This Program Announcement expired on December 5, 2004 NOT-DE-04-008).

NIDCR INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL DENTAL SCIENTIST FELLOWSHIP

Release Date:  October 2, 2001
PA NUMBER:  PA-02-004 (This PA has been reissued, see PAR-05-034)

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

This program announcement replaces PAR-97-094, which was published in the 
NIH Guide, Volume 26, Number 27, August 15, 1997.

PURPOSE

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) seeks 
new National Research Service Award (NRSA) applications for an Individual 
Predoctoral Dental Scientist Fellowship (PDSF).  The purpose of the PDSF 
is to offer an integrated dental and graduate research training program 
that leads to attainment of both the D.D.S./D.M.D. and Ph.D. (or 
equivalent) degrees. There is a critical need for clinician-scientists 
with the dental training and research experience to conduct basic and 
clinical research in areas relevant to the mission of the NIDCR, which is 
to improve the oral health of all people.  The PDSF provides an approach 
to expanding the cadre of well-trained oral health scientists by 
stimulating early commitment to research careers by outstanding dental 
students.  The NIDCR anticipates that graduates of the PDSF will be able 
to bring into basic and clinical studies of dental, oral and craniofacial 
health and disease the fundamental knowledge and insight from such fields 
as microbiology and microbial pathogenesis, immunology and immunotherapy, 
infectious diseases, AIDS and oral manifestations of immunosuppression, 
developmental biology, mammalian genetics, mammalian cell regulation, 
pharmacogenetics, molecular and cellular neurobiology, biotechnology and 
biomaterials, epidemiology, clinical trials methodology, behavioral and 
social sciences, biostatistics and health services research.  

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010

The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health 
promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a 
PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas.  This program 
announcement, NIDCR INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL DENTAL SCIENTIST FELLOWSHIP, is 
related to one or more of the priority areas.  Potential applicants may 
obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at 
http://www.health.gov/healthypeople.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Citizenship:  By the time of award, individuals must be citizens or non-
citizen nationals of the United States, or must have been lawfully 
admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., possess a 
currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or other legal 
verification of such status).  Non-citizen nationals are generally persons 
born in outlying possessions of the United States (i.e., American Samoa 
and Swains Island).  Individuals on temporary or student visas are not 
eligible. 

Degree Requirements:  The applicant must have a baccalaureate degree and 
show evidence of both high academic performance in the sciences and 
substantial interest in research in areas of high priority to the NIDCR.  
The applicant must be enrolled in a DDS/DMD program at an accredited 
dental school, accepted in a related scientific PhD (or an equivalent 
degree) program, and supervised by a senior, recognized mentor in that 
scientific discipline when the application is submitted.  The typical 
applicant will apply during the first year of dental school for funding to 
begin in the second year.  Trainees must begin their PDSF not later than 
the third year of dental school.  Individuals currently enrolled in a 
joint DDS/DMD-PhD program are eligible for consideration as trainees.  
Dental students who obtained a PhD prior to entering dental school and 
desire to pursue another research doctorate are not eligible.  

Sponsor:  Before submitting a fellowship application, the applicant must 
identify a sponsoring institution and an individual who will serve as a 
sponsor (also called mentor or supervisor) and will supervise the training 
and research experience.  The applicant"s sponsor should be an active 
investigator in the area of the proposed research who will directly 
supervise the candidate"s research. The sponsor must document the 
availability of staff, research support, and facilities for high-quality 
research training.

The institutional setting must be domestic, and may be private (profit or 
nonprofit) or public.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

Awards made under this program announcement will use the F30 Individual 
Predoctoral Dental Scientist Fellowship mechanism to provide combined 
dental school and predoctoral PhD support.   No other NRSA support may be 
received during this time.  Any exception to these limitations requires a 
waiver from the NIDCR based on a review of the justification provided by 
the individual awardee and his or her sponsor.  Continued support beyond 
the first year is dependent upon satisfactory progress toward both 
degrees.  Annual reports are to be provided by the fellow, the PhD 
department and sponsor, and the dental school.

Although NRSAs are not usually made for training leading to a health 
professional degree, or for training that is part of a clinical residency 
leading to an advanced dental specialty, this program is specifically 
designed to support training in an established, combined DDS/PhD program.

NIDCR intends to award up to five new fellowships per year.

Allowable Costs

Stipends: The annual stipend for predoctoral individuals will remain fixed 
for the period of support, unless the stipend level is changed in the NIH 
annual appropriation.  Applicants should consult with Institute Program 
Staff for the latest stipend level.  Alternatively, applicants may obtain 
information about current stipend levels and other policy documents from 
the URL for "NIH Training Related Policy Documents": 
http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm.

