SPACELAB LIFE SCIENCES-4, NEUROLAB

NIH GUIDE, Volume 22, Number 27, July 30, 1993



ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE:  NASA/NIH-94-001



P.T. 34



Keywords:

  Aerospace Biomedicine 

  Brain 

  Neuroscience 



Canadian Space Agency

Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales

European Space Agency Headquarters

German Space Agency

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

National Science Foundation

National Space Development Agency of Japan

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Institute on Aging

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Office of Naval Research



Letter of Intent Receipt Date:  October 1, 1993

Application Receipt Date:  December 1, 1993



THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY DESCRIBED IN THIS NOTICE CONTAINS

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION FOR THE PREPARATION OF AN APPLICATION.  POTENTIAL

APPLICANTS MAY OBTAIN THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE CONTACT NAMED IN

INQUIRIES, BELOW.



PURPOSE



The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in

collaboration with several domestic and international partners,

announces the opportunity for participation in scientific

investigations in the weightless environment of the Space Shuttle.

This is a Notice of Availability of an Announcement of Opportunity that

solicits life sciences investigations in the neuroscience disciplines

to be conducted in the Space Shuttle laboratory, Spacelab.  The

specific instructions and regulations governing the application format,

submission, review, and award are defined in the Announcement.



The President of the United States declared January 1990 as the

beginning of the "Decade of the Brain."  This Spacelab mission, titled

"Neurolab," has been established as part of NASA's activities in the

"Decade of the Brain."  The primary goal is to advance scientific

knowledge about the brain and the nervous system and apply that

knowledge to maximize human potential.  The purpose of this

announcement is to offer the neuroscience community the opportunity to

propose distinct and innovative research that requires the unique

environment of space flight.



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



All institutions, foreign and domestic, including universities,

industry, NASA Centers, and other government agencies are eligible to

submit applications.  Applications from minority (U.S.) and women

investigators are encouraged.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



For NIH applications, the administrative and funding instrument to be

used for this program will be a cooperative agreement (U01), an

assistance mechanism in which substantial NIH and other Federal

government scientific, technical and/or programmatic involvement with

the awardee is anticipated during performance of the activity; details

are provided in the Announcement.  For other partners, applications

will be supported through appropriate mechanisms as defined by each

partner.  During the pre-award definition phase, NASA will facilitate

and support the investigators and investigator teams in developing

integrated protocols that are scientifically optimal and that will

maximize the use of resources to support the goals of each

investigator.



FUNDS AVAILABLE



It is estimated that six to eight awards will be made by the NIH, at an

estimated total cost of $ 1.6 million for the first year of support,

depending on receipt of a sufficient number of applications of high

scientific merit and subject to the availability funds for this

purpose.



RESEARCH OBJECTIVES



The investigations to be funded in response to this solicitation will

be conducted on the Spacelab Life Sciences-4 (SLS-4) Neurolab mission

planned for the first quarter of 1998.  This mission will be between

two to three weeks in duration.  The experiments on this mission will

be conducted primarily in the Spacelab module with limited use of the

Shuttle Middeck.  The Spacelab module will be configured to provide the

resources required to conduct the selected neuroscience investigations.

Implementation of investigations on this mission is limited by the

Spacelab/Shuttle environment, available facilities and hardware, animal

housing facilities, and utilization of crewmembers as experimental

subjects or operators.  These constraints are further defined in the

announcement.



Applications submitted in response to this announcement must address

scientific questions that are related to the neuroscience theme and

require the conditions of space flight.  These conditions include:  (1)

microgravity and a changing G load during launch, flight, and reentry;

(2) increased radiation; (3) altered temporal cues; (4) isolation and

confinement; and (5) physiological and psychological changes associated

with space flight and exposure to the space craft environment.  The

unique research environment provided by the Space Shuttle must be a

necessary aspect of the proposed investigations.



Studies are being solicited in the following research areas:



o  Cell and Molecular Neurobiology

o  Developmental Neurobiology

o  Sensory and Motor Systems

o  Central Nervous System Homeostasis and Adaptation

o  Behavior, Cognition, and Performance



A detailed description of solicited research areas is provided in the

announcement.



LETTER OF INTENT



Those persons interested in responding to this announcement may submit

a letter of intent no later than October 1, 1993.  The letter of intent

should contain the name, title, affiliation, mailing address, and

telephone number of the Principal Investigator; name, title,

affiliation, mailing address, and telephone number of the Co-

Investigators; and a descriptive title of the research.



All domestic applicants may submit a letter of intent to:



Neurolab Program Scientist

AO No. NASA/NIH-94-001

Life and Biomedical Sciences and Applications Division

Code UL

NASA Headquarters

Washington, DC  20546



Foreign Investigators may submit a letter of intent to the Neurolab

Program Scientist and also to:



International Relations Division

Code IRD

AO No. NASA/NIH-94-001

NASA Headquarters

Washington, DC  20546  U.S.A.



The letter of intent is for information and planning purposes only and

is not binding.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



A series of preapplication meetings will be held to provide potential

applicants information to assist them in submitting an application.

Presentations about previous flight experiments and information

concerning the submission, review, award, and implementation of

applications will be provided at these meetings.  NASA officials will

be available to answer questions and discuss issues raised by

researchers.  Attendance is open to all potential applicants.

Additional information may be obtained from the staff listed in

INQUIRIES.



