1, 2019- Sept. 30, 2020) and not be in a no-cost extension period at the time of the award. One-time supplement budget requests cannot exceed $100,000/year direct costs. It is anticipated that 3-5 awards will be made, subject to availability of funds in FY2020.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Individual(s) must hold an active grant or cooperative agreement that can be supplemented. For supplements to parent awards that include multiple PDs/PIs, a single supplement may be requested (for use by any or all of the PDs/PIs in accordance with the existing leadership plan) and submitted by the awardee institution of the parent award.

Description of circumstances for which administrative supplements are available.

Application and Submission Information

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

• PA-18-591 - 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-18-591 must be followed, with the following additions:

• Application Due Date(s) March 31, 2020, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
• For funding consideration, applicants must include "NOT-RM-20-003" (without the 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 Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 5 pages.
• Applications should describe how the tool(s)/technology developed by the NIH Common Fund Glycoscience program will be adopted for advancing (within scope) the investigators own funded research.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the program contact at the Institute or Center supporting the parent award to:

• Confirm that the supplement falls within scope of the parent award
• Understand the requirements of the IC for submitting applications for administrative supplements
• Facilitate efficient processing of the request.

Review Process

Each IC will conduct administrative reviews of applications submitted to their IC separately. The most meritorious applications submitted for consideration will be supported based upon availability of funds

Criteria:

1. Is the work proposed within the scope of the active award?
2. Does the work proposed address one of the components listed under the IC-specific research objectives?
3. Is there a collaboration between the non-glycoscience investigator and the CF-GSP glycoscience investigator that will lead to the beta testing or adoption of a CF-GSP tool and/or technology?
4. Does the work proposed have scientific merit?
5. Is the work likely to stimulate additional understanding of glycoscience mechanisms?
6. Is the work being done primarily at the lab or institution of the supplement applicant? Letting a CF-GSP developer apply the tool or technology (because they have the expertise already) is not considered adoption in the applicant's lab.