Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information

Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

Fogarty International Center (FIC)

National Eye Institute (NEI)

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers. The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Funding Opportunity Title
Implementation Research to Reduce Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) Burden in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) and Tribal Nations During Critical Life Stages and Key Transition Periods (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
Activity Code

R01 Research Project Grant

Announcement Type
New
Related Notices

See Notices of Special Interest associated with this funding opportunity

NOT-TW-21-008 - Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Implementation Research for Chronic Disease Prevention Across the Lifespan (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number
PAR-22-132
Companion Funding Opportunity
None
Assistance Listing Number(s)
93.989, 93.399, 93.113, 93.866, 93.865, 93.867, 93.279, 93.307, 93.853, 93.242, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.233
Funding Opportunity Purpose

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) participating Institutes and Centers (ICs), in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD), invite applications for implementation research focused on addressing risk factors for common noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in World Bank-defined low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribal Nation populations in the United States. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) supports innovative approaches to identifying, understanding, developing, and implementing strategies for overcoming barriers to the adoption, adaptation, integration, scale-up, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions, tools, policies, and guidelines. In addition, studies to advance dissemination and implementation research methods and measures into application are encouraged. Specifically, this FOA invites applications that propose interventions targeting critical life stages (e.g., infancy, childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, older adults) and key transitions between life stages to reduce health risk and/or enhance positive health and lifestyle behaviors.

All applications must be within the scope of the mission of one of the Institutes/Centers listed above (see "Components of Participating Organizations"). Applications will be accepted from US and World Bank-defined LMIC institutions only.

Key Dates

Posted Date
March 30, 2022
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)
June 27, 2022
Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

30 days before receipt date.

Application Due Dates Review and Award Cycles
New Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) AIDS Scientific Merit Review Advisory Council Review Earliest Start Date
July 27, 2022 Not Applicable August 10, 2022 November 2022 January 2023 April 2023

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

Expiration Date
August 11, 2022
Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) participating Institutes and Centers (ICs), in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD), invite applications for implementation research focused on addressing risk factors for common noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribal Nation populations in the United States. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) supports innovative approaches to identifying, understanding, developing, and implementing strategies for overcoming barriers to the adoption, adaptation, integration, scale-up, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions, tools, policies, and guidelines. In addition, studies to advance dissemination and implementation research methods and measures into application are encouraged. Specifically, this FOA invites applications that propose interventions targeting critical life stages (e.g., infancy, childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, older adults) and key transitions between life stages to reduce health risk and/or enhance positive health and lifestyle behaviors.

Applications will be accepted from US and LMIC institutions only. Eligible LMIC institutions are defined by the World Bank at the following link: datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups

Introduction

NCDs account for 60% of deaths globally where 8 in 10 deaths caused by NCDs occur in LMICs and marginalized communities. While NCDs account for the greatest loss of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) around the world, research to study prevention and treatment are relatively under-resourced in LMICs and AI/AN Tribal Nation communities where the burden is increasing. The GACD was formed in 2010 in response to this concern and supports research and associated trainingto accelerate and improve prevention and treatment of NCDs in under-resourced environments.

The GACD represents 15 of the world’s largest funding agencies, including the NIH, and is the first alliance to specifically address NCDs. Collectively, GACD partner agencies provide over 80% of global public funding for health research and, since 2010, have supported 110 projects in the areas of hypertension, lung diseases, diabetes, mental health, cancer, stroke, and hypertension/diabetes intervention scale-up. GACD has supported 1,200 researchers at 300 institutions in 70 countries through investment of over US $220 million through its partner agencies. NIH has supported 11 GACD awards across these NCD domains and plans a new approach for cross-cutting, trans-NIH funding over the coming years.

This FOA is aligned with the overall GACD initiative to support implementation research to examine which interventions work, for whom, and under what circumstances. Projects may also address how interventions can be adapted and scaled up in ways that are feasible, acceptable, accessible, sustainable, and equitable in a given national context.

Implementation science is the study of the methods and strategies that enable research uptake into practice. Implementation science is especially relevant in LMICs, where it can help ensure that limited resources are invested in cost-effective interventions.

Implementation research is needed to account for the complexities of the systems in which interventions are implemented since other approaches often fail to address these. Results of implementation research support evidence-based policymaking that can build robust programs to improve public health. Additional information and resources on implementation research can be found on the GACD website.

Specific Challenge

Chronic NCDs, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders and stroke, respiratory diseases, certain cancers, and mental health disorders are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both LMICs and high-income countries (HICs), especially within AI/AN Tribal Nations. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought NCDs further into the spotlight, as the majority of those who have experienced severe illness and death have had one or more underlying NCDs. Reducing the burden of NCDs is therefore critical to building more resilient, equitable, and healthier societies.

The World Health Organization acknowledges the importance of adopting a life course approach as a conceptual framework when exploring the physical and social hazards that may impact health. A life course approach to NCDs may minimize the impact of exposure to known risk factors in early life through early adulthood and increase the likelihood of good health later in life, and potentially into the next generation, especially when considering maternal health during pregnancy.

A number of behavioral change interventions, as well as those that increase the health-promoting potential of environments and decrease risks associated with unhealthy environments, are effective in reducing, delaying, or preventing the risk of NCD onset or disease progression. However, research is lacking in how to integrate such interventions into communities and health systems, and/or how to target these interventions to specific life stages, especially in LMIC and other disadvantaged populations. Applicants responding to this FOA are invited to meet this challenge.

Research Objectives and Scope

Summary

The aim of this FOA is to invite applications for implementation research focused on addressing common NCD risk factors through interventions that improve health and/or enhance positive health and lifestyle behaviors at critical life stages (e.g., infancy,childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, older adults).

Responsive applications will:

  • build on a life course approach and focus on one or more critical life stage(s), or transitions between life stages;
  • focus on common NCD risk factors exploring interventions known to prevent, or delay the onset or progression of, more than one NCD;
  • justify the choice of intervention(s) to be delivered during the selected life stage(s) and provide evidence of the intervention’s effectiveness and feasibility;
  • specifically address health equity, defined by the WHO as the absence of unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically or by other dimensions of inequality (e.g. sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation);
  • address social determinants of NCDs in the relevant populations and assess culturally-tailored intervention strategies, including, for instance, studes that integrate Traditional ways of healing in AI/AN communities;
  • conduct research on multisectoral interventions that cut across health, environmental, social, and other sectors;
  • have an appropriate strategy for measuring implementation research and effectiveness outcomes, including stakeholder-relevant outcomes (e.g., functioning, health services use, and others);
  • demonstrate a commitment to stakeholder and community engagement;
  • provide opportunities for implementation research capacity building within project teams; and
  • demonstrate equitable partnerships and shared leadership between high-income country (HIC)/LMIC and/or non-Tribal Nation/Tribal Nation members of the project team, and between the project team and external stakeholders, including written letters of support from these groups and associated Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), as appropriate.

