EXPIRED
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
NHLBI Research Career Development Programs in T4 Implementation Research (K12)
K12 Physician Scientist Award (Program) (PSA)
New
RFA-HL-17-016
None
93.840, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.233
This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages applications for institutional research career development (K12) programs that propose to support mentored research and career development experiences for scholars prepared to address the complex process of bridging research and practice in a variety of real-world settings with a focus on heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) diseases and conditions. The career development opportunity should lead to research independence in the area of late stage translation (T4) research. Scholars are expected to be supported, depending on needs, for up to 3 years on consecutive 12-month appointments. Candidates selected for support as scholars must hold a research or health-professional doctoral degree and commit a minimum of 9 person-months (equivalent to 75% of full-time professional effort) to conducting dissemination and implementation (D&I) research focused on HLBS disorders and career development activities associated with the proposed program.
June 29, 2016
September 13, 2016
September 13, 2016
October 13, 2016 , by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on this date.
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
March 2017
May 2017
September 2017
October 14, 2016
Not Applicable
Required Application Instructions
It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the 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.
Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission
Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information
The overall goal of the NIH Research Career Development program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. More information about Career programs may be found at the NIH Extramural Training Mechanisms website.
In recent years, there has been particular interest in accelerating the pace at which proven effective clinical interventions move from the laboratory to practice settings and communities. The need to address this gap has been expressed by multiple groups including members of Congress, the public, as well as the biomedical community. Concerns have also been raised regarding the inadequate workforce to accelerate the pace of translation from science discoveries into practice.
This initiative will build and foster a sustainable and diverse research workforce with competencies to study delivery and implementation strategies for proven effective preventive and treatment interventions in real world practice and community settings. These types of studies are identified as T4 late-stage translation research. Specifically, T4 translation research is defined as research that identifies implementation strategies to enhance sustainable uptake of proven effective interventions into "real world" settings. T4 translation research primary outcomes include acceptability, affordability, appropriateness, cost, feasibility, fidelity, penetration, and sustainability of the intervention in the specific context. A need for this initiative is demonstrated by an NHLBI research training portfolio analysis that indicated a shortage of individuals in the NHLBI training pipeline with the requisite skill set to move science discoveries into practice.
The NHLBI recognizes the critical need to nurture and support a well-trained diverse T4 research workforce. The nature of research in D&I, which requires linkages with practice settings and across disciplines, also calls for the need to find mentors from diverse sectors to guide specific areas of the research, thus encouraging a team approach to mentoring as well as serving to increase mentor pool availability.
This initiative is anticipated to play a pivotal role in establishing the next generation of researchers that are investigating and applying T4 translational research state-of-the art methodologies. Developing a cadre of T4 researchers will require trans-disciplinary approaches that embrace complexity in real-world settings and will be pivotal to closing the gap between evidence-based interventions and their implementation in real world settings. This is particularly important to decrease the wide disparities in health status in underserved populations that suffer disproportionately from HLBS related diseases and conditions.
This FOA seeks applications that demonstrate effective collaboration between multiple stakeholders, across disciplines, and includes scholars with varied research competencies. It is anticipated that applications will propose an iterative process that supports the flow of evidence from research to practice and from practice to research with the goal of enriching the theory and practice of promoting and improving health and health care. This FOA is intended to promote the development of independent HLBS-focused scholars prepared to address the complex process of bridging research and practice in a variety of real-world settings through education curricula and mentored research experiences conducted with a diverse range of stakeholders and partners.
The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to encourage applications that propose creative and innovative career development programs to begin to build a critical sustainable HLBS T4 translation research workforce. Programs are expected to prepare and equip scholars to advance the science and lead the field through their scholarship as the next generation of D&I researchers in HLBS diseases and conditions.
It is anticipated that T4 Implementation Research program applications will consist of:
The program should represent a diverse cadre of scholars and be able to accommodate their preparation in different disciplines and varying levels of research experience, if needed. The scholars can receive up to 3 years of career development support. Candidates with prior D&I related courses may need little didactic training, thus 2 years of K12 support may be appropriate to develop a research program that is competitive for individual funding. However, a prospective research scholar with less experience in the D&I research field may require a more structured program, which includes some didactic training in addition to a mentored research experience. Thus, the scholar may require 3 years of K12 support in order to be competitive for individual funding.
This FOA is intended to support applications that include a plan for each scholar that is designed to develop a significant research project, which, before the end of the scholar’s support, will enable preparation and submission of an individual career development or research grant application. The ultimate objective is to empower the scholar to become an independent researcher prepared to address the complexities of bridging research and practice in a variety of real-world settings with a focus on HLBS diseases and conditions.
