Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)
and Human Services (HHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
U24 Resource-Related Research Projects Cooperative Agreements
None
Only one application per institution is allowed, as defined in Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites a single cooperative agreement application for a data coordinating center that first establishes a biorepository of human cardiovascular (CV) tissue and then serves as a coordinating center resource for discovery and mechanistic research to increase our knowledge of the CV complications of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and morbidity for individuals with T1D, but no T1D-specific therapy exists to prevent or treat this complication of diabetes because of challenges from inadequate preclinical models, decades-long disease progression and poorly defined differences in pathogenesis compared to type 2 diabetes (T2D). The FOA will support a two-phase research plan to encourage the use of human CV tissue to overcome these challenges. The goal of the first phase is to establish a biorepository through 1) the collection and storage of human cadaveric tissues from donors with T1D, T2D, and without diabetes; 2) the performance of quality control and basic histopathologic examination; and 3) the creation of a process for distribution of the biosamples and data to qualified investigators. The goal of the second phase is to serve as a coordinating center resource for investigators seeking to perform a multimodal analysis to deeply phenotype the anatomical, cellular, and molecular composition of the tissues and make the results available in a public data portal.
September 20, 2021
| Application Due Dates | Review and Award Cycles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New | Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) | AIDS | Scientific Merit Review | Advisory Council Review | Earliest Start Date |
| October 20, 2021 | Not Applicable | Not Applicable | March 2022 | May 2022 | July 2022 |
All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on the listed date(s).
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.
Not Applicable
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.
Purpose
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites a single cooperative agreement application for a Data Coordinating Center (DCC) to first establish a biorepository of human cardiovascular (CV) tissue and then serve as the coordinating center resource for discovery and mechanistic research to increase knowledge of the CV complications of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and morbidity for individuals with T1D, but no T1D-specific therapy exists to prevent or treat this complication of diabetes because of challenges from inadequate preclinical models, decades-long disease progression and poorly defined differences in pathogenesis compared to type 2 diabetes (T2D). The FOA will support a two-phase research plan to encourage the use of human CV tissue to overcome these challenges. The goal of the first phase is to establish a biorepository through 1) the collection and storage of human cadaveric tissues from donors with T1D, T2D, and without diabetes; 2) the performance of quality control and basic histopathologic examination; and 3) the creation of a process for distribution of the biosamples and data to qualified investigators. The goal of the second phase is to serve as a coordinating center resource for investigators seeking to perform a multimodal analysis to deeply phenotype the anatomical, cellular, and molecular composition of the tissues and make the results available in a public data portal.
Background
Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of death for individuals with T1D and significantly shortens their lives. The T1D disease progression differs from that observed in T2D and in individuals without diabetes, with individuals with T1D, having a younger age of onset and a disproportionately greater effect on women. Treatment of standard risk factors such as hyperglycemia, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, can ameliorate some, but not all the increased risk for CVD, so there remains residual risk after control of traditional risk factors. The pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy, and cardiac autonomic neuropathy in T1D is poorly understood and no therapies are approved to prevent or treat these common and deadly complications of T1D. Challenges to research on CVD in T1D are its silent development over decades of metabolic dysregulation and the lack of preclinical models that replicate the human disease. The goal of this FOA is to establish a biorepository and DCC for human CV tissue to advance and support discovery and mechanistic research that increase our understanding of CVD in T1D and lead to biomarkers for early detection and treatments specific for T1D.
Research Goals and Objectives
The research under this FOA would have two phases. The goal of the first phase is to establish a biorepository over the initial two years through 1) the collection and storage of donated human tissue; 2) the performance of quality control and basic histopathologic examination; and 3) the creation of a process for distribution of the samples to qualified investigators. The goal of the second phase is to serve as the Data Coordinating Center for investigators that would perform a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the biosamples using a broad range of state-of-the-art technologies. The second phase would take place over the final three years of funding.
Specific activities starting in the first phase, initiating the biorepository, include:
Specific activities starting in the second phase, serving as a coordinating center resource for the biorepository, include:
The applicant should have the experience and knowledge of tissue procurement, storage, quality control measures, distribution of human tissue for research, data coordination, and research in a consortium though this experience does not need to include research on CV tissue.
See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.
Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities. See Section VI.2 for additional information about the substantial involvement for this FOA.
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.
Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials.
Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?
NIDDK intends to commit $1.5 million in FY 2022 to fund one award.
