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 FOA requests research proposals to support collaborative investigative teams or individual scientists who propose unusually innovative research projects, which, if successful, would have a major impact in understanding the biology of Down syndrome and the development of new treatments for health conditions experienced by individuals with Down syndrome. To be considered transformative, projects must have the potential to create or overturn fundamental scientific paradigms through novel approaches, transform the way research is conducted through the development of novel tools or technologies, or lead to major improvements in health through the development of highly innovative therapies, diagnostic tools, or preventive strategies. Consistent with this focus, Transformative Research Award applications should reflect ideas substantially different from mainstream concepts.

Several key features of this FOA are designed to emphasize to applicants and peer reviewers that Transformative Research applications are very different from conventional, investigator-initiated research applications. The Transformative Research application focuses on the importance of the problem, the novelty of the hypothesis and/or the proposed methodology, and the magnitude of the potential impact rather than on preliminary data or experimental details. Reviewers will be instructed to emphasize the significance and innovation of the application in their evaluations. Applicants and reviewers should keep the goal of the Transformative Research Award in mind throughout the process to solicit and fund unusually innovative and potentially transformative research.

Background:

Down syndrome is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability, the most common autosomal trisomy, and one of the most visible and universally recognized genetic syndromes. Each year there are approximately 5300 babies born in the United States with Down syndrome. Within the past 25 years, the average lifespan for a person with Down syndrome has doubled, from 30 to 60 years. Despite this increase in lifespan, individuals with Down syndrome and their families face significant and changing health challenges with age. While all people with Down syndrome are connected by the common feature of a complete or partial copy of chromosome 21 (trisomy 21), there are significant physical and cognitive differences among them, indicating that inter-individual variability exists.

Down syndrome is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability, and it is associated with an increased prevalence of autism and epilepsy. About 75% of individuals experience cognitive decline in a syndrome that resembles Alzheimer’s disease but has its onset a decade or two earlier than typical Alzheimer’s disease. Individuals with Down syndrome also have high rates of hearing loss, eye abnormalities, congenital heart defects, sleep apnea, pulmonary hypertension, gastrointestinal malformations, thyroid disease, leukemia, and other autoimmune or immune dysregulation disorders including celiac disease. However, people with Down syndrome infrequently develop solid tumors such as breast or prostate cancer, and despite multiple risk factors for coronary artery disease and high rates of obesity, sleep apnea, and type 1 diabetes, they rarely develop atherosclerosis or have myocardial infarctions. Understanding this unique combination of risk and resiliencies will inform medical advances for individuals with Down syndrome, and for individuals who do not have Down syndrome but share these co-occurring conditions. This FOA is one of several trans-NIH research initiatives created in response to Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Report that provides NIH the opportunity to not only expand its current efforts on Down syndrome and common co-occurring conditions also seen in the general population, but also to build integrated efforts across NIH that will be transformative in these areas. This initiative is known as the INCLUDE Project (INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE), and a description of the research plan and its three components is available (https://www.nih.gov/include-project):

• Component 1: Targeted, high risk-high reward, basic science studies in areas highly relevant to Down syndrome
• Component 2: Molecular snapshot of Down syndrome through a cohort study across the lifespan
• Component 3: Inclusive clinical trials research for co-occurring conditions in individuals with Down syndrome

This new research initiative expands many of the research objectives and opportunities previously highlighted in the 2014 Down Syndrome Directions: NIH Research Plan on Down Syndrome. More recent discoveries have enhanced our understanding of chromosome segregation and chromosome silencing, identified certain proteins and neurotropic factors involved in brain development using mouse models, and uncovered the role of interferons in immune dysregulation, each of which have the potential to lead to development of novel therapies for individuals with Down syndrome, as well as broader applications. People with Down syndrome are often excluded from clinical research, such as trials of potentially beneficial drugs and therapeutics that are used to treat the same condition in the general population. There is great value in connecting people with Down syndrome to therapies that could improve their overall health and quality of life. And there is great interest in the Down syndrome community in participating in clinical research, based on experience from NICHD’s DS-Connect : The Down Syndrome Registry , (https://DSConnect.nih.gov), an online survey tool that introduces individuals with Down syndrome and their families to research opportunities. A comprehensive clinical cohort study with deep phenotyping and exploration of pan- omics will permit identification of biomarkers and outcomes for the co-occurring conditions in Down syndrome. Coupled with development of a clinical trials readiness program, and informed by basic science discoveries, this combination of resources could have a great impact on addressing health disparities that exist for people with Down syndrome and could also lead to the development of therapies to improve outcomes for those with and without the condition.

