MINORITY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IN PSYCHIATRY

NIH Guide, Volume 22, Number 12, March 26, 1993



RFA AVAILABLE:  MH-93-005



P.T. 22, FF



Keywords:

  Biomedical Research Training 

  Psychiatry 



National Institute of Mental Health



Application Receipt Date:  June 10, 1993



THE REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA) ANNOUNCED IN THIS NOTICE CONTAINS

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FOR THE PREPARATION OF AN APPLICATION.

POTENTIAL APPLICANTS MAY OBTAIN THE RFA FROM THE CONTACT NAMED IN THE

INQUIRIES, BELOW.



PURPOSE



This RFA of a Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) in psychiatry is to

encourage applications designed to support the development and

training of minority psychiatrists to undertake active, productive

careers in scientific investigation related to mental health and

mental illness.  While it is expected that these future researchers

will also become prominent within their professions at large, the MFP

is not designed simply to support postdoctoral training for its own

sake.  Outcomes of successful MFP training include the mastery of

research skills, commitment to future research activity, and the

promise of future achievement in research endeavors.



HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000



The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000,"

a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas.  This RFA,

Minority Fellowship Program in Psychiatry, is related to the priority

areas of mental health and mental disorders and educational and

community-based programs.  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of

"Healthy People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or

"Healthy People 2000" (Summary Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00473-1)

through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone 202-783-3238).



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



Domestic public and private non-profit institutions and professional

and scientific organizations and associations may apply.  Applicants

must have staff and facilities suitable for implementing a national

program to recruit, select, and place minority medical or psychiatric

trainees in graduate departments or programs with environments

appropriate for performing high-quality research training and with

strong research programs in any of the areas of interest to NIMH

indicated in the attachment.



Individuals selected to participate by the Director of this minority

fellowship program must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the

United States, or have been lawfully admitted to the United States

for permanent residence and have in their possession an Alien

Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551) at the time of entering

the MFP.  Noncitizen nationals are persons born in lands that are not

States but which are under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or

administration (e.g., American Samoa).  Individuals on temporary or

student visas are not eligible.  For the purpose of this RFA,

minority trainees include American Indian or Alaskan Natives, Asian

or Pacific Islanders, Blacks, and Hispanics.  Trainees must be free

of all Federal debt.



The predoctoral trainees must have received a domestic or equivalent

foreign baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution as of the

date of appointment to the MFP.  These National Research Service

Award (NRSA) fellowships are not made for study leading directly to

an M.D., D.O., D.D.S., or other similar professional degrees, or for

study which is part of residency training leading to a medical

specialty.  However, this fellowship may support a specified period

of full-time research training for a medical student or for a

psychiatric trainee who intends to pursue a research career.  Post

M.D. trainees supported by this program should have no more than 10

years of postdoctoral experience.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



Awards will be made using the Institutional National Research Service

Award (T32) mechanism.



FUNDS AVAILABLE



It is anticipated that a single award of up to $550,000, pending

availability of funds, will be awarded; selection for funding will be

made after competitive peer review.  This RFA is a one-time

solicitation.



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES



Applicants should provide a plan for the proposed MFP. Considerable

flexibility may be demonstrated in designing options for the MFP, but

each aspect must be carefully described in terms of its intent and

mechanism, and convincing justification must be provided for the

approach being taken.  The following components must be included:



Program Plan



Applicants should present a program plan for an MFP in Psychiatry,

including the overall goals, specific objectives, and number of

trainees to be supported.  The plan should clearly indicate how the

program will recruit, select, and place minority medical students or

psychiatric trainees in appropriate research training programs

emphasizing mental health research, and how it will anticipate and

deal with potential problems which may be encountered in program

implementation.  The plan should also indicate how the applicant will

provide ongoing monitoring, career counseling, or other support to

help ensure that MFP fellows complete their research training and

enter productive research careers in areas relevant to mental health.

Finally, the plan should indicate how the program will establish

networks and linkages with other mental health researchers:  Special

emphasis should be given to how the training will prepare the fellows

for mental health research careers.



The plan should provide documentation of the specific research

training needs to be addressed by the program.  The plan should make

clear how the program will ensure that the number of minority persons

trained in mental health areas will be increased.  Considerable

latitude is allowed to applicants in order to consider the best

strategy for an MFP.  For example, a program may emphasize additional

predoctoral research training for medical students or post-residency

fellowships for board-eligible psychiatrists; or formal study leading

to a second degree (e.g., Master of Public Health).  While innovation

is encouraged, the applicant must describe how the proposed design

will lead to the overall goal of providing an increased number of

minority psychiatrists who are actively engaged in research careers.



Program Leadership



The program director of the applicant organization will be

responsible, with the assistance of an MFP Advisory Committee, for

the recruitment and selection of minority trainees and for their

placement in appropriate training experiences which have strong

research and research training in mental health; for the provision of

needed fiscal and other support during their fellowship experience;

and for the overall administration of the research training program.

He/she will assist the prospective fellows in the selection of

training institutions or programs and provide counseling on research

curricula offerings which will ensure that fellows carry out research

in mental health with the primary objective of extending their skills

and knowledge in preparation for a research career.  The program

director should have sufficient research qualifications and

experience to provide genuine leadership.  The applicant should list

the qualifications, experiences, and duties of the MFP Director,

including his/her curriculum vita.  The proposed MFP Director's

research qualifications and experiences are to be emphasized.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



Applications must be received by June 10, 1993.  Applications

received after June 10 will be returned to the applicant without

review.



Applicants are to use and follow the training grant instructions

accompanying the form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91). Item Number 2a on the face

page of the application must read:  "NIMH MFP in Psychiatry."

Applications must be complete, providing all information called for

by the instructions.  Competing continuation applications must submit

complete information on the placement and career development

performance of trainees who were supported with the prior award.



The RFA label available in the application form PHS 398 must be

affixed to the bottom of the face page of the original copy of the

application.  Failure to use this label could result in delayed

processing of the application such that it may not reach the review

committee in time for review.



Applicants should not assume that site visits will be made.  Site

visits are generally made only in those instances where information

cannot be provided in the application or readily obtained by mail or

telephone. All decisions regarding site visits will be made by NIMH

review staff.



Completed application forms are to be submitted to:



Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building, Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**



The Division of Research Grants is the central receipt point for

applications to all Public Health Service (PHS) programs.



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



Training grant applications are reviewed for scientific and

educational merit by NIMH initial review groups comprised primarily

of nongovernment scientists and are also subject to the review and

recommendations of the National Advisory Mental Health Council.

Major considerations in the review are the breadth, depth,

imagination, suitability, and quality of the plan for implementing

the MFP; qualifications, capability, and experience of the program

director and the organization to implement the plan; qualifications

of the MFP Advisory Committee; plans for recruiting, selecting, and

placing trainees in appropriate research training programs; and

adequacy of the facilities and resources.  Detailed review criteria

are listed in the RFA.



INQUIRIES



Applicants are encouraged to contact NIMH staff for information

before applying for an award.  Requests for the RFA and information

on programmatic issues may be directed to:



Leonard Lash, Ph.D.

Division of Clinical and Treatment Research

National Institute of Mental Health

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 18C-26

Rockville, MD  20857

Telephone:  (301) 443-3264



For information on grants management issues, applicants may contact:



Diana Trunnell

Grants Management Branch

National Institute of Mental Health

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 7C-23

Rockville, MD  20857

Telephone:  (301) 443-3065



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



Awards are made under authority of Section 487 of the Public Health

Service Act as amended (42 USC 288).  This program in not subject to

the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or

Health Systems Agency review.



.

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