EXPIRED
Department
of Health and Human Services
Participating
Organizations
National
Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)
Components of Participating Organizations
National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), (http://www.nichd.nih.gov)
National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders (NIDCD), ( http://www.nidcd.nih.gov)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), ( http://www.niddk.nih.gov)
Title: Innovative
Therapies and Clinical Studies for Screenable Disorders (R01)
Announcement Type
This
is a reissue of PAR-06-060 which was
previously released November 7, 2005.
Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:
NOTICE: Applications submitted in response to this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Federal assistance must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) using the SF424 Research and Related (R&R) forms and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide
APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE SUBMITTED IN PAPER FORMAT.
This FOA must be read in conjunction with the application guidelines included with this announcement in Grants.gov/Apply for Grants (hereafter called Grants.gov/Apply).
A registration process is necessary before submission and applicants are highly encouraged to start the process at least four weeks prior to the grant submission date. See Section IV.
Program Announcement (PA) Number: PAR-07-184
Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance Number(s)
93.865,
93.847, 93.173
Key Dates
Release/Posted Date: December 15, 2006
Opening Date: January 5, 2007 (Earliest date an application may be submitted
to Grants.gov)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): 30 days
prior to the application submission/ receipt date
NOTE:
On time submission requires that applications be successfully submitted to
Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant
institution/organization).
Application Submission/Receipt Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm
Peer Review Date(s): Please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Council Review Date(s): Please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): Please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Additional Information To Be
Available Date (Activation Date): Not
Applicable
Expiration
Date: November 6, 2009
Due Dates for E.O. 12372
Not Applicable
Additional
Overview Content
Executive Summary
Table of Contents
Part I Overview Information
Part II Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity
Description
1. Research Objectives
Section II. Award Information
1. Mechanism of Support
2. Funds Available
Section III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
A. Eligible Institutions
B. Eligible Individuals
2. Cost Sharing or Matching
3. Other-Special Eligibility Criteria
Section
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Request Application Information
2. Content and Form of Application Submission
3. Submission Dates and Times
A. Submission, Review, and
Anticipated Start Dates
1. Letter of Intent
B. Submitting an Application Electronically
to the NIH
C. Application Processing
4. Intergovernmental Review
5. Funding Restrictions
6. Other Submission Requirements
Section V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria
2. Review and Selection Process
A. Additional Review Criteria
B. Additional Review Considerations
C. Sharing Research Data
D. Sharing Research Resources
3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
Section VI. Award Administration
Information
1. Award Notices
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
3. Reporting
Section VII. Agency Contacts
1. Scientific/Research Contact(s)
2. Peer Review Contact(s)
3. Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)
Section VIII. Other Information
- Required Federal Citations
Part II
- Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
1. Research Objectives
The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health (NIH), is to stimulate translational research on potential therapeutic interventions for currently screened conditions and high priority genetic conditions for which screening could be possible in the near future. Special emphasis is placed on research relating to some of the high priority conditions identified in the report, Newborn Screening: Toward a Uniform Screening Panel and System, which the Maternal and Child Health Bureau sponsored and the American College of Medical Genetics (http://mchb.hrsa.gov/screening) developed. In this FOA, a high priority condition is a condition for which the development of an efficacious therapy would make the condition amenable to newborn screening. Research designed to understand the natural history of these conditions will facilitate the identification of potential therapeutic targets, with an ultimate goal of developing more targeted and effective therapies.
Background
As a public health genetic screening program, newborn screening’s main aim is the early detection and treatment of pre-symptomatic infants. This 40-year public health program has evolved from screening for a single condition, phenylketonuria, to encompassing more than 30 different conditions. The early detection of genetic conditions in newborn infants allows extra time for therapy that can have a dramatic impact on the clinical severity of the condition in the affected child. If left undiagnosed and untreated, these conditions can cause irreversible mental retardation, physical disability, neurological damage and even death.
Advancements in our knowledge of the
genetic and molecular bases of various conditions, as well as technological
developments (i.e., tandem mass spectrometry), have paved
the way for the expansion of newborn screening. Yet, there have not been
corresponding improvements and development of treatments for these screenable
conditions.
Furthermore, though screening programs test more than
4.1 million newborn infants and diagnose 5,000 with a
genetic condition annually, these programs miss more than 1,000 affected
newborn infants due to the lack of uniform newborn screening across the United States. In response
to these data, experts recommended that all newborns in the United States be screened for a set of 29 conditions, regardless of the
State in which they were born. The American College of Medical Genetics developed these recommendations and published them in a
Maternal and Child Health Bureau report entitled Newborn Screening: Toward a Uniform Screening Panel and
System (http://mchb.hrsa.gov/screening). The Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable
Disorders and Genetic Diseases in Newborns and Children endorsed the recommendations.
Since the availability of an effective treatment is often a criterion for inclusion of a condition on a newborn screening panel, the intent of this PAR is to support research and development of therapies for those conditions that currently do not meet this criterion. The purpose of supporting the development of effective therapeutic interventions to expand newborn screening is to improve the health outcomes of infants having or at risk for heritable disorders.