In addition, applicants are encouraged (though not required) to:

  • explore the implementation of interventions harnessing digital technology adaptations. [The GACD recently held a workshop focusing on best practices for planning and delivering sustainable and equitable digital health interventions for NCDs in LMICs and Indigenous communities. A summary report, which may assist with application planning, is available here].

NIH, through its partnership with GACD, is committed to supporting research undertaken through genuine multi-sectoral partnerships among diverse academics, policymakers, local authorities, for-profit institutions, non-profit organizations, and community groups from HICs, LMICs, and/or AI/AN Tribal Nations. Where possible, research questions should be driven by local stakeholders and other intended beneficiaries of the research project.

Applications proposing the following types of projects will NOT be considered responsive and will not be reviewed:

  • epidemiological cohort studies;
  • longitudinal studies that cannot feasibly be completed in the life cycle of the grant (limited to 5 years);
  • etiological work, mechanistic, or epidemiological research, unless an essential component of a focused study to develop implementation research approaches; and
  • clinical trials, validation studies, or intervention studies of the efficacy of a new pharmacological agent or behavioral intervention.

Study population and life course approach

The NIH, in partnership with the GACD, aims to improve health equity in LMICs or AI/AN Tribal Nation populations in the United States, with a focus on NCD prevention across the life course through targeted research during critical life stage(s) or transitions between life stages.

In all cases, the study population may include both people with existing NCDs, those without existing NCDs, or a combination of both, but the focus must be on addressing common NCD risk factors, such as depression, diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, unhealthy diet, smoking, physical inactivity, and excess alcohol consumption. Applicants may propose implementation research focused on interventions that are implemented at the individual, family, community (e.g., work or school), population, and/or structural level. Applicants may also propose implementation research focused on NCD prevention in people living with HIV or other infectious disease comorbidities during critical life stages.

Evidence-based interventions

The research to be undertaken will focus on the implementation of one or more evidence-based interventions in preventing or reducing exposure to one or more common NCD risk factors.

Proposals might focus, for example, on the WHO Best Buys and/or other strategies and interventions (at a key life stage) that address: tobacco and nicotine avoidance; hypertension management, including reducing salt intake; limiting alcohol consumption, promoting regular physical activity, a healthy diet, and body weight; healthy sleeping patterns; clean air; and/or social and psychological well-being. Such strategies and interventions might focus on behavioral change and/or improving equitable access to resources necessary for health promotion.

Addressing health equity

Poverty, racism, ethnic discrimination, stigma, historical trauma, and other inequities are directly associated with detrimental health outcomes . All projects should consider the social determinants of health and discuss their potential impact on the effective implementation of the intervention(s). If there is a focus on a particular population (e.g. gender, race/ethnicity, Tribal Nation) then the reason for this should be justified.

In order to promote health equity, studies should aim to address differences in intervention access, uptake, and effectiveness in socially disadvantaged groups and develop strategies for reducing inequities. To facilitate this process at the data analysis stage, studies should be designed to address such differences (at a minimum, studies should capture sex/gender differences, though if feasible, a plan for capturing intersectional impacts on health outcomes should be included in the analysis strategy). Guidance for conducting sex/gender-responsive and intersectional research is available on the GACD call webpage.

Outcome measures

Inclusion of contextually-appropriate implementation research outcomes (e.g., uptake, acceptance, feasibility, cost, etc.) is key for driving appropriate assessment and potential scaling beyond the proposed research.

Where appropriate, outcomes should be measured in those targeted directly as well as others who are intended to benefit from the intervention (for example, the infants of mothers who received the intervention while pregnant, or the adult parents or grandparents of children who received the intervention).

Stakeholder and community engagement

For implementation research evidence to have a strong likelihood of being taken up into policy or practice and informing the scale up of effective interventions, it is vital that project teams engage the appropriate stakeholders, including decision makers such as policymakers, ministry officials, tribal leaders, IRBs, and non-governmental organization leaders, who can help sustain the project’s implementation, facilitate scale up, and use the knowledge generated from the project after the grant ends. Stakeholders also include end users and the direct beneficiaries of research, such as youth groups, diverse community members, patients,and their caregivers. All stakeholders should be engaged at all stages of the research project, from initial ideation of research questions, throughout the duration of the project, and afterwards during the knowledge translation phase. More information about stakeholder engagement, including links to resources for planning such engagement, can be found on the GACD webpage.

Implementation research capacity building

Implementation research is a relatively young discipline and the NIH and GACD are dedicated to increasing research capacity and capability in this field among researchers, health professionals, and public health leaders through skill building, knowledge sharing, and networking. As such, a key element of this program is to provide opportunities within each funded project to build implementation research capacity especially, but not exclusively, in lower resourced environments, such as LMICs or AI/AN Tribal Nation communities, and amongst early career researchers from these communities.

Equitable partnership and governance

Equity considerations also extend to the governance of project teams in order to ensure fair and equal collaboration, especially between HIC/LMIC and/or non-Tribal Nation/Tribal Nation members (both collaborations within the research teams and with community partners). NIH-aligned resources for planning equitable research partnerships are available on the GACD call webpage. As such, the GACD and NIH encourage equitable governance arrangements within research teams, with input from stakeholders and community representatives to drive contextually-informed, equitable research and data ownership.

Compliance with international standards and best practices

It is expected that all research conducted under and funded by this initiative will comply with relevant internationally accepted standards and best practices. These include:

  • Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies (StaRI) Statement;
  • standards relevant to specific study designs including SPIRIT and CONSORT for clinical trials, and STROBE for observational studies;
  • ethics and other governance requirements as applicable in the countries where the research will be conducted;
  • registration of all clinical trials before recruitment of the first trial participant in clinicaltrials.gov;
  • reasonable measures to ensure that sponsors, researchers, and institutions publish or otherwise disseminate the analysis of data and interpretation of research results (i.e., the findings) in a timely manner without undue restriction.

Expected impacts of this initiative

The projects funded in response to this FOA will collectively:

  • contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3.4 to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one third by 2030;
  • reduce health inequities linked to socioeconomic status, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, age, and other social and structural factors at both the local and global levels;
  • improve quality of life across the life course and extend healthy life expectancy;
  • advance local, regional, or national preventative health policies addressing common risk factors for NCDs;
  • improve understanding of demographic and life stage variations in managing common NCD risk factors and for sustaining positive change;
  • establish the contextual effectiveness of reducing exposure to, or impact of, common NCD risk factors at different life stages, including at systems level;
  • provide evidence and recommendations to national programs and policies;
  • inform health service providers, policy, and/or other decision makers on the effective adaptation and/or scaling up of interventions at local, regional, and national levels;
  • improve local capacity for implementation research, data harmonization, and stakeholder engagement for management and prevention of common NCD risk factors.

