National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- November 22, 2024 - This RFA has been reissued as RFA-HL-26-019.
- NOT-OD-23-012 Reminder: FORMS-H Grant Application Forms and Instructions Must be Used for Due Dates On or After January 25, 2023 - New Grant Application Instructions Now Available
- NOT-OD-22-190 - Adjustments to NIH and AHRQ Grant Application Due Dates Between September 22 and September 30, 2022
- March 24, 2022 - Application Due Date Changes for RFA-HL-23-013. See Notice NOT-HL-22-018.
See Notices of Special Interest associated with this funding opportunity
RFA-HL-23-011 , R61/ R33 Phase 1 Exploratory/Developmental Grant/ Exploratory/Developmental Grants Phase II
RFA-HL-23-012 , R33 Exploratory/Developmental Grants Phase II
RFA-HL-23-014 , R33 Exploratory/Developmental Grants Phase II
This Catalyze Product Definition Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will provide the early stage translational support needed to develop and test device prototype designs, identify diagnostic disease targets and develop associated assays, and develop research tools for use in the treatment of heart, lung, blood and sleep (HLBS) diseases and disorders. This FOA is part of a suite of Catalyze innovation grants to advance projects to the point where they can meet the entry criteria for the NHLBI Catalyze Preclinical program or attract independent development support from other federal or private partners for preclinical product optimization and characterization.
30 days prior to the application due date
| Application Due Dates | Review and Award Cycles | ||||
| New | Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) | AIDS | Scientific Merit Review | Advisory Council Review | Earliest Start Date |
| March 21, 2022 | March 21, 2022 | April 18, 2022 | July 1, 2022 | October 1, 2022 | December 1, 2022 |
| July 21, 2022 | July 21, 2022 | August 18, 2022 | November 1, 2022 | January 1, 2023 | April 1, 2023 |
| November 21, 2022 | November 21, 2022 | December 21, 2022 | March 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | July 1, 2023 |
| February 21, 2023 | February 21, 2023 | April 18, 2023 | July 1, 2023 | October 1, 2023 | December 1, 2023 |
| July 21, 2023 | July 21, 2023 | August 18, 2023 | November 1, 2023 | January 1, 2024 | April 1, 2024 |
| November 21, 2023 | November 21, 2023 | December 21, 2023 | March 1, 2024 | May 1, 2024 | July 1, 2024 |
| February 21, 2024 | February 21, 2024 | April 18, 2024 | July 1, 2024 | October 1, 2024 | December 1, 2024 |
| July 22, 2024 | July 22, 2024 | August 19, 2024 | November 1, 2024 | January 1, 2025 | April 1, 2025 |
| November 21, 2024 | November 21, 2024 | December 20, 2024 | March 1, 2025 | May 1, 2025 | July 1, 2025 |
All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.
Not Applicable
It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide,except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from 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.
There are several options available to submit your application through Grants.gov to NIH and Department of Health and Human Services partners. You must use one of these submission options to access the application forms for this opportunity.
- Use the NIH ASSIST system to prepare, submit and track your application online.
- Use an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution to prepare and submit your application
to Grants.gov and eRA Commons to track your
application. Check with your institutional officials regarding availability.
- Use Grants.gov Workspace to prepare and submit your application and eRA Commons to track your application.
Purpose
Catalyze Product Definition: Development of Devices, Diagnostics and Tools
The NHLBI Catalyze program is designed to provide a suite of comprehensive support and services to facilitate the transition of basic science discoveries into new treatments for diseases and disorders that fall under the NHLBI mission. The Catalyze Program initiatives support product development (supporting product definition studies and pre-clinical research and development) and enabling technologies and transformative platforms. Catalyze is coordinated by the Catalyze Coordinating Center, which provides program administration and evaluation, milestone-driven project management, communications and outreach, as well as development guidance for projects in the Catalyze portfolio. The Catalyze program aims to create cultural and systemic changes to more rapidly move breakthrough innovations to products that will have health, economic, and societal impact. Information on the Catalyze programs can be found on the Catalyze website.