Research Scope
Applications submitted in response to this FOA should focus on topic(s) related to the understanding and/or development of therapeutic interventions for currently screened conditions and high priority genetic conditions for which investigators could potentially develop screening tests in the near future (for instance, cystic fibrosis, severe combined immunodeficiency, Duchenne muscular dystrophy. spinal muscular atrophy, lysosomal storage diseases - Pompe disease, Fabry disease, the mucopolysaccharidoses and Krabbe disease).
The NIDCD is particularly interested in receiving applications related to screening and therapies for genetic causes of hearing loss as well as hearing loss due to infectious agents, specifically congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV).
The participating Institutes invite investigators with diverse scientific interests to apply their expertise in basic, translational or clinical research to develop innovative and novel approaches for studying and treating these conditions. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact program staff prior to submitting a proposal that includes a clinical trial or interventional study in humans.
Possible areas of investigation include, but are not limited to:
Interventions may be intended to be used as a single treatment agent, as an adjuvant to existing therapies or as a combination therapy of known agents. The specific aims of the project must be clearly and concisely presented. These should include a clear specification of the validated primary and major secondary endpoints to be measured with a clear differentiation of the importance of various endpoints.
See Section VIII, Other Information - Required Federal
Citations, for policies related to this
announcement.
Section
II. Award Information
1. Mechanism of Support
This FOA will use the NIH Research Project Grant (R01) award mechanism.
The applicant will be solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing the proposed project.
This FOA uses Just-in-Time information concepts. It also uses the modular as well as the non-modular budget formats (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm). Specifically, if you are a U.S. organization and are submitting an application with direct costs in each year of $250,000 or less (excluding consortium Facilities and Administrative [F&A] costs), use the PHS398 Modular Budget component provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Package and SF424 (R&R) Application Guide (see specifically Section 5.4, Modular Budget Component, of the Application Guide).
U.S. applicants requesting more than $250,000 in annual direct costs and all foreign applicants must complete and submit budget requests using the Research & Related Budget component found in the application package for this FOA. See NOT-OD-06-096, August 23, 2006.
At this time, it is not known if competing renewal (formerly competing continuation ) applications will be accepted and/or if this FOA will be reissued.
2.
Funds Available
Because the nature and scope
of the proposed research will vary from application to application, it is
anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. Although
the financial plans of the Institutes and Centers (ICs) provide support for
this program, awards pursuant to this funding opportunity are contingent upon
the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of
meritorious applications.
NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.
F&A costs requested
by consortium participants are not included in the direct cost limitation. See NOT-OD-05-004,
November 2, 2004.
Section
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
1.A. Eligible
Institutions
You may submit an
application(s) if your institution/organization has any of the following
characteristics:
1.B. Eligible Individuals
Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the PD/PI is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.
More than one PD/PI, or multiple PDs/PIs, may be designated on the application for projects that require a team science approach that clearly does not fit the single-PD/PI model. Additional information on the implementation plans and policies and procedures to formally allow more than one PD/PI on individual research projects is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi. All PDs/PIs must be registered in the NIH eRA Commons prior to the submission of the application (see http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm for instructions).
The decision of whether to apply for a single PD/PI or multiple PD/PI grant is the responsibility of the investigators and applicant organizations and should be determined by the scientific goals of the project. Applications for multiple PD/PI grants will require additional information, as outlined in the instructions below. The NIH review criteria for approach, investigators, and environment have been modified to accommodate applications involving either a single PD/PI or multiple PDs/PIs. When considering multiple PDs/PIs, please be aware that the structure and governance of the PD/PI leadership team as well as the knowledge, skills and experience of the individual PD/PIs will be factored into the assessment of the overall scientific merit of the application. Multiple PDs/PIs on a project share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PD/PI is responsible and accountable to the grantee organization, or, as appropriate, to a collaborating organization, for the proper conduct of the project or program, including the submission of required reports. For further information on multiple PDs/PIs, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi.
2.
Cost Sharing or Matching
This program does not require cost
sharing as defined in the current NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
3. Other-Special
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants may submit more than one application, provided each application is scientifically distinct.
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
To download a SF424
(R&R) Application Package and SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for
completing the SF424 (R&R) forms for this FOA, link to http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp and follow the directions provided on that Web site.
A one-time registration is required for institutions/organizations at both:
PDs/PIs should work with their institutions/organizations to make sure they are registered in the eRA Commons.
Several additional separate actions are required before an applicant institution/organization can submit an electronic application, as follows:
1) Organizational/Institutional Registration in Grants.gov/Get Registered
2) Organizational/Institutional Registration in the eRA Commons
3) Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) Registration in the NIH eRA Commons: Refer to the NIH eRA Commons System (COM) Users Guide.
Both the PD/PI(s) and AOR/SO need separate accounts in the NIH eRA Commons since both are authorized to view the application image.
