Full Text TW-95-001

MINORITY INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH TRAINING GRANTS

NIH GUIDE, Volume 23, Number 28, July 29, 1994

RFA:  TW-95-001

P.T. 22, FF

Keywords: 
  Biomedical Research Training 


Fogarty International Center
Office of Research on Minority Health

Application Receipt Date:  March 15, 1995

PURPOSE

The Fogarty International Center and the Office of Research on Minority
Health support a program to provide international research training
opportunities for minority undergraduate students, minority graduate
students, and minority faculty members in biomedical and behavioral
research.

Training grant awards will be made for three years to U.S. colleges and
universities to:

o  encourage minority students to pursue degrees and careers in the
biological sciences, especially biomedical and behavioral research, by
broadening their undergraduate and graduate education through
international experiences;

o  promote qualities of leadership by expanding cultural perspectives
in minority students and faculty;

o  help prepare the next generation of scientific leaders to work
effectively in a global environment;

o  establish linkages between U.S. scientists and institutions and
established centers of biomedical and behavioral research abroad.

There may be any or all of the following three components within each
institutional award:

1.  The international research training program for pre-baccalaureate
minority students pursuing life science curricula to conduct short-term
research and coursework abroad for approximately 10 to 14 weeks.

2.  A pre-doctoral program to enable minority students enrolled in
graduate research degree programs to receive research training for
approximately 3 to 12 months at foreign institutions.

3.  The international faculty development program for individual
minority faculty to conduct research at foreign institutions for
approximately 3 to 12 months.

Applications may be submitted from individual U.S. institutions or from
consortia of U.S. institutions with one lead institution.  For the
purposes of this program, consortia will link institutions that have
active international programs with those with limited international
research training programs.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

U.S. Participants and Program Requirements:

These institutional training grants will be awarded to U.S.
institutions for the purpose of collaborating with one or more foreign
research centers that can provide a substantial research training
experience for the U.S. minority participants.  The applicant
institution and any associated institution in a consortium must be a
two- or four-year domestic school, college or university.

Minority participants must be from underrepresented minority groups
including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians and
Pacific Islanders.  The program director at the applicant institution
will be responsible for the selection and appointment of participants,
selection of the foreign training site(s) and the overall direction of
the training program.  Participating students and faculty members must
be members of the minority groups listed above and be U.S. citizens or
permanent residents who are pursuing degrees, studying and/or
conducting research in the biomedical or behavioral sciences at the
time of appointment and during the program.

Students and faculty must be affiliated with a U.S. college or
university at the time of selection for the program.  However, the
affiliation need not be with the grantee institution.

Undergraduate Students.  Undergraduate student trainees must be
pre-baccalaureate, pursuing a relevant biomedical or behavioral science
curriculum and must show evidence of a commitment to obtaining a
postgraduate research related degree in a biomedical or behavioral
field of science.  The foreign training for undergraduate students will
be for approximately 10 to 12 weeks.

Graduate Students.  Predoctoral students must be enrolled in a U.S.
graduate research training program in the biomedical or behavioral
sciences.  The predoctoral training period at the foreign site may be
from approximately 3 to 12 months for the purpose of learning a
technique or carrying out a special project or portion of a project
related to their doctoral studies.

Faculty.  The minority faculty development portion of the training
grant will provide support for research and studies for approximately
3 to 12 months at a foreign training site.  Participants must have
regular, full-time faculty appointments at the grantee institution or
an institution in the consortium.  The research plan must indicate the
expected benefits of the proposed work.

One faculty person, called the faculty mentor, may accompany each group
of approximately four to eight minority undergraduate students and act
as a general advisor/mentor during the study abroad.  Faculty members
serving this purpose are not required to belong to any minority group
if a minority faculty member is not available.  They must hold
full-time tenure track or tenured faculty positions at the grantee
institution, hold a doctoral level degree and have a biomedical
research plan to be conducted at the foreign host institution.