The NHLBI Research Career Development Programs in T4 Implementation Research K12 program’s goal is to recruit scholars from diverse disciplinary and demographic backgrounds. Because implementation science draws from and is applicable to a broad range of clinical, population, and translational science disciplines, this program provides a unique opportunity for scholars (trained at different stages of the translation research spectrum) to gain formal skills development and mentorship in D&I research, an area not commonly incorporated into traditional medical and graduate training programs. Scholars must express an interest in obtaining the necessary experience to specifically accelerate the delivery and implementation of proven evidence-based interventions from research to practice and community settings to improve health and health care for HLBS diseases and conditions, and particularly racial and ethnic health disparities conditions (e.g., asthma, hypertension, heart disease).
This is a new trans-disciplinary career development paradigm that differs from the typical basic and clinical career development programs. Unique features can include but are not limited to training content (going beyond discipline-based concepts and methods), crossing disciplinary boundaries (e.g., social sciences, epidemiology, systems science, and big data science, etc.), diverse mentor/faculty expertise, context specificity, community engagement, and collaborations across diverse and non-academic institutions and organizations.
Dependent on the proposed career development program, resident scientific and community expertise, and other personnel skill sets identified, applicant institutions may choose to identify and collaborate with partners to meet the objectives of this program. Partners may work in a variety of organizational settings, as long as their experience is germane to the proposed research projects. For the purpose of this FOA, a broad definition of partners is used; they may be academic institutions, program implementers, educators, community based-organizations or others working in the nonprofit and private sectors, whether health-care related or not, to help meet the scholar s career development needs and ensure exposure to broad experiential research opportunities. The partner(s) may contribute to the program in various ways based on the needs of the applicant institution (e.g., contribution to collaborative research venture, provide tools and strategies to effectively link implementation research to action at the community level, provide joint career development experiences in diverse settings, including opportunities to work with organizations, communities, health systems, and policy makers) to build a strong knowledge exchange D&I career development network.
If applicable, grantee organizations may provide career
development opportunities for scholars located at other institutions through a
partner or consortium structure. This FOA will support well-justified consortia
created to enhance the goals and objectives of the program. Consortium partners
will be identified by the applicant organization, and each partner institution
must identify faculty at their location who have agreed to serve as mentors.
To increase the probability of achieving the program goals and objectives and to create maximum efficiencies for the program, a one year planning period is anticipated. The objective of this initial year is to maximize the productivity of the program by putting into place the mentoring teams and an advisory committee; curriculum planning; finalization of the didactic training components and syllabus; establishment and implementation of a new HLBS T4 translation career development platform that could potentially include diverse practice settings analyses, multi-level program designs, and analyses; and collaborative research projects that provide insight on the formulation, implementation, scale-up, and adoption (and de-adoption) of interventions. Overall, the one-year planning period is intended to prepare for the scholars' career development experiences that will begin in the second year of the award.
This FOA is intended to support applications that propose no more than 5 scholars in a 3-year period and allows scholars to enter the program only in years 2, 3, and 4 of the award. It is anticipated that each period of scholar support will be continuous and will not allow for sabbatical leave. The PD(s)/PI(s) should consider involving scholars across institutions in order to build collaborative teams with various perspectives and skill sets shared through knowledge transfer and exposure to diverse settings.
Program faculty/mentors will have direct involvement in the one year planning phase providing direction to the development and operation of the program. During this time, it is anticipated that mentors will assist the PD(s)/PI(s) in the design and evaluation of the didactic coursework needed, propose multi-level research projects using T4 translation research trans-disciplinary approaches, as well as help identify academic and non-academic partners with diverse skill sets that will lead to a state-of-the-art implementation research preparation program.
The FOA specifically seeks applications that propose program faculty mentoring responsibilities for scholars during years 2-5 of the program that include:
Specific areas of programmatic interest include, but are not limited to the following:
Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.
New
The OER
Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on
these application types.
The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
NHLBI intends to commit total costs up to $372,000 in FY2017, $1,821,000 in FY2018, $3,121,000 in FY2019, $3,121,000 in FY2020 and $1,298,000 in FY2021.
Up to 3 awards are intended to be funded in total.
Application budgets may not exceed direct costs of $344,444 in FY2017, $1,686,111 in FY2018, $2,889,815 in FY2019, $2,889,815 in FY2020 and $1,201,852 in FY2021.