Note that if a PD/PI is also an NIH peer-reviewer with an Individual DUNS and CCR registration, that particular DUNS number and CCR registration are for the individual reviewer only. These are different than any DUNS number and CCR registration used by an applicant organization. Individual DUNS and CCR registration should be used only for the purposes of personal reimbursement and should not be used on any grant applications submitted to the Federal Government.
Several of the steps of the registration process could take four weeks or more. Therefore, applicants should immediately check with their business official to determine whether their organization/institution is already registered in both Grants.gov and the Commons. The NIH will accept electronic applications only from organizations that have completed all necessary registrations.
1. Request Application Information
Applicants must
download the SF424 (R&R) application forms and the SF424 (R&R)
Application Guide for this FOA through Grants.gov/Apply.
Note:
Only the forms package directly attached to a specific FOA can be used. You
will not be able to use any other SF424 (R&R) forms (e.g., sample forms,
forms from another FOA), although some of the "Attachment" files may
be useable for more than one FOA.
For further assistance, contact GrantsInfo: Telephone
301-710-0267, Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov.
Telecommunications for the hearing impaired: TTY
301-451-5936.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission
Prepare all applications using the SF424 (R&R) application forms and in accordance with the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for this FOA through Grants.gov/Apply.
The SF424 (R&R) Application Guide is critical to submitting a complete and accurate application to NIH. There are fields within the SF424 (R&R) application components that, although not marked as mandatory, are required by NIH (e.g., the Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component must contain the PD/PI’s assigned eRA Commons User ID). Agency-specific instructions for such fields are clearly identified in the Application Guide. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.
The SF424 (R&R) application has several components. Some components are required, others are optional. The forms package associated with this FOA in Grants.gov/APPLY includes all applicable components, required and optional. A completed application in response to this FOA includes the data in the following components:
Required Components:
SF424 (R&R) (Cover component)
Research & Related
Project/Performance Site Locations
Research & Related Other Project Information
Research & Related Senior/Key Person
PHS398 Cover Page Supplement
PHS398 Research Plan
PHS398 Checklist
PHS398
Modular Budget or Research &
Related Budget, as appropriate (See Section IV.6., Special Instructions, regarding
appropriate required budget component.) Research & Related
Budget (required for foreign applications)
Optional Components:
PHS398 Cover Letter
File
Research & Related
Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form
Foreign
Organizations (Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entity)
NIH policies concerning grants to
foreign (non-U.S.) organizations can be found in the NIH Grants Policy
Statement at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part12.htm#_Toc54600260.
Applications from foreign organizations must:
Proposed research should provide special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions in other countries that are not readily available in the United States or that augment existing U.S. resources.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Applications with Multiple PDs/PIs
When multiple PDs/PIs are proposed, NIH requires one PD/PI to be designated as the "Contact PI, who will be responsible for all communication between the PDs/PIs and the NIH, for assembling the application materials outlined below, and for coordinating progress reports for the project. The contact PD/PI must meet all eligibility requirements for PD/PI status in the same way as other PDs/PIs, but has no other special roles or responsibilities within the project team beyond those mentioned above.
Information for the Contact PD/PI should be entered in item 15 of the SF424 (R&R) Cover component. All other PDs/PIs should be listed in the Research & Related Senior/Key Person component and assigned the project role of PD/PI. Please remember that all PDs/PIs must be registered in the eRA Commons prior to application submission. The Commons ID of each PD/PI must be included in the Credential field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person component. Failure to include this data field will cause the application to be rejected.
All projects proposing Multiple PDs/PIs will be required to include a new section describing the leadership of the project.
Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan: For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, a new section of the research plan, entitled Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan (Section 14 of the Research Plan Component in the SF424 (R&R)), must be included. A rationale for choosing a multiple PD/PI approach should be described. The governance and organizational structure of the leadership team and the research project should be described, including communication plans, process for making decisions on scientific direction, and procedures for resolving conflicts. The roles and administrative, technical, and scientific responsibilities for the project or program should be delineated for the PDs/PIs and other collaborators.
If budget allocation is planned, the distribution of resources to specific components of the project or the individual PDs/PIs should be delineated in the Leadership Plan. In the event of an award, the requested allocations may be reflected in a footnote on the Notice of Award.
Applications Involving a Single Institution
When all PDs/PIs are within a single institution, follow the instructions contained in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Applications Involving Multiple Institutions
When multiple institutions are involved, one institution must be designated as the prime institution and funding for the other institution(s) must be requested via a subcontract to be administered by the prime institution. When submitting a detailed budget, the prime institution should submit its budget using the Research & Related Budget component. All other institutions should have their individual budgets attached separately to the Research & Related Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form. See Section 4.8 of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for further instruction regarding the use of the subaward budget form.
When submitting a modular budget, the prime institution completes the PHS398 Modular Budget component only. Information concerning the consortium/subcontract budget is provided in the budget justification. Separate budgets for each consortium/subcontract grantee are not required when using the Modular budget format. See Section 5.4 of the Application Guide for further instruction regarding the use of the PHS398 Modular Budget component.
3.
Submission Dates and Times
See Section IV.3.A. for details.