This specific Catalyze Product Definition initiative will provide the early stage translational support needed for the activities required to develop and test device prototypes, identify diagnostic disease targets and develop associated assays, and develop research tools to treat HLBS diseases and disorders. This is a phased initiative for early stage projects. The R61 phase provides support to identify and test initial prototype designs, to identify a disease target and generate experimental design, and to identify, test and pilot research tools. The R33 phase provides support for continued prototype development and testing, in addition to modifying design features and user feedback, diagnostic product generation, exploration of assay components, and characterization of a load design, and research tool improvement, large trial testing and data integration. Following successful completion of the program, it is expected that the potential products will be poised to move forward for in vivo testing (optimization, safety, efficacy) with additional support from NIH and/or other federal and private programs. A companion FOA (RFA-HL-23-014) is available for more advanced projects that have already completed the activities supported by the R61 phase of this initiative, but need support for continued development of their product. For innovators developing small molecule and biologics, Catalyze has companion initiatives that support therapeutic development (RFA-HL-23-011 and RFA-HL-23-012) and an initiatve that supports the development of enabling technologies and transformative platforms for HLBS (RFA-HL-20-010). See website for additional information.
Objectives
- Novelty: This FOA seeks applications that propose to apply new knowledge around novel devices, diagnostics and research tools. Projects should aim to develop potential products that are significant improvements over existing solutions for HLBS diseases and disorders. It is expected that proposed projects will provide evidence of the unmet gaps and needs to support proposed activities.
- Biological rationale and preliminary data: This FOA will fund projects that have a strong biological rationale for the intended approach, which have preliminary data that reflect well-designed experiments (either from the literature, data from other sources, or, when available, from investigator-generated data).
- Relevance for development: Projects that propose to develop novel therapeutic agents that can be advanced towards development of NHLBI mission-relevant therapies and cures and fulfill the clinical gaps and needs are of high programmatic interest..
Phased Award Activities
Examples of R61 and R33 activities for the development of devices, diagnostics and tools are listed below:
For devices, the purpose of the R61 phase is to develop and test initial prototype design and the R33 Phase is to allow further prototype development and testing, in addition to modifying design features and incorporate user feedback.
For devices, activities for the R61 and R33 Phases may include, but are not limited to:
R61 activities for Devices:
- Key component testing (electronics, control and feedback system, sensing element, stent deployment, fluid handling, purification/separation efficiency, etc)
- Perform computational modeling to inform design features of the device or diagnostic
- Achieve first prototype or benchtop unit and assess for anatomical fit and ease of implantation
- In-vitro testing
- Acute in-vivo testing
- Small animal model testing
- Limited biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, histopathology testing
R33 activities for Devices
- Complete system integration
- Packaging optimization
- Engineering optimization to reduce size, weight, cost or improve system performance, reliability, repeatability, power consumption, durability
- Design for manufacturing, transition to contract manufacturer
- Parametric investigation for component or system optimization
- Performance comparison against gold standard, competitive devices
- In-vivo evaluation for reduction in procedure time by a panel of independent surgeons
- Verification and validation testing according to ASTM or other appropriate standards
- In-vivo testing
- Demonstrate safety and reliability in chronic in-vivo testing
- Large animal model testing
- Biocompatibility, hemocompatibility, histopathology testing per accepted standards
- Pre-submission meeting with FDA
For diagnostics, the purpose of the R61 phase is to identify a disease target and generate experimental design, and the R33 Phase is to allow product generation, exploration of assay components and characterization of a load design.
