SUPPLEMENTS TO PROMOTE REENTRY INTO BIOMEDICAL AND BIOBEHAVIORALRESEARCH CAREERS



NIH GUIDE, Volume 23, Number 9, March 4, 1994



PA NUMBER:  PA-94-043



P.T. 34



Keywords:

  Biomedical Research, Multidiscipl 



National Institute of Mental Health



PURPOSE



The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes

of Health (NIH), announces a program for administrative supplements

to research grants to support individuals with high potential to

reenter an active research career after taking time off to care for

children or parents or to attend to other family responsibilities.

The aim of these supplements is to encourage fully trained

individuals to reenter research careers within the missions of all

the program areas of NIMH.  This program will provide administrative

supplements to existing NIMH research grants for the purpose of

supporting full-time or part-time research by these individuals in a

program geared to bring their existing research skills and knowledge

up to date.



The NIMH recognizes the need to increase the number of women and

minorities in basic, behavioral, and clinical science research

careers.  Among the reasons for the low representation of women may

be the fact that women bear a majority of the responsibilities

surrounding child and family care.  To address this issue, this

program is designed to offer opportunities to individuals, especially

women, who have interrupted their research careers to care for

children or parents or to attend to other family responsibilities.

The objective of the program is for those who receive support to

reestablish careers in mental health-related research.



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 program

announcement, Supplements to Promote Reentry into Biomedical and

Biobehavioral Research Careers, is related to the priority area of

women's health.  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy

People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-1) through the

Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington,

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



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



Grants and Cooperative Agreements:  Only the following active NIMH

award mechanisms at domestic institutions are eligible for the

Supplement to Promote Reentry into Biomedical and Biobehavioral

Research Careers:  R01, R10, R18, R24, R37, P01, P50, U01, U10.

Principal Investigators on such awards are invited to submit a

request for an administrative supplement to the awarding component of

the parent grant to support an eligible candidate interested in

reestablishing a research career.  The parent grant must have at

least two years of support remaining at the time of the proposed

beginning date of the supplemental funding.  The rationale for this

policy is to assure ample opportunity for the candidate to develop

further her or his research skills.  A maximum of three years

supplemental support can be awarded under this program.  Usually, a

parent grant would support only one administrative supplement

(Research Supplements for Underrepresented Minorities, Research

Supplements to Promote the Recruitment of Individuals with

Disabilities into Biomedical Research Careers, or Research Supplement

to Promote Reentry into Biomedical and Biobehavioral Research

Careers).  Grants most likely to support more than a single

administrative supplement are multicomponent awards.



Candidates



Candidates must have a doctoral degree, such as M.D., D.D.S., Ph.D.,

D.V.M., or equivalent, and at least two years of post-doctoral

research experience and must have had sufficient prior research

experience to qualify for a faculty appointment at the  assistant

professor or equivalent level.  Candidates who have begun the reentry

process through a fellowship or similar mechanism are not eligible

for this program.



The duration of the career interruption must be for at least two

years.  Examples of qualifying interruptions would include starting

and/or raising a family; an incapacitating illness or injury of the

candidate, the spouse, partner, or a member of the immediate family;

relocation to accommodate a spouse, partner, or other close family

member; pursuit of non-research endeavors that would permit earlier

retirement of debt incurred in obtaining a doctoral degree; and

military service.  The program is not intended to support graduate or

postdoctoral training and is not intended to support career changes

from non-research to research careers for individuals without prior

research training.  At the time of application, a candidate may not

be engaged in paid research activities for more than 10 hours per

week.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



In all cases, the proposed research must be directly related to the

approved ongoing research of the parent grant or cooperative

agreement.  The individual supported under this supplemental award,

hereafter called the reentry candidate, must be afforded the

opportunity to act as a full participant in the research project and

must be given an opportunity to update and enhance her or his

research capabilities.  This will allow the candidate to establish a

career as an independent, competitive research investigator.

Supplemental awards will be consistent with the goals of

strengthening the existing research program and with the overall

programmatic balance and priorities of the funding program of the

NIMH.  Awards will be made according to the policies and provisions

stated in this announcement and in the PHS Grants Policy Statement

(rev. 10/90).



Administrative supplements (S1) provided under this program may be

for either part-time or full-time support for the candidate, and all

supported time is to be spent updating and enhancing research skills.

Proposed part-time appointments may not be less than 20 hours per

week.



Supplemental awards may be made for up to three years and may not

exceed $50,000 in direct costs per year.  A maximum of $40,000 may be

requested for the combination of full time salary and fringe benefits

for the reentry candidate.  Proposed part-time appointments may not

be for less than 20 hours per week (continuous) and must be pro-rated

accordingly.  The amount of salary requested must be consistent with

the policies of the grantee institution for individuals occupying

similar positions (up to our maximum annual limits) and must relate

to the percent of effort and number of months requested for the

supplement.  An additional amount up to $10,000 may be requested for

supplies, domestic travel, and publication costs relevant to the

proposed research.  Equipment may not be purchased as a part of this

supplement without justification and specific prior approval of the

NIMH.



