Full Text PAR-95-046 NIMH COR HONORS HIGH SCHOOL RESEARCH EDUCATION GRANT NIH GUIDE, Volume 24, Number 14, April 14, 1995 P.T. 44 Keywords: Biomedical Research Training Biomedical Research, Multidiscipl Emotional/Mental Health PAR NUMBER: PAR-95-046 National Institute of Mental Health Application Receipt Date: June 1 PURPOSE As part of its efforts to stimulate interest among racial/ethnic minority youth in research careers in biomedical and behavioral sciences, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has established the Career Opportunities in Research (COR) Education Program for Honors High School Students. The program is directed specifically to racial/ethnic minority groups that are underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral sciences, including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Asians or Pacific Islanders. The program will provide hands-on experiences in research or science education enrichment programs and encourage minority individuals to make the choice of a research career in a mental health-related field. This program provides an opportunity for institutions funded for an NIMH Career Opportunities in Research Honors Undergraduate Research Training Grant to offer mentoring and role modeling to up to six racial/ethnic minority high school students per year through interactions with both undergraduate college students who are COR Undergraduate Honors Students and faculty of institutions that have existing NIMH COR Honors Undergraduate Research Training grants. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This Program Announcement (PA), NIMH Career Opportunities in Research Honors Undergraduate Research Training Grant, is related to the priority areas of mental health and mental disorders. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" (Full Report: Stock No. 017-001-00474-0 or Summary Report: Stock No. 017-001-00473-1) through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone 202-783-3238). ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Institutions Applicant institutions must have a currently funded NIMH Career Opportunities in Research Honors Undergraduate Research Training Grant (T34). Such institutions are baccalaureate granting, 4-year domestic, public or private, non-profit colleges, universities, or health professional schools with at least 55 percent minority students from one or more of the ethnically defined groups noted above. Foreign organizations are not eligible to apply. Students Participating candidates must be outstanding high school students who are in their junior or senior years and must have a 3.00 grade point average (on a scale of 4.00 or comparable grading system). Trainee candidates must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States, or have been admitted lawfully to the United States for permanent residence and have in their possession an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-155 or some other legal evidence of admission for permanent residence) at the time of appointment to the training program. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT The mechanism of support for this Program Announcement is the education projects grant (R25). The mechanism of support for the associated NIMH COR Honors Undergraduate Training Grant is the T34, which is described under a separate program announcement, PAR-95-045. Allowable Costs Support will be provided for each high school student at a level up to $2,000, plus reasonable costs for supplies. Support should be for a minimum of three months during any one year that may include a mixture of full-time summer experience and part-time experience during the school year. Students are expected to devote sufficient effort to the research project and related activities during the period of support to gain insight into the process of scientific discovery. High school students are expected to devote at least two years to this program (i.e., equivalent to two three-month, full-time periods). Exceptions to the latter will be considered, depending on the circumstances of the applicant and the specific request. Research equipment may not be purchased using grant funds for high school students' projects. Salary and fringe benefit support for the following budget items may be requested, but each item must be related to the proposed research education program and justified: o Personnel Salary and fringe benefit support may be requested for present and additional faculty, to the extent that they reflect the time or effort devoted to this specific program. o Consultants Support may be requested to cover expenses such as seminar and colloquium speakers, etc. o Supplies Support may be requested for necessary supplies, e.g., glassware, chemicals, or animals for conducting student research. Other supplies may include general office and instructional supplies needed to conduct the education and research program. o Travel Staff travel to off-campus training sites for purposes of consultation with participating off-campus staff/preceptors and evaluation of student progress is allowed. o Other Expenses The applicant may request other items necessary to the educational program, such as computer time, reference materials not available in the library, duplication costs, telephone, and costs related to publishing student research papers, etc. o Students Support may be requested for student salaries in accordance with the institution's guidelines on hourly wages for part time help. o Indirect Costs The applicant may request actual indirect costs, or eight percent of allowable direct costs, whichever is less. This rate applies to both T34 (COR Undergraduate Program) and R25 (High School Program) components. FUNDS AVAILABLE Awards to support two to six high school students range from $4,000 per year to $35,000 per year, with an average award being $15,000 per year. The maximum period of grant support that an institution may request is five years or the length of time remaining in the associated T34 grant. The maximum period of support a student may receive is two years. Funds to support this program are provided by NIMH. Availability and amount of funds are contingent upon annual appropriations to NIMH. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The principal objective of the COR Honors High School Research Education Grants program is to stimulate interest and motivation among high school students from racial/ethnic minority groups to pursue research careers in science disciplines related to mental health. Applications must provide information on the following: Institution Characteristics o A brief overview of the applicant institution (i.e., when it was founded, its status as a private or State-supported institution, and other pertinent information) o A description of the research infrastructure (i.e., facilities, laboratories, participating departments, computer services, and any other resources to be used in the conduct of the proposed program) o Evidence of institutional commitment and support for the proposed program o Where applicable, a description of plans for collaborating with nearby institutions and laboratories for purposes of exchange, consolidation, and sharing of resources, including faculty, equipment, and facilities. Letters of agreement or memoranda indicating intended cooperation with participating high schools must be included with the application. Research Education Program o A plan for summer and year-round research experiences with COR faculty or scientists conducting research at the COR-grantee institution for up to six minority high school students who are juniors or seniors o Evidence of involvement of a wide variety of research departments from the biomedical and behavioral sciences, emphasizing mental health o A plan for career counseling in science and research, mentorships, and opportunities for high school students to interact with COR Honors undergraduates and faculty o A recruitment and retention plan o Evidence of support/cooperation from local high school administrators and science teachers o Evidence of COR institution's commitment to the goals and objectives of the high school training component (providing access to facilities, libraries, laboratories, computers, equipment) o Detailed budget justification for all project expenditures related to this component of research education program. Program Director o Evidence that Program Director is actively engaged in research and/or scholarship in an area related to mental health o Evidence that Program Director can organize and administer the research education program o Advisory Committee with a role in selecting and supervising students, and in evaluating the research program (This committee should be representative of faculty and departments participating in the program and be chaired by the Program Director.) o The Program Director is responsible for serving as liaison between participating high schools and the applicant institution, recruiting and selecting high school students, and assigning each to an appropriate mentor. Faculty/Preceptors o Evidence that a high percentage of the participating faculty hold a Ph.D. or other doctoral- level degree o Evidence that participating faculty and preceptors are actively engaged in research or other scholarly activities related to mental health o Evidence that faculty and preceptors publish in research areas related to mental health o Evidence that sufficient time is committed by preceptors and faculty to conduct a high-quality program (A staffing chart that details percent-of-time allotted for each staff member is recommended.) Students o Evidence that students will be selected for their potential to pursue careers successfully in mental health-relevant sciences, including behavioral, biomedical, epidemiological, neurosciences, prevention, treatment, and related fields o Evidence that trainees will be selected for their expressed interests in pursuing programs related to mental health o Documentation of number of high schools and number of students eligible to participate in high school program Evaluation o Evaluation plan for determining success of the program in achieving goals and objectives, including: (1) entry and completion dates for each student; (2) departments of students' experiences; (3) summer internships (locations and research areas); (4) colleges, universities, and other institutions where students pursue post-high school studies; (5) areas of students' career choices; (6) research accomplishments; and (7) awards o Plan for tracking students after completion of COR high school program and provisions for followup support and consultations for pursuing mental health science careers, including assistance in locating financial support o Statistics on numbers of students entering college programs and the areas of specialization For Competing Continuation Applicants Only The following information about the previous research education grant period must be provided for renewal applications: o Number of high school students who participated in the research education program o Research activities of all students subsequent to COR research education program o Present employment of former COR high school students (i.e., whether in biomedical and behavioral research areas related to goals of the program) o Attrition rate of student participants INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and their subpopulations must be included in all NIH supported biomedical and behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and compelling rationale and justification is provided that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of the research. This new policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43) and supersedes and strengthens the previous policies (Concerning the Inclusion of Women in Study Populations, and Concerning the Inclusion of Minorities in Study Populations), which have been in effect since 1990. The new policy contains some provisions that are substantially different from the 1990 policies. All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," which have been published in the Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (FR 59 14508-14513) and reprinted in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Volume 23, Number 11, March 18, 1994. Investigators also may obtain copies of the policy from the program staff listed under INQUIRIES. Program staff may also provide additional relevant information on concerning the policy. APPLICATION PROCEDURES Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 9/91). Application kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the Office of Grants Information, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health, Westwood