For diagnostics, activities for the R61 and R33 Phases may include, but are not limited to:
R61 activities for Diagnostics:
- Preclinical testing or training with limited human samples
- Treat/analyze spiked samples or plasma
- Development of a working prototype
- Optimize or scale-up synthesis of a novel imaging agent
- Perform in-vitro cytotoxicity and mutagenesis assays for a novel imaging agent
- Incorporate a new assay or multiple assays onto an existing sensing platform
R33 activities for Diagnostics:
- Validation in a large panel of human samples or large clinical datasets
- Improvements in sensitivity, repeatability, precision, accuracy, stability
- Identification of misuse modalities
- Performance comparison against gold standard, international standards or competitive devices
- Pre-submission meeting with FDA
- Assessment of pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of a novel imaging agent in an animal model
- Evaluation of multiplex assay, interfering analytes and miniaturized geometry
For research tools, the purpose of the R61 phase is for the identification, design and pilot testing of research tools and the R33 Phase is to allow product improvement, large trial testing and data integration.
For research tools, activities for the R61 and R33 Phases may include, but are not limited to:
R61 activities for Research Tools:
- Design and evaluate algorithms for HLBS disease detection
- Design and build a smartphone user interface and conduct limited user testing
- Conduction of a pilot study to establish feasibility of larger trial to assess tool effectiveness in changing user behavior
- Conduct focus group testing for initial usability
- For tissue-based high-throughput drug screening tools, assess response to reference compounds
- Initial design of a computer-aided system to import patient electronic health record data and prescribe best regimen of medications
R33 activities for Research Tools:
- Improve smartphone user interface based on large population testing
- Large human trial to assess tool usability/comfort, and effectiveness in changing user behavior vs standard medical guidance
- Wireless data integration with electronic health records
- Extend smartphone app and associated systems to iOS or Android platform
- For tissue-based high-throughput drug screening tools, use AI and large numbers/concentrations of compounds to train the prediction system and evaluate its performance
- Multi-site clinical study of a computer-aided system to compare computer-recommended prescriptions vs standard medical therapy
Applications considered nonresponsive to the FOA will not be reviewed. Examples of activities that are not appropriate for this FOA include, but are not limited to:
- Activities geared toward therapeutic agent development (See companion FOAs RFA-HL-23-011 and RFA-HL-23-012)
- Development of risk, detection, diagnostic, prognostic, predictive, and prevention biomarkers.
- Clinical research and clinical trials
Special Requirements for this FOA
The NHLBI recognizes that early stage product development requires access to unique expertise, including regulatory, reimbursement, business, legal, partner engagement, and project management. The NHLBI will work with awardees to provide guidance and support in these unique areas of expertise, if needed, to enable advancement of devices, diagnostics and tools towards preclinical testing and development.
Project Management
Each project is expected to use project management processes that guide the studies to successful completion of the established milestones. While it may not be possible to have a full-time project manager, each project is expected to identify a team member who will hold this responsibility as a part of their project management plan. The Catalyze Coordinating Center may support the local project management through resources, educational materials, and regular communications. The project manager will support the development of milestones, timelines, and identification of risks and mitigation strategies and will work closely with the Program Officer and with the support of the Catalyze Coordinating Center to update and refine these upon notice of award and as needed through the project.
Milestones
Applicants are expected to propose activities and milestones, with an associated timeline, to be completed during the proposed duration of award. Successful awardees will develop specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound Specific Aims for their project. Each Specific Aim should have at least one milestone associated with it. Milestones are an event or moment in time in a project that indicate progress toward a Specific Aim has been made or a Specific Aim has been completed. The project Specific Aims and milestones should be laid out as a timeline or GANTT chart as a part of the application.
To be responsive to this FOA, applicants must propose two separate groups of clear, quantifiable milestones with timelines (for R61 and R33 phases) to be completed sequentially within a three-year period, but with no more than two years in either stage. Although milestones for the R61 and R33 activities must be submitted at the time of application and will be reviewed simultaneously, funding for the R33 component is contingent on achieving pre-specified milestones during the R61 component. Completion of milestones will ensure sufficient progress during the R61 to provide feasibility and scientific rationale for the goals of the R33 phase. The R61 phase of this program will allow investigators to identify and validate device prototypes, diagnostics and tools and the R33 phase supports progressing the device, diagnostic or tool to a position that enables entry into preclinical programs.