NIH IC-Specific Priorities

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIH IC program staff (listed below) early in the application process to discuss the alignment of their technical proposal with the goals of this FOA, the NIH IC, and the GACD program. NIH IC-specific priorities include the following:

Fogarty International Center (FIC)

NOTE: While the Fogarty International Center manages this program on behalf of NIH, FIC does not accept applications for this funding opportunity. Applications may only be submitted to partner ICs for funding consideration.

National Eye Institute (NEI)

The National Eye Institute supports basic and clinical research into diseases and disorders of the visual system and the special needs of people with impaired vision or who are blind. NEI is particularly interested in research of improved methods for delivering vision care and rehabilitation in underserved populations including people in urban and rural settings, especially those in AI/AN Tribal Nation populations in the United States. Research topics may include but are not limited to telemedicine, screening and automated diagnosis, medication adherence, quality of life, and rehabilitation strategies for those with vision loss.

NEI would only support clinical trial applications for this FOA that fulfill the NIH requirements for either a mechanistic or minimal risk trial. A mechanistic trial is designed to understand a biological or behavioral process, the pathophysiology of a disease, or the mechanism of action of an intervention. A minimal risk trial is one in which the probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research are not greater in and of themselves than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests.

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

The National Institute on Aging mission is to support and conduct genetic, biological, clinical, behavioral, social, and economic research on aging; foster the development of research and clinician scientists in aging; provide research resources to facilitate innovative aging research; and disseminate information about aging and advances in research to the public, health care professionals, and the scientific community, among a variety of audiences.

NIA’s interest in this program is to support research to identify and understand barriers to the adoption, integration, scale-up, and sustainability of health interventions related to evidence-based practices to encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors related to life course aging and health, including Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD), in LMICs and AI/AN Tribal Nation populations in the United States.

The NIA Health Disparities Research Framework provides insights about NIA priority populations, multilevel factors for analysis, and the integrates the life course theory. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use the NIA Health Disparities Research Framework to a) better delineate causal pathways for an intervention, b) broaden the scope of proposed adaptable intervention targets (by reviewing difference cells among the four key domains which provide examples of level of analysis a research team might consider (e.g., individual level, community level, structural level, and c) to potentially identify team members who possess relevant expertise to achieve the intervention’s proposed goals and objectives.

For clinical trial proposals, implementation strategies studied should be limited to the studies of strategies that have evidence of efficacy, as well as evidence that the intervention can be delivered in the community with fidelity. NIA is especially interested in receiving applications that fall within Stage V of the NIH Stage Model for Behavioral Intervention Development that focus on the mechanisms that promote the successful implementation of interventions, consistent with the NIH Science of Behavior Change emphasis on mechanisms of change.

Information about the NIH Stage Model and behavioral intervention development can be found at: https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/dbsr/stage-model-behavioral-intervention-development.

Information regarding NIH’s Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) program can be found at: https://commonfund.nih.gov/behaviorchange.

Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • NCD prevention in vulnerable aging and older adults across the life course: implementation research focused on interventions that address common age-related disease risk factors, reduce health risk and/or enhance positive health and lifestyle behaviors, and develop/test implementation strategies to support the uptake, integration and scale up of these interventions. Studies should also examine how and why these interventions work.
  • Studies that test the effectiveness of implementation strategies of interventions to reduce health disparities related to aging and age-related neurological disorders (including AD/ADRD) among minoritized or vulnerable populations (e.g., indigenous populations, rural) in LMICs.
  • Studies to design, develop, and test informed strategies to improve uptake and integration of evidence-based interventions that mitigate risk for advanced aging and age-related neurological disorders (AD/ADRD).
  • Implementation studies that explore strategies to support the integration of technology, tools, or techniques into epidemiologic or population-based research for data collection and analysis.
  • Studies of implementation strategies for interventions that influence neuropsychological, behavioral and social factors related to life course aging and health, particularly to Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD). These may include interventions such as:
    • Healthy lifestyle behaviors such as diet, exercise, sleep, cognitive training, stress and medication management, and adherences to these behaviors.
    • Institutional policy or health system interventions from different contexts employed in new contexts.

Applicants should make the case that these interventions have shown efficacy and can be scaled up.

Eunice Kennedy ShriverNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development encourages implementation research applications relevant to the NICHD mission focusing on critical periods throughout the life course. These areas include (but not limited to): normal and abnormal human development, contraception, fertilization, pregnancy, childbirth, prenatal/postnatal development, childhood development through adolescence, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and rehabilitation medicine.

NICHD is interested in evidence based LMIC and AI/AN Tribal Nation population applications relevant to the institute’s mission. Specifically, implementation research studies that address long-term health outcomes and chronic conditions of at-risk mothers and children, interventions that improve pre-pregnancy health, prematurity, malnutrition, childhood stunting, disease, and developmental delays.

For more information about NICHD research priorities visit:

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is committed to advancing research to address substance use and related disparities among LMIC and AI/AN Tribal Nation populations. NIDA is interested in receiving applications for this FOA that address common NCD risk factors for substance use and that meet the criteria established in this FOA.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

The mission of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives. Its vision is to provide global leadership for innovative research that improves public health by preventing disease and disability. Our environment, including exposures in the physical, built, and social environments, can negatively affect the health of individuals and communities. These environmental exposures disproportionately impact LMICs and AI/AN Tribal Nation populations in the United States. Given the interconnectedness of the environment with individual- and structural-level social determinants of health, ensuring equitable implementation of interventions that prevent or mitigate these environmental exposures and reduce the risk of NCDs is urgently needed.

NIEHS is interested in applications that are within scope of our 2018-2023 Strategic Plan and focus on the implementation of interventions that address environmental NCD risk factors (e.g., air pollution, disaster risks attributed to climate change, etc.) in one or more critical life stages. Specific areas of interest to NIEHS include, but are not limited to:

  • Implementation of interventions to prevent or mitigate environmental exposures in childhood that lead to NCDs (e.g., asthma)
  • Implementation of interventions focused on reducing primary and/or secondary exposures to pesticides and other chemicals in rural and agricultural settings that lead to NCDs in one or more critical life stages
  • Implementation of interventions that focus on mitigating or reducing combined environmental exposures that lead to NCDs in one or more critical life stages
  • Implementation of interventions to reduce environmental NCD risks that consider individual and structural level social determinants of health
  • Implementation of interventions to prevent or mitigate environmental exposures in children, adolescents, young and older adults that are attributed to climate change

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

The National Institute of Mental Health encourages studies across the research spectrum, from basic through translational science to intervention development and efficacy, effectiveness, and implementation research. Mental disorders may be defined according to existing diagnostic criteria or along dimensions of neurobehavioral functioning according to the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework. If existing diagnostic criteria are to be used, investigators should include plans for addressing heterogeneity within the diagnostic category or categories.

