and Human Services (HHS)
EXPIRED
Participating Organization(s) |
National Institutes of Health (NIH) |
This FOA is developed as a Common Fund initiative (http://commonfund.nih.gov/) through the NIH Office of the Director, Office of Strategic Coordination (http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/osc/). The FOA will be administered by a trans-NIH team led by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/) on behalf of the NIH Common Fund Program on Advancing Regulatory Science http://commonfund.nih.gov/regulatoryscience/. |
|
Funding Opportunity Title |
Stem/Progenitor Cell-Derived Human Micro-organs and -tissues (U18) |
Activity Code |
U18 Research Demonstration Cooperative Agreements |
Announcement Type |
New |
Related Notices |
UH2/UH3, RFA-RM-11-022
|
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number |
RFA-RM-12-001 |
Companion FOA |
None] |
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s) |
93.310 |
FOA Purpose |
This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds from the NIH Common Fund (Common Fund) and participating NIH Institute(s) and Center(s), invites applications for the development of human multi-cellular models that can replicate aspects of human organ physiology. Disease pathogenesis, cell-type diversity, genomic complexity, monitoring of cell to cell and cell to matrix interactions and microenvironment regulation are key aspects to be addressed by these model systems. The multi-cellular architecture will represent characteristics of the organ being modeled and will demonstrate reproducible cellular signatures and functional outputs under physiological conditions. It is anticipated that these human cell/tissue models could lead to the development and commercialization of cellular 3D modules that would eventually become part of larger organ systems targeted for rapid and high fidelity safety and efficacy evaluation of candidate therapeutics. Applications unresponsive to this FOA are those developing 3D tissues for transplantation, engineering non-human tissue models or developing simple 3D models that do not go significantly beyond those currently available and in use. Funds from the NIH will be made available through the U18 cooperative agreement award mechanism. These 2 year awards will support studies to develop multi-cellular models representative of the cellular diversity, genomic complexity, cellular architecture and function of the tissues or organs being modeled. Multi-cellular models that reflect disease pathologies including but not limited to cardiomyopathy, endocrinopathies, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, autoimmunity, fibrosis, muscular dystrophies, neuromuscular disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, seizures, pulmonary hypertension and cystic fibrosis are of particular interest. The NIH is collaborating with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enable coordination of separate but parallel efforts in development of in vitro microphysiological systems as they relate to regulatory science. |
Posted Date |
November 23, 2011 |
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date) |
December 26, 2011 |
Letter of Intent Due Date |
December 26, 2011 An informational conference call for prospective applicants will be scheduled after the LOI due date. For details about this call, please visit the NIH Common Fund Regulatory Science website at http://commonfund.nih.gov/regulatoryscience/. |
Application Due Date(s) |
January 26, 2012, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. |
AIDS Application Due Date(s) |
Not Applicable |
Scientific Merit Review |
February - April, 2012 |
Advisory Council Review |
May, 2012 |
Earliest Start Date(s) |
July, 2012 |
Expiration Date |
January 27, 2012 |
Due Dates for E.O. 12372 |
Not Applicable |
Required Application Instructions
It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF 424 (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 NIH has identified a critical need for improved model systems to predict efficacy, safety, bioavailability, and toxicology outcomes for candidate therapeutics. Currently, in vivo animal models serve as gold standards for advancement to clinical trials, but the drawbacks associated with such models are major contributors to the costs and uncertainties in therapy development. Because of interspecies differences, animal models are often poor predictors of human efficacy and toxicology. In addition, the results of animal studies can be highly variable and difficult to reproduce, making them unreliable as benchmarks for decisions on human clinical trials. In vitro systems that use human tissues could overcome the drawbacks associated with animal studies; however, for these systems to serve as tools that reflect human biology, key physiological features need to be included in their design for informative and reliable efficacy, pharmacokinetic and toxicity screening.
Advances in the fields of developmental and stem cell biology have contributed to our broader understanding of pathways associated with human cell-type specialization. Identification of transcription factors, trophic factors, miRNAs, proteins, growth factors and small molecules, as well as spatial-temporal cures which drive a pluripotent cell into a differentiated state, have provided new strategies for derivation of more complex multi-cellular systems representative of human physiology. Although differentiation protocols using traditional 2D cell culture methodologies have been developed for several key cell types, challenges still remain in achieving high differentiation efficiencies and representation of cellular phenotypes across the developmental spectrum.