Milestones will be peer reviewed as well as programmatically reviewed and if needed will be negotiated with the awardee before they are included in the terms of the award. NHLBI staff will monitor program progress against proposed milestones through quarterly meetings and make non-competing award decisions annually based on achieving milestones.
R33 Phase Special Requirements
Cost Matching Component
Cost matching is expected for the R33 Phase (Phase II) only. The R33 Phase of this FOA recommends a minimum of a 0.25:1 non-Federal cash match of the Federal direct costs requested for the R33. The awardee will be expected to provide evidence of matching funds to NIH in the form of a letter of support prior to the meeting of the NHLBI committee that will make the decisions regarding whether an awardee will transition from the R61 to the R33 award. Proof of matching funds is not required at the time of application. However, to be considered responsive to this FOA, applicants are expected to provide sufficient information regarding the use of any third-party support to demonstrate a substantial value-added contribution toward the development of the technology. The cash match must be reported annually to the NIH. In-kind contributions are encouraged, but do not apply to the cash matching expectations. Institutions must be able to document their actual contributions to the project and provide assurances that the organization(s) are committed to providing the funds and resources for their share of the project. Federal funds may not be used as a source of matching funds.
Generally, cost matching may not be met from the following sources:
- Costs borne by another Federal grant or sub award
- Costs or contributions toward cost sharing on another Federal grant, a Federal procurement contract, or any other award of Federal funds
- Cost of services or property financed by income earned by contractors under a contract from the recipient (or sub recipient)
- Program income
- Patient incentives
Accelerator Partner(s)
At least one accelerator partner is required for the R33 portion of this award. Developing device prototypes, diagnostics and research tools requires a multidisciplinary approach.The support of an Accelerator Partner is expected to help advance the proposed project to a stage suitable to continue product development in the private sector or apply for support through the NHLBI Catalyze Preclinical or other translational programs. It is expected that applicants will consider how they will identify and foster relationships with potential licensing and commercialization partners early in the product development process once an award is made. Collaborative relationships with ecosystem partners knowledgeable in device, diagnostics and tools development processes, as well as those familiar with what the desired end product should look like (such as clinicians and biostatisticians), results in vested shared interests, and access to complementary development expertise and resources for successful development. The Accelerator Partner should help advance the project to a stage suitable to continue product development in the private sector or apply for support through the NHLBI Catalyze Preclinical or other translational programs.
Evidence of an Accelerator Partner is not required at the time of application, but will be necessary for consideration of transition from the R61 to the R33 phase of the award. The Accelerator Partner should catalyze professional development by providing innovators with skills and mentoring to enable them to assess the medical and commercial potential of their research by bringing together experienced entrepreneurs and scientists and by providing connections between the businesses, industries, sources of private capital, and research performing institutions. Accelerator partners are encouraged to provide access to expertise and mentoring related to: product development stages, business development and commercialization strategy, market analysis, preparation of regulatory submissions, intellectual property protection, and reimbursement strategy. Career development through Accelerator Partners is highly encouraged to achieve the goal of exposing awardees to the myriad processes required to translate discoveries into therapies. It is expected that awardees will search for a Accelerator Partner early in the R61 phase of award.
It is acceptable for an Accelerator partner to provide the matching funds for the R33 stage, but not required.It is anticipated that the Accelerator Partner will support activities required for lead compound identification, by providing innovator skills development and mentoring and providing appropriate development expertise.
Transition to the R33 Phase of Award
The following elements will be considered for transition from R61 to R33: (1) acceptable progress and achievement of milestones as described above, (2) ability to secure third party investment by providing evidence of a non-Federal cash match, and (3) securing an Accelerator Partner. Evidence of having secured the third party investment and the Accelerator Partner is not required at the time of application, but will be needed at the time of R61 milestone review to assess transition to the R33 phase of award.
Applications considered nonresponsive to the FOA will not be reviewed.