The preapplication meetings will be held at the following places and

dates:



North America

August 23, 1993

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

Address further questions concerning this meeting to:



Dr. David Liskowsky

300 D Street, SW, Suite 801

Washington, DC  20024

Telephone:  (202) 488-5130

FAX:  (202) 479-2613



Asia

Held on July 21-22, 1993



Europe

Held on August 3, 1993



Applications submitted in response to the announcement must be prepared

in accordance with the General Instructions and Provisions provided in

the Application for Public Health Service Grants, form PHS 398 (rev.

9/91).  (Note:  the instructions for Career Development and National

Service Awards included in PHS 398 do not apply to Neurolab.)  Failure

to follow these instructions may preclude consideration of the

application.  Copies of the PHS 398 may be obtained from most

institutional offices of sponsored research and the Office of Grants

Information, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of

Health, Westwood Building, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone

301/710-0267.



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



Applications received in response to the Announcement will be evaluated

in accordance with NIH review policies.  The scientific peer review of

the applications will be managed by the Division of Research Grants,

NIH.  The purpose of the initial review is to assess the scientific and

technical merit of the applications in the context of the Announcement.

Applications will be further reviewed by NASA and its partners for

implementation feasibly and mission accommodation requirements.



Based on the peer review evaluations and NASA's assessment of

feasibility and accommodation requirements, applications will be

selected for further definition.  A team of researchers in each

research area will be defined and investigator teams will be formed.

The investigator teams will be responsible for developing integrated

protocols to accommodate the goals of each investigator.  Each

investigation will be organized and conducted by an investigator team,

rather than an individual investigator with an individually defined

protocol.   Final confirmation of selection and award will follow the

completion of the experiment definition and mission feasibility

studies.



The fundamental goal of the investigation solicitation process is to

identify unique ideas and capabilities that best suit the overall

science objectives of the mission.  The following criteria will be used

in evaluating applications submitted in response to this announcement:



o  Scientific, technical, and/or medical significance and originality

of the proposed research;



o  Appropriateness and adequacy of the experimental approach and

methodology to be used;



o  Requirement for the space environment;



o  Qualifications for the Principal Investigator and staff in the area

of the research and the Principal Investigator's prior research

experience and record;



o  Adequacy of the available facilities and hardware required to carry

out the investigation;



o  Reasonableness and adequacy of justification for the proposed budget

and duration of support in relation to the proposed research;



o  Adequacy of the proposed means for protecting against adverse

effects upon humans, vertebrate animals, and/or the environment; and



o  When human subjects are involved, the adequacy of plans for

supporting ground-based research to involve a study population

representative of the crew, which usually includes both men and women;



Applications determined to be nonresponsive or noncompetitive will not

receive detailed review and the applicant Principal Investigator and

Institutional Official will be informed.



AWARD CRITERIA



Selection will be made from highly meritorious applications (as

determined by the scientific evaluation) based on the following

criteria:



o  Relevance to mission goals and objectives

o  Programmatic interest of the awarding agency;

o  Distribution of science among research areas on mission and use of

resources;

o  Engineering feasibility as determined by separate engineering

review.



Schedule



Letter of Intent Receipt Date:                            Oct 1, 1993

Application Receipt Date:                                 Dec 1, 1993

Initial Selection of Investigators & Investigator Teams:  Jun 1994

Experiment Definition:                                    Jul 94-Jan 95

Revised Team Proposal:                                    Jan 1995

Agency Review:                                            Feb 1995

Final Selection Date:                                     Jun 1995



INQUIRIES



Direct requests for the Announcement and additional information about

the preapplication meetings to:



Andrew Monjan, Ph.D., M.P.H.

National Institute on Aging

Gateway Building, Suite 3C307

7102 Wisconsin Boulevard

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-9350

FAX:  (301) 496-1494



Daniel A. Sklare, Ph.D.

National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Executive Plaza South, Room 400-B

6120 Executive Boulevard

Rockville, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 402-3461

FAX:  (301) 402-6251



William Heetderks, M.D., Ph.D.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Federal Building, Room 916

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-5745



Christopher Platt, Ph.D.

National Science Foundation

1800 G Street, NW, Room 321

Washington, DC  20050

Telephone:  (301) 357-7428



Joel L. Davis, Ph.D.

Office of Naval Research

800 North Quincy Street

Arlington, VA  22217-5660

Telephone:  (703) 696-4744



Dr. Alan Mortimer

Chief, Space Life Sciences

Canadian Space Agency

P.O. Box 7275

Station Ottawa, Ontario

K1L8E2  CANADA

Telephone:  (613) 990-0801



Dr. Heinz Oser

ESA Headquarters

8-10, rue Mario-Nikis

F-75738 Paris Cedex 15

FRANCE

Telephone:  33-14-273-7318

FAX:  33-14-273-7560



Dr. Antonio Guell

CNES

18, Avenue Edouard-Belin

31055 Toulouse Cedex

FRANCE

Telephone:  33-61-28-2577

FAX:  33-61-28-2228



Dr. Shunji Nagaoka

National Space Development Agency of Japan

Tsukuba Space Center

2-1-1, Sengen

Tsukuba, 305  JAPAN

Telephone:  81-298-52-2773

FAX:  81-298-52-1597



Prof. Dr. Gunter Ruyters

DARA (German Space Agency)

Life Sciences Section (GN-WS3)

Konigswinterer StraBe 522-524

P.O.Box 30 03 64

D-5300 Bonn 3  GERMANY

Telephone:  49-228-447-214

FAX:  49-228-447-700



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



For NIH, this program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance No. 93.173.  Awards are made under authorization of the

Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as

amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered

under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR

Part 74 (and 92 when applicable for state and local governments).  This

program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of

Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.



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