Recent advancements in bioengineering related to material science, microfabrication techniques, such as photolithography, replica molding, and microcontact printing, and development of tissue specific extracellular matrix gels can now create structures and surfaces with defined shapes that can be used to position cells and tissues, control cell shape and function, and create highly structured 3D culture microenvironments. Combination of advancements in cell differentiation protocols and 3D culture microenvironments provide a unique opportunity to develop in vitro systems that will reliably replicate aspects of human organ physiology.
The goal of this FOA is to promote the development of well characterized multi-cellular models that represent the disease pathogenesis, cellular diversity, genomic complexity, microenvironment, and functional output of human organ systems. Of particular interest, is the development of multi-cellular models of disease pathologies including but not limited to cardiomyopathy, endocrinopathies, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, autoimmunity, fibrosis, muscular dystrophies, neuromuscular disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, seizures, pulmonary hypertension and cystic fibrosis.
A. Research Scope
The focus of this FOA is the development of physiologically and pathologically accurate multi-cellular models of circulatory, endocrine, gastrointestinal, immune, integumentary, musculoskeletal, nervous (including eye), reproductive, respiratory and urinary microsystems through advancements in stem- and progenitor-derived cell differentiation protocols, and 3D in vitro culturing technologies The in vitro multi-cellular models of human physiology developed under this FOA are expected to provide advancements over current human stem- and progenitor-derived cell-type selectivity approaches through improvements in differentiation efficiencies, cell-type diversity, genetic complexity and utilization of 3D culturing approaches to enhance cellular microenvironments.
Essential characteristics of advanced multi-cellular models of human physiology should include all of the following features:
Assessment of cell type specificity within the multi-cellular model could include morphological, genomic, epigenomic, metabolomic, or proteomic characterization in relation to similar cell-type specific profiles from human tissue.
B. Milestones
The U18 application must have a section labeled "Milestones" that includes milestones that are quantifiable and have clear go/no go decisions. Milestones must address the critical areas identified for the U18 outlined in Section 1 under Research Scope. Please see Section IV.6 for additional information.
The following are key aspects of this FOA:
Funding Instrument |
Cooperative Agreement |
Application Types Allowed |
New |
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards |
The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations, and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. NIH intends to fund 5 to 7 awards, corresponding to a total of $2M, for fiscal year 2012. Future year amounts will depend on annual appropriations. |
Award Budget |
The U18 direct cost budget for individual applications is expected to be between $200,000 to $250,000 per year for up to 2 years. |
Award Project Period |
The award period for this FOA is 2 years. |
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
For-Profit Organizations
Governments
Other
For a Diversity FOA that restricts eligibility by targeting diverse institutions, insert standard Diversity language regarding eligible institutions here. (see Lisa Evans,OER). Note that FOAs can target institutions or individuals but not both.
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 must complete the following
registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be
eligible to apply for or receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Dun and
Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of
the following registrations.
All Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s)
(PD(s)/PI(s)) must also work with their institutional officials to register
with the eRA Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated
with the eRA Commons account of the applicant organization.
All registrations must be completed by the application due date. Applicant
organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration process at
least 4-6 weeks prior to the application due date.
Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources
necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal
Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to
develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial
and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always
encouraged to apply for NIH support.
For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PD(s)/PI(s), visit the
Multiple Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) Policy and submission
details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF 424
(R&R) Application Guide.
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 scientifically distinct.
NIH will not accept any application in response to this FOA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial peer review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed.
Applicants must download 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, 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.
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:
Margaret Sutherland, PhD for the Regulatory Science
Microsystems Working Group
Program Director, Neurodegeneration
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
6001 Executive Boulevard.
Neuroscience Center, Room 2203
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 496-5680
Fax: (301) 480-1080
Email: sutherlandm@ninds.nih.gov
The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, mandatory and optional. Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for submission of applications for this FOA. Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide to ensure you complete all appropriate optional components.
All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:
Resource Sharing Plan
Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following modification:
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.
Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit in advance of the deadline to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.
Organizations must submit applications via 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.
Applicants are responsible for viewing their application in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.
Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.
All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .
Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Applicants should include in their budgets sufficient funds to attend bi-annual workshops to be held in conjunction with investigators funded under the DARPA initiative https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=d12e2f420cb12f75d61a8682623c3a79&tab=core&_cview=1, NIH, and the FDA. The yearly budget for the bi-annual workshops to be held in the greater Washington, D.C. metro area is not to exceed $6,000.
Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF 424 (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.
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 SF
424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and
to include a valid PD(s)/PI(s) 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 Central Contractor Registration (CCR). 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 by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by components of participating organizations, NIH. Applications that are incomplete and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.
Additional Submission Requirements
The applications sought in this FOA will propose to develop in vitro multi-cellular models representative of human physiology. To fully assess the potential of the applicant to address the research questions, additional submission requirements and information are requested to be included within the page limits of the research strategy section of the application.
Intellectual property management plan
A primary objective for the Regulatory Science Microsystems Project is develop broadly accepted models and standards that will be available to the community at large. Accordingly, awardees should manage intellectual property (IP) and data in a way that achieves this goal. The IP and data management plan may be included with the Plan for Sharing Research Data.
Restrictive licensing and sharing practices for Regulatory Science Microsystems project data and resources could substantially diminish the value and public benefit provided by the coordinated NIH, DARPA and FDA Regulatory Science Microsystems Initiative. Management practices that would prevent or block access to, or use of Regulatory Science Microsystems project data and resources for research use will be considered to be hindering the goals of the Regulatory Science Microsystem Initiative. Applicants are encouraged to clearly demonstrate in an IP Management plan how their strategies will achieve the desired public benefit and programmatic goals through effective sharing of Regulatory Science Microsystem project data and tools.
The Government may, at its discretion, provide Authorization and Consent and/or Patent Indemnity clauses (see below) to the grantee at the time of the award.
Authorization and Consent".
(a) The Government authorizes and consents to all use and manufacture of any invention described in and covered by a United States patent in the performance of this Cooperative Agreement.
Notice and Assistance Regarding Patent and Copyright Infringement.
(a) The Grantee shall report to the NIH Program Director, promptly and in reasonable written detail, each notice or claim of patent or copyright infringement based on the performance of this Cooperative Agreement of which the Grantee has knowledge.
(b) In the event of any claim or suit against the Government on account of any alleged patent or copyright infringement arising out of the performance of this Cooperative Agreement or out of the use of any supplies furnished or work or services performed under this Cooperative Agreement, the Grantee shall furnish to the Government, when requested by the Program Director, all evidence and information in possession of the Grantee pertaining to such suit or claim. Such evidence and information shall be furnished at the expense of the Government except where the Grantee has agreed to indemnify the Government.
(c) The Grantee agrees to include, and require inclusion of, this clause in all subawards and subcontracts at any tier for supplies or services (including construction and architect-engineer subawards and subcontracts and those for material, supplies, models, samples, or design or testing services).
Patent Indemnity.
(a) The Grantee shall indemnify the Government and its officers, agents, and employees against liability, including costs, for infringement of any United States patent (except a patent issued upon an application that is now or may hereafter be withheld from issue pursuant to a Secrecy Order under 35 U.S.C. 181) arising out of the manufacture or delivery of supplies or materials or the performance of services under this Cooperative Agreement, or out of the use or disposal by or for the account of the Government of such supplies or materials.
(b) This indemnity shall not apply unless the Grantee shall have been informed as soon as practicable by the Government of the suit or action alleging such infringement and shall have been given such opportunity as is afforded by applicable laws, rules, or regulations to participate in its defense. Further, this indemnity shall not apply to:
(1) An infringement resulting from compliance with specific written instructions of the Program Director; or
(2) An infringement resulting from an addition to, or change in, supplies or components furnished by commercial vendors or collaborators or construction work performed that was made subsequent to delivery or performance by commercial sources or contract research organizations.
Sharing Research Resources
NIH policy expects that grant recipients make unique
research resources readily available for research purposes to qualified
individuals within the scientific community after publication (See the NIH
Grants Policy Statement http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/index.htm and http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part7.htm#_Toc54600131).
Investigators responding to this funding opportunity should include a sharing
research resources plan addressing how unique research resources will be shared
or explain why sharing is not possible.
The adequacy of the resources sharing plan and any related data sharing plans
will be considered by NIH Program staff when making recommendations about
funding applications. The effectiveness of the resource sharing will be
evaluated as part of the administrative review of each Non-Competing Grant
Progress Report (PHS 2590). See Section
VI.3., Reporting.