Application budgets are limited to directs costs of $1 million for each year in years 1 and 2 and $1.3 million for each year in years 3-5 and should reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.
The maximum project period is five years.
NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA.
Higher Education Institutions
The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:
Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education
For-Profit Organizations
Local Governments
Federal Governments
Other
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
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.
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.
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.
The PD/PI must have experience with obtaining post-mortem tissue for research purposes from Organ Procurement Organizations.
This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique DUNS number or NIH IPF number) is allowed.
The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time. This means that the NIH will not accept:
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.
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:
The letter of intent should be sent to:
John F. Connaughton, Ph.D.
Chief, Scientific Review Branch
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: 301-594-7797
Email: NIDDKLetterofIntent@mail.nih.gov
All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.
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.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
R&R Budget
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
The budget should reflect the two phases of the project. The first phase lasting two years is for initiating the biorepository with total costs of up to $1.5 million per year. The second phase lasting three years is for establishing and supporting investigators as a resource coordinating center with total costs of up to $2 million per year.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:
Research Strategy: The research strategy section should include information on:
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:
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.
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.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
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
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.
This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.
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.
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 field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF424(R&R) Application Package. 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 DUNS number it provides 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.
Use of Common Data Elements in NIH-funded Research
Many NIH ICs encourage the use of common data elements (CDEs) in basic, clinical, and applied research, patient registries, and other human subject research to facilitate broader and more effective use of data and advance research across studies. CDEs are data elements that have been identified and defined for use in multiple data sets across different studies. Use of CDEs can facilitate data sharing and standardization to improve data quality and enable data integration from multiple studies and sources, including electronic health records. NIH ICs have identified CDEs for many clinical domains (e.g., neurological disease), types of studies (e.g. genome-wide association studies (GWAS)), types of outcomes (e.g., patient-reported outcomes), and patient registries (e.g., the Global Rare Diseases Patient Registry and Data Repository). NIH has established a Common Data Element (CDE) Resource Portal" (https://cde.nlm.nih.gov/home/) to assist investigators in identifying NIH-supported CDEs when developing protocols, case report forms, and other instruments for data collection. The Portal provides guidance about and access to NIH-supported CDE initiatives and other tools and resources for the appropriate use of CDEs and data standards in NIH-funded research. Investigators are encouraged to consult the Portal and describe in their applications any use they will make of NIH-supported CDEs in their projects.
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.
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.
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).
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 proposed Resource Center address the needs and promote the research of CVD in T1D by its selection, preparation, and presentation of biosamples and data? Is the scope of activities proposed for the Resource Center appropriate to meet those needs? Will successful completion of the aims bring unique advantages or capabilities to the research community and advance our knowledge of CVD in T1D?
Are the PD(s)/PI(s) and other personnel well suited to their roles in the Resource Center? Do the investigators demonstrate significant experience with coordinating collaborative research that spans basic and clinical research? If the Resource Center is multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise and skills; are their leadership approaches, governance, plans for conflict resolution, and organizational structure appropriate for the Resource Center? Does the applicant have experience overseeing selection and management of subawards, if needed?
Specific to this FOA: Do they have appropriate experience and training, and have they demonstrated experience and an ongoing record of accomplishments in obtaining tissue and data from organ donors and leading a biorepository? Does the investigative team have experience in the analysis of CV pathology, collection of tissue from organ procurement organizations, and the study of T1D?
Does the application propose novel approaches for collection, storage, quality control, and pathologic analysis of biosamples? Does the proposed organizational concept include innovative methods for presenting and distributing the biorepository resources to the investigative community? Will the Resource Center use creative approaches to integrate the multi-omics data to allow pioneering analysis of the data?
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?
Are the overall strategy, operational plan, and organizational structure well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the goals of the research program that the Resource Center will serve? Will the investigators promote strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased scientific approach across the program, as appropriate for the work proposed? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? Does the proposed strategy adequately establish feasibility and manage the risks associated with the activities of the program? Is an appropriate plan for work-flow and a well-established timeline proposed?