Building, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone 301/710-0267. The title and number of this program announcement, "NIMH COR Honors High School Research Education," PAR-95-046, must be typed in Section 2a on the face page of the application. The completed original application and five legible copies must be sent or delivered to: DIVISION OF RESEARCH GRANTS NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE ROOM 1040 MSC 7710 BETHESDA MD 20892-7710 BETHESDA MD 20817 (for courier service) The entire address should appear in UPPER CASE letters without punctuation to allow optical scanners to read and sort mail. Receipt and Review Schedule Applications for the COR Honors High School Education Program are submitted on the single receipt date of June 1 and reviewed on the following schedule: Receipt Initial Review Council Earliest Date Group Meeting Meeting Start Date Date Jun 1 Oct/Nov Jan/Feb Apr 1 REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Applications that are complete and responsive to the program announcement will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by the NIMH in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures. As part of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written critique and undergo a process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed, assigned a priority score, and receive a second-level review by Senior NIMH staff. Review Criteria Applications will be assessed for: Quality of Research Education Program for COR High School Students o Scientific and educational merit of the proposed research training plans o Quality of the applicant institution's training record and training potential o Strength of institution's commitment to the goals and objectives of attracting talented minority high school youth to careers in mental health science fields o Comprehensiveness of the proposed plan to offer opportunities in a broad range of disciplinary areas related to mental health, methods for fostering interest, and feasibility of plans for short-term (summer) and long-term (summer and part-time during school year) participation o Adequacy and appropriateness of recruitment, selection, retention, and mentoring/counseling plan components o Appropriateness of educational program, including decision criteria for pairing each student with only one mentor for the research experience, choice of participating COR faculty for this component of the program, provisions for student career counseling, and overall plan for supervising the students' research and research experiences o Appropriateness of timetable for completing planned activities o Design of proposed ancillary activities: science day activities convened on campus or at high schools; visits to research institutions or plans for adopt-a- high school programs (These elements should emphasize ways in which the program extends beyond the participating students and reaches a broader number of students). Methods of Selection, Monitoring, and Followup of Students o Availability of student candidates of high potential o Adequacy of plans for selecting students o Methods for monitoring student progress, early identification and remedy of student problems, and provision of support and supervision o Provision of enrichment experiences, professional socialization, and interaction beyond those in the local setting o Knowledge of available post-high school training programs and a plan for career advising and choice- assistance of students o Adequacy of plans for tracking students after graduation. Program Leadership o Qualifications and experience of Program Director o Relevant research experience of COR faculty and mentors o Plans for effective program administration and coordination among faculty and advisory committee by Program Director. Institutional Commitment and Resources It is the intent of this program to foster interactions across disciplines and departments within institutions. There should be evidence of institutional commitment to the goals and objectives of the COR High School Program as it has an impact on students' academic preparation, research education, and interactions with faculty and undergraduate students, as evidenced by the following: o Access to research facilities and related resources, including laboratory space, computer time, equipment, research samples for use by students o Plans for linkages with collaborating institutions where necessary o Plans for evaluating the effectiveness of the program o Evidence of involvement of a wide variety of research areas in disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and behavioral sciences. Budget o Appropriateness of budget in relation to scope of proposed educational program. Program Evaluation o Adequacy of plans for evaluating the COR High School Program on an annual basis, including methods for assessing the extent to which the COR High School Program increases recruitment, science education, and placement of minority students in careers in mental health fields. AWARD CRITERIA Applications will compete for available funds with all other approved applications assigned to NIMH. The following will be considered in making funding decisions: quality of the proposed project as determined by peer review, availability of funds, and program priority. INQUIRIES Inquiries are encouraged. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants is welcome. Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to: Rodney R. Cocking, Ph.D. Career Opportunities in Research Education and Training National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 17C-14 Rockville, MD 20857-8030 Telephone: (301) 443-3641 FAX: (301) 443-8552 Email: RC4@CU.nih.gov Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Diana S. Trunnell Grants Management Branch National Institute of Mental Health 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 7C-08 Rockville, MD 20857 Telephone: (301) 443-3065 Email: DT21A@nih.gov AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.242. Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410) as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and to promote the nonuse of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early childhood development services are provided to children. .
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