Intellectual Property and Regulatory Considerations
Projects at the stage of development supported through this FOA may already or will be developed to the point where IP and regulatory strategies should be under consideration or already developed. If projects are too early, applicants should state such in the application with a brief explanation. For more advanced projects, applicants should address their current understanding of regulatory and IP requirements in their application, even if the plans are not fully complete, for their proposed product. Continued development of IP and regulatory strategies will be required for transition from the R61 phase to the R33 phase of the award. See Section IV, Application and Submission Information, SF424(R&R) Other Project Information for details.
Additional Considerations
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Scientific/Research Staff listed in Section VII to discuss potential research projects prior to submitting an application.
Prior to funding an application, NHLBI Program staff may contact the applicant to discuss the proposed milestones and any changes suggested by the NHLBI review panel or Program staff. A final set of approved milestones will be specified in the Notice of Award.
See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.
Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.
Resubmission
The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this FOA.
Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials.
Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?
NHLBI intends to commit total costs of up to $6,277,500 per year in FY2023, FY2024, and FY2025. These funds are anticipated to fund up to 13 new awards per year in fiscal years 2023 through FY2025 for projects submitted to this FOA and three Companion Funding Opportunity Announcements (RFA-HL-23-011, RFA-HL-23-012, RFA-HL-23-014).
The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
Application budgets must not exceed direct costs of $250,000 per year during the R61 phase and also must not exceed direct costs of $250,000 per year during the R33 phase.
The total budget (Federal award and non-Federal matching contributions) should reflect the actual needs of the overall proposed project. Annual project budgets should reflect the actual costs anticipated in each year.
Cost Matching Funds: For the R33 portion of this award, the recipient is expected to provide at least a 0.25:1 non-Federal match of the Federal direct costs requested.
The maximum project period of the combined R61 and R33 phases is three years, with up to 2 years for the R61 phase and up to 2 years for the R33 phase. The R61 and the R33 cannot be awarded in the same fiscal year. The scope of the proposed project should determine the requested project award period.
NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA.
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)
Local 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)
Federal Government
- Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
- U.S. Territory or Possession
Other
- 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
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
Applicant organizations
Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.
- 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 &ndashndash; Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
- Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)- A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. SAM registrations prior to fall 2021 were updated to include a UEI. For applications due on or after January 25, 2022, the UEI must be provided on the application forms (e.g., FORMS-G); the same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
- Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Organization registrations prior to April 2022 require applicants to obtain a DUNS prior to registering in SAM. By April 2022, the federal government will stop using the DUNS number as an entity identifier and will transition to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued by SAM. Prior to April 2022, 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.
- eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier (DUNS prior to April 2022; UEI after April 2022) is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; 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 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.
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 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 has an expectation of cost matching as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. More information on the cost matching expectation is in Section IV.2 R&R or Modular Budget..
Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.
The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. 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 2.3.9.4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications)
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
It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) 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.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:
- Descriptive title of proposed activity
- Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s)
- Names of other key personnel
- Participating institution(s)
- Number and title of this funding opportunity
The letter of intent should be sent to:
Director, Office of Scientific Review
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Email: [email protected]
All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan will be attached in the Other Plan(s) attachment in FORMS-H and subsequent application forms packages. For due dates on or before January 24, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan GDS) will continue to be attached in the Resource Sharing Plan attachment in FORMS-G application forms packages.
The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
Other Attachments:
IP and Regulatory Strategies (Required)
The filename "IP and Regulatory Strategies.pdf" must be used and attached.
Describe preliminary IP and regulatory plans.
NHLBI recognizes that applications submitted in response to this FOA may detail projects at different stages of development. Applications should include a detailed description of Intellectual property (IP) and regulatory strategies for more advanced projects. If the project is too early for a well-defined strategy, the applicant should indicate so and provide a brief description of the current stage and potential IP and regulatory strategies. For more advanced projects, applicants should address their current understanding of regulatory and IP requirements for the proposed product, even if the plans are not fully complete.