Scope:

The purpose of this FOA is to encourage transformative research that addresses component 1 of the INCLUDE project -- namely to promote targeted, high risk-high reward, basic science studies in areas highly relevant to Down syndrome and develop a molecular signature of Down syndrome through a cohort study across the lifespan.

Applications may or may not include use of vertebrate animals or human subjects; however, clinical trials are not responsive to this announcement. Applications proposing studies that meet the NIH definition of clinical trials may be more appropriate for the companion announcement INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE (R21/R33 Clinical Trials Optional)

Examples of Down syndrome-related research include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Silencing the extra copy of chromosome 21 to prevent complications, including those of later life (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease). This has been done successfully in human cells, but not yet in mouse models.
• Use of gene editing to remove triplicated genes such as the amyloid precursor protein (APP)
• Exploration of the role of environmental exposures (including metabolic, toxins, etc.) in modulating phenotypes in animal models
• Studies to explore the use of prenatal medications to ameliorate or treat the effects of a trisomic conceptus in animal models in utero
• Investigations on the use of gene therapy in mouse models to modify aberrant expression of chromosome 21 transcripts
• Studies of the differences in dosage of genes found on chromosome 21 and the consequences of altering chromosome 21 on gene expression in animal models of Down syndrome
• Development of rat models of Down syndrome that more accurately reflect the complex neurological and behavioral phenotypes in humans
• Development of non-rodent models, particularly zebrafish and nonhuman primate models, of Down Syndrome that more closely reflect the complex neurological and other phenotypical features in humans
• Studies of brain organoids to model brain development in Down syndrome
• Characterization of the immune system dysregulation, especially the role of aberrant interferon signaling resulting in "interferonopathies, in trisomy 21, to define the therapeutic value of immune-modulatory strategies in Down syndrome.
• Exploration of the role of oligodendroglial precursor cells in postnatal cortical myelination in children with and without Down syndrome through examination of expression of genes including OLIG1 and OLIG2, which map to chromosome 21; correlate these studies in animal models
• Pharmacological reversal of the enhanced long-term depression and decreased long-term potentiation at glutamatergic synapses seen in Down syndrome using mouse models by conversion to normal of the level of phosphorylation of the enzyme CAM Kinase-II
• Determination of the relationship between aberrant neurotrophin signaling endosome transport in Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome and cognitive loss in both conditions
• Use of technologies developed in the BRAIN initiative to better understand brain circuitry, connectome, cellular quantitative geography, and the differences between the regional brain transcriptomes of individuals with and without Down syndrome and between individuals with cognitive loss due to Down syndrome or Alzheimer’s disease
• Evaluation of the genetic, epigenetic, and epidemiologic factors associated with trisomy 21 that lead to greatly increased risk of childhood leukemias and reduced risk for selected childhood and adult solid tumors
• Evaluation of genetic and epidemiologic factors associated with individuals with Down syndrome that lead to oral health problems such as malocclusion, increased caries, periodontal diseases and advanced.

1. Eligible Applicants

Higher Education Institutions

• Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
• Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

• Hispanic-serving Institutions
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
• Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
• Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
• Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

• Small Businesses
• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Governments

• State Governments
• County Governments
• City or Township Governments
• Special District Governments
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)

• Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

• U.S. Territory or Possession

• Independent School Districts
• Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
• Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
• Regional Organizations

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.

• Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) - All registrations require that applicants be issued a DUNS number. After obtaining a DUNS number, applicants can begin both SAM and eRA Commons registrations. The same DUNS number must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
• System for Award Management (SAM) Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.
  • NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
• eRA Commons - Applicants must have an active DUNS number to register in eRA Commons. Organizations can register with the eRA Commons as they are working through their SAM or Grants.gov registration , but all registrations must be in place by time of submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
• Grants.gov Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

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.