The maximum project period allowed is 5 years.
Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI): Individuals designing, directing, and implementing the career development program may request salary and fringe benefits appropriate for the person months devoted to the program. Salaries requested may not exceed the levels commensurate with the institution's policy for similar positions and may not exceed the congressionally mandated cap. If mentoring interactions and other activities with scholars are considered a regular part of an individual's academic duties, then mentoring and other interactions with scholars are non-reimbursable from grant funds.
Limited program-related administrative and clerical salary costs associated distinctly with the program that are not normally provided by the applicant organization may be direct charges to the grant only when they are in accordance with applicable cost principles. For institutions covered by OMB Circular A-21, this type of training program may qualify as a major project where administrative salaries are allowable as a direct cost. When specifically identified and justified, these expenses must be itemized in Sections A and B, as appropriate, of the R&R Budget.
A minimum of 10% but not to exceed 15% of the PD/PI's salary and fringes may be requested for the year one start-up phase, and up to 10% per year thereafter. Salaries requested may not exceed the levels commensurate with the institution's policy for similar positions and may not exceed the congressionally mandated cap. If mentoring interactions and other activities with scholars are considered a regular part of an individual's academic duties, then mentoring and other interactions with scholars are non-reimbursable from grant funds. If a multiple PD/PI model is proposed, effort can be combined but must not exceed 15% for the multiple PD/PI salaries and fringes for the year one start-up phase and 10% per year thereafter throughout the duration of the project period.
Program Faculty/Mentors: Up to 5% of Program Faculty members salary and fringes may be requested for the latter 9-month period of the one year start-up phase, and up to 5% per year thereafter.Ancillary Personnel Support: Up to 6 person-months effort may be budgeted for an administrative assistant in the first year of the start-up planning phase and 4 person-months effort thereafter.
Advisory Committee: The Advisory Committee Chair and members may be paid a maximum of $2,000 per year to defray costs for their participation in the program.
Scholars Costs
Consultant costs, equipment, supplies, travel for key persons (including the Advisory Committee), and other program-related expenses must be justified as specifically required by the proposed program and must not duplicate items generally available for similar programs at the applicant institution. These expenses must be itemized in Sections C, D, and F, as appropriate.
Any travel costs proposed for national meetings should be reasonable to support scholars' activities and enhancement of their skills. However, during Year 3 of the program, travel costs should be planned and proposed for the PD/PI and active scholars to attend the grantees' meeting in Bethesda, MD.
Scholars may also attend an additional scientific meeting per year. Funds may be requested in the budget for this purpose but may not exceed $3,889 per traveler.
Items that may NOT be supported with K12 funds include:
The NHLBI salary contribution toward the K12 scholar's salary is capped at $100,000. The total salary requested for scholars must be based on a full-time, 12-month staff appointment and requires scholars to devote a minimum of 9 person-months of full-time professional effort to conducti career development and health-related research with the remaining effort devoted to activities related to the development of a successful research career. The sponsoring institution may supplement the NIH salary contribution up to a level that is consistent with the institution's salary scale. However, supplementation may not be from federal funds unless specifically authorized by the federal program from which such funds are derived.
Scholar costs per year should not exceed the following: Up to $30,000 per individual scholar may be provided for the following types of expenses; (a) research expenses, such as supplies, equipment, and technical personnel, including expenses generated in the laboratories/research settings of an individual who serves as Program Faculty/Mentor; (b) tuition and fees related to required career development courses and activities; (c) travel to scientific meetings or training; and (d) statistical services including personnel and computer time. Research costs cannot be pooled and used for other programs unrelated or only indirectly related to the research activities of individual scholars or used for Program advertising or recruiting.
NOTE: The K12 award will provide up to three years of funding for each scholar. Each applicant should not propose more than 5 scholars in a 3-year period and scholars may only enter the program in years 2, 3 and 4 of the award. No new candidates shall begin after year 4 unless prior approval from the NHLBI Grants Officer is obtained.
Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities & Administrative [F&A] Costs) are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs (exclusive of tuition and fees, consortium costs in excess of $25,000, and expenditures for equipment), rather than on the basis of a negotiated rate agreement.
NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to 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
Governments
Other
The sponsoring institution must assure support for the proposed program. Appropriate institutional commitment to the program includes the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned program.