3.A.
Submission, Review, and Anticipated Start Dates
Opening
Date: January 5, 2007 (Earliest date an application may be submitted
to Grants.gov)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date(s): 30 days
prior to the application submission/receipt date
Application Submission/Receipt Date(s): Standard dates apply, please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm
Peer Review Date(s): Please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Council Review Date(s): Please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): Please see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm#reviewandaward
3.A.1. Letter of Intent
Prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:
Although
a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the
review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC
staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.
The letter of
intent is to be sent by the date listed in Section
IV.3.A.
The letter of
intent should be sent to:
Gilian Engelson, MPH
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Branch
Center for Developmental Biology and Perinatal
Medicine
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 4A05E, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
(Rockville, MD 20852 for courier or express
service)
Telephone: (301) 451-2137
FAX: (301) 451-5512
Email: engelsong@mail.nih.gov
3.B. Submitting an Application Electronically to the
NIH
To submit an application in response to this
FOA, applicants should access this FOA via http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp
and follow steps 1-4. Note: Applications must only be submitted
electronically. PAPER APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
3.C.
Application Processing
Applications may be submitted on or after the opening date and must be
successfully received by Grants.gov no later than 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant
institution/organization) on the application submission/receipt date(s). (See Section IV.3.A. for all dates.) If an application is not submitted by the receipt
date(s) and time, the application may be delayed in the review process or not
reviewed.
Once an application package has been successfully submitted through Grants.gov, any errors have been addressed, and the assembled application has been created in the eRA Commons, the PD/PI and the Authorized Organization Representative/Signing Official (AOR/SO) have two business days to view the application image.
Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review, NIH, and for responsiveness by the NICHD. Incomplete and non-responsive applications will not be reviewed
There will be an acknowledgement of receipt of applications from Grants.gov and the Commons. The submitting AOR receives the Grants.gov acknowledgments. The AOR and the PI receive Commons acknowledgments. Information related to the assignment of an application to a Scientific Review Group is also in the Commons.
Note: Since email can be unreliable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to check periodically on their application status in the Commons.
The NIH will not accept any application in response to this FOA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial merit review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. The NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of an application already reviewed with substantial changes, but such application must include an Introduction addressing the previous critique. Note such an application is considered a "resubmission" for the SF424 (R&R).
4. Intergovernmental Review
This initiative is not
subject to intergovernmental
review.
5.
Funding Restrictions
All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Pre-award costs are allowable.
A grantee may, at its own risk and without NIH prior approval, incur
obligations and expenditures to cover costs up to 90 days before the beginning
date of the initial budget period of a new or competing renewal (formerly
competing continuation ) award if such costs: are necessary to conduct the
project, and would be allowable under the grant, if awarded, without NIH prior
approval. If specific expenditures would otherwise require prior approval, the
grantee must obtain NIH approval before incurring the cost. NIH prior approval
is required for any costs to be incurred more than 90 days before the beginning
date of the initial budget period of a new or competing renewal award.
The incurrence of pre-award costs in anticipation of a competing or
non-competing award imposes no obligation on NIH either to make the award or to
increase the amount of the approved budget if an award is made for less than
the amount anticipated and is inadequate to cover the pre-award costs incurred.
NIH expects the grantee to be fully aware that pre-award costs result in
borrowing against future support and that such borrowing must not impair the
grantee's ability to accomplish the project objectives in the approved time
frame or in any way adversely affect the conduct of the project. See the NIH Grants
Policy Statement.
6. Other Submission
Requirements
PD/PI Credential (e.g., Agency Login)
The NIH requires the PD/PI(s) to fill in his/her Commons User ID in the PROFILE Project Director/Principal Investigator section, Credential log-in field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile component.
Organizational DUNS
The applicant organization must include its DUNS number in its Organization Profile in the eRA Commons. This DUNS number must match the DUNS number provided at CCR registration with Grants.gov. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.
PHS398 Research Plan Component Sections
Items 2-5 of the PHS398 Research Plan component are limited to 25 pages. While each section of the Research Plan component needs to be uploaded separately as a PDF attachment, applicants are encouraged to construct the Research Plan component as a single document, separating sections into distinct PDF attachments just before uploading the files. This approach will enable applicants to better monitor formatting requirements such as page limits. All attachments must be provided to NIH in PDF format, filenames must be included with no spaces or special characters, and a .pdf extension must be used.
All application instructions outlined in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide are to be followed, incorporating "Just-in-Time" information concepts, and with the following additional requirements:
Special Instructions for Modular Grant applications
R01 applications from U.S. institutions/organizations requesting up to $250,000 per year in direct costs (excluding consortium F&A costs) must be submitted in a modular budget format. Additional information on modular budgets is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm. When submitting a modular budget, the applicant organization will include only the PHS398 Modular Budget component. See Section 5.4 of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for further instructions regarding the use of the PHS398 Modular Budget component.
Foreign organizations may not submit modular budgets. See NOT-OD-06-096.