All applications that propose clinical trials to develop or test preventive, therapeutic, or services interventions, including studies that test dissemination and implementation strategies, are encouraged to follow the NIMH’s experimental therapeutics approach to intervention development and testing (see NIMH Clinical Trials FOAs). It is recommended that investigators contact NIMH Scientific/Research staff well in advance of submitting applications to discuss the match to NIMH priorities.

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities is specifically interested in innovative, adaptable and real-life multi-level interventions (refer to the NIMHD Research Framework) addressing health/healthcare disparities among indigenous populations of the Americas, and in countries from which there is a significant representation in the U.S. population (e.g., Mexico, Central and South America, and some countries in the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and some countries in Asia and the Pacific). Also, multi-sectoral interventions are of interest. We encourage research teams to incorporate measurements and assessments of social determinants of health and other common data elements as described in the PhenX Toolkit.

National Institute of NeurologicalDisorders and Stroke (NINDS)

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke encourages impactful applications that seek to equitably address common NCD risk factors through evidence-based interventions for high priority neurological health concerns in LMICs, and AI/AN Tribal Nation populations in the U. S., by aiding in the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of the disorder. Collaborations that propose cost-effective and scalable approaches, with attention to stakeholder engagement, and strengthening of the regional research capacity for neurological care are encouraged. Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to, interventions for:

  • Advancing remote patient care and monitoring tools for chronic neurological conditions in rural and/or urban settings
  • Further refinement of point of care diagnostics and screening tools for early and accurate neurological disease detection
  • Enabling greater access to more timely and continuous neurological care through cost reductions or novel technology dissemination strategies
  • Improving the remote transmission and clinical utility of neurological imaging technologies to rural hospitals and clinics
  • Implementing or strengthening eHealth/mHealth data collection, standardization or reporting for neurological patients and research participants
  • Improving stroke risk factor surveillance and statistical modeling at the community and national level

High priority disease areas include stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases, epilepsy, migraine, nervous system infections, Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, brain trauma, neurodevelopmental disorders, neuromuscular disorders, and the neurological consequences of HIV/AIDS and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) (NINDS Disorder Index http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/disorder_index.htm ). Projects that build upon previously funded NINDS activities in the Chronic, Noncommunicable Diseases and Disorders Research Training (NCD-Lifespan), Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa), and the Global Brain Disorders program are also encouraged.

NINDS may decline funding of any application that includes human subjects for programmatic or administrative reasons. Applicants considering projects involving human subjects research are strongly encouraged to contact NINDS Scientific/Research staff early in the process of preparing a submission. Applicants interested in clinical trials for neurological disorders within the NINDS mission, may also refer to NINDS clinical trial-specific funding announcements. See: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Current-Research/Research-Funded-NINDS/Clinical-Research

NINDS encourages the reuse of Common Data Elements/Data Standards whenever appropriate. Please see: NINDS Common Data Elements https://www.commondataelements.ninds.nih.gov/

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute encourages innovative implementation research that is within scope of NHLBI’s Strategic Vision, and aligns with in-country national heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS)-related non-communicable disease programs and policies for national population impact.

  • Implementation research to address prevention and control of HLBS diseases targeting multiple levels including: patients and the community; health care providers and alternative providers (e.g., use of midlevel providers such as community health workers, nurses, pharmacists, etc.); and the health care delivery system level within LMICs and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribal Populations in the U.S. during the implementation of national HLBS disease prevention programs
  • Implementation research to understand the optimal, acceptable, and sustainable strategies for task-shifting to and task-sharing with various health care workers (especially within human resource shortage areas, e.g., rural areas) to deliver national policy for clinical and public health interventions within the national healthcare system
  • Studies that can test the optimal use of nurse case managers in low-resource settings to deliver evidence-based guidelines for prevention, treatment, and control of HLBS diseases across urban, rural, and low resource areas aligned with national non-communicable disease programs
  • Implementation research to improve delivery of national HLBS disease prevention and control policies that identify optimal strategies using mobile health technologies and other informatics-enabled devices (e.g., electronic sliding scales, smartphone apps., etc.) to improve intervention adherence at the level of the patient, provider, and health system
  • Studies that take the recommended World Health Organization Best buys interventions at the community level and across all levels, and test optimal, affordable, and sustainable strategies for delivery of national policy recommendations for HLBS prevention and control

These examples can also be tailored to align with country-based World Bank-funded health sector development that aligns with national policies. All examples are assumed to use validated implementation research frameworks and primary population-level implementation research outcomes.

Applications Not Responsive to the FOA

Applications that do not explicitly address the terms of this PAR (e.g., Milestone Plan, Study Timeline) will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed. Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss responsiveness with the IC Scientific Contact.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument

Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Application Types Allowed
New

The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this FOA.

Clinical Trial?

Optional: Accepting applications that either propose or do not propose clinical trial(s).

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Award Budget

Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.

Award Project Period

The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is 5 years.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible Organizations

Higher Education Institutions

  • Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
  • Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

  • Hispanic-serving Institutions
  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
  • Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
  • Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
  • Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

  • Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
  • Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

  • Small Businesses
  • For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Local Governments

  • State Governments
  • County Governments
  • City or Township Governments
  • Special District Governments
  • Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
  • Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)

Federal Governments

  • Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
  • U.S. Territory or Possession

Other

  • Independent School Districts
  • Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
  • Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
  • Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
  • Regional Organizations
  • Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions)

Non-domestic applicant organizations are restricted to organizations in LMICs, which are defined by The World Bank as low-, lower-middle-, or upper-middle-income economies - http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups.

Foreign Institutions

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.

Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

Required Registrations

Applicant organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.

