Full Text GM-94-004 PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AWARDS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS NIH GUIDE, Volume 23, Number 1, January 7, 1994 RFA: GM-94-004 P.T. 22, FF Keywords: Biomedical Research Training National Institute of General Medical Sciences Application Receipt Date: April 27, 1994 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 underrepresented 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 underrepresented 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 (citizens of areas outside the U.S., but under U.S. jurisdiction), or permanent U.S. residents. Applicants must be from ethnic/racial groups that are underrepresented in research in the biomedical sciences in the U.S. For purposes of this announcement, underrepresented 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 1994-95 academic year. The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program of 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 RFA for individual fellowships (F31) is under the auspices of the NRSA Act. An applicant must work with her/his research advisor or graduate program director in preparing the application. Awards will be administered under the PHS Grants Policy Statement and the Guidelines for National Research Service Awards and as stated in this RFA. The period of fellowship support requested in response to this RFA may not exceed five years (Note: the total period of predoctoral training grant support under the NRSA authorization may not exceed five years). Continuation of the fellowship award for each subsequent year beyond the first is based on evidence of satisfactory progress in a graduate program. There is a single receipt date for applications: April 27, 1994. The NIGMS may announce subsequent RFA receipt dates at a later time. Stipends and Other Expenses The fellowship award provides an annual stipend 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, which may be used for travel to scientific meetings and for laboratory and other training expenses. FUNDS AVAILABLE For FY 1994, it is anticipated that at least 50 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: National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders, National Institute of Dental Research, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences, National Eye Institute, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Library of Medicine, National Center for Human Genome Research, and National Center for Research Resources. Although this program is included in the financial plans of the participating institutes and centers, the award of fellowships in response to this RFA is also contingent upon the availability of funds for this purpose. Payback Requirements The NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, signed into law on June 10, 1993, includes provisions in Section 1602, which eliminate the payback obligation requirements for predoctoral support. Accordingly, Section VII (pages 29 and 30) of the fellowship application, PHS 416-1, Revised 10/91, are no longer applicable to this program. For more details concerning this change, see the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Volume 22, Number 27, July 30, 1993. APPLICATION PROCEDURES The fellowship application form PHS 416-1 (rev. 10/91) is to be used in applying for these grants. These forms are available at most university offices of sponsored research; from the Office of Grants Information, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone 301/710-0267; and from the NIH program administrators listed under INQUIRIES. 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 the time of submission. Failure to include any of these items will preclude review of the application. 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-94- 004. 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. (Items 9 - 14. Completed by sponsor). Item 15. YOU MUST SIGN THE APPLICATION. Items 16-18. Self explanatory; if any do not apply to you, type N/A. (Items 19 and 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) In addition to prior or current NRSA support, include your employment history during and after college if a significant time commitment was involved. All time between graduation from college and entrance into this graduate program should be accounted for. 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 (3) collated sets 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 a rationale 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 the applicant's ethnic/racial group; and (c) the applicant is a citizen, 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. By signing item 37, the institution is certifying the accuracy of the tuition and fees requested for each year of support listed in 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 Institute of Health Westwood Building, Room 240 Bethesda, MD 20892** Applications must be received by April 27, 1994. 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. 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 above (see 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 withdrawal. Complete and responsive applications that 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 of review 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 the research 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. AWARD CRITERIA The anticipated date of award is September 30, 1994. Award decisions will be based on the technical merit of the applications based on the review criteria, programmatic priorities, and availability of funds. INQUIRIES Written and telephone inquiries concerning this RFA may be directed to: Dr. Irene Eckstrand National Institute of General Medical Sciences Westwood Building, Room 918 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 594-7762 Dr. John Norvell National Institute of General Medical Sciences Westwood Building, Room 907 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 594-7784 Inquiries regarding fiscal and administrative matters may be directed to: Ms. Toni Holland National Institute of General Medical Sciences Westwood Building, Room 935 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 594-7820 AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS Awards are authorized by sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 45 CFR Part 74 CFR Part 92. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.960, Special Minority Initiatives Program. .
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