Tuition and Fees and health insurance:  The NIDCR will offset the combined 
cost of tuition and fees at the following rate:  100 percent of all costs 
up to $3,000 and 60 percent of costs above $3,000.  Costs associated with 
tuition and fees are allowable only if they are required for specific 
courses in support of the research training experience supported by the 
fellowship.  A full description of the tuition policy is contained within 
the NRSA Policy Guidelines on the NIH website at 
http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm.

Institutional Allowance:  An allowance of up to $2,500 per predoctoral 
fellow per twelve month period will be provided to the sponsoring 
institution to help defray such expenses as research supplies, equipment, 
and related items for the individual fellows, and to otherwise offset, to 
the extent possible, appropriate administrative costs of graduate research 
training.  The allowance is provided only upon official activation of the 
award, and the sponsoring institution is expected to administer the 
allowance and disburse the funds.  If an individual fellow is in a 
training status for less than six months of the award year, only one-half 
of that year"s allowance may be charged to the grant.

Travel:  An additional allowance of up to $800 per year will be provided 
for travel to scientific meetings.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

An individual PDSF must provide integrated clinical and graduate research 
training required to obtain the D.D.S./D.M.D. and Ph.D. (or equivalent) 
degrees. Applicants for the NIDCR PDSF awards must propose to conduct 
research in areas of high priority/public health significance to dental, 
oral and craniofacial conditions and document that the proposed graduate 
program and research project offers them an opportunity to develop expert 
research skills and knowledge leading to a research career in the sciences 
involved with dental, oral and craniofacial health and disease.  

Each fellow’s program must offer two distinct and integrated components.  
A clinical component must ensure the acquisition of requisite clinical 
knowledge and technical expertise in order to meet the requirements for a 
D.D.S./D.M.D. degree and to obtain a license to practice dentistry.  A 
scientific component must be a doctoral (Ph.D. or equivalent) level 
program that ensures development of knowledge and research skills in 
scientific areas relevant to dental, oral and craniofacial health and 
disease.  The research training experience must provide a strong 
foundation in research design, methods and analytic techniques, the 
development or enhancement of the fellow’s ability to conceptualize and 
think through research problems with increasing independence, experience 
in conducting, presenting and publishing independent research, the 
opportunity to interact with members of the scientific community at 
meetings and workshops (including NIH sponsored meetings), and the 
development and documentation of a well thought-out career plan to 
increase the applicant"s ability to secure federal support for his/her 
research.  

The applicant’s program should be under the guidance and supervision of a 
committed sponsor or mentor who is an active and established investigator 
in the area of the applicant"s proposed research.  Usually, a mentor will 
be the doctoral thesis advisor.  The mentor must be committed to continue 
this involvement throughout the individual"s total period of development 
under the award.  A co-mentor, representing the clinical component, also 
may be named. Where feasible, women and minority mentors should be 
involved as role models.

The research training program should be carried out in a research-
intensive environment that includes appropriate human and technical 
resources and is demonstrably committed to research training in the 
particular program proposed by the applicant so that the applicant can 
grow as a creative scientist.  The interdisciplinary program for the 
fellow should maximize the research and educational resources of his/her 
academic institution(s) and any collaborating organizations.  The program 
should be tailored to meet the unique research and clinical development 
needs of the fellow and ensure that the individual completes the program 
with requisite competencies.  The sequence in which the two components are 
offered and their integration should be based on the specific 
circumstances and organization of the training institution and should 
represent what is deemed most desirable, feasible and efficient by the 
administration of the dental and graduate institutions.

The application must include evidence that instruction in the principles 
of responsible conduct of research will be incorporated into the proposed 
research training plan.  Applications without plans for training in 
responsible conduct of research will be considered incomplete and will be 
returned without review.

Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities 
are encouraged to apply.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Awards must be activated within six months of receipt of award notice (see 
below for application receipt, review, and start dates).  No funds may be 
disbursed until the individual has started training under the award and an 
Activation Notice (PHS 416-5) has been submitted to and accepted by the 
NIDCR.  

Individuals are required to pursue their DDS/DMD-PhD training program on a 
full-time basis, devoting at least 40 hours per week to the training 
program.

INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and 
their sub-populations must be included in all NIH-supported biomedical and 
behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and 
compelling rationale and justification are provided indicating that 
inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or 
the purpose of the research. This policy results from the NIH 
Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43).  All 
investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
UPDATED "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects 
in Clinical Research," published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts on 
August 2, 2000 
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-048.html), a 
complete copy of the updated Guidelines are available at 
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_update.htm:  The 
revisions relate to NIH defined Phase III clinical trials and require:  a) 
all applications or proposals and/or protocols to provide a description of 
plans to conduct analyses, as appropriate, to address differences by 
sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic groups, including subgroups if applicable, 
and b) all investigators to report accrual, and to conduct and report 
analyses, as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group 
differences.

INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 
21) must be included in all human subjects research, conducted or 
supported by the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not 
to include them.  This policy applies to all initial (Type 1) applications 
submitted for receipt dates after October 1, 1998.  All investigators 
proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Policy 
and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Children as Participants in Research 
Involving Human Subjects" that was published in the 
NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, March 6, 1998, and is available at the 
following URL address:  
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html.  
Investigators also may obtain copies of these 
policies from the program staff listed under INQUIRIES.  Program staff may 
also provide additional relevant information concerning the policy.

URLs IN NIH GRANT APPLICATIONS OR APPENDICES

All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained 
within specified page limitations. Unless otherwise specified in an NIH 
solicitation, internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide 
information necessary to the review because reviewers are under no 
obligation to view the Internet sites.  Reviewers are cautioned that their 
anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an Internet site.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Staff listed 
under INQUIRIES, for pre-application consultation.  The Individual 
National Research Service Award application kit PHS 416-1 (rev 12/98) must 
be used in applying for fellowships.  These forms are available at most 
institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the 
Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National 
Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD  20892-
7910, Telephone:  (301) 710-0267, FAX:  (301) 480-0525, Email: 
[email protected].  Application kits are also available on the Internet 
at:  http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/416/phs416.htm.

At least three completed letters of reference in sealed envelopes must be 
attached to the application.  Applications without the required number of 
reference letters will be returned without review.

Application Receipt and Review Schedule:

Applications responding to this Program Announcement will be accepted and 
reviewed three times a year according to the following schedule:

Application Receipt Date:      April 5    August 5      December 5
Review Meeting:                June       October       March
Notification:                  September  January       May
Earliest Possible Start Date:  December   April         July

Applications received after these receipt dates are subject to assignment 
to the next cycle, or may be returned to the applicant upon request by the 
applicant.

An original and one copy of the completed and signed application are to be 
submitted to:

CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040 - MSC 7710
BETHESDA, MD  20892-7710
BETHESDA, MD  20817 (for express/courier service)

At the time of submission to the Center of Scientific Review, one 
additional copy of the completed and signed application and all copies of 
the appendix materials (if any) to:

George Hausch, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Extramural Activities
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
45 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD  20892-6402

Applicants are advised to pay special attention to the following important 
items in PHS 416-1:

Part 1:  (Prepared by Applicant):
Page AA (Face page)
Item 1.  Title of Research Training Proposal.  Type in  Individual 
Predoctoral Dental Scientist Fellowship 

Item 2.  Level of Fellowship.  Type in  predoctoral  

Item 3.  Program Announcement/Request for Applications.  Type in the 
number and title of this program announcement.

Item 5. Training Under Proposed Award. Identify the PhD discipline 
according to the NIH Lexicon of NRSA disciplines in Section IV of the 
instructions.  

Item 8.  Degree Sought During Proposed Award.  Type in both the dental 
(DDS or DMD) and Ph.D. (or equivalent) with expected completion dates for 
each.

Page DD (Form Page 4)
Item 23. Scholastic Performance.  In addition to the information requested 
in the application, applicants should provide scores for DAT, GRE, and 
other exams relevant to dental and graduate school that they have taken 
recently.

Page FF (Form Page 6)
Item 30a. Activities Under Award.  Applicants should describe how they 
expect to divide their time between dental and graduate school, e.g., 
dental school courses, graduate school courses, research, research 
training, etc., during both the school year and the summer for each year 
of the program.  A minimum of 40 hours/week are required for support under 
the NRSA program.

Item 30b. Research Training Proposal.  All applicants should provide a 
research plan, including a description of a research proposal in which 
they will be involved as part of their training.  The plan should include 
substantive detail that adds to the information about time allocations 
requested in Item 30a.

Part 2: Facilities and Commitment (Prepared by Sponsor):
Page II (Form Page 8)
Items 33 and 34. Sponsor"s Previous Fellows/Trainees, Training Plan, 
Environment, and Research Facilities.  The sponsor must currently be 
funded to conduct independent research (e.g., Principal Investigator on an 
R01 or equivalent) and must describe past experience in the guidance of 
other research trainees and fellows.  In addition, the sponsor must 
describe in detail his/her commitment to and proposed role in guiding the 
individual applicant.  The chairman of the graduate committee for the PhD 
program must also describe the department"s commitment to and proposed 
role in guiding the individual applicant and any modifications to the 
department"s usual PhD requirements that are necessary to facilitate this 
trainee"s special needs.