Special Instructions for Applications Requesting $500,000 (direct costs) or More Per Year
Applicants
requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year (excluding consortium
F&A costs) must carry out the following steps:
1) Contact the
IC program staff at least 6 weeks before submitting the application, i.e., as
you are developing plans for the study;
2)
Obtain agreement from the IC staff that the IC will accept your application for
consideration for award; and,
3)
Include the PHS398 Cover Letter component with the application to identify the
staff member and IC who agreed to accept assignment of the application.
This policy applies to all new applications, competing renewal (formerly competing continuation ) applications, resubmission (formerly revised/amended ) applications, and revision (formerly competing supplemental ) applications. See NOT-OD-02-004, October 16, 2001.
Appendix Materials
IMPORTANT NOTE: NIH has published new limitations on grant application appendix materials to encourage applications to be as concise as possible while containing the information needed for expert scientific review.
Applicants must follow the specific instructions on Appendix materials as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide (See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm).
Do not use the Appendix to circumvent the page limitations of the Research Plan component. An application that does not observe the required page limitations may be delayed in the review process.
Note: While each section of the PHS398 Research Plan component needs to be uploaded separately as a PDF attachment, applicants are encouraged to construct the Research Plan component as a single document, separating sections into distinct PDF attachments just before uploading the files. This approach will enable applicants to monitor better formatting requirements such as page limits. All attachments must be provided to NIH in PDF format, filenames must be included with no spaces or special characters, and a .pdf extension must be used.
Foreign Applications (Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entity)
Plan for Sharing Research Data
The
precise content of the data-sharing plan will vary, depending on the data being
collected and how the investigator is planning to share the data. Applicants
who are planning to share data may wish to describe briefly the expected
schedule for data sharing, the format of the final dataset, the documentation
to be provided, whether or not any analytic tools also will be provided,
whether or not a data-sharing agreement will be required and, if so, a brief
description of such an agreement (including the criteria for deciding who can
receive the data and whether or not any conditions will be placed on their
use), and the mode of data sharing (e.g., under their own auspices by mailing a
disk or posting data on their institutional or personal Web site, through a
data archive or enclave). Investigators choosing to share under their own
auspices may wish to enter into a data-sharing agreement. References to data
sharing may also be appropriate in other sections of the application.
Sharing
Research Resources
NIH
policy expects that grant recipients make unique research resources readily
available for research purposes to qualified individuals within the scientific
community after publication (See the NIH Grants Policy Statement http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part7.htm#_Toc54600131).
Investigators responding to this funding opportunity should include a sharing
research resources plan addressing how unique research resources will be shared
or explain why sharing is not possible.
The adequacy of the resources sharing plan and any
related data sharing plans will be considered by Program staff of the funding
organization when making recommendations about funding applications. The
effectiveness of the resource sharing will be evaluated as part of the
administrative review of each Non-Competing Grant
Progress Report (PHS 2590). See Section VI.3.,
Reporting.
Section V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria (Update: Enhanced review criteria have been issued for the evaluation of research applications received for potential FY2010 funding and thereafter - see NOT-OD-09-025).
Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process.
2.
Review and Selection Process
Applications
submitted for this funding opportunity will be assigned to the ICs on the basis
of established PHS referral guidelines.
Appropriate
scientific review groups convened in accordance with the standard NIH peer
review procedures (http://www.csr.nih.gov/refrev.htm)
will evaluate applications for scientific and technical merit.
Applications that are complete and responsive to the FOA will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by the NICHD in accordance with the review criteria stated below.
As part of the initial merit review, all applications will:
Applications submitted in response to this funding opportunity will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
The goals of NIH supported research are to advance our understanding of biological systems, to improve the control of disease, and to enhance health. In their written critiques, reviewers will be asked to comment on each of the following criteria in order to judge the likelihood that the proposed research will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of these goals. Each of these criteria will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall score, weighting them as appropriate for each application.
Note that an
application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to
have major scientific impact and thus deserve a high priority score. For
example, an investigator may propose to carry out important work that by its
nature is not innovative but is essential to move a field forward.
Significance: Does this study address an important problem? If
the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or
clinical practice be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the
concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative
interventions that drive this field?
Approach: Are the
conceptual or clinical framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately
developed, well integrated, well reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the
project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider
alternative tactics?
For applications designating multiple PDs/PIs, is the leadership approach,
including the designated roles and responsibilities, governance, and
organizational structure, consistent with and justified by the aims of the
project and the expertise of each of the PDs/PIs?
Innovation: Is the project original and innovative? For example: Does the project challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice; address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field? Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools, or technologies for this area?
Investigators: Are the PD/PI(s)
and other key personnel appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this
work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal
investigator and other researchers? Does the PD/PI(s) and investigative team
bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project (if applicable)? This
FOA encourages, but does not require, collaborations among PD/PIs in
disciplines that contribute to social neuroscience. Are proposed
collaborators sufficient for the project? Do they individually represent
strengths in the subdisciplines essential to the project? Depending on
the basic or translational nature of the project, these subdisciplines may
include, e.g., basic systems neuroscience (animal or human), social psychology,
clinical science.