Specific to this FOA: Have the investigators presented adequate plans to ensure consideration of relevant biological variables, such as sex, and selection of case controls with no diabetes or T2D for the T1D donors in the biorepository collection? Is this project likely to obtain at least 60 sets of samples in the first two years with an established workflow? Is this project likely to establish a biorepository of high-quality samples that will be accessible and useful to investigators and advance our understanding of CVD in T1D? Are the quality control measures for the tissue appropriate? Will the storage conditions allow for multiple types of analysis? Is there an adequate plan and evaluation process for biosample and data distribuion to qualified investigators? Will the Resource Center support the integration and analysis of data from a multi-omics approach on studying the tissue and comply with the FAIR principles of big data and NIH policy? Will the proposed outreach activities stimulate and support research on CVD in T1D? Will the proposed procedures for tissue distribution monitor the chain of custody and address privacy issues, especially for genomic data?
Will the institutional environment in which the Resource Center will operate contribute to the probability of success in facilitating the research program it serves? Are the institutional support, equipment, and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the proposed program? Will the Resource Center benefit from unique features of the institutional environment, infrastructure, or personnel? Are resources available within the scientific environment to support electronic information handling that will allow state-of-the-art data analysis?
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.
Protections for Human Subjects
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.
Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Individuals Across the Lifespan
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.
Vertebrate Animals
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.
Biohazards
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.
Resubmissions
Not Applicable.
Renewals
Not Applicable.
Revisions
Not Applicable.
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.
Applications from Foreign Organizations
Not Applicable.
Select Agent Research
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).
Resource Sharing Plans
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; and (2) Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS).
Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources:
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.
Budget and Period of Support
Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.
Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by NIDDK, 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.
Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this FOA.
Applications will be assigned on to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council (NDDKAC). The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
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.
Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. 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.
Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the awardee must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.
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. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.
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. This includes ensuring programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency. 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 http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/section1557/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 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants. This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.
The following special terms of award are in addition to, and not in lieu of, otherwise applicable U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) administrative guidelines, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) grant administration regulations at 45 CFR Part 75, and other HHS, PHS, and NIH grant administration policies. The administrative and funding instrument used for this program will be the cooperative agreement, an "assistance" mechanism (rather than an "acquisition" mechanism), in which substantial NIH programmatic involvement with the awardees is anticipated during the performance of the activities. Under the cooperative agreement, the NIH purpose is to support and stimulate the recipients' activities by involvement in and otherwise working jointly with the award recipients in a partnership role; it is not to assume direction, prime responsibility, or a dominant role in the activities. Consistent with this concept, the dominant role and prime responsibility resides with the awardees for the project as a whole, although specific tasks and activities may be shared among the awardees and the NIH as defined below.
The PD(s)/PI(s) will have the primary responsibility for:
Awardee(s) will be primarily responsible for defining the objectives and approaches, planning, conduct, analysis, and publication of results, interpretations, and conclusions of studies conducted under the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement award.
The Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) will assume responsibility and accountability to the applicant organization officials and to the NIH for the performance and proper conduct of the research supported under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in accordance with the terms and conditions of award, as well as all pertinent laws, regulations and policies.
Awardees are responsible for their staff in maintaining confidentiality of the information as developed by the consortium, including, without limitation, study protocols, data analysis, conclusions, etc. per policies approved by the Steering Committee (SC) as well as any confidential information received by third party collaborators.
Awardees must analyze, publish and/or publicly release and disseminate results, data and other products of the study in a timely manner, concordant with the approved plan for making quality-assured data and materials available to the scientific community and the NIH, consistent with NIH policies and achieving the goals of the FOA.
Awardee(s) will be required to participate in a cooperative and interactive manner with members of the consortium including designated NIH staff (e.g., Program Official, Project Scientist).
Awardees must share data, materials, methods, information and unique research resources that are generated by the projects in concordance with Cardiovascular Biorepository Consortium policies in order to facilitate progress. When appropriate, and in accordance with NIH policies, as well as NIDDK policies, awardees will be expected to collaborate; share biomaterials, methods and resources; and share both positive and negative results that would help guide the research activities of other Cardiovascular Biorepository members.
Awardee(s) agree to establish agreements amongst themselves that address the following issues: (1) procedures for data sharing among consortium members and data sharing with industry partners; (2) procedures for safeguarding confidential information, including without limitation, any data generated by the consortium as well as information and/or data received from external collaborators; (3) procedures for addressing ownership of intellectual property that result from aggregate multi-party data; (4) procedures for sharing biospecimens that operationalizes material transfer in an efficient and expeditious manner; (5) procedures for reviewing publications, determining authorship, and industry access to publications.