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.

2. Cost Sharing

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time. This means that the NIH will not accept:

• A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.
• A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.
• An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NOT-OD-11-101)

1. Requesting an Application Package

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.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Specific Aims: Do not list specific objectives of the proposed research. Instead, the specific aims page must contain a section heading entitled "Challenge, Innovation, and Impact Statement" and a section heading entitled "Rationale." The content of these two sections is described below.

Challenge, Innovation and Impact Statement: What is the fundamental paradigm or problem that will be addressed? How does your proposed research challenge the existing paradigm or seek to establish a new paradigm? Or, how will the technology or clinical strategy to be developed fundamentally change the way research is conducted or the way patients are diagnosed or treated? What is exceptionally novel or innovative about your perspective and/or approach? Why is testing the hypothesis or solving the problem important for the field and for the NIH scientific enterprise as a whole? What are the potential breadth and magnitude of the project’s impact on science and/or health?

Rationale: What is the underlying logic or rationale driving the proposed research? What is the specific gap in knowledge or technology that will be addressed, and how will the outcome of this study dramatically propel the field forward? What innovations in technology or approach will be necessary to attack the problem? This and the previous section should provide a cogent overview of the entire application.

Research Strategy: Organize the Research Strategy as a single document in the specified order using the instructions provided below. Start each section with the appropriate section heading (i.e., Approach; Appropriateness for the Transformative Research Award; and Timeline). The presentation must be clear and particularly compelling, even to those not in the immediate field of the proposed research.

Approach: How will you attempt to test the novel paradigm, develop the technology, or attack the problem? How does your approach significantly differ from the current state-of-the-art in the field? Prominently state that, per the FOA instructions, a detailed experimental plan and extensive preliminary data are not being provided. However, the reviewers must still have a clear sense of what is being proposed to be done and why. If it is your methodology that is novel, what is unconventional and exceptionally innovative about your approach? How will your rationale and/or approach overcome existing challenges or barriers in the field? Provide enough information for reviewers to clearly understand what you are proposing to do, but do not include a detailed experimental plan. How is this project distinct from other research that may be supported in your laboratory?

Appropriateness for the Transformative Research Award: Why is the proposed research uniquely suited to the goals of the Transformative Research Award rather than a conventional research grant application? How does the proposed research significantly differ from mainstream science being done in your laboratory or in other laboratories?

The following modifications also apply:

• All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, should include a Data Sharing Plan. The Data Sharing Plan will be considered during peer review and by program staff as award decisions are being made as appropriate and consistent with achieving the goals of the program. It is expected that the results of INCLUDE-funded research will be shared with the wider scientific community in a timely manner.

  NIH intends to maximize the availability of publications and the sharing of underlying data and biospecimens for INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE (INCLUDE)-supported supplements and projects. Under the goals of INCLUDE, recipients are required to develop a Public Access and Data Sharing and Management Plan that (1) describes their proposed process for making resulting publications and biospecimens, and to the extent possible, the underlying primary data immediately and broadly available to the public; (2) if applicable, provides a justification to NIH if such sharing is not possible. Underlying primary data should be made as widely and freely available as possible while safeguarding the privacy of participants and protecting confidential and proprietary data.

  All applications involving human subjects should address a Data Sharing Plan and include an Institutional Certification which indicates the data use limitations and/or modifiers stating how individual level data can be shared with and used by secondary users, under the guidance of the NIH Genomic Data Sharing policy http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-14-124.html. Applicants are expected to agree that all sequence data generated by INCLUDE studies and related phenotype data will be deposited in repositories designated by the INCLUDE staff, in a manner consistent with NIH policy http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/data_sharing/ and achieving the goals of the INCLUDE Project. For autism-related data, awardees are required to deposit their data in the NIMH Data Archive (https://ndar.nih.gov/). Projects that propose to recruit subjects with Down syndrome are encouraged to promote enrollment of research subjects in the Down syndrome patient registry supported by NIH, DS-Connect (https://DSConnect.nih.gov/). For other data and biospecimens from human genetic or non-genetic studies, awardees are encouraged to use the NICHD Data and Specimen Hub DASH (https://dash.nichd.nih.gov) or other equivalent broad-sharing data and/or biospecimen repositories.