  • System for Award Management (SAM) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.
    • NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
    • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)- A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. SAM registrations prior to fall 2021 were updated to include a UEI. For applications due on or after January 25, 2022, the UEI must be provided on the application forms (e.g., FORMS-G); the same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
    • Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Organization registrations prior to April 2022 require applicants to obtain a DUNS prior to registering in SAM. By April 2022, the federal government will stop using the DUNS number as an entity identifier and will transition to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued by SAM. Prior to April 2022, after obtaining a DUNS number, applicants can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations. The same DUNS number must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
  • eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier (DUNS prior to April 2022; UEI after April 2022) is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; all registrations must be in place by time of submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
  • Grants.gov Applicants must have an active SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) 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.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

2. Cost Sharing

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. This means that the NIH will not accept:

  • A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package

The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this FOA. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Letter of Intent

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.

By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information, prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:

  • Descriptive title of proposed activity
  • Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s)
  • Names of other key personnel
  • Participating institution(s)
  • Number and title of this funding opportunity

The letter of intent should be sent to:

Brad Newsome, Ph.D.
Telephone: 301-480-8389
Email: brad.newsome@nih.gov

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Instructions for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Applicants should include all institutions where research will occur as performance sites, including relevant U.S. and foreign institutions.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

The application must contain the following information, according to the instructions below. The information provided here will be considered by reviewers and is meant to supplement, not duplicate, information provided in the Research Plan. The following documents must be uploaded as separate pdf files with the names indicated below.

1. Milestone Plan. The filename "Milestone Plan" should be used to name this attachment. A milestone is defined as a scheduled event in the project timeline that signifies the completion of a major project stage or activity. The Milestone Plan must describe objective, measurable annual milestones for each year of proposed research. The milestone plan should address anticipated challenges to meeting milestones and propose potential mitigation or corrective action strategies.

Milestones may be refined and finalized in consultation with NIH Program Staff prior to award, if granted. Milestones may include, but are not limited to:

  • Include plans for recruitment of the proposed study population with clear demonstration that the necessary study population is available for appropriate testing of implementation research strategy

  • Collection of any data to determine feasibility of study procedures and establish a timeline for accrual of study participants
  • Finalization of a health needs assessment
  • Finalization of a study protocol
  • Acceptance of the protocol by NIH
  • Finalization of study-related documents, including consent/assent documents, that are ready for submission to IRB and/or applicable oversight committees (such as a Data and Safety Monitoring Board)
  • Finalization of the statistical analysis plan
  • Near-final drafts of all documents necessary to implement the study (e.g., Manual of Procedures, study procedure documents for practitioners, study-specific data management plan)
  • Practitioner skills development
  • Study activation
  • Enrollment of the first patient participant
  • Enrollment and randomization, if applicable, of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the projected study population
  • Retention target for the study population
  • Completion of data collection time period
  • Completion of primary outcome data analyses
  • Reporting of results in ClinicalTrials.gov, if applicable

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Provide evidence that the PD(s)/PI(s) and key personnel have:

  • The necessary implementation research expertise for the proposed project;
  • The expertise and capacity to form a multidisciplinary team that can facilitate collective efforts to determine best ideas or approaches;
  • The capacity to foster and coordinate successful collaborations and manage complex projects, which will contribute to the coordinated completion of the milestones, and therefore, the scientific objectives of the program.

Document the relevant experience of each PD/PI and all key personnel and clearly define their roles and responsibilities in their program. Applications proposing Multiple PD(s)/PI(s) are required to include at least one PD/PI who has a primary academic appointment in an LMIC or AI/AN Tribal Nation institution where the project will occur.

R&R or Modular Budget

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

The GACD will organize and lead the broader network, arranging cross-project working groups and annual joint meetings that all awardees are expected to attend. Accordingly, applicants must budget for annual costs of having two team members participate in one annual three-day face-to-face meeting of the GACD network for implementation research (international meeting location to vary annually). Attendance at this meeting is required for the PI and another key person from each awardee team, with participants from the LMIC or AI/AN Tribal Nation encouraged. Teams are also encouraged to include a junior team member in each annual meeting. For planning purposes, applicants should also budget to attend a start-up meeting in the Washington, DC area during year 1 of the grant in addition to the GACD Annual Meeting (international location to vary annually).

If applicable, budgets should include all costs associated with Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) and Institutional Review Board (IRB) activities, including preparing reports for the DSMB and IRB, meeting reimbursement for DSMB members, support for at least two DSMB meetings per year, and Clinical Study and Site monitoring. Applicants should assess the need for liability insurance for DSMB members and provide a plan commensurate with the risk of the trial. The budget should include provision for executing the plan proposed. Include a plan for assessing DSMB member conflict of interest, and include associated costs in the budget.

R&R Subaward Budget

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Research Plan

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Applications must address the following:

  • Describe the critical life stage or key transition period that is being targeted through the proposed research, its relevance in the associated LMIC or AI/AN Tribal Nation setting or context, and how targeting this life stage is critical for addressing NCD prevention or mitigation across the lifespan.
  • Clearly explain the intervention and its components. Applicants must also describe the evidence that demonstrates the intervention is efficacious and articulate the expected outcomes. Ideally evidence of the intervention’s real-world effectiveness will be supported by a well-conducted systematic review.

  • Provide a concise description of the aims of the implementation research study to be conducted. Explain how the study addresses a particular aspect of delivering, scaling up, or sustaining one or more evidence-based interventions in LMICs or AI/AN Tribal Nations at the population level. Provide evidence that the proposed research is responsive to local needs, sociocultural and economic contexts, interests, and capacities.
  • Propose the use of indicators and measures of project context, reach, outcomes, and scale-up potential. The study should also include assessment of implementation costs and propose an economic evaluation and budgetary impact analysis as an integral part of the proposed research.
  • Describe how the study is designed to inform understanding of key mediators/mechanisms of action of the implementation, scale up, or sustainment effort. Note that applicants proposing to conduct a clinical trial under this FOA must adhere to NIH’s requirements for clinical trials.
  • Describe how the project leverages existing programs and platforms (e.g. research, data, delivery platforms), if relevant.
  • Describe how the study is designed to take into consideration relevant gender and cultural aspects, issues of health equity, age-appropriateness for the critical life stage or key transition period being targeted, and issues related to vulnerable populations.
  • Provide a description of how the project is designed to promote a culture of evidence-informed learning and effective uptake of results by embedding real-time monitoring/evaluation throughout the intervention selection and scale up process.
  • Incorporate considerations for capacity building for implementation science and knowledge translation, particularly within the countries and across the regions where the research will be conducted.
  • Describe how suitable management and government structures will be established to ensure relevant stakeholders are appropriately engaged throughout the research. Applications should outline equitable governance arrangements in place and provide evidence of joint leadership and management positions on the project team.
  • Specify equitable approaches to data ownership.
  • Describe how the proposed research will fully consider ethical issues (e.g., related to research with populations in vulnerable circumstances; potential harmful or inequitable impacts of research outcomes; and appropriate mechanisms for protection of sensitive data while enabling data sharing for research purposes).
  • Ensure conflicts of interest are appropriately minimized or managed to protect the scientific integrity and credibility of the research and fulfill ethical obligations to research participants, particularly in situations where interventions are supported by the private sector and/or there is the potential for commercial gains.
  • Indicate plans for capacity building within the project, especially, but not exclusively, for early career researchers and for team members from lower resourced environments, such as LMICs or AI/AN Tribal Nation communities.

