Full Text GM-93-003

PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AWARDS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS

NIH GUIDE, Volume 22, Number 1, January 8, 1993

RFA:  GM-93-003

P.T.


Keywords: 


National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Application Receipt Date:  April 27, 1993

PURPOSE

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) is
accepting applications for individual National Research Service Award
(NRSA) Predoctoral Fellowships for Minority Students.  These
fellowships will provide up to five years of support for research
training leading to either the Ph.D. degree or the combined
M.D./Ph.D. or other combined professional doctorate/research Ph.D.
degrees in the biomedical sciences for highly qualified students from
minority groups found to be underrepresented in the biomedical and
behavioral sciences.  Support is NOT available for individuals
enrolled in medical or other professional schools UNLESS they are
enrolled in a combined professional doctorate/Ph.D. degree program in
biomedical research.

The intent of this Minority Predoctoral Fellowship Program is to make
graduate fellowships available to under represented minority
graduates from all institutions, including the many minority
undergraduate students who have participated in the various NIH-
sponsored programs to prepare them for research careers.  This
program is designed to encourage greater numbers of under represented
minorities to pursue graduate degrees, thus fulfilling the goal of
increasing the number of minorities trained for careers in biomedical
research.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Eligibility for these awards is limited to students who are U.S.
citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent U.S. residents.
Applicants must be from ethnic/racial groups that are under
represented in research in the biomedical sciences in the U.S.  For
purposes of this announcement, under represented minority students
are defined as individuals belonging to a particular ethnic or racial
group that has been determined by the applicant's graduate
institution to be underrepresented in biomedical or behavioral
research.  In making these awards, the NIH will give priority
consideration to applications from Blacks, Hispanics, Native
Americans, and Pacific Islanders and other ethnic or racial group
members who have been found to be underrepresented in biomedical or
behavioral research nationally.

In addition, an applicant must currently be enrolled in a Ph.D. or
combined M.D./Ph.D. (or other combined
professional doctorate/research Ph.D. graduate) program in the
biomedical sciences, or have been accepted by and agreed to enroll in
such a graduate program in the 1993-94 academic year.

The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program of the NIGMS
has a similar fellowship program of support for graduates of its
various MARC Honors Undergraduate Research Training programs to
attend graduate school in biomedical sciences.  Graduates of the MARC
Program are encouraged to apply to the MARC Predoctoral Fellowship
Program.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

This Request for Applications (RFA) for individual fellowships (F31)
is under the auspices of the NRSA Act.  Applicants must work with
their research advisor or graduate program director in preparing the
application.  Except as otherwise stated in this RFA, awards will be
administered under the PHS Grants Policy Statement and the Guidelines
for National Research Service Awards.  The period of fellowship
support requested in response tothis RFA may not exceed five years.
(Note:  the total period of predoctoral training grant support under
the NRSAauthorization may not exceed five years.)  Continuation ofthe
fellowship award for each subsequent year beyond thefirst is based on
evidence of satisfactory progress in a graduate program.

There is a single receipt date for applications:  April 27,1993.  The
NIGMS may announce subsequent RFA receipt dates at a later time.

Stipends and Other Expenses

The fellowship award provides an annual stipend of $8800 to help meet
the fellow's living expenses; a tuition and fee allowance in
accordance with NIH policy; and an annual institutional allowance of
$2000 that may be used for travel to scientific meetings and for
laboratory and other training expenses.

FUNDS AVAILABLE

For FY 1993, it is anticipated that between 30 and 45 new fellowship
awards will be made, if sufficient numbers of high quality
applications are received.  The NIGMS will be joined by the following
awarding components of the NIH in providing funds to support this
program:  the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Cancer Institute, the
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders, the
National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences, the National Eye
Institute, and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Although this program is included in the financial plans of the
participating institutes, the award of fellowships in response to
this RFA is also contingent upon the availability of funds for this
purpose.

SPECIAL PAYBACK REQUIREMENTS

All individuals receiving NRSA support must agree to fulfill the
payback requirements legislatively mandated under the NRSA Act.
Recipients must agree to engage in health-related biomedical or
health-related behavioral research and/or teaching for a period equal
to the period of NRSA support in excess of 12 months.  Details are
found in Part VII of the application instructions (PHS 416-1, rev.
10/91).

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by NIH staff for
completeness and responsiveness to this announcement.  Incomplete or
non-responsive applications will be returned to the applicant without
review.  All items listed under APPLICATION PROCEDURES must be
included for the application to be considered complete.