Environment: Do(es) the
scientific environment(s) in which the work will be done contribute to the
probability of success? Do the proposed studies benefit from unique features of
the scientific environment(s), or subject populations, or employ useful
collaborative arrangements? Is there evidence of institutional support?
2.A. Additional Review Criteria
In addition to the above criteria, the following items will continue to be considered in the determination of scientific merit and the priority score:
Resubmission Applications (formerly revised/amended applications): Are the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group adequate? Are the improvements in the resubmission application appropriate?
Protection
of Human Subjects from Research Risk: The involvement of human
subjects and protections from research risk relating to their participation in
the proposed research will be assessed. See the Human Subjects Sections
of the PHS398 Research Plan component of the SF424 (R&R)..
Inclusion of Women, Minorities and Children in Research: The adequacy of
plans to include subjects from both genders, all racial and ethnic groups (and
subgroups), and children as appropriate for the scientific goals of the
research will be assessed. Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects
will also be evaluated. See the Human Subjects Sections of the PHS398 Research
Plan component of the SF424 (R&R)
Care and Use of Vertebrate Animals in Research: If vertebrate animals
are to be used in the project, the adequacy of the plans for their care and use
will be assessed. See the Other Research Plan Sections of the PHS398 Research
Plan component of the SF424 (R&R).
Biohazards: If materials or procedures are proposed that are potentially
hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, determine if the
proposed protection is adequate.
2.B. Additional Review Considerations
Budget and Period of Support: The reasonableness of the proposed budget and the
appropriateness of the requested period of support in relation to the proposed
research may be assessed by the reviewers. The priority score should not be
affected by the evaluation of the budget.
Applications from Foreign Organizations: Whether the project presents special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions in other countries that are not readily available in the United States or that augment existing U.S. resources will be assessed.
2.C. Sharing Research Data
Data
Sharing Plan: The reasonableness of the data sharing plan or the rationale for not
sharing research data will be assessed by the reviewers. However, reviewers
will not factor the proposed data sharing plan into the determination of
scientific merit or the priority score. The presence of a data sharing plan
will be part of the terms and conditions of the award. The funding organization
will be responsible for monitoring the data sharing policy.
2.D. Sharing Research
Resources
NIH
policy expects that grant recipients make unique research resources readily
available for research purposes to qualified individuals within the scientific
community after publication (See the NIH Grants Policy Statement http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part7.htm#_Toc54600131).
Investigators responding to this funding opportunity should include a sharing
research resources plan addressing how unique research resources will be shared
or explain why sharing is not possible.
Program
staff will be responsible for the administrative review of the plan for sharing
research resources.
The
adequacy of the resources sharing plan and any related data sharing plans will
be considered by Program staff of the funding organization when making
recommendations about funding applications. The effectiveness of the resource
sharing will be evaluated as part of the administrative review of each Non-Competing Grant
Progress Report (PHS 2590), See Section VI.3.,
Reporting.
Model Organism Sharing Plan: Reviewers are asked to assess the sharing plan in an administrative note. The sharing plan itself should be discussed after the application is scored. Whether a sharing plan is reasonable can be determined by the reviewers on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the organism, the timeline, the applicant's decision to distribute the resource or deposit it in a repository, and other relevant considerations.
3.
Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
Not Applicable
Section
VI. Award Administration Information
1.
Award Notices
After the peer review of the application
is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement
(written critique) via the NIH eRA Commons.
If
the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request
"just-in-time" information from the applicant. For details,
applicants may refer to the NIH
Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards,
Subpart A: General.
A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award
(NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization. The NoA signed by the
grants management officer is the authorizing document. Once all administrative
and programmatic issues have been resolved, the NoA will be generated via email
notification from the awarding component to the grantee business official.
Selection of an application for award is not an
authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the
NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the
extent considered allowable pre-award costs. See Section
IV.5., Funding Restrictions.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
The terms and conditions of the award may include specific
requirements for data and/or resource sharing
including depositing cell lines, DNA samples, biomaterials or other mouse and
animal models into National repositories.
All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities.
3.
Reporting
When multiple
years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Non-Competing Grant
Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial statements as required in
the NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
We
encourage your inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the
opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Inquiries may fall
into three areas: scientific/research, peer review, and financial or grants
management issues:
1.
Scientific/Research Contact(s):
Gilian Engelson, MPH
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Branch
Center for Developmental Biology and Perinatal
Medicine
National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development
6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 4A05E, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
(Rockville, MD 20852 for courier or express
service)
Telephone: (301) 451-2137
FAX: (301) 451-5512
Email: engelsong@mail.nih.gov
Bracie Watson, Jr., Ph.D.
Program Director, Hearing Program
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute
on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
6120 Executive Boulevard, 400-C, MSC 7180
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180
(Rockville , MD 20852 for courier or express service)
Telephone: (301) 402-3458
FAX: (301) 402-6251
Email: watsonb@nidcd.nih.gov
Catherine McKeon, Ph.D.