Any third-party collaboration (including but not limited to interactions with organizations from industry, academia, and nonprofit institutions) should be governed by a research collaboration agreement (e.g., Clinical Trial Agreement, Research Collaborative Agreement, etc.) or any third-party contract mechanism(s) with terms that ensure the collaboration is conducted in accordance with the Cooperative Agreement, applicable NIH policies and procedures, and with written approval from NIH Program staff. Any relevant proposed third-party agreements related to the network studies between grantee and third-party will be provided to the NIDDK Program staff and NIDDK Technology Advancement Office for review, comment, and approval to assure compliance with NIH policies and network policies. Further, at the request of the NIDDK Program staff, any other network-relevant third-party agreements must be shared with NIDDK. Failure to comply with this term may prompt action in accordance with NIH Grants Policy Statement, Section 8.5 titled: Special Award Conditions and Remedies for Noncompliance (Special Award Conditions and Enforcement Actions , and Section 8.5.2, titled: Remedies for Noncompliance or Enforcement Actions: Suspension, Termination, and Withholding Support , noncompliance with the terms and conditions of award will be considered by the funding IC for future funding and support decisions and may result in termination of the award.
Any involvement of a third-party (including but not limited to industry, academia, and nonprofit institutions) in the study and network activities that includes access to any network generated resources (i.e., data and biosamples), or study results that are not publicly available, or using the name of the network or study or the name of the NIH or NIDDK is permitted only after written permission by the NIDDK Program staff who will consult with others at NIH and NIDDK Technology Advancement Office.
Awardee(s) agree that each industry collaboration should be governed by a research collaboration agreement (e.g. CTA, RCA, etc.) with terms that ensure the collaboration is conducted in accordance with the Cooperative Agreement, applicable NIH policies and procedures.
Awardees must agree to comply with the processes and goals as delineated within the FOA.
Upon completion or termination of the research project(s), the awardees are responsible for continuing to make all study materials and procedures broadly available .The data sharing plan should include a plan to accomplish this at the end of the project. In accordance with the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing (NIH NOT-OD-21-013), the NIH approved plan will become a term and condition of award, be routinely monitored during the award period, and compliance may factor into future funding decisions. By the end of the funding or proprietary period, an awardee or study group may not continue to use or share study generated resources until those resources are available to the public via an NIDDK approved repository per the NIDDK approved sharing plan.
Awardee(s) agree to the governance of the study through a Steering Committee:
o The PD/PI, or contact PD/PI in the case of multi-PD/PI awards, will serve as a voting member of the Steering Committee and will attend all meetings of the Steering Committee.
o Each full member will have one vote.
o The awardee will be responsible for accepting and implementing the goals, priorities, procedures, protocols, and policies agreed upon by the Steering Committee and Subcommittees.
o Awardees must serve on CV Biorepository subcommittees as needed. Subcommittees will report progress at Steering Committee Meetings and/or lead discussions at the Annual Investigator’s Meeting.
Awardees may be asked to scientifically review applications for special opportunity pool funds, as it is deemed appropriate.
NIH staff have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards, as described below:
The NIDDK and other involved NIH ICs will designate program staff, including a Program Official and a Grants Management Specialist to provide normal program stewardship and administrative oversight of the cooperative agreement. The Program Official and Grants Management Specialist will be named in the Notice of Grant Award.
The NIDDK and participating IC(s) will invite External Consultants with relevant scientific expertise. The External Consultants will meet to review the progress of the research projects and to advise NIH staff of scientific developments and opportunities that may enhance the achievement of the study goals.
NIH Project Scientists will be substantially involved in this project above and beyond the normal stewardship of an NIH Program Official as follows:
o The NIH Project Scientists will coordinate and facilitate the research projects, attend and participate in all Steering Committee meetings of the Consortium and act as liaisons between the Steering Committee and the External Consultants.
o The NIH Project Scientists will be a member of the Steering Committee and, as determined by that committee, and its Subcommittees as needed. One NIH Project Scientist from each participating NIH IC will vote on the Steering Committee. Other designated NIH program staff attending the steering committee meetings will be an ex officio (non-voting) member(s).
o The NIH Project Scientists, and other designated NIH program staff will help the Steering Committee develop and draft operating policies.
o The NIH Project Scientists and Program Official will review the scientific progress, cooperation in carrying out research, and maintenance of high quality research in each of the individual research projects, and review the projects for compliance with operating policies developed by the Consortium, and may recommend to the NIH to continue funding; withhold support or restrict an award for lack of scientific progress or failure to adhere to policies established by the Consortium. Review of progress may include regular communications with the PD/PI and NIH staff, periodic site visits for discussions with awardee research teams, fiscal review, and other relevant matters. The NIH retains the option of periodic external review of progress.