Applicants should discuss the following:
Availability of biological resources utilized and/or developed (cell lines, reporter systems);
Availability of technologies and protocols developed with funds from this award.
Other Special Performance Requirements
The research project will be a collaborative effort between the awardee and the NIH. The NIH will provide scientific and regulatory guidance in the implementation of the proposed projects. To facilitate the DARPA, FDA and NIH partnerships, NIH will request that applicants also share outcomes of peer review, post award evaluations, and investigator submitted applications and reports in response to RFA RM-12-001 with these agencies. Instructions on how to share the information will be posted at the NIH Regulatory Science Website: http://commonfund.nih.gov/regulatoryscience/. At a minimum, the applicant must explicitly indicate their willingness to:
The requests by NIH intramural scientists will be limited to the incremental costs required for participation. As such, these requests will not include any salary and related fringe benefits for career, career conditional or other Federal employees (civilian or uniformed service) with permanent appointments under existing position ceilings or any costs related to administrative or facilities support (equivalent to Facilities and Administrative or F&A costs). These costs may include salary for staff to be specifically hired under a temporary appointment for the project, consultant costs, equipment, supplies, travel, and other items typically listed under Other Expenses. Applicants should indicate the number of person-months devoted to the project, even if no funds are requested for salary and fringe benefits.
If selected, appropriate funding will be provided by the NIH Intramural Program. NIH intramural scientists will participate in this program as PD(s)/PI(s) in accord with the Terms and Conditions provided in this FOA. Intellectual property will be managed in accord with established policy of the NIH in compliance with Executive Order 10096, as amended, 45 CFR Part 7; patent rights for inventions developed in NIH facilities are NIH property unless NIH waives its rights.
Should an extramural application include the collaboration with an intramural scientist, no funds for the support of the intramural scientist may be requested in the application. The intramural scientist may submit a separate request for intramural funding as described above.
Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-10-115,
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/priority score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).
Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.
Significance
Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? 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? Will the multi-cellular model described help to advance currently available multi-cellular systems and lead to the development of more complex human micorphysiological platforms?
Investigator(s)
Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, or 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(s)/PI(s), do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project? Are investigators with complementary expertise representing both cell biology and bio-engineering included in this application?
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?
Approach
Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses
well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project?
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?
If the project involves clinical research, are the plans for 1) protection of
human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion of minorities and members
of both sexes/genders, as well as the inclusion of children, 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?
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/priority score, but will not give separate scores for these items.
Protections for Human Subjects
For research that involves human subjects but does
not involve one of the six 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 six 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 Human
Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.
Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children
When the proposed project involves clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.
Vertebrate Animals
The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.
Biohazards
Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.
Resubmissions
Not Applicable
Renewals
Not Applicable
Revisions
Not Applicable
As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact/priority score.
Applications from Foreign Organizations
Not Applicable.
Select Agent Research
Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).
Resource Sharing Plans
Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: 1) Data Sharing Plan; 2) Sharing Model Organisms; and 3) Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS). Resource Sharing Considerations: Are the plans adequate for public release of all types of data generated through this project, including protocols, procedures, devices and other tools and resources? Is there evidence that the systems are in place to support rapid data release? Are there adequate plans for release or distribution of other resources, software, or technologies developed under this award? Does the applicant have a successful record in this regard?
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) within the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Review assignments 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 in 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 appropriate National Advisory Council. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD(s)/PI(s) will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.
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 the DUNS,
CCR Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award
Conditions and Information for NIH Grants 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.
Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award
The following special terms of award are in addition to, and
not in lieu of, otherwise applicable U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
administrative guidelines, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
grant administration regulations at 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 (Part 92 is
applicable when State and local Governments are eligible to apply), and other
HHS, PHS, and NIH grant administration policies.
The administrative and funding instrument used for this program will be the cooperative
agreement, an "assistance" mechanism (rather than an
"acquisition" mechanism), in which substantial NIH programmatic
involvement with the awardees is anticipated during the performance of the
activities. Under the cooperative agreement, the NIH purpose is to support and
stimulate the recipients' activities by involvement in and otherwise working
jointly with the award recipients in a partnership role; it is not to assume
direction, prime responsibility, or a dominant role in the activities. Consistent
with this concept, the dominant role and prime responsibility resides with the
awardees for the project as a whole, although specific tasks and activities may
be shared among the awardees and the NIH as defined below.