The decision to fund a supplement will take six to eight weeks from

the time the necessary information is received.  During the first

budget period, funds will be provided as an administrative supplement

to the parent grant.  In subsequent years, continued funding for the

supplement is contingent on funding of the parent grant and can not

extend beyond the current competitive segment of the parent grant.



FUNDS AVAILABLE



It is expected that approximately $150,000 will be available from

NIMH to support three Reentry Administrative Supplements during

Fiscal Year 1994.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



A request for a supplement may be made at any time during the funding

year, providing there will be two full years of funding remaining for

the parent grant at the time of funding.  In making requests, the

grantee institution, on behalf of the Principal Investigators, should

submit the request for supplemental funds directly to the program

official of NIMH responsible for the parent grant.  Principal

Investigators should obtain the address for submission from the NIMH

program administrator for the parent grant.  Applications should not

be sent to the Division of Research Grants address provided on grant

application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91).



The request for a supplemental award must include the following:



1.  A complete face page (with appropriate signatures) from grant

application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91), including the title and grant

number of the parent grant and "Reentry Supplement" on line 1



2.  A brief, three- or four-page description, prepared by the

Principal Investigator of the parent grant, that includes:



a.  A summary or abstract of the funded grant or project

b.  A description of the research proposed for the candidate

c.  How the supplement will expand and foster the independent

research capabilities of the candidate

d.  How the proposed research relates to the specific research goals

and objectives of the parent grant

e.  A description of the scope and nature of the mentoring

relationship between the Principal Investigator and the candidate



3.  A brief description, prepared by the candidate, that includes:



a.  research objectives and career goals

b.  length of and reason for career hiatus

c.  description of how the candidate has kept current in her/his

field

d.  identification of steps taken toward reentry, (if any, such as

attending scientific meetings)



4.  A biographical sketch of the candidate that includes:



a.  curriculum vitae

b.  social security number

c.  citizenship status

d.  publications

e.  other evidence of scientific achievement.



5.  A proposed budget entered on budget pages from the grant

application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91), related to the percent effort

for the research proposed for the reentry candidate during the first

and future budget period(s) (The amount requested for the supplement

must coincide with the current period of support.  Thus, if the

initial budget period requested is less than 12 months, the budget

must be prorated accordingly.)



6.  Documentation, if applicable, that the proposed research is

approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

or human subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the grantee

institution



7.  Under unusual circumstances where the applicant and mentor would

be at a site other than the grantee institution, an appropriately

signed letter from the institution where the research is to be

conducted must also be submitted.



The request must be signed by the Principal Investigator, the reentry

candidate, and the appropriate institution business official.



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



The program staff of the particular awarding component will review

requests for supplements using the following general criteria:



o  the qualifications of the reentry candidate, including career

goals, prior research training, research potential, and any relevant

experience



o  the plan for the proposed research experience in the supplemental

request and its relationship to the parent grant



o  evidence from the Principal Investigator that the experience will

enhance the research potential, knowledge, and/or skills of the

reentry candidate



o  evidence from the Principal Investigator that the activities of

the reentry candidate are an integral part of the project



o  evidence of excellence of prior research training and experience

of the reentry candidate



o  evidence of effort by the reentry candidate to initiate the

reentry process, such as attending scientific meetings, keeping

current with journals



o  evidence that proposed research will achieve the stated objectives

of the reentry supplements



In noncompeting continuation applications, the progress report for

the reentry supplement should be clearly delineated from the progress

report for the parent grant.  The progress report should include

information about the research activities supported by the

supplement, even if support for future years is not requested.



Since these applications will undergo administrative review, summary

statements will not be produced.  This is consistent with NIH

practice for other similar programs, such as those referenced in the

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS section of this program announcement.



INQUIRIES



Written and telephone inquiries are encouraged.  The opportunity to

clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants is welcome.

Reentry candidates who have not yet made contact with a Principal

Investigator will be referred to the program official whose Division

or program is specific to their research interest.



Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:



Deborah Dauphinais, M.D.

Office for Special Populations

National Institute of Mental Health

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 17C-14

Rockville, MD  20857

Telephone:  (301) 443-3724



To discuss business aspects of the parent grant or the supplement,

Principal Investigators may contact their grants management official.

For other information concerning grants management issues, applicants

may contact:



Diana S. Trunnell

Grants Management Branch

National Institute of Mental Health

5600 Fisher Lane, Room 7C-15

Rockville, MD 20857

Telephone:  (301) 443-3065



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Nos. 93.242. 93.281, and 93.282.  The statutory

authorities for these supplements are Sections 301, 487, and 518 of

the Public Health Service Act. (42 U.S.C. 241, 288, and 290cc-11), as

amended. Federal regulations at 42 CFR Part 52, "Grants for Research

Projects" and 45 CFR Part 74, "Administration of Awards," are

applicable to these awards.  Grants must be administered in

accordance with the Public Health Grants Policy Statement.



.

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