Implementation Strategies

  • Identify the implementation strategies that will be tested and discuss how the proposed implementation strategy represents an improvement over currently used strategies and/or standards of care.
  • Describe the conceptual framework of the proposed validated implementation strategy.
  • Specify how the proposed implementation strategy will be adaptable and responsive to the context and account for cultural and organizational factors.
  • Identify key implementation facilitators and barriers that could affect the adoption, adaptation, integration, scale up and future sustainability of the implementation strategy.
  • Describe plans to consider contextually-relevant implementation elements such as workflow impact, process adjustments, mitigation strategies, and implementation research measures that are applicable in diverse global settings
  • Describe plans to consider multi-level contextual factors (e.g., socioecological factors)
  • Clearly describe the expected implementation outcomes: acceptability, uptake and adoption, affordability, appropriateness and feasibility, costs, fidelity, penetrance, sustainability, etc. and any plans for dealing with missing data.
  • Describe plans to document and evaluate the quality, fidelity, and delivery of the implementation strategy
  • Discuss the potential challenges in preparing and implementing the research protocol and how these will be addressed

Investigators

Without repeating information from the individual biosketches, describe how the expertise and experience of the investigator team will be leveraged, organized, and managed to meet the objectives of the proposed project. Address the management and coordination of efforts. Identify the collaborative process for engagement and involvement of stakeholders to participate fully in all phases of the implementation strategy, including design, deployment, testing, and reporting of results.

Letters of Support

To be considered complete, applications must include letter(s) of support from collaborating partners, and/or other organization(s) indicating their relevant expertise and commitment to participate. Applications without the required letter(s) of support will not be reviewed.

If partial funding is to be provided by sources other than NIH, provide letter(s) of support from the source(s) signed by an authorized representative.

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

The following modifications also apply:

  • All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, should address a Data Sharing Plan.
  • Where applicable, the awardee will work with GACD, NIH ICs, and/or network colleagues on efforts to integrate data and use common data standards and elements across funded research sites.

Appendix:

Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

  • No publications or other material, with the exception of blank questionnaires or blank surveys, may be included in the Appendix.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered Yes to the question Are Human Subjects Involved? on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start).All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS Assignment Request Form

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Foreign Institutions

Foreign (non-U.S.) institutions must follow policies described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, and procedures for foreign institutions described throughout the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

See Part 1. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov.

4. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Policy on Late Application Submission.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. 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 only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

7. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit How to Apply Application Guide. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential fieldof the Senior/Key Person Profile form. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this FOA for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the unique entity identifier (DUNS number or UEI as required) provided on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by components of participating organizations, NIH. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.

Requests of $500,000 or more for direct costs in any year

Applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year (excluding consortium F&A) must contact a Scientific/ Research Contact at least 6 weeks before submitting the application and follow the Policy on the Acceptance for Review of Unsolicited Applications that Request $500,000 or More in Direct Costs as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy. Any instructions provided here are in addition to the instructions in the policy.

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

A proposed Clinical Trial application may include study design, methods, and intervention that are not by themselves innovative but address important questions or unmet needs. Additionally, the results of the clinical trial may indicate that further clinical development of the intervention is unwarranted or lead to new avenues of scientific investigation.

Overall Impact

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? Is the prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project rigorous? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

Are the scientific rationale and need for a clinical trial to test the proposed hypothesis or intervention well supported by preliminary data, clinical and/or preclinical studies, or information in the literature or knowledge of biological mechanisms? For trials focusing on clinical or public health endpoints, is this clinical trial necessary for testing the safety, efficacy or effectiveness of an intervention that could lead to a change in clinical practice, community behaviors or health care policy? For trials focusing on mechanistic, behavioral, physiological, biochemical, or other biomedical endpoints, is this trial needed to advance scientific understanding?

Specific to this FOA:

  • Is there compelling evidence that the critical life stage or key transition period being studied by the proposed research is contextually critical for addressing prevention or mitigation of NCDs across the lifespan in the LMIC or AI/AN Tribal Nation where the study is to be performed?
  • Is there potential for the translation of the findings, methodologies, and frameworks into other low-resource settings?
  • Is there strong likelihood of contributing to the outputs listed in the Expected Impacts ?
  • How effectively and appropriately does the project leverage existing programs and platforms (e.g. research, data, delivery platforms), if relevant?
  • Is there potential for sustaining the intervention(s) at scale?

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or those in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

With regard to the proposed leadership for the project, do the PD/PI(s) and key personnel have the expertise, experience, and ability to organize, manage and implement the proposed clinical trial and meet milestones and timelines? Do they have appropriate expertise in study coordination, data management and statistics? For a multicenter trial, is the organizational structure appropriate and does the application identify a core of potential center investigators and staffing for a coordinating center?

Specific to this FOA:

  • Is the team appropriately multidisciplinary? To what extent does the team exhibit expertise needed to undertake the proposed implementation research, including one or more implementation research experts?
  • Is there evidence of equitable partnership between HIC and LMIC team members (for projects taking place in LMICs) or between non-Tribal Nation and Tribal Nation team members (for projects taking place in AI/AN Tribal Nations in the U.S.)? This includes, but is not limited to, evidence of joint development of and consensus around research questions, implementation strategies, and governance plans; shared leadership and management positions on the project team; and appropriate approaches to ownership of the data generated through the study.
  • To what extent have stakeholders, such as decision-makers and service delivery partners, been actively involved in the research process including the selection and adaptation of the intervention and the research design?

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

Does the design/research plan include innovative elements, as appropriate, that enhance its sensitivity, potential for information or potential to advance scientific knowledge or clinical practice?

Specific to this FOA:

  • To what extent does the proposed study compellingly address the contextualized needs for prevention or mitigation of NCDs across the lifespan in associated LMIC or AI/AN Tribal Nation study settings by targeting critical life stages or key transition periods between life stages? Are proposed studies appropriately tailored for the needs of the target life stage in the study setting?

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Have the investigators included plans to address weaknesses in the rigor of prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project? Have the investigators presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? Have the investigators presented adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or human subjects?