  The following resource describing Common Data Elements may be helpful during the planning phases of a project when considering ways to optimize data collection in order to facilitate broad data sharing: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/cde/.

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.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

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

4. Submission Dates and Times

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.

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. Funding Restrictions

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.

7. Other Submission Requirements and Information

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.

Not applicable.

1. Criteria

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.

For this particular announcement, note the following:

The NIH INCLUDE Project Transformative Research Award is designed to support research projects with the potential to have a profound effect on Down syndrome-related research. Each project is expected to develop innovative methods, to employ standard methods in innovative ways, or to test exceptionally innovative ideas. As such, conventionally detailed experimental plans and extensive preliminary data are not provided. Accordingly, reviewers will focus their evaluation on the conceptual framework, the level of innovation, and the potential to significantly advance our knowledge, understanding, or capability.

Significance

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? Is the prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project rigorous? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

Does the study have clear transformative potential? Is the proposed research exceptional in terms of its consequences for the field and size of the community affected? Is the paradigm being challenged or proposed fundamental to the field?

Investigator(s)

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or those in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project?

Do the past achievements of the PD(s)/PI(s) suggest that the investigator(s) is/are exceptionally innovative and likely to make paradigm-shifting, high-impact discoveries? If the PD(s)/PI(s) do(es) not have a history of doing exceptionally innovative, high-impact research, does the logic of the experimental plan suggest that there is at least some likelihood of success? Is this project high priority for the PD(s)/PI(s), as indicated by the person-months of effort that the PD(s)/PI(s) will devote to it?

Innovation

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?

Is the hypothesis or proposed methodology highly unconventional and exceptionally innovative?

Approach

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Have the investigators included plans to address weaknesses in the rigor of prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project ? Have the investigators presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? Have the investigators presented adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or human subjects?

Is the logic of the approach significantly compelling despite the lack of experimental details and extensive preliminary data? Has this methodology or hypothesis been tested before? Does the information in the timeline inspire confidence that the PD(s)/PI(s) will be able to assess progress in each year of the award and either complete the project or demonstrate conclusively that it cannot be completed, despite good-faith efforts, during the term of the award?

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?

Environment

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

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.

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; (2) Sharing Model Organisms; and (3) 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.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by the Center for Scientific Review, 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.

• 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.

• Will receive a written critique.

• Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
• Availability of funds.
• Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities
  • Despite inherent scientific and technical risks, the potential for the research to result in scientific breakthroughs of potential impact relative to research related to Down syndrome.
  • Unusually cross-cutting science.
  • Scientific balance in the portfolio of Down syndrome research.
  • Responsiveness to priorities identified by the administering Institute or Center.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

1. Award Notices

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.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

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.

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.

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 https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/special-topics/limited-english-proficiency/index.html. The HHS Office for Civil Rights also provides guidance on complying with civil rights laws enforced by HHS. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/section-1557/index.htmlhttps://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/laws-regulations-guidance/index.html. Recipients of FFA also have specific legal obligations for serving qualified individuals with disabilities. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/disability/index.html. 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. 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.

Not Applicable.

3. Reporting

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.

Finding Help Online: http://grants.nih.gov/support/ (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

General Grants Information (Questions regarding application instructions, application processes, and NIH grant resources)
Email: [email protected] (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-945-7573

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and Workspace)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Email: [email protected]

Please direct inquiries related to specific interests of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers to the IC contacts listed on the Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements and Staff Contacts to be listed on the INCLUDE website (https://www.nih.gov/include-project).

John L. Bowers, Ph.D.
Center for Scientific Review
Telephone: 301-435-1725
Email: [email protected]

Ryan Talesnik
Grants Management Branch
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Telephone: 301-435-6976
Email: [email protected]