Applications may be subjected to preliminary review to determine
their merit relative to other applications received in response to
this RFA.  The NIH will administratively withdraw from competition
those applications judged to be noncompetitive and notify the
applicant of such with drawal.  Complete and responsive applications
which are judged to be competitive will be evaluated for scientific
merit and training potential by an appropriately constituted initial
review group within the NIGMS using the criteria stated below.  The
second level ofreview will be provided by the NIGMS Fellowship
Overview Group.

The review criteria include:

o  academic record and research experience of the applicant;

o  quality of the graduate program in which the applicant is already
enrolled or plans to enroll;

o  qualifications and research/research training experience of the
applicant's sponsor or researcher advisor; the match between the
research interests of the student and there search advisor/sponsor;

o  for advanced graduate students, scientific
significance,originality and feasibility of proposed research; for
beginning students, quality and clarity of stated research interests.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

The regular fellowship application form PHS 416-1 (rev. 10/91) must
be used in applying for these grants.  These forms are available at
most university business offices; from the Office of Grants
Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of
Health, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 449, Bethesda, Maryland 20892,
telephone 301/496-7441; and from the NIH program administrators named
below.

The applicant must follow all instructions in the application kit and
those described in these supplemental instructions.

Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

The following must be included with the application at thetime of
submission:

o  a copy of the results of either the Graduate Record Examination or
the Medical College Admission Test (for M.D./Ph.D. applicants);

o  a clear and legible copy of the applicant's transcript(s) from all
undergraduate and graduate institutions in which the applicant is/has
been enrolled;

o  a description of the graduate or combined degree program in which
the applicant is either enrolled or has been admitted and agreed to
enroll (Item 33);

o  at least three reference letters sealed in envelopes; and

o  certification of eligibility completed by the institution.

Supplemental Instructions for Completing the Application

A.  To be completed by the Student-Applicant

Item 1. (Title of Research Training Proposal), type:  MINORITY
PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - NIGMS.

Item 2. (Level of Fellowship) type: Predoctoral.

Item 3. (Program Announcement Area), type:  RFA GM-93-003.

Items 4 - 8.  Self explanatory.

ITEM 4i (Citizenship), see explanation on page 7 of PHS 416-1.  Non-
citizen nationals are citizens of areas that are not States but are
under the jurisdiction of the United States, e.g., American Samoa.
Applications from permanent residents MUST be accompanied by a
notarized statement indicating that the Immigration and
Naturalization Service has lawfully admitted the applicant for
permanent residence.

(Items 9 - 14.  Completed by sponsor).

Item 15.  You must sign the application.

Items 16-19.  Self explanatory; if any do not apply to you, type N/A.

(Item 20. Completed by sponsor)

Item 21. (Abstract of Proposed Research)  If you have selected a
thesis topic, you should briefly describe, in abstract form, the
question you are studying, how you are approaching it, and the health
relatedness of your project.  If you have not yet selected a thesis
project, say "no thesis selected" and instead give a brief
description of the research area that interests you most and why,
even if your research interests are still very broad.

Item 22. (Scholastic Performance)  You must complete this section,
listing all undergraduate and graduate course you have taken and the
grades you received.  In addition, you must submit a LEGIBLE copy of
a transcript from all undergraduate and graduate institutions you
have attended.

Item 23. (Employment)  Your employment history during college should
be included if a significant time commitment was involved.

Items 24-26.  Self-explanatory

Item 27.  Research Experience

a. (Summary) Provide a thorough description of your relevant work and
research experiences, including time, place, research director, and
your role in the research.

b. (Doctoral Dissertation) should not be completed.

c. (Publications) Include a list of publications, abstracts, and
poster presentations.  Three collatedsets of copies of publications
may be provided as part of Section 3 (Appendix).

Item 28. (Revised Application) To be completed only if this
application is a revision of an application submitted earlier.

Item 29. (Research Training Plan)

a. (Activities Under Award) - Include a statement concerning your
research training and long-range career goals, with an explanation of
how the proposed course of study to be supported by this fellowship
will help you attain these goals.  If appropriate, explain how prior
work and research experiences affected the choice of career goals.

b and c. (Research Proposal and Respective Contributions)If you have
selected a research thesis topic, complete this section according to
the instructions.  If you have not yet selected a thesis, give a
description of the research area that interests you most.

d. (Selection of a Sponsor and Institution) Explain why you chose to
enroll in this university/institution and in this graduate program.
If you have selected a research advisor, give the rationale for your
choice.  If you have not selected an advisor, you should identify up
to five individuals with whom you would like to work, giving
arationale for your choices.

