HIGH END INSTRUMENTATION PROGRAM Release Date: June 11, 2001 RFA: RFA-RR-01-004 National Center for Research Resources Letter of Intent Receipt Date: August 14, 2001 Application Receipt Date: September 14, 2001 PURPOSE In recognition of the need for and advantages of continuing investment in new instrumentation for the advancement of biomedical research, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) announces a new program for the support of research instrumentation. Awards will be made for up to a maximum of $2.0 million in direct costs for a single major item of advanced equipment. Instruments in this category include structural and functional imaging systems, macromolecular NMR spectrometers, high-resolution mass spectrometers, electron microscopes, and supercomputers. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of Healthy People 2010, a PHS led national activity for setting priority areas. This Request for Applications (RFA), High End Instrumentation Program, is related to one or more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of Healthy People 2010 at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Under the general research support authority of Section 301(a)(3) of the Public Health Service Act, Shared Instrumentation Grant awards are made to public and non-profit institutions only. For purposes of these guidelines, an "institution" is defined as the organizational component identified on page 1, item 11 of the PHS 398 (rev. 4/98), for which descriptive information is provided on pages 9-10 in the PHS 398 kit. These institutions include health professional schools, other academic institutions, hospitals, health departments, and research organizations. Federal institutions, foreign institutions, and for-profit institutions are not eligible to apply. Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply as Principal Investigators. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT This RFA will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) S10 grant mechanism. The program will assist in the acquisition of major research equipment that is too costly for support through the NCRR Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) program. Awards will be made for the direct cost of the instrument only. No indirect costs are provided. Matching funds are not required, however, commitment of an appropriate level of institutional support to insure the associated infrastructure is expected (building alterations, or renovations, post-award service contracts and technical personnel). Support for operation and maintenance and trained personnel may also be obtained from the research project grants of the users or supplements to them. The instrument must be utilized by a minimum of three Principal investigators on NIH peer reviewed research grants at the time of application and award. For purposes of this program, research grants are defined as those grants awarded with the following activity codes: P01, R01, U01, U19, R29, R35, and R37. A common categorical focus is not required. Since this program interfaces with other programs, it is strongly urged that applicants contact the staff person in the Division of Biomedical Technology of NCRR before submitting a proposal. It is expected that most of the equipment requested in the HEI Program will be of a specialized nature and will require a high level of technical expertise to operate the instrument and conduct experiments. Therefore, for the requested instrument to be used effectively and to avoid abuse of instrumentation, which frequently occurs in an open access environment, the bulk of the research time may have to be reserved for a few investigators. Alternatively, some type of instruments might be accessed by the research community through collaborations with appropriate investigators. Other types of instruments requested may not be as dedicated and will serve a broadly diversified biomedical community. In any case, priority for instrument use should be given to NIH-supported scientists engaged in biomedical/behavioral research. The program will provide 12-month, nonrenewable awards up to a maximum $2.0 million. Only one major item of equipment can be requested per application. Supplemental applications will not be accepted. Although the focus of the HEI Program is on a new generation of instruments that cost over $1.0 Million, the floor for the program has been set at $750,000. Applications for routine instruments such as mid-field NMR spectrometers, multi-photon microscopes and other applications for requests totaling over $750,000 which are the result of an overestimation of price and/or an excessive number of accessories, will be returned as not being responsive to the HEI Program. Identical or very similar applications may not be submitted to the Shared Instrumentation Program and the High End Instrumentation. However, a revised application based on a previously reviewed SIG submission may be submitted to the HEI program. In order to submit a revised application, the investigator must have received the summary statement from the previous review and must address the criticisms raised in the Introduction. An institution may submit more than one application, but the instruments requested should be substantially different. It is anticipated that only a few grants will be awarded in a given technological area. Generally, if the funds requested do not cover the total cost of the instrument, documentation of the availability of the remainder of the funding, signed by an appropriate institutional official, must be submitted to NCRR prior to issuance of an award. FUNDS AVAILABLE The NCRR intends to commit approximately $10,000,000 in FY 2002 to fund five to ten new grants in response to this RFA. Because the nature and scope of the research proposed may vary, it is anticipated that the size of each award will also vary. Although the financial plans of the NCRR provide support for this program, awards pursuant to this RFA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES With advances in the technological development, biomedical scientists require ever more powerful tools for their research. As new instruments with enhanced performance become available, their importance for research increases along with the costs. Although the Program provides a cost-effective mechanism for groups of NIH supported investigators to obtain commercially available equipment costing between $100,000 and $500,000, at present there is no NIH program that provides expensive, high-end instruments to the broad community of basic and clinical scientists. While the National Science Foundation has several major equipment programs, they exclude instrumentation used for disease-oriented research. To meet the demands of the community, the NCRR initiated this new program to support expensive, high-end instruments. Examples of key instruments in this category include but are not limited to: Imaging: The boundaries of imaging technology have been extended to acquire functional, biochemical and physiological information in intact biological systems including humans. This has led to an increased demand for multinuclear spectroscopy and functional magnetic resonance and PET imaging instruments. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: There is a significant demand for increased sensitivity and resolution of high-field NMR spectrometers to determine three-dimensional structures of large proteins and protein complexes in extremely small samples. This need is magnified by the extended run times for data collection at lower fields, which limits access to these instruments. Mass spectrometers: Instruments that combine electrospray ionization with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry are now available. The FTICR methods provide very high resolution and accurate molecular weight measurement to study large biopolymers and their interactions. Electron microscopes: The frontier of cell biology now focuses on elucidating the nature and function of cell organelles and the role of complex protein machines. Such studies require intermediate voltage electron microscopes with field emission illumination for high resolution imaging of single molecules. Such microscopes are also needed to perform computer reconstruction at the subnanometer scale for macromolecular assemblies that are too large and complex to study by x-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. Supercomputers: Computational biologists require computers or clusters of computers with high-performance visualization hardware, parallel architectures, and large data storage and transfer capabilities at increased speed. Applications for general use computer networks will not be accepted. Applications for synchrotron equipment, with the exception of detectors, will not be accepted. The Principal Investigator must be able to assume administrative and scientific oversight responsibility for the instrument requested. Although it is not required, it is strongly encouraged that the Principal Investigator be a scientist with expertise in the unique technical area. It is not required that the Principal Investigator be an NIH awardee. An internal advisory committee must be named to assist the Principal Investigator in administering the grant and overseeing the responsibility for the instrument. The membership of this committee should be broadly based and include members without a conflict of interest who can resolve disputes if they arise. The Principal Investigator and the advisory committee are responsible for the development of guidelines for: o maximum utilization of the instrument, including time allocation o a detailed plan for the day-to-day management of the instrument. o a financial plan for the long term operation and maintenance of the instrument during the post award period. During the post award period, the Principal Investigator will also be responsible for obtaining appropriate no-cost extensions of the project period if needed. Ninety days following the end of the project period, a final progress report is required that describes the instrument purchased, and a list of all users and a description of the value of the instrument to the investigators and to the institution as a whole. URLS IN NIH APPLICATIONS OR APPENDICIES All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page limitations. Unless otherwise specified in an NIH solicitation, internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide information necessary for the review because reviewers are under no obligation to view the Internet sites. Reviewers are cautioned that their anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an Internet site. LETTER OF INTENT Prospective applicants are asked to submit by the deadline given on the first page of this announcement a letter of intent that includes a descriptive title with the name of the type of instrument requested, the name, address, telephone number and e-mail address of the Principal Investigator, the identities of other key personnel and participating institutions, and the number and title of the RFA. Although the letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, this information is useful to NIH staff to plan the review process. The letter of intent can be sent via email to HEI@NCRR.NIH.GOV or faxed to Marjorie A. Tingle, Ph.D. An acknowledgment of receipt will be provided. APPLICATION PROCEDURES The research grant application from PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) is to be used in applying for these grants. Applications kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892- 7910, telephone 301-710-0267, email: grantsinfo@nih.gov. For those applicants with Internet access, the 398 kit may be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. The RFA label available in the PHS (rev.4/98) application form must be affixed to the bottom of the face page of the application. Type the RFA number on the label. Failure to use this label could result in delayed processing of the application such that it may not reach the review committee in time for review. In addition, the RFA title and number must be typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form and the YES box must be marked. The sample RFA label available at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/label-bk.pdf has been modified to allow for this change. Please note this is in pdf format. Follow the PHS 398 instructions with the following special instructions below. Do not use the format for Modular Grant applications or Just-In-Time applications. 