For IP, describe any known constraints that could impede product development (e.g., certain restrictions under transfer or sharing agreements, applicants' previous or present IP filings and publications, similar products that are under patent protection and/or on the market, etc.) and how these issues could be addressed with achieving the goals of this program. If any third-party IP is required, identify whether there are any limitations on its use and include a letter from the third-party appended as part of this attachment. If patents pertinent to the therapy being developed under this application have been filed, indicate the details of filing dates, what type of patents are filed, application status, and associated USPTO links, if applicable. Describe plans for working closely with institutional technology transfer officials to ensure that royalty agreements, patent filings, and all other necessary IP arrangements are completed in a timely manner and that commercialization plans are developed and updated over the course of the project. Applicants are strongly encouraged to prepare the IP section of this application in consultation with their institution's technology transfer officials.
For the regulatory path, describe the steps that will be taken to refine and align the proposed project with regulatory requirements either during the currently requested award period or in the future. If a device or diagnostic is being developed, describe the data that will be collected during the project period to support a pre-submission meeting, a 510(k) filing, or an Investigational Device Exemption filing. If the development team has already interacted with their local IRB or FDA regarding regulatory oversight of their proposed product, provide evidence of prior communications (letters/emails) appended as part of this attachment. If there is hypertext in communication with FDA (e.g., hyperlinks and URLs), these should either be removed or disabled by the applicants before submission in accorndace with NIH policy on the use of hypertext (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-174.html).
IP and regulatory strategies are required and will be criteria considered by the NHLBI review panel for the transition from the R61 to the R33 Phase of the award.
Applicants are also strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate NIH Scientific/Research contact listed in Section VII for questions regarding application expectations for IP and regulatory prior to submission.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
R&R Budget
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
Applicants should include budget support for the PD/PI to participate in a 1.5-day NHLBI-held innovation meeting or workshop once each budget year in the Washington, DC/Metropolitan area.
Applicants should budget for an appropriate amount of project management support.
The amount, type, and source of funding/contributions from sources other than NIH must be presented in detail in the budget justification. Third Party support of the proposed research activity (if approved) will be incorporated as a Term and Condition of Award. If the Third Party support ceases and the program is no longer tenable without the Third Party support, a close-out plan may be requested.
Budget Justification: A total project budget justification (i.e., the requested budget plus the cost-matching budget) must be provided and must document the cost-matching (non-Federal) component and the Federal (non-cost matching) component. Although the budget submitted at the time of application should document use of non-Federal funds, the evidence of matching funds will not be required until the NIH awardee submits the materials required by the NHLBI committee that will evaluate progress and determine whether the awardee has successfully met milestones and additional R33 entry requirements (cash match and accelerator partner) for successful transition from the R61 to the R33 award. Any costs and contributions used to provide cost matching must be documented by the recipient prior to release of the R33 award, and are subject to audit.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.
Other Plan(s):
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Management and Sharing Plan will be attached in the Other Plan(s) attachment in FORMS-H and subsequent application forms packages. For due dates on or before January 24, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan GDS) will continue to be attached in the Resource Sharing Plan attachment in FORMS-G application forms packages.
All applicants planning research (funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH) that results in the generation of scientific data are required to comply with the instructions for the Data Management and Sharing Plan. All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, must address a Data Management and Sharing Plan.
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:
Specific Aims: Within the Specific Aims section, include headers titled R61 Phase Specific Aims and R33 Phase Specific Aims. Under each header, state the specific objectives of the efforts, including the activities to be conducted to meet the goals of each phase to advance development of the proposed product.
Research Strategy: Describe both the R61 phase and the R33 phases of the proposed project. Include a background section that clearly outlines the biological rationale for the application, including: (1) a description of the relationship between the proposed device, diagnostic, or tool and the disease of interest, (2) evidence for unmet medical need in the disease area, (3) a brief description of any pertinent history for this type of product development in the disease area, (4) evidence supporting the novelty of the design of the proposed approach, and (5) a summary of the project status, including information regarding potential products to be tested in the current application. Provide a carefully developed rationale for the experimental design and a description of how data obtained in the R33 phase will support future product development efforts.