If the project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, are the plans to address 1) the protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion or exclusion of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults), justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

Does the application adequately address the following, if applicable

Study Design

Is the study design justified and appropriate to address primary and secondary outcome variable(s)/endpoints that will be clear, informative and relevant to the hypothesis being tested? Is the scientific rationale/premise of the study based on previously well-designed preclinical and/or clinical research? Given the methods used to assign participants and deliver interventions, is the study design adequately powered to answer the research question(s), test the proposed hypothesis/hypotheses, and provide interpretable results? Is the trial appropriately designed to conduct the research efficiently? Are the study populations (size, gender, age, demographic group), proposed intervention arms/dose, and duration of the trial, appropriate and well justified?

Are potential ethical issues adequately addressed? Is the process for obtaining informed consent or assent appropriate? Is the eligible population available? Are the plans for recruitment outreach, enrollment, retention, handling dropouts, missed visits, and losses to follow-up appropriate to ensure robust data collection? Are the planned recruitment timelines feasible and is the plan to monitor accrual adequate? Has the need for randomization (or not), masking (if appropriate), controls, and inclusion/exclusion criteria been addressed? Are differences addressed, if applicable, in the intervention effect due to sex/gender and race/ethnicity?

Are the plans to standardize, assure quality of, and monitor adherence to, the trial protocol and data collection or distribution guidelines appropriate? Is there a plan to obtain required study agent(s)? Does the application propose to use existing available resources, as applicable?

Data Management and Statistical Analysis

Are planned analyses and statistical approach appropriate for the proposed study design and methods used to assign participants and deliver interventions? Are the procedures for data management and quality control of data adequate at clinical site(s) or at center laboratories, as applicable? Have the methods for standardization of procedures for data management to assess the effect of the intervention and quality control been addressed? Is there a plan to complete data analysis within the proposed period of the award?

Specific to this FOA:

  • How effectively does the application highlight the implementation research approaches to be implemented for addressing the contextualized needs within the study population? Are the implementation research approaches appropriately justified, validated, and supported by the published literature to explore adaptation, scale up, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions? Are specific implementation outcomes and impacts identified, and is there a clear plan for how to measure these variables, using tools that are locally validated whenever possible?
  • How appropriate is the study design with respect to the unique, critical life stage or key transition period between life stages to be studied? How feasible and contextually informed is the study design within the context of the LMIC or AI/AN Tribal Nation study setting?
  • How effectively do intervention strategies take into account the socio-political, cultural, policy, and economic contexts of their study settings? To what extent does the application articulate how these factors and their impacts will be analyzed?

Are the proposed milestones and timeline appropriate and sufficiently robust for addressing the proposed research question(s)?

  • To what extent has the research design innovatively appropriately accounted for ethical and context considerations that might arise? Ethical considerations might be related to:
    • working with vulnerable life stages (such as youth, pregnant women or older adults);
    • working with other disadvantaged people (e.g., members of the LGBTQ+ community, people living with physical or mental disability);
    • power dynamics and cultural differences between HIC, LMIC, and/or AI/AN Tribal Nation team members and stakeholders;
    • power dynamics and cultural differences between non-Indigenous and Indigenous team members and stakeholders.
  • Is there a detailed capacity building plan for the professional development of researchers and practitioners on the project team, especially, but not limited to, in the field of implementation research? Capacity building should extend to early career investigators and investigators from resource-poor contexts, but may also include more senior team members without implementation research expertise.

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

If proposed, are the administrative, data coordinating, enrollment and laboratory/testing centers, appropriate for the trial proposed?

Does the application adequately address the capability and ability to conduct the trial at the proposed site(s) or centers? Are the plans to add or drop enrollment centers, as needed, appropriate?

If international site(s) is/are proposed, does the application adequately address the complexity of executing the clinical trial?

If multi-sites/centers, is there evidence of the ability of the individual site or center to: (1) enroll the proposed numbers; (2) adhere to the protocol; (3) collect and transmit data in an accurate and timely fashion; and, (4) operate within the proposed organizational structure?

Specific to this FOA:

  • How effectively do the letters of support indicate stakeholder engagement in the formation of the research goals and desired outcomes?
  • To what extent does the application indicate bi-directional stakeholder engagement for the implementation of the research project over the project period?
Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Specific to applications involving clinical trials

Is the study timeline described in detail, taking into account start-up activities, the anticipated rate of enrollment, and planned follow-up assessment? Is the projected timeline feasible and well justified? Does the project incorporate efficiencies and utilize existing resources (e.g., CTSAs, practice-based research networks, electronic medical records, administrative database, or patient registries) to increase the efficiency of participant enrollment and data collection, as appropriate?

Are potential challenges and corresponding solutions discussed (e.g., strategies that can be implemented in the event of enrollment shortfalls)?

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Human Subjects.

When the proposed project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults) to determine if it is justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research.

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following criteria: (1) description of proposed procedures involving animals, including species, strains, ages, sex, and total number to be used; (2) justifications for the use of animals versus alternative models and for the appropriateness of the species proposed; (3) interventions to minimize discomfort, distress, pain and injury; and (4) justification for euthanasia method if NOT consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. Reviewers will assess the use of chimpanzees as they would any other application proposing the use of vertebrate animals. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

Additional Review Considerations

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Reviewers will assess whether the project presents special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions that exist in other countries and either are not readily available in the United States or augment existing U.S. resources.

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: (1) Data Sharing Plan; (2) Sharing Model Organisms; and (3) Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS).

For projects involving key biological and/or chemical resources, reviewers will comment on the brief plans proposed for identifying and ensuring the validity of those resources.

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate Scientific Review Group convened by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.

Applications may undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact score.

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the appropriate national Advisory Council or Board. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

  • Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
  • Availability of funds.
  • Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

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 eRA Commons. Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's business official.

Recipients must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions. 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.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to terms and conditions found on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website. This includes any recent legislation and policy applicable to awards that is highlighted on this website.

Individual awards are based on the application submitted to, and as approved by, the NIH and are subject to the IC-specific terms and conditions identified in the NoA.

ClinicalTrials.gov: If an award provides for one or more clinical trials. By law (Title VIII, Section 801 of Public Law 110-85), the "responsible party" must register and submit results information for certain applicable clinical trials on the ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System Information Website (https://register.clinicaltrials.gov). NIH expects registration and results reporting of all trials whether required under the law or not. For more information, see https://grants.nih.gov/policy/clinical-trials/reporting/index.htm

Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that all protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the recipient must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.

Data and Safety Monitoring Requirements: The NIH policy for data and safety monitoring requires oversight and monitoring of all NIH-conducted or -supported human biomedical and behavioral intervention studies (clinical trials) to ensure the safety of participants and the validity and integrity of the data. Further information concerning these requirements is found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/hs/data_safety.htm and in the application instructions (SF424 (R&R) and PHS 398).