The applicant institution must have a strong and high quality research program in the area(s) proposed under this FOA and must have access to the requisite faculty, staff, potential scholars and facilities to conduct the proposed institutional program. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of implementation research, collaborations/partnerships beyond the applicant institution may be necessary. It is anticipated that the proposed program will complement other ongoing career development programs occurring at the applicant institution and that a substantial number of program faculty will have active research projects in which participating scholars may gain relevant experiences consistent with their research interests and goals.
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 not 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 Career Development Program 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 PD(s)/PI(s), 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. Multiple PD/PIs have equal responsibility for the scientific and technical direction of the training program, as well as accountability and leadership for ensuring an effective career development structure and interactions of the mentoring and research teams.
The PD/PI should be an established researcher in the scientific area in which the application is targeted and capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program. Individuals from diverse disciplinary and demographic backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Applicants may hold academic appointments or positions in applied research firms or community organizations. PDs/PIs are expected to have engagement with a pertinent community-based group or with collaborators who have/or can build community relationships to identify and understand the relevant public health needs, develop methods of effective community dialogue and research, ensure health information is widely available, and provide information and access to research studies. The PD/PI will be expected to monitor and assess the program and submit all documents and reports as required. The PD/PI's responsibilities throughout the award include program coordination, leadership, outreach, and recruitment of scholars, development of innovative methods, tools, and career development models, and dissemination of curricula and career development models. The PD/PI has responsibility for the day to day administration of the program and is responsible for appointing members of the Advisory Committee and using their recommendations to help ensure the career development program goals and objectives are accomplished. If the PD/PI has experiencein mentoring, organizing and implementing research training or career development programs other than those that are NIH-funded, they are encouraged to consult with a PD/PI who is well versed in providing oversight for NIH research training programs (e.g., T32 or CTSA clinical research training program).
The PD(s)/PI(s) are expected to have ongoing independent peer reviewed research grant support.
This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is programmatically distinct.
The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time. This means that the NIH will not accept:
Program faculty should have strong records as researchers, including recent publications and successful competition for research support in the area of the proposed research training program. Program faculty should also have a record of research training, including successful, former trainees who have established productive careers relevant to the NIH mission. Researchers from diverse backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and women are encouraged to participate as mentors.
Program faculty/mentors should include researchers with varied skill sets such as clinicians; intervention developers who bring expertise in their programs; researchers who bring expertise in service settings; methodologist researchers who bring modeling and conceptual frameworks and expertise for the multi-level strategies required to change systems, organizations, communities, and providers; health policy researchers who bring the formulation and promotion of health policies and practices that improve the access to high quality care and reduce health disparities; and other individuals such as implementers and service delivery stakeholders, who are particularly critical in advancing successful implementation strategies.
Program faculty/mentors researchers should have strong research records in their field, and recent publications and successful competition for research support in the area of the proposed research mentoring program. Mentors should have a record of mentoring or research training, including mentoring individuals from diverse backgrounds. Mentors will interact closely with the scholar, and should be individuals with expertise and experience relevant to the proposed career development program.
Mentors must be committed to continue their involvement throughout the total period of the Scholar’s career development under this award.
Scholars to be supported by the institutional career development program must be at the career level for which the planned program is intended. Scholars are expected to devote a minimum of 9 person-months (75% of full-time professional effort) during the appointment on the K12 award.
Scholars must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. Additional details on citizenship requirements are available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Scholars may not be or have been a PD/PI on an R01, R29, U01/U10, subproject of a Program Project (P01), Center (P50, P60, U54) grant, or individual mentored or non-mentored career development award (e.g., K01, K08, K22, K23, K25, K99/R00).
Applicants must obtain the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.
It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in
the SF424
(R&R) Application Guide including Supplemental
Grant Application Instructions except where instructed in this funding
opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in
the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are
out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for
review.
For information on Application Submission and Receipt, visit Frequently
Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant
Applications.
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:
Director, Office of Scientific Review
Division of Extramural Research Activities
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 7214, MSC 7924
Bethesda, MD 20892-7924
Telephone: 301-435-0270
Email: nhlbichiefreviewbranch@nhlbi.nih.gov
All page limitations described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.
Instructions for Application Submission
The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application.
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application, with the following additional modifications:
Substitute the term scholars for all references to trainees in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, and substitute the term career development for all references to training in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Project Summary/Abstract. Provide an abstract of the entire application. Include the objectives, rationale and design of the research career development program, as well as key activities in the training plan. Indicate the planned duration of appointments, the projected number of scholars, and intended scholars outcomes.