Accelerator Partner
Include a description of how the expertise of a potential Accelerator Partner might fill anticipated gaps in development as related to the project goals.
Milestones
Define milestones for both the R61 and the R33 phases of the grant. Milestones must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.. Transition from the R61 to the R33 phase is contingent upon the successful completion of the proposed R61 milestones. Describe the milestones that need to be reached in the R33 phase to address the specific aims and ensure the successful completion of the entire project.
Timeline
Provide a timeline with specific milestones for progression from the R61 phase to the R33 phase. The timeline, specific goals and feasibility milestones should be clear and complete. Indicate when it is anticipated that essential components of the project will be completed. The proposed timeline with specific milestones should be clearly delineated and should appear as the last element of the Research Strategy section.
Project Management
Describe plans for utilizing project management processes to enable continuous assessment of the progress of the project relative to the established milestones and how the progress assessments will be used to make strategic decisions regarding the proposed project. While it may not be possible to have a full-time project manager, each project is expected to identify a team member who will hold this responsibility as a part of their project management plan. The Catalyze Coordinating Center may support the project management through resources, educational materials, and regular communications. Describe plans for how the selected project management process(es) will support product development studies of the device, diagnostics and/or tools.
Rigor and Reproducitility
High-quality and reproducible product definition studies are an essential cornerstone of the translational research enterprise. Attention to principles of study design and transparency is essential to enable stakeholders to assess the quality of the experimental design and scientific findings. In support of this important goal, investigators must follow instructions to address Rigor and Reproducibility (https://grants.nih.gov/policy/reproducibility/index.htm).
Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
- All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, should address a Data Sharing Plan.
When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:
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.
Delayed Onset Study
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.
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
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.
All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.
Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.
For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit 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 fieldof the Senior/Key Person Profile form. 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 unique entity identifier (DUNS number or UEI as required) provided 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 NHLBI. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.
Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy. Any instructions provided here are in addition to the instructions in the policy.
1. Criteria
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS) as part of the Resource Sharing Plan will not be evaluated at time of review.
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.
Overall Impact
Reviewers will provide an overall impact 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).
Scored Review Criteria
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? 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?
Specific to this FOA:
How well does the application describe how the project will provide significant improvement over the existing device, diagnostics and/or tools? How will the project, if successful, bring the investigators closer to products that will be a significant improvement over existing products to treat HLBS disorders?
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?
Specific to this FOA:
Are the investigators knowledgeable and experienced about the prototype development for devices and diagnostics and tools development? To what extent does the researcher have experience with target identification and validation, and lead selection, or include collaborators with the appropriate expertise to support the proposed experimental design and implementation activities and overall project?
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?
Specific to this FOA:
To what extent is the project novel and relevant for device, diagnostic or tool development?
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?
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?
Specific to this FOA:
Project Management
To what extent is the described project management structure likely to be efficient and effective in keeping the proposed activities on schedule according to the proposed timeline?
Milestones and Timelines
Are the listed milestones for each phase appropriate for achieving the goals of the project? To what extent are the milestones specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound? How well-suited are the specified milestones for promoting the investigator to be successful in completing the proposed award activities? To what extent are the proposed timelines for achieving the milestones realistic, achievable and non-duplicative?
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?
Additional Review Criteria
As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.
Protections for Human Subjects
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
For Resubmissions, the committee will evaluate the application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the project.
Renewals
Not Applicable
Revisions
Not Appllicable
Note: Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023, the Data Sharing Plan and Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS) as part of the Resource Sharing Plan will not be evaluated at time of review.
As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.
Intellectual Property and Regulatory Strategy
If the project is far enough along to have submitted IP and regulatory strategies? Are the IP and regulatory strategies appropriate for the stage of development?
For IP, did applicants describe any known constraints that could impede product development and solutions to address these issues? If any third-party IP is required, did applicant describe whether there are any limitations that exist on its use?