1. Form page 1 (Face page of the application) Item 1. Name the type of instrument requested. Item 2. Check the box marked "YES" and enter the number and title of this RFA. Item 4. Not applicable Item 5. Not applicable Item 6. The dates should be 07/01/02 through 06/30/03. Items 7A and 7B, 8A and 8B. Use these blocks to give the total amount requested from NCRR for this instrument. The direct costs and total costs for the budget period and project period must be the same. Item 11. Insert the appropriate code identification (same as PHS 398). 2. Form page 2. Complete the abstract as directed. Under "Key Personnel," give data on the Principal Investigator and the other participating investigators. 3. Form page 4. Describe the instrument requested including manufacturer and model number. The model chosen should be justified by comparing its performance with other available instruments where appropriate. Specific features and any accessories should be justified, both in this section and in the description of research projects. Provide a detailed budget breakdown of the main equipment and accessories requested including tax and import duties, if applicable. An itemized quote from a vendor should be included. If a project involves a potential biohazard, funds for accessory containment equipment for the instrument or instrument system may be included in the requested budget. 4. Form page 5. Budget Estimates for All Years. Not applicable, do not complete. 5. Form page 6 - Biographical Sketch. In addition to the personnel listed on page 2, include a biographical sketch of the person(s) who will be in charge of maintenance and operation of the instrument and a brief statement of the qualifications of the individual(s). Biographical sketches should not exceed 2 pages for each individual. 6. Form page 7 - Other Support. Provide the other support information for each participating investigator. 7. Form page 8 - Resources. Not applicable, do not complete. 8. Research Plan section of the application. (If this is a revised application, note the special instructions on page 14 in the PHS 398 kit regarding completion of this section of the application.) 9. Form page II Checklist. The following topics must be addressed in the research plan which may not exceed 25 pages: a. Instrumentation Requested Describe the instrument requested and the significance of the technology to biomedical research. For a new generation instrument present the design concept, rationale and development methods in sufficient detail to allow evaluation of its technical feasibility. Inventory current and related instrumentation at the applicant institution or nearby institutions and describe why they are unavailable or inappropriate for the proposed research. Provide a clear justification why new instrumentation, including accessories is needed. Include specific documentation on the current usage and downtime of existing instruments and a realistic estimate of the projected usage of the requested instrument. b. Technical Expertise Describe the technical expertise available at the applicant institution to set up, run and maintain the instrument. Specify how and by whom the instrumentation will be operated and maintained. Are there any collaborations between disciplinary and interdisciplinary scientists for developing the technical aspects of the instrumentation? Outline the roles of the technical staff in training new users and in facilitating the adoption of these state- of-the-art techniques in the users research programs. c. Research Projects Give a brief description of the users projects focusing on the benefit of the instrument to the research objectives of each user. Sufficient technical detail (results of preliminary data and /or supplemental information) should be included to evaluate whether the instrument requested is appropriate, would be effectively employed, and would provide advantages over other methods. The need for special features and accessories must be justified. If possible, each user should highlight those publications that demonstrate the users expertise in using the requested instrumentation. If the number of projects is large and broadly diversified, select out a smaller representative group. Use a table to list the names of the users, brief titles of the projects, the NIH grant numbers and the estimated percentage of use. Make a separate table to indicate the user’s needs for the requested accessories. List the page number of each table under Table of Contents (Form page 3) after resources. d. Institutional Commitment Explain how the requested instrumentation will contribute to the institution’s biomedical research goals. Describe the institutional infrastructure (space, environment and utilities) available to support the instrumentation. Indicate if the institution has any history of making technology available and for keeping instruments in top operating condition. e. Administration of the Instrument Describe the organizational plan for administering the grant. Include how the instrument will be utilized, how requests are made, how time will be allocated to competing research projects and how schedules are posted. How will the results obtained be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific understanding? What are the plans for attracting new users. Include the names and titles of members of local and/or external advisory committees to oversee its use. Describe the role and responsibility of the advisory committee(s) in developing policies and procedures to