B. To be completed by the Research Advisor or Sponsor

If the applicant HAS SELECTED A RESEARCH ADVISOR, the ADVISOR must
complete the items in this section.

If the applicant HAS NOT YET SELECTED A RESEARCH ADVISOR, the
director of the graduate program should designate a sponsor to
complete these items.  The director may choose to serve as the
sponsor.

Items 9 - 14, 20, and 30-37

ITEM 33, in addition to the information requested in the application
kit,

(1) for ALL students, provide a full description of the graduate or
combined degree program in which the applicant is (or is to be)
enrolled. This description should also outline the normal course of
study (both didactic and laboratory) for students enrolled in the
program;

(2) for students already enrolled in the graduate program, describe
the applicant's course of study up to the time of submission of the
application and plans for further study; and

(3) for ALL students, provide the applicable tuition and fees for
each year of support requested.

C.  To be supplied by the University or Institution

1.  A statement from the institution certifying that (a) the
applicant is enrolled as a predoctoral student OR has been accepted
by and agreed to enroll in the graduate training program; (b) the
applicant is an eligible minority individual, determined by the
institution to be underrepresented in biomedical or behavioral
research; this certification MAY include an OPTIONAL identification
of theapplicant's ethnic/racial group; and (c) the applicant is
acitizen, non-citizen national or permanent resident of the U.S. (see
page 7 of PHS 416-1, rev. 10/91).  This statement must be signed by
the director of the graduate program in which the student is (or is
to be) enrolled and by the official authorized to sign for the
institution.  Failure To Include This Certification Will Preclude
Review Of The Application.The institution may wish to use the format
given at the end of this announcement.

2.
Certification of the accuracy of the tuition and fees requested for
each year of support (Item 33).

SUBMISSION

Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application (including
the Checklist, Personal Data form, at least three sealed reference
letters, and all other required materials) and two exact, clear,
single-sided photocopies of the signed application, in one package
to:

Division of Research Grants
National Institutes of Health
Westwood Building, Room 240
Bethesda, MD  20892**

Applications must be received by April 27, 1993.  Any application
received after that date will be returned to the applicant.
Applications submitted without three reference letters will be
returned without review.  Simultaneous submission of identical
applications will not be allowed nor will essentially identical
applications be reviewed by different review committees.  Thus, an
application cannot be submitted in response to this RFA that is
essentially identical to one that has already been reviewed.  This
does not preclude the submission of substantial revisions of
applications already reviewed, but such applications must include an
introduction addressing the previous critique.  If a candidate
submits an application in response to this RFA that is substantially
similar to one s/he has already submitted to the NIH for review but
which has not yet been reviewed, the applicant will be asked to
withdraw one of them.

INQUIRIES

Written and telephone inquiries concerning this RFA should be
directed to:

Dr. Irene Eckstrand
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Westwood Building, Room 918
Telephone:  (301) 496-7137

or

Dr. John Norvell
National Instititute of General Medical Sciences
Westwood Building, Room 907
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-7309

For fiscal and administrative matters, contact:

Ms. Ruth Monaghan
Deputy Grants Management Officer
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Westwood Building, Room 953
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-7746

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

Something Missing Awards are made under authorization of the Public
Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended,
42 USC 288) and administered under PHS grant policies and Federal
Regulations 42 CFR Part 66.  This program is not subject to the
intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or
Health Systems Agency review.

SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR INSTITUTIONAL CERTIFICATION:  PREDOCTORAL
FELLOWSHIP AWARDS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS INSTITUTIONAL CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that____________________________, who submitted an
application for an NIH Predoctoral
                           (Applicant Name)
Fellowship Award for Minority Students is:  _____(1) currently
enrolled in a Ph.D. or combined M.D./Ph.D. (or other combined
professional doctorate/research Ph.D.) degree program in the
biomedical sciences at this institution, or has been accepted by and
agreed to enroll in such a program during the 1993-94 academic year;

______(2) an underrepresented minority student, i.e., belonging to a
particular ethnic or racial group that has een determined by our
institution to be underrepresented in biomedical or behavioral
research in the U.S.;

             OPTIONAL.  This individual is a member of the
__________________________ racial/ethnic group.

______(3) a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or permanent
resident.

_________________________    _________________________
Signature                    Signature

_________________________    _________________________
Name: Graduate Program       Name: Authorized
      Director               University Official

_________________________    _________________________
Title                        Title

.

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