The application must include evidence that training in the principles of 
responsible conduct of research will be incorporated in the research 
experience of each fellow.  This should be presented under Item 34.  
Issues such as conflict of interest, data recording and retention, 
professional standards and codes of conduct, responsible authorship, 
protection of human subjects, and ethics in biological and behavioral 
research can provide the substantive base of such training.

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Upon receipt, all F30 fellowship applications will be reviewed for 
completeness by the Center for Scientific Review.  Incomplete applications 
will be returned to the applicant without further consideration.

Fellowship applications that are complete will be evaluated for merit by 
an appropriate peer review group convened by the NIDCR Scientific Review 
Branch.  As part of the merit review, all applications will receive a 
written critique and will be assigned a priority score.

Review Criteria

The NIDCR PDSF is designed to train future generations of outstanding 
clinician-scientists committed to pursuing a research career involving 
dental, oral and craniofacial health and disease.  The PDSF is a mechanism 
for research training, not exclusively one for performing a research 
project.  Therefore, the review of an application will focus primarily on 
the following: the applicant, the research training plan, the sponsor, and 
the institutional environment/commitment.   Information from the letters 
of reference will be used to inform considerations of these factors, and 
the final priority score will reflect the overall evaluation of the entire 
application.

Applicant:

o  The applicant"s potential for, and commitment to, a productive 
scientific career.  The reviewers may take into account the applicant"s 
history as a student, as well as past and current involvement in research 
activities

Research Training Plan:

o  Feasibility and adequacy of proposed integration of the DDS/DMD 
educational program and Ph.D. training 

o  Objectives, design, and direction of the proposed research training 
program

o  Specificity and clarity of the description of the research skills and 
knowledge to be acquired and objective evaluation of progress in each area

o  Clarity, completeness, originality, and significance of the goals of 
the proposed research training plans

o  Adequacy of knowledge of relevant literature and current methods in the 
proposed research area

o  Potential of proposed research training to serve as a sound foundation 
that will lead the applicant to a productive career in dental, oral and 
craniofacial research

o  Adequacy of plans for the protection of human subjects, animals, or the 
environment, to the extent they may be adversely affected by the 
research proposed

o  Adequacy of plans to include women, children and minorities as subjects 
in research, if applicable

o  Adequacy of plans to provide training in the responsible scientific 
conduct of research.  This belongs in sponsor or environment

Sponsor:

o  Caliber of the sponsor as a researcher, including successful 
competition for research support

o  Evidence of the proposed sponsor"s understanding of and commitment to 
fulfilling the role of sponsor and mentor

o  Evidence of an understanding of the applicant"s research training needs 
and a demonstrated ability, on the part of the sponsor, to assist in 
meeting those needs

o  Past research training record of the sponsor in terms of the rate at 
which former predoctoral trainees obtain their doctoral degree and go on 
to postdoctoral or other scientific careers

o Plan to provide the fellow with individualized supervised experiences 
that will develop his/her research skills

Institutional Environment/Commitment:

o  Training environment including the institutional commitment to research 
training and career development,  the quality of the facilities and 
related resources (e.g., equipment, laboratory space, computer time, 
subject populations) and the availability of research support.

AWARD CRITERIA

The responsibility for award decisions resides solely with authorized 
program staff of the sponsoring Institute.  The following criteria will be 
used in making award decisions: (1) overall merit of the application, (2) 
relevance of the application to the mission and research priorities of the 
NIDCR, (3) program balance, and (4) availability of funds.

INQUIRIES

Inquiries are encouraged.  Prospective applicants are encouraged to visit 
the NIDCR Research Training and Career Development website in order to 
obtain current information about program priorities and policy guidelines:  
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/intr-res.asp.

Inquiries regarding programmatic issues may be directed to:

James A. Lipton, DDS, PhD
Director, Office of Training and Career Development
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Building 45, Room 4AS-37J
Bethesda, MD  20892-6402
telephone:  (301) 594-2618
fax:  (301) 480-8318
e-mail:  [email protected]

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:

Mr. Martin Rubinstein
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Natcher Building, Room 4AS-55
45 Center Drive, MSC 6402
Bethesda, MD  20892-6402
Telephone:  (301) 594-4800
FAX:  (301) 480-8303

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 
No. 93.121.  Awards are made under authorization of section 487 of the 
Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 288) and administered under 
Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 66.  

The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a 
smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products.  In 
addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits 
smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, and portion of a 
facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day care, health 
care or early childhood development services are provided to children.  
This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect and advance the 
physical and mental health of the American people.

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