Other Attachments. An Advisory Committee is a required component of this career development program, and will monitor progress, provide recommendations on a periodic basis and help evaluate the overall effectiveness of the research career development program. Provide a plan for the appointment of an Advisory Committee; the composition, roles, responsibilities, and desired expertise of committee members, frequency of committee meetings, and other relevant information should be included. Describe how the Advisory Committee will provide recommendations on a periodic basis and evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program. Proposed Advisory Committee members should be named in the application if they have been invited to participate at the time the application is submitted. The filename Advisory_Committee.pdf should be used for this attachment.
The filename provided for each Other Attachment will be the name used for the bookmark in the electronic application in eRA Commons.
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application.
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application.
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide with the following additional modifications:
The PHS 398 Research Training Program Plan Form is comprised of the following sections:
Follow all instructions provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide with the following additional modifications:
Substitute the term scholars for all references to trainees in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, and substitute the term career development for all references to training in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Training Program
Program Plan
Program Administration. Institutions with existing institutional training or career development programs must explain what distinguishes this program from the others, how their programs will synergize with one another, if applicable, and make it clear that the pool of faculty, potential scholars, and resources are robust enough to support additional programs. When a program administrator position is planned, a description of the scientific expertise, leadership, and administrative capabilities essential to coordinate a program for developing investigators must be included in the application.
Describe plans for administering the overall program including the proposed strategy and structure for monitoring the program. Year one should be a planning phase. The objective of this initial year is to maximize the productivity of the program by putting into place:
Overall, the one-year planning period is intended to prepare for the scholar's training and career development experiences that will begin in the second year of the award.
If there are multiple PDs/PIs, then the plan for Program Administration is expected to synergize with the Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan section of the application. Clearly identify the integrative, multi-disciplinary, and the expertise (e.g., scientific, academic, and practitioner) required of the program leadership team. Advancing implementation science will require deliberate and strategic efforts to facilitate collaboration, communication, and relationship-building among researchers, implementers, and policy-makers. If applicable, grantee organizations may provide career development opportunities for scholars located at other institutions through a partner or consortium structure. Describe formal collaborations with any relevant entity and if applicable, describe how the scholar or mentor from the partner or consortium institution will be integrated in the overall K12 program at the applicant institution.
Proposed Career Development. Outline the objectives of the program and describe the program activities (years 2 through 5) that will be used to meet these objectives. Describe the following:
Each scholar must have a primary research mentor, as well as access to other scientists/methodologists, clinicians, intervention developers, and health service delivery stakeholders and others with relevant expertise (as dictated by the research project) who can contribute to the scholar's research career development.
Program faculty mentoring responsibilities for scholars during years 2-5 of the program must include:
Faculty, Trainees, and Training Record
Describe how the faculty will:
Plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research
Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for Plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
Participating Faculty Biosketches
Highlight the relevant experiences of the proposed program faculty in clinical, population, or translational research, multi-disciplinary expertise, real world implementation research and activities, other scholarly activities relevant to implementation science in which the program faculty are engaged, as well as experience mentoring and training individuals at the proposed career stage(s). In particular, highlight current relevant research or implementation activities that seek to close the gap between evidence-based health interventions and actual practice in health service and community settings.
Data Tables
Particular attention must be given to the required Training Data Tables for New Applications - New Postdoctoral Training: Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5B, 6B, and 8C.
Appendix
Do not use the Appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
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.
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 Applying Electronically. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Guidelines for Applicants Experiencing System Issues. 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.
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 (SAM). Additional information
may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
See more
tips for avoiding common errors.
The following types of applications are outside the purpose of this FOA, will be considered non-responsive, and will not proceed to review:
In order to expedite review, applicants are requested to notify the NHLBI Referral Office by email at nhlbichiefreviewbranch@nhlbi.nih.gov when the application has been submitted. Please include the FOA number and title, PD/PI name, and title of the application.
Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-13-030.
Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission, all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research 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 that the proposed training program will prepare individuals for successful, productive scientific research careers and thereby exert a sustained 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 the merit of the training program, and give a separate score for each. When applicable, the reviewers will consider relevant questions in the context of proposed short-term training. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact.
Career Development Program and Environment
Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s))
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
Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.
Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children
Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.
Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.
Generally not applicable. Reviewers should bring any concerns to the attention of the Scientific Review Officer.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
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.
Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity
Peer reviewers will separately evaluate the recruitment plan to enhance diversity after the overall score has been determined. Reviewers will examine the strategies to be used in the recruitment of individuals from underrepresented groups. The plan will be rated as ACCEPTABLE or UNACCEPTABLE, and the consensus of the review committee will be included in an administrative note in the summary statement.
Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research
All applications for support under this FOA must include a plan to fulfill NIH requirements for instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). Taking into account the specific characteristics of the career development program, the level of scholars experience, and the particular circumstances of the scholars, the reviewers will evaluate the adequacy of the proposed RCR career development in relation to the following five required components: 1) Format - Does the plan satisfactorily address the format of instruction, e.g. lectures, coursework and/or real-time discussion groups, including face-to-face interaction? (A plan involving only on-line instruction is not acceptable.); 2) Subject Matter Does the plan include a sufficiently broad selection of subject matter, such as conflict of interest, authorship, data management, human subjects and animal use, laboratory safety, research misconduct, research ethics? 3) Faculty Participation - Does the plan adequately describe how faculty will participate in the instruction? 4) Duration of Instruction - Does the plan meet the minimum requirements for RCR, i.e., at least eight contact hours of instruction? 5) Frequency of Instruction Does the plan meet the minimum requirements for RCR, i.e., at least once during each career stage (undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, predoctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty levels) and at a frequency of no less than once every four years?
Plans and past record will be rated as ACCEPTABLE or UNACCEPTABLE, and the summary statement will provide the consensus of the review committee.
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).
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 the NHLBI 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:
Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted response to this FOA.
Applications will be assigned 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 Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council . The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
After the peer review of the application is completed, the
PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique)
via the eRA
Commons. Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council
review, and earliest start date
Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH
Grants Policy Statement.
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 grantee’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.
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, Grantees, 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 law. This means that recipients of HHS funds must ensure equal access to their programs without regard to a person’s race, color, national origin, disability, age and, in some circumstances, sex and religion. This includes ensuring your programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency. 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. HHS provides
general guidance to recipients of FFA on meeting their legal obligation to take
reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to their programs by persons with
limited English proficiency. Please see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/resources/laws/revisedlep.html.
The HHS Office for Civil Rights also provides guidance on complying with civil
rights laws enforced by HHS. Please see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/section1557/index.html;
and http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/index.html.
Recipients of FFA also have specific legal obligations for serving qualified
individuals with disabilities. Please see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/disability/index.html.
Please contact the HHS Office for Civil Rights for more information about
obligations and prohibitions under federal civil rights laws at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/office/about/rgn-hqaddresses.html or call 1-800-368-1019 or TDD 1-800-537-7697. Also note it is an HHS
Departmental goal to ensure access to quality, culturally competent care,
including long-term services and supports, for vulnerable populations. For
further guidance on providing culturally and linguistically appropriate
services, recipients should review the National Standards for Culturally and
Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care at http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlid=53.
Awards made primarily for educational purposes are exempted from the PHS invention requirements and thus invention reporting is not required, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Not Applicable
When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually. Continuation support will not be provided until the required forms are submitted and accepted.
Failure by the grantee institution to submit required forms in a timely, complete, and accurate manner may result in an expenditure disallowance or a delay in any continuation funding for the award.
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.
A final progress report, 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. Evaluation results should be included as part of the final Progress Report.
In carrying out its stewardship of human resource-related programs, the NIH may request information essential to an assessment of the effectiveness of this program from databases and from participants themselves. Participants may be contacted after the completion of this award for periodic updates on various aspects of their employment history, publications, support from research grants or contracts, honors and awards, professional activities, and other information helpful in evaluating the impact of the program.
The NHLBI will assess the program’s overall outcomes, gauge its effectiveness in meeting program goals and objectives. Subsequently, the NHLBI will determine whether to (a) continue the program as currently configured, (b) continue the program with modifications, or (c) discontinue the program.
For programs involving post doctorates and early career investigators:
Short-Term Metrics include:
Long-Term Metrics include:
We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity
and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.
eRA Commons Help Desk (Questions regarding eRA Commons
registration, submitting and tracking an application, documenting system
problems that threaten submission by the due date, post submission issues)
Finding Help Online: https://grants.nih.gov/support/ (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
Grants.gov
Customer Support (Questions
regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading forms and
application packages)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov
GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and
process, finding NIH grant resources)
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-710-0267
Helena Mishoe, PhD, MPH
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-435-5081
Email: mishoeh@nhlbi.nih.gov
Director, Office of Scientific Review
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-435-0270
Email: nhlbichiefreviewbranch@nhlbi.nih.gov
Hubert Walters
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-435-0166
Email: waltersh@nhlbi.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.