Foreign Site Requirements.  The foreign research centers should be
universities, colleges or other research institutions that have strong,
well-established biomedical or behavioral research and research
training programs.  Close cooperation between the U.S. and foreign
institutions and scientists will be needed to provide the trainees with
a foreign mentor or collaborator who is recognized as an accomplished
investigator and who will participate in their research training.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

The mechanism of support is the minority international research
training grant award (T37).  Domestic institutions may request up to
three years of support.  The stipend level during the period of foreign
stay is up to $1,000 per month for undergraduate and graduate students
and up to $3,000 per month for the faculty member.  Stipends may be
supplemented from non-Federal sources only.  The stipend plus the home
institution support cannot exceed the appointee's annual salary.
Research expenses for use at the foreign training site of up to $500
per month may be requested for each undergraduate student, graduate
student, or faculty member.  Training-related expenses, such as health
insurance, foreign tuition and fees, for use at the foreign training
site of up to $500 per month may be requested for each undergraduate
student, graduate student, or faculty member.  Foreign living expenses
will be up to $1,000 per month for undergraduate and graduate students
and up to $2,000 per month for faculty members, in addition to stipend.

Appointment may range from 10 to 14 weeks for undergraduates and a
minimum of three and a maximum of 12 months for the predoctoral
students and faculty.

Stipends, training, and travel expenses are offered only for the time
period participants are en route to or working in the foreign country.
No expenses are provided for domestic research or training.  If
especially justified, the domestic applicant institution may request up
to five percent of the requested total direct costs for the support of
the principal investigator and/or other grant-related personnel for
domestic administrative efforts.  These costs must be specifically
related to this grant.  Indirect costs will be awarded to the grantee
institution at a rate of eight percent of the allowable direct costs.
Each of the training grant awards will not exceed a total of $400,000
per year, including direct and indirect costs.

FUNDS AVAILABLE

It is expected that 6 to 10 new, competitive awards will be made in FY
95.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The Minority International Research Training grants are designed to
enable qualified minority undergraduate students, graduate students and
faculty members to participate in international biomedical and
behavioral research programs.

This training grant program is expected to attract students and
scientists in the developmental stages of their educations and careers
to increase their awareness of international research opportunities and
to acquaint them with the full range of career opportunities in
biomedical and behavioral research.  Minority faculty members are
expected to gain by the foreign research experience in ways that will
contribute to the research and teaching programs at their U.S.
institutions.  Their association with the foreign institution will, in
many cases, provide future undergraduate and graduate research training
sites.

This program is designed to supplement the current programs of the FIC
available to all scientists, such as the Fogarty International Research
Collaboration Award (FIRCA), a variety of Foreign Funded fellowships,
the Senior International Fellowship (SIF) for U.S. scientists, the
International Research Fellowship (IRF) for foreign scientists in
developing nations, and other programs.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

The FIC and ORMH staff will closely follow the progress of each
training grant program through site visits and periodic meetings of
program directors.  The components of the training grant may include
the following:

A.  The Minority Undergraduate Program

This component of the training grant will offer a biomedical research
experience for minority undergraduate students at research centers
abroad where arrangements have been made to house and train the
students for approximately 10 to 14 weeks at any appropriate time of
the year.  The training may include short courses in the language and
culture of the host country.  Student participants will be chosen by
the grantee institution.

The research training must be carried out during at least half of each
weekday.  Support for the undergraduate students will be available only
while abroad.  Each group of four to eight students may be accompanied
by a faculty member who would also conduct research.  This person is
the Faculty Mentor--see below.

The student research projects might include collection of data, samples
or other information for research purposes.  The projects may not
include routine clinical laboratory work without a research component.

Additional, direct support for the minority student participants on
return to the U.S. may be available from the FIC for attendance at
scientific meetings to present the results of their foreign research
experience.

B.  The Minority Predoctoral Program

The training grant may include a predoctoral component which will
provide support for research training of minority predoctoral students
at a foreign institution for approximately 3 to 12 months as a part of
the requirement for the doctoral degree program (but not professional
degree programs such as M.D., O.D., D.D.S., Pharm.D., or D.V.M.
programs) in which the student is enrolled.

The minority student will receive support from the training grant for
the foreign training portion only, and the application must demonstrate
the benefit of foreign training which may include some course work, but
must primarily be for the conduct of research, to learn a technique, to
participate in a study or to utilize a unique resource or study
population.  Participants will be chosen by the grantee institution.

C.  The Minority Faculty Development Program

Within this institutional training grant, the faculty development
program supports minority faculty members employed at U.S. colleges and
universities to carry out international, collaborative research abroad
for periods of 3 to 12 months.  Faculty members will be selected by the
grantee institution and will conduct research on a biomedically related
topic in collaboration with the foreign laboratory.  The faculty
participants will be chosen by the grantee institution.