Senior Advisor for Genetic
Research
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Room 6103, MSC 5460
Bethesda, MD 20892-5460
(Rockville , MD 20852 for courier or express service)
Telephone: (301) 594-8810
FAX: (301) 480-3503
Email: mckeonc@niddk.nih.gov
2. Peer Review Contact(s):
Robert H. Stretch, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Scientific Review
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development
6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 5B01, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
(Rockville , MD 20852 for courier or express service)
Telephone: (301) 496-1485
FAX: (301) 402-4104
Email: stretch@nih.gov
3. Financial/Grants Management Contact(s):
Christopher
Robey
Grants Management Team Leader
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development
6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 8A17K, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
(Rockville , MD 20852 for courier or express service)
Telephone: (301)
435-6996
FAX: (301) 480-4783
Email: robeyj@mail.nih.gov
Christopher Myers
Grants Management Branch
Division of Extramural Activities
National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders
6120 Executive Boulevard, 400-B, MSC 7180
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180
(Rockville , MD 20852 for courier or express service)
Telephone: (301) 435-0713
FAX: (301) 402-1758
Email: myersc@mail.nih.gov
Mary K. Rosenberg
Acting Supervisory Grants Management Specialist
Senior Grants Management Specialist
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Room 745, MSC 5456
Bethesda, MD 20892-5456
(Rockville , MD 20817 for courier or express
service)
Telephone: (301) 594-8891
FAX: (301) 480-3504 or (301) 594-9523
Email: rosenbergm@extra.niddk.nih.gov
Section VIII. Other Information
Required Federal Citations
Use of Animals in
Research:
Recipients of PHS support for activities involving
live, vertebrate animals must comply with PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of
Laboratory Animals (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/PHSPolicyLabAnimals.pdf)
as mandated by the Health Research Extension Act of 1985 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/hrea1985.htm),
and the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations (http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/usdaleg1.htm)
as applicable.
Human Subjects Protection:
Federal regulations (45 CFR 46) require that applications
and proposals involving human subjects must be evaluated with reference to the
risks to the subjects, the adequacy of protection against these risks, the
potential benefits of the research to the subjects and others, and the
importance of the knowledge gained or to be gained (http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.htm).
Data and Safety Monitoring Plan:
Data and safety monitoring is required for all types
of clinical trials, including physiologic toxicity and dose-finding studies (Phase
I); efficacy studies (Phase II); efficacy, effectiveness and comparative trials
(Phase III). Monitoring should be commensurate with risk. The establishment of
data and safety monitoring boards (DSMBs) is required for multi-site clinical
trials involving interventions that entail potential risks to the participants
( NIH Policy for Data and Safety Monitoring, NIH Guide for Grants and
Contracts, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-084.html).
Sharing Research Data:
Investigators submitting an NIH application seeking
$500,000 or more in direct costs in any single year are expected to include a
plan for data sharing or state why this is not possible (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing).
Investigators should seek guidance from their
institutions, on issues related to institutional policies and local IRB rules,
as well as local, State and Federal laws and regulations, including the Privacy
Rule. Reviewers will consider the data sharing plan but will not factor the
plan into the determination of the scientific merit or the priority score.
Access
to Research Data through the Freedom of Information Act:
The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 has been revised to provide access
to research data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) under some
circumstances. Data that are (1) first produced in a project that is supported
in whole or in part with Federal funds and (2) cited publicly and officially by
a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law
(i.e., a regulation) may be accessed through FOIA. It is important for
applicants to understand the basic scope of this amendment. NIH has provided
guidance at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/a110/a110_guidance_dec1999.htm.
Applicants may wish to place data collected under this funding opportunity in a
public archive, which can provide protections for the data and manage the
distribution for an indefinite period of time. If so, the application should
include a description of the archiving plan in the study design and include
information about this in the budget justification section of the application.
In addition, applicants should think about how to structure informed consent
statements and other human subjects procedures given the potential for wider
use of data collected under this award.
Sharing of
Model Organisms:
NIH is committed
to support efforts that encourage sharing of important research resources
including the sharing of model organisms for biomedical research (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/model_organism/index.htm).
At the same time the NIH recognizes the rights of grantees and contractors to
elect and retain title to subject inventions developed with Federal funding
pursuant to the Bayh Dole Act (see the NIH
Grants Policy Statement. Beginning October 1, 2004, all investigators
submitting an NIH application or contract proposal are expected to include in
the application/proposal a description of a specific plan for sharing and
distributing unique model organism research resources generated using NIH
funding or state why such sharing is restricted or not possible. This will
permit other researchers to benefit from the resources developed with public
funding. The inclusion of a model organism sharing plan is not subject to a
cost threshold in any year and is expected to be included in all applications
where the development of model organisms is anticipated.
Inclusion of
Women And Minorities in Clinical Research:
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 clinical research projects unless a clear
and compelling justification is 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 clinical research
should read the "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as
Subjects in Clinical Research (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-001.html);
a complete copy of the updated Guidelines is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001.htm.