o The NIDDK reserves the right to terminate or curtail any study or any individual award in the event of (a) substantial shortfall in data collection or submission, quality control, or other major breach of a study protocol or Consortium policy and procedure, (b) substantive changes in a study protocol that are not in keeping with the objectives of the FOA, and/or a human subject ethical issues that may dictate a premature termination.
o The Project Scientists will have substantial scientific programmatic involvement in quality control, preparation of publications, research coordination and performance monitoring. The Project Scientists will have the same access and privileges to any data generated by the grantee. The dominant role and primary responsibility for these activities resides with the awardees for the project, although specific tasks and activities in carrying out the studies will be shared among the awardees and the NIDDK Project Scientists.
o The NIH Project Scientist(s) serve as a resource with respect to other ongoing NIH activities that may be relevant to the CV Biorepository studies to facilitate compatibility and avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
o The NIH Project Scientist(s) may review procedures for assessing data quality and monitor study performance.
o The NIH Project Scientists may be co-authors on study publications. To warrant co-authorship, the NIH staff must have made significant scientific contributions to the research reported in the publication.
Areas of Joint Responsibility include:
Through the Awardee, Steering Committee and NIH staff, the study members will cooperatively develop and implement processes to submit information and data to the Data Coordinating Center (DCC), determine criteria and processes for quality control of information and data to be posted for the research community, refine scientific objectives, and implement research advances to facilitate the goals of the study, consistent with NIH policies and achieving the goals of the program as described in the FOA.
Steering Committee (SC)
o The Steering Committee (SC) composed of each of the PD/PI(s) for the U24 grant and possible future U01 grants and the NIH Project Scientist(s) will be the main governing board of the Consortium. Each full SC member will have one vote. All major scientific and policy decisions will be determined by voting policies as established by the SC. This committee will operate to develop collaborative protocols, identify impediments to success and strategies to overcome them, develop shared tools for disseminating information about the projects, and identify opportunities for sharing techniques, materials, information and tools developed within each individual project. The SC activities and decisions will consider the advice of the External Consultants.
o NIH staff, in concert with the SC, will have the option to redirect research activities within the U24 grant if it is considered beneficial to the overall program.
o The SC may, as it deems necessary, invite additional, non-voting scientific consultants to meetings at which research priorities and opportunities are discussed. The NIH reserves the right to augment the expertise of the Steering Committee when necessary.
o An SC Chairperson will be chosen by the NIH. In collaboration with the DCC and the NIH Project Scientists, the Chairperson is responsible for coordinating the SC activities, for preparing meeting agendas and for chairing meetings.
o The SC, including the Project Scientists, is responsible for establishing and implementing processes and criteria for recommending special projects for consideration for special opportunity funds by NIH staff.
o Each research project awardee and the DCC awardee agree to the governance of the U24 through the SC.
Dispute Resolution:
Any disagreements that may arise in scientific or programmatic matters (within the scope of the award) between award recipients and the NIH may be brought to Dispute Resolution. A Dispute Resolution Panel composed of three members will be convened. It will have three members: a designee of the Steering Committee chosen without NIH staff voting, one NIH designee, and a third designee with expertise in the relevant area who is chosen by the other two; in the case of individual disagreement, the first member may be chosen by the individual awardee. This special dispute resolution procedure does not alter the awardee's right to appeal an adverse action that is otherwise appealable in accordance with PHS regulation 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D and DHHS regulation 45 CFR Part 16.
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.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees 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 $25,000. 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 Appendix XII to 45 CFR Part 75, 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 Award Term and Conditions for Recipient Integrity and Performance Matters.
We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.
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Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
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Teresa L.Z. Jones, M.D.
National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: 301-435-2996
Email: teresa.jones@mail.nih.gov
Rahul Gautam Thakar
National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Phone: 301-496-1740
E-mail: rahul.thakar@nih.gov
W. Patricia Bandettini
National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Phone: 301-435-0504
E-mail: ingkanip@nhlbi.nih.gov
Elena Sanovich, Ph.D.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: 301-594-8886
Email:sanoviche@mail.nih.gov
Eunica Haynes
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: 301-827-4018
Email: haynese@mail.nih.gov
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.
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.
This FOA is supported under the authority of P.L. 116-260, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021; Section 302. Diabetes Programs.
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