To participate, the U.S. faculty member must have a doctoral-level
degree or equivalent experience and training.  The purpose of this
program is to enhance the current research skills of the investigator
by providing a new research direction, an extension of her or his
current research activities through a foreign collaborative effort or
for providing a unique site which offers a special research facility or
special human or animal study population.

The research experience will also benefit the faculty member's ability
to communicate new scientific concepts and directions of international
developments in her or his role as an instructor in the U.S.  In
addition to the conduct of the research this program may be used to
develop a site or sites for the foreign research activities of the
undergraduate or graduate students.

The faculty member may accompany students participating in the
undergraduate research program while also conducting research.

D.  Faculty-Mentor

The faculty member in this position will act as a mentor to the four to
eight minority students and may receive support from this training
grant while with the students.  She or he must also carry out a
research project while at the foreign site.  However, a major purpose
of the mentor is to assist the students in adjusting and coping with
all phases of their research, training and cultural experience while
living abroad.  If a faculty mentor will be an important part of the
program but a minority person is not available, a non-minority person
may fill this position so the students will not be denied the
international research opportunity.

STUDY POPULATIONS

INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups
and their subpopulations must be included in all NIH supported
biomedical and behavioral research projects involving human subjects,
unless a clear and compelling rationale and justification is provided
that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the
subjects or the purpose of the research.  This new policy results from
the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43)
and supersedes and strengthens the previous policies (Concerning the
Inclusion of Women in Study Populations, and Concerning the Inclusion
of Minorities in Study Populations), which have been in effect since
1990.  The new policy contains some provisions that are substantially
different from the 1990 policies.  All investigators proposing research
involving human subjects should read the "NIH Guidelines For Inclusion
of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," which have
been published in the Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (59 FR
14508-14513) and printed in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts,
Volume 23, Number 11, March 18, 1994.

Investigators also may obtain copies of the policy from the program
staff listed under INQUIRIES.  Program staff may also provide
additional relevant information concerning the policy.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398
(rev. 9/91) using the special instructions related to Institutional
National Research Service Awards (Section VII).  Note the requirement
to use NRSA substitute pages MM, NN, OO to be acceptable for initial
review.  Application kits are available at most institutional offices
of sponsored research and may also be obtained from the Office of
Grants Information, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of
Health, Westwood Building, Room 449, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone
(301) 710-0267.

The RFA label available in the PHS 398 (rev. 9/91) application form
must be affixed to the bottom of the face page of the application.
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 2a
of the face page of the application form and the YES box must be
marked.

Applications must be received by March 5, 1994.  The completed
application and three legible copies must be sent or delivered to:

Division of Research Grants
National Institutes of Health
Westwood Building, Room 240
Bethesda, MD  20892**

In addition, two copies of the completed application must be sent to
Dr. Wolff at the address listed under INQUIRIES.

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

All applications responding to this RFA will be reviewed for scientific
and technical merit by an NIH initial review group, followed by a
second level review by the Fogarty International Center Advisory Board.
To be eligible for review, applications must be complete and submitted
in accordance with the application procedures stated above.  Reviewers
will pay particular attention to the proposed method of selecting
participating faculty and students, the proposed benefit to the
participants and the justification for selecting the foreign training
site(s).  Letters from the foreign collaborators and their
institutional officials indicating their willingness to participate in
this training program must accompany the application.

AWARD CRITERIA

Applications will compete for funds assigned to the Minority
International Research Training Grant Program of the Fogarty
International Center.  The following will be considered in making
funding decisions:  how the proposal will contribute to the achievement
of the program's objectives; scientific, technical and educational
merit of the application as determined by peer review; and availability
of funds.

INQUIRIES

The opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from potential
applicants is welcomed.  Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues
(and the two copies of the application for the Fogarty International
Center) to:

Dr. David Wolff
International Research and Awards Branch
Fogarty International Center
Building 31, Room B2C39
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-1653
FAX:  (301) 402-0779

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:

Ms. Silvia Mandes
International Research and Awards Branch
Fogarty International Center
Building 31, Room B2C39
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-1653
FAX:  (301) 402-0779

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
No. 93.106.  Awards are made under the authority of the Public Health
Service Act, Title III, Part A, Section 307b (42 USC 2421) and
administered under PHS grants policies and Federal regulations, most
specifically 42 CFR part 61.  This program is not subject to the
intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or to
Health Systems Agency review.

The Public Health Service strongly encourages all grant recipients to
provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco
products.  This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect and
advance the physical and mental health of the American people.

.

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