assure equitable use of the instrument time and their meeting schedules. f. Financial Administration. Provide a financial plan for long term operation of the instrument. Specify how and by whom the requested instrumentation will be operated and maintained. Pertinent data on user charges, salaries of technical support personnel, maintenance contracts, instrument upgrades, shop charges and other expenses, should be included. Specify the plans for fully funding the instrument. Specify the sources and amounts of cost sharing funds (private, state or institutional funds) and a projection of when they will be available. Give a time frame or prospects for delivery of the instrument. Provide documentation (separate letters signed by appropriate institutional officials) specifically describing the institutional commitment (in dollars) in support of the instrument. Applications must be received by September 14, 2001. Applications received after this date will not be accepted for review in this competition and will be returned to the applicant. The completed, signed original and four exact photocopies of the signed application and any appendix material must be sent in one package to: CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE ROOM 1040 - MSC 7710 BETHESDA, MD 20892-7710 BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service) One copy of the application l must be sent to: DIVISION OF BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH RESOURCES 6705 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 6154 - MSC 7965 BETHESDA, MD 20892-7965 BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service) The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) will not accept any application in response to this RFA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review, unless the applicant withdraws the pending application. The CSR will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of substantial revisions of applications already reviewed, but such applications must include an Introduction addressing the previous critique. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Applications that are complete and responsive to the program announcement will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened in accordance with NIH peer review procedures. As part of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written critique and may undergo a process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed, assigned a priority score, and receive a second level review by the National Advisory Research Resources Council (NARRC). Applications are reviewed by specially convened initial review groups of the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) for scientific and technical merit and for program considerations by the NARRC of the NCRR. Funding decisions on all applications received for the September 14, 2001, deadline will not be made until the program receives an appropriation for FY2002. The earliest possible state date is July 1, 2002. REVIEW CRITERIA Is the need for the instrument clearly and adequately justified? Is the equipment essential and appropriate? Will the instrument requested have a significant impact on biomedical/ behavioral research and contribute to the advancement of human health? Does the institution have the high-level technical expertise and access to the necessary infrastructure to make effective use of the requested equipment? How well qualified are the participating investigators to operate and maintain the instrument, conduct the projects, and evaluate the research results? Are there collaborations in place between disciplinary and interdisciplinary scientists? Will research with the requested instrument advance the knowledge and understanding of the proposed projects? Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? Are there appropriate plans in place for record keeping and bioinformatics? Is the plan for the management and maintenance of the requested instrument appropriate and does it make possible the wide usage of the instrument? Are there plans for maximizing the effectiveness of the investment in instrumentation? Is the membership of the advisory committee broadly based to oversee the use of the instrument for a wide range of biomedical investigators? How will research time allocated to competing projects? Is the financial plan for fully funding the purchase and long term operation and maintenance of the instrument reasonable? What is the evidence of institutional commitment to support the instrument? Is there an institutional track record for making technology available? AWARD CRITERIA In making funding decisions, the NCRR will give consideration to: O scientific merit as determined by peer review O program priorities O program balance among various types of instruments supported O availability of funds INQUIRIES Inquiries are encouraged. The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants are welcome. Direct inquiries regarding programmatic or scientific issues to: Marjorie A. Tingle, Ph.D. High End Instrumentation Program National Center for Research Resources 6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 6154, MSC 7965 Bethesda, MD 20892-7965 Telephone: (301) 435-0772 FAX: (301) 480-3659 Email: HEI@ncrr.nih.gov Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Ms. Mary Niemiec Office of Grants Management National Center for Research Resources 6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 6205, MSC 7965 Bethesda, MD 20892-7965 Telephone: (301) 435-0842 Email: MaryN@ncrr.nih.gov AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.371. Awards are made under authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241, 287 and 287a) and administered under NIH grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency Review. The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early childhood development services are provided to children. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.


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