Investigational New Drug or Investigational Device Exemption Requirements: Consistent with federal regulations, clinical research projects involving the use of investigational therapeutics, vaccines, or other medical interventions (including licensed products and devices for a purpose other than that for which they were licensed) in humans under a research protocol must be performed under a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational new drug (IND) or investigational device exemption (IDE).

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

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, Recipients, and Activities, including of note, but not limited to:

If a recipient is successful and receives a Notice of Award, in accepting the award, the recipient agrees that any activities under the award are subject to all provisions currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions.

Should the applicant organization successfully compete for an award, recipients of federal financial assistance (FFA) from HHS must administer their programs in compliance with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age and, in some circumstances, religion, conscience, and sex (including gender identify, sexual orientation, and pregnancy). This includes ensuring programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency and persons with disabilities. The HHS Office for Civil Rights provides guidance on complying with civil rights laws enforced by HHS. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/provider-obligations/index.html and https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/nondiscrimination/index.html

HHS recognizes that research projects are often limited in scope for many reasons that are nondiscriminatory, such as the principal investigator’s scientific interest, funding limitations, recruitment requirements, and other considerations. Thus, criteria in research protocols that target or exclude certain populations are warranted where nondiscriminatory justifications establish that such criteria are appropriate with respect to the health or safety of the subjects, the scientific study design, or the purpose of the research. For additional guidance regarding how the provisions apply to NIH grant programs, please contact the Scientific/Research Contact that is identified in Section VII under Agency Contacts of this FOA.

Please contact the HHS Office for Civil Rights for more information about obligations and prohibitions under federal civil rights laws at https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/contact-us/index.html or call 1-800-368-1019 or TDD 1-800-537-7697.

In accordance with the statutory provisions contained in Section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110-417), NIH awards will be subject to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) requirements. FAPIIS requires Federal award making officials to review and consider information about an applicant in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS) prior to making an award. An applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through FAPIIS and comment on any information about itself that a Federal agency previously entered and is currently in FAPIIS. The Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in FAPIIS, in making a judgement about the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 45 CFR Part 75.205 and 2 CFR Part 200.206 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants. This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

Not Applicable

3. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, recipients will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A final RPPR, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. NIH FOAs outline intended research goals and objectives. Post award, NIH will review and measure performance based on the details and outcomes that are shared within the RPPR, as described at 45 CFR Part 75.301 and 2 CFR Part 200.301.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for recipients of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All recipients of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over the threshold. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

In accordance with the regulatory requirements provided at 45 CFR 75.113 and 2 CFR Part 200.113 and Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75 and 2 CFR Part 200, recipients that have currently active Federal grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from all Federal awarding agencies with a cumulative total value greater than $10,000,000 for any period of time during the period of performance of a Federal award, must report and maintain the currency of information reported in the System for Award Management (SAM) about civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings in connection with the award or performance of a Federal award that reached final disposition within the most recent five-year period. The recipient must also make semiannual disclosures regarding such proceedings. Proceedings information will be made publicly available in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS). This is a statutory requirement under section 872 of Public Law 110-417, as amended (41 U.S.C. 2313). As required by section 3010 of Public Law 111-212, all information posted in the designated integrity and performance system on or after April 15, 2011, except past performance reviews required for Federal procurement contracts, will be publicly available. Full reporting requirements and procedures are found in Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75 and 2 CFR Part 200 Award Term and Condition for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Application Submission Contacts

eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues)

Finding Help Online: http://grants.nih.gov/support/ (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

General Grants Information (Questions regarding application instructions, application processes, and NIH grant resources)
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-637-3015

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and Workspace)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Brad Newsome, Ph.D.
Fogarty International Center (FIC)
Telephone: 301-480-8389
Email: brad.newsome@nih.gov

Lindsey Ann Martin, PhD
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Phone: 984-287-4036
E-mail: lindsey.martin@nih.gov

Elizabeth L. Neilson, PhD, MPH, MSN
Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)
Phone: 301-827-5578
Email: Elizabeth.Neilson@nih.gov

Larissa Aviles-Santa, MD, MPH
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Phone: 301-827-6924
E-mail: avilessantal@mail.nih.gov

Lisa Neuhold, Ph.D.
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Phone: 301-443-5401
E-mail: lneuhold@mail.nih.gov

Mark Parascandola, PhD, MPH
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Phone: 240-276-6871 / 301-841-5474
Email: paramark@mail.nih.gov

Andrew Bremer, M.D. Ph.D.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Telephone: 301-402-7886
Email: andrew.bremer@nih.gov

Jenelle R. Walker, Ph.D., M.S.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Telephone: 301-435-0054
Email: jenelle.walker@nih.gov

Michelle Freund, Ph.D.
National Institute On Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Phone: 301-443-1815
E-mail: freundm@mail.nih.gov

Richard T. Benson, MD, PhD
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Phone: 301-496-9135
E-mail: richard.benson@nih.gov

Stacey D. Chambers, MS
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Phone: 301-496-0690
E-mail: stacey.chambers@nih.gov

Minki Chatterji, Ph.D.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING (NIA)
Phone: 301-435-0998
E-mail: minki.chatterji@nih.gov

Andrea Horvath Marques, M.D., MPH, Ph.D.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Telephone: 301-646-7320
Email: andrea.horvathmarques@nih.gov
Peer Review Contact(s)

Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears two weeks after the submission due date).

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Bruce Butrum
Fogarty International Center (FIC)
Telephone: 301-496-1670
Email: butrumb@mail.nih.gov

Jenny L Greer
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Phone: 984.287.3332
E-mail: jenny.greer@nih.gov

Priscilla Grant, JD
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Phone: 301-594-8412
E-mail: pg38h@nih.gov

Karen Robinsonsmith
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Phone: (301) 451-2020
E-mail: kyr@nei.nih.gov

Dawn M. Mitchum
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Phone: 202-430-2997
Email: dawn.mitchum@nih.gov

Margaret Young
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Telephone: 301-642-4552
Email: margaret.young@nih.gov

Pamela G Fleming
National Institute On Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Phone: 301-480-1159
E-mail: pfleming@mail.nih.gov

Chief Grants Management Officer
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Email: ChiefGrantsManagementOfficer@ninds.nih.gov

Ryan Blakeney
NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING (NIA)
Phone: 301-451-9802
E-mail: blakeneyr@mail.nih.gov

Tamara Kees
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Telephone: 301-443-8811
Email: tamara.kees@nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Authority and Regulations

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 Part 75 and 2 CFR Part 200.

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