If stage appropriate for the project, have the applicants included mention of regulatory considerations for gaining market access of their technology? Do they understand which (if any) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center and Review Division will review their technology? Have they proposed a market access pathway (non-510(k), 510(k), de novo, or PMA for therapeutic/diagnostic devices)? If they have mentioned any of the above, what is the basis of their application personal experience, discussion with a consultant, interaction with FDA?
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 a special emphasis panel convened by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures using the stated review criteria.
As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.
Applications 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.
Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this FOA.
- 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.
3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons. Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.
Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
1. Award Notices
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 recipient's business official.
Recipients 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.
Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the recipient must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
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, Recipients, and Activities, including of note, but not limited to:
- Federalwide Research Terms and Conditions
- Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment
- Acknowledgment of Federal Funding
If a recipient is successful and receives a Notice of Award, in accepting the award, the recipient agrees that any activities under the award are subject to all provisions currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions.
Should the applicant organization successfully compete for an award, recipients of federal financial assistance (FFA) from HHS must administer their programs in compliance with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age and, in some circumstances, religion, conscience, and sex (including gender identify, sexual orientation, and pregnancy). This includes ensuring programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency and persons with disabilities. The HHS Office for Civil Rights provides guidance on complying with civil rights laws enforced by HHS. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/provider-obligations/index.html and https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/nondiscrimination/index.html
HHS recognizes that research projects are often limited in scope for many reasons that are nondiscriminatory, such as the principal investigator’s scientific interest, funding limitations, recruitment requirements, and other considerations. Thus, criteria in research protocols that target or exclude certain populations are warranted where nondiscriminatory justifications establish that such criteria are appropriate with respect to the health or safety of the subjects, the scientific study design, or the purpose of the research. For additional guidance regarding how the provisions apply to NIH grant programs, please contact the Scientific/Research Contact that is identified in Section VII under Agency Contacts of this FOA.
- Recipients of FFA must ensure that their programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency. For guidance on meeting the legal obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to programs or activities by limited English proficient individuals see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/special-topics/limited-english-proficiency/fact-sheet-guidance/index.htmlandhttps://www.lep.gov.
- For information on an institution’s specific legal obligations for serving qualified individuals with disabilities, including reasonable accommodations and making services accessible to them, see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/disability/index.html.
- HHS funded health and education programs must be administered in an environment free of sexual harassment, see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/sex-discrimination/index.html. For information about NIH's commitment to supporting a safe and respectful work environment, who to contact with questions or concerns, and what NIH's expectations are for institutions and the individuals supported on NIH-funded awards, please see https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/harassment.htm.
- For guidance on administering programs in compliance with applicable federal conscience protection and associated anti-discrimination laws see https://www.hhs.gov/conscience/conscience-protections/index.html and https://www.hhs.gov/conscience/religious-freedom/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.
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 75.205and 2 CFR Part 200.206 Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants. This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.
Not Applicable
Data Management and Sharing
Note: The NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing is effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2023.
Consistent with the NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing, when data management and sharing is applicable to the award, recipients will be required to adhere to the Data Management and Sharing requirements as outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Upon the approval of a Data Management and Sharing Plan, it is required for recipients to implement the plan as described.
3. Reporting
When multiple years are involved, recipients will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
A final RPPR, 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. NIH FOAs outline intended research goals and objectives. Post award, NIH will review and measure performance based on the details and outcomes that are shared within the RPPR, as described at 45 CFR Part 75.301 and 2 CFR Part 200.301.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for recipients of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All recipients 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.
We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.
eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues)
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: 301-480-7075
Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and Workspace)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Email: [email protected]
General Questions
Mike Pieck, Ph.D.
Telephone: 301-827-7986
Email: [email protected]
Product Definition - Device, Diagnostics and Tools
Albert Lee, Ph.D.
Telephone: 301-435-0567
Email: [email protected]
Director, Office of Scientific Review
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-435-0270
Email: [email protected]
Ron Caulder
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-827-8020
Email: [email protected]
Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 75.
and Human Services (HHS)
