Notice of NEI Administrative Supplements to Enhance Diagnostic Genotyping for Ophthalmic Disease

Notice Number: NOT-EY-05-002

Key Dates
Release Date: December 23, 2004

Issued by
National Eye Institute (NEI), (http://www.nei.nih.gov/)

The NEI is announcing the availability of administrative supplements to ongoing NEI-funded research projects to expand and enhance molecular diagnostic testing for ophthalmic diseases. This announcement provides information regarding application procedures, submission deadlines, and review criteria.

This administrative supplement program is issued in response to a recommendation from the National Advisory Eye Council (NAEC) for the establishment of a National Ophthalmic Disease Genotyping Network. A wide range of phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity exists for many inherited eye diseases. Therefore, it is critical to establish correlations between clinical phenotypes and their underlying genotypes in order to provide a proper diagnosis and develop therapies that need to be tested against specific genotypes. The ultimate goal of the National Ophthalmic Disease Genotyping Network is to develop genotype/phenotype resources that are publicly available to individuals suffering from various ocular genetic diseases, and to clinician scientists studying these diseases. The Network will include an anonymized Genotype/Phenotype public database which will provide the vision research community with extremely valuable resources for the development of novel therapeutic strategies and agents to treat eye diseases.

The purpose of these administrative supplements is to assist researchers who have an ongoing NEI-supported project and who have access to or are part of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment of 1988 (CLIA)-approved facility to build the capability for molecular genetic testing for ocular diseases. It is expected that the supplement will be used to develop and validate new genotyping tests or to refine existing genotyping tests for clinical validations.

Eligibility

The NEI will consider supplement requests from researchers who have an ongoing NEI-supported project to study disease phenotypes, mechanisms, or the natural history of disease progression. To be eligible, investigators must have access to or be part of project-relevant CLIA-approved laboratories during the time of the supplement period. The project period of the grant to be supplemented must have at least two years remaining at the time of award.

Goals

Goals may include, but are not limited to, the following:

This initiative is responsive to the NIH Grants Policy Statement requiring investigators to provide prompt and effective access to unique research resources generated by NIH funds (https://grants.nih.gov/archive/grants/policy/nihgps_2001/part_iia_6.htm#_Toc504811860).

Budget Information

The budget will be limited to a maximum of $200,000 in direct costs per year. Applicant may request up to three years of support. The NEI will commit up to $ 2,000,000 per year to fund applications for supplements submitted in response to this NOTICE.

How to Apply

This is a one-time announcement with a single receipt date of March 11, 2005. A request for an administrative supplement under this program should include a cover letter requesting the administrative supplement and identifying this program. The application should be developed using the PHS Form 398 (rev 09/04) Face Page, Budget Form Pages 4 and 5, Biosketch of the Principal Investigator, and Resources Form Page 8. The Research Plan should address the following points and should not exceed five pages:

Applicants should submit one original copy of the complete application to Dr. Hemin R. Chin at the address listed below under Inquiries. Do not send any copies to the Center for Scientific Review.

Review Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by a committee composed of NIH staff. Awards will be determined on the basis of scientific merit, programmatic relevance, and the availability of funds. The expected award date is May 1, 2005.

Inquiries

Direct inquiries regarding scientific issues to:

Dr. Hemin R. Chin
Director, Ocular Genetics Program
Division of Extramural Research
National Eye Institute
5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 1300, MSC 9300
Bethesda, MD 20892-9300
Rockville, MD 20852 (Express Mail)
Tel: (301) 451-2020
Fax: (301) 402-0528
Email: hemin@nei.nih.gov

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal and business administration matters to:

Mr. William W. Darby
Grants Management Branch
Division of Extramural Research
National Eye Institute
5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 1300, MSC 9300
Bethesda, MD 20892-9300
Rockville, MD 20852 (Express Mail )
Tel: (301) 451-2020
FAX: (301) 496-9997
Email: wwd@nei.nih.gov


Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices


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