The amended policy incorporates: the use of an NIH definition of clinical
research; updated racial and ethnic categories in compliance with the new OMB
standards; clarification of language governing NIH-defined Phase III clinical
trials consistent with the SF424 (R&R) application; and updated roles and
responsibilities of NIH staff and the extramural community. The policy
continues to require for all NIH-defined Phase III clinical trials that: a) all
applications or proposals and/or protocols must 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)
investigators must report annual accrual and progress in conducting analyses,
as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group differences.
Inclusion of
Children as Participants in Clinical Research:
The NIH
maintains a policy that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) must
be included in all clinical research, conducted or supported by the NIH, unless
there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them.
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 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/children/children.htm).
Required
Education on the Protection of Human Subject Participants:
NIH policy
requires education on the protection of human subject participants for all
investigators submitting NIH applications for research involving human subjects
and individuals designated as key personnel. The policy is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-039.html.
Human
Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC):
Criteria for
federal funding of research on hESCs can be found at http://stemcells.nih.gov/index.asp and at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-005.html.
Only research using hESC lines that are registered in the NIH Human Embryonic
Stem Cell Registry will be eligible for Federal funding (http://escr.nih.gov/). It is the responsibility
of the applicant to provide in the project description and elsewhere in the
application as appropriate, the official NIH identifier(s) for the hESC line(s)
to be used in the proposed research. Applications that do not provide this information
will be returned without review.
NIH Public Access Policy:
NIH-funded
investigators are requested to submit to the NIH manuscript submission (NIHMS) system
(http://www.nihms.nih.gov/) at PubMed
Central (PMC) an electronic version of the author's final manuscript upon
acceptance for publication, resulting from research supported in whole or in
part with direct costs from NIH. The author's final manuscript is defined as
the final version accepted for journal publication, and includes all
modifications from the publishing peer review process.
NIH is
requesting that authors submit manuscripts resulting from 1) currently funded
NIH research projects or 2) previously supported NIH research projects if they
are accepted for publication on or after May 2, 2005. The NIH Public Access Policy applies to all research grant and career development award mechanisms,
cooperative agreements, contracts, Institutional and Individual Ruth L.
Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, as well as NIH intramural
research studies. The Policy applies to peer-reviewed, original research
publications that have been supported in whole or in part with direct costs
from NIH, but it does not apply to book chapters, editorials, reviews, or
conference proceedings. Publications resulting from non-NIH-supported research
projects should not be submitted.
For more
information about the Policy or the submission process, please visit the NIH Public Access Policy Web site at http://publicaccess.nih.gov// and view the Policy or other Resources and Tools, including the Authors' Manual.
Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable
Health Information:
The Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued final modification to the
"Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health
Information", the "Privacy Rule", on August 14, 2002. The Privacy Rule is a federal regulation under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 that governs the protection of individually
identifiable health information, and is administered and enforced by the HHS
Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
Decisions about
applicability and implementation of the Privacy Rule reside with the researcher
and his/her institution. The OCR website (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/)
provides information on the Privacy Rule, including a complete Regulation Text
and a set of decision tools on "Am I a covered entity?" Information
on the impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule on NIH processes involving the review,
funding, and progress monitoring of grants, cooperative agreements, and
research contracts can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-025.html.
URLs in NIH Grant Applications or Appendices:
All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page limitations. For publications listed in the appendix and/or Progress report, Internet addresses (URLs) or PubMed Central (PMC) submission identification numbers must be used for publicly accessible on-line journal articles. Publicly accessible on-line journal articles or PMC articles/manuscripts accepted for publication that are directly relevant to the project may be included only as URLs or PMC submission identification numbers accompanying the full reference in either the Bibliography & References Cited section, the Progress Report Publication List section, or the Biographical Sketch section of the NIH grant application. A URL or PMC submission identification number citation may be repeated in each of these sections as appropriate. There is no limit to the number of URLs or PMC submission identification numbers that can be cited.
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 FOA 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.
Authority and
Regulations:
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance at http://www.cfda.gov/ and is not subject to
the intergovernmental review requirements of
Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. Awards are made under
the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as
amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and
45 CFR Parts 74 and 92. All awards are subject to the
terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in
the NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
The PHS strongly
encourages all grant recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and
discourage the 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, any 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.
Loan Repayment
Programs:
NIH encourages
applications for educational loan repayment from qualified health professionals
who have made a commitment to pursue a research career involving clinical,
pediatric, contraception, infertility, and health disparities related areas.
The LRP is an important component of NIH's efforts to recruit and retain the
next generation of researchers by providing the means for developing a research
career unfettered by the burden of student loan debt. Note that an NIH grant is
not required for eligibility and concurrent career award and LRP applications
are encouraged. The periods of career award and LRP award may overlap providing
the LRP recipient with the required commitment of time and effort, as LRP
awardees must commit at least 50% of their time (at least 20 hours per week
based on a 40 hour week) for two years to the research. For further
information, please see: http://www.lrp.nih.gov/.
Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
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