The
PD(s)/PI(s) will have the primary responsibility for:
Intellectual Property
The successful development of multi-cellular models of human physiology may require either substantial investment and support by private sector industries, and/or may involve collaborations with other organizations such as academic, other government agencies, and/or non-profit research institutions not directly involved in the NIH-funded Regulatory Science Microsystem Program. NIH recognizes that intellectual property rights are likely to play an important role in achieving the goals of this program. To this end, all awardees shall understand and acknowledge the following:
Awardees are expected to make new information and materials known to the research community in a timely manner through publications, web announcements, reports to the NIH Regulatory Science Microsystem Steering Committee, and other mechanisms.
Data
Awardees will retain custody of and have primary rights to the data and resources developed under these awards, subject to Government rights of access consistent with current HHS, PHS, and NIH policies.
Publications
The Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) will be responsible for the timely submission of all abstracts, manuscripts and reviews (co)authored by project investigators and supported in whole or in part under this Cooperative Agreement. The Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) and Project Leaders are requested to submit manuscripts to the NIH Project Scientist within two weeks of acceptance for publication so that an up-to-date summary of program accomplishments can be maintained. Publications and oral presentations of work conducted under this Cooperative Agreement are the responsibility of the Principal Investigator and appropriate Project Leaders and will require appropriate acknowledgement of NIH support. Timely publication of major findings is encouraged.
Awardees will retain custody of and have primary rights to the data and resources developed under these awards, subject to Government rights of access consistent with current DHHS, PHS, and NIH policies.
NIH staff have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards, as described below:
NIH Regulatory Science Microsystem Project Scientists will have substantial scientific/programmatic involvement during the conduct of this activity through technical assistance, advice and coordination. However, the role of NIH Regulatory Science Microsystem Project Scientists will be to facilitate and not to direct the activities.
Each NIH Regulatory Science Microsystem Project Scientist shall participate as a member of the NIH Microsystems Steering Committee.
The Project Scientists will:
Additionally, an agency program official or IC program director will be responsible for the normal scientific and programmatic stewardship of the award and will be named in the award notice.
Areas of Joint Responsibility include:
Dispute Resolution:
Any disagreements that may arise in scientific or programmatic matters (within the scope of the award) between award recipients and the NIH may be brought to Dispute Resolution. A Dispute Resolution Panel composed of three members will be convened. It will have three members: a designee of the Steering Committee chosen without NIH staff voting, one NIH designee, and a third designee with expertise in the relevant area who is chosen by the other two; in the case of individual disagreement, the first member may be chosen by the individual awardee. This special dispute resolution procedure does not alter the awardee's right to appeal an adverse action that is otherwise appealable in accordance with PHS regulation 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D and DHHS regulation 45 CFR Part 16.
When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Non-Competing Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
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.
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.
We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.
Grants.gov
Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and
submission, downloading or navigating forms)
Contact Center Phone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov
GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and
process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov
eRA Commons Help Desk (Questions regarding eRA Commons
registration, tracking application status, post submission issues)
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: commons@od.nih.gov
Margaret Sutherland, Ph.D. for the Regulatory
Science Microsystems Working Group
Program Director, Neurodegeneration
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
6001 Executive Boulevard.
Neuroscience Center, Room 2203
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 496-5680
Fax: (301) 480-1080
Email: sutherlandm@ninds.nih.gov
Or
Danilo A. Tagle, Ph.D. for the Regulatory Science
Microsystems Working Group
Program Director, Neurogenetics
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke
6001 NSC/ Room 2114
6001 Executive Blvd.
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 496-5745
Email: tagled@ninds.nih.gov
Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears two weeks after the submission due date).
Tom Peterson, Ph.D.
Chief of Bioengineering Sciences and Technologies (BST) IRG
Center for Scientific Review
MSC 7849,
6701 Rockledge Dr.,
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: (301) 408-9694
Fax: (301) 408-1837
Email: petersonjt@csr.nih.gov
Tijuana Decoster, MPA
Grants Management Branch
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Neuroscience Center, Room 3258
6001 Executive Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 496-9231
FAX: (301) 402-0219
Email: decostert@mail.nih.gov
Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.
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NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
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