NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL FELLOWS Release Date: July 25, 2000 PA NUMBER: PA-00-125 National Institute of Mental Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke PURPOSE This is a revision and expansion of program announcement PA-99-017 that was published in the NIH Guide on November 19, 1998 and will be active for 3 years from the release date noted above. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) to individuals for doctoral-level training. These Institutes award NRSA individual predoctoral fellowships (F31) to promising applicants with the potential to become productive, independent investigators in the scientific mission areas of these Institutes. This program will provide predoctoral training support for doctoral candidates that have successfully completed their comprehensive examinations or the equivalent by the time of award and will be performing dissertation research and training. Each Institute has a unique scientific purview and different program goals and initiatives, therefore, all potential applicants should consult the appropriate Institute website and contact the appropriate Institute office, both listed under INQUIRIES, prior to preparing an application to obtain current information about each Institute"s program priorities and policies with regard to fellowships. This action is of utmost importance since applications with marginal or no relevance to NIAAA, NIDCD, NIDA, NIMH, or NINDS programs will not be accepted for review or funding by the participating Institutes. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a PHS- led national activity for setting priority areas. This Program Announcement (PA), National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellows, is related to numerous priority areas in this initiative. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS It is important that prospective applicants consult "National Research Service Awards Guidelines," published in the NIH GUIDE, Volume 26, Number 21, June 20, 1997. It can be found at the following URL: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not97-134.html. Citizenship: Applicants must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence and have in their possession an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551) at the time of award. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible for support from the NRSA. Degree Requirements: Applicants must have received, as of the activation date of the award, a baccalaureate degree and must be enrolled in a program leading to a research doctorate such as the Ph.D. or D.Sc., or a combined clinical and research degree such as M.D./Ph.D. These awards support research training applied toward preparation of a dissertation and do not support study leading to the M.D., D.O., D.D.S., Psy.D., or similar professional degrees unless they are part of a combined degree program (for the latter see: Individual Predoctoral National Research Award for M.D./Ph.D. Fellowships - PAR-96-003, which may be obtained from: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-99-089.html). Sponsorship: The institutional setting may be a domestic or foreign (if clearly justified), private (profit or non-profit) or public institution, including the NIH intramural programs and other Federal laboratories. The sponsoring institution must have staff and facilities available on site to provide a suitable environment for performing high-quality work. An NRSA may not be held concurrently with another federally sponsored fellowship or similar Federal award (such as a Dissertation Research Grant) that provides a stipend or otherwise duplicates provisions of the NRSA. An individual may not have more than one competing NRSA application pending with PHS concurrently. An NRSA recipient may, however, accept concurrent educational remuneration from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and loans from Federal funds. Receipt of non-Federal funds during the Fellowship is also allowable if it is in accordance with the sponsoring institution"s policy and does not detract from or prolong the approved research training program. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT The mechanism of support is the NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31) which is intended to provide biomedical or behavioral research training experiences to individuals committed to pursuing a career in biomedical and behavioral research within the scientific missions of the participating Institutes. Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Period of Support By law, an individual may receive no more than five years of support in the aggregate at the predoctoral level under the NRSA program, including any combination of support from individual fellowship and institutional training grant awards. The applicant and the institution must observe this limitation of support when requesting the duration of the fellowship. Accurate information regarding previous NRSA support must be included in the application and will be considered at time of award. Requests for support and recommendations of review committees are generally for two or three years of support for individual fellows conducting dissertation stage research and training. Allowable Costs Stipends: The annual stipend for predoctoral individuals will remain fixed for the period of support, unless the stipend level is changed in the NIH annual appropriation. Applicants may obtain information about current stipend levels and other policy guidelines for the NRSA program from the URL: http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm or should consult with Institute staff listed below. The Tax Reform Act of 1986, Public Law 99-514, describes the tax liability of all persons supported under the NRSA program. The stipend is not a payment for services performed, i.e., it is not a salary. Further, NRSA fellows are not considered to be in an employer-employee relationship with the NIH or the sponsoring institution, and it is not allowable for institutions to seek funds for, or to charge individual award recipients for, costs normally considered employee benefits. The stipend may be supplemented by the sponsoring institution without obligation to the trainee fellow. PHS grant funds may not be used for this purpose. An institution may also provide additional funds to a fellow in the form of compensation (as salary and/or tuition remission) for services such as teaching or serving as a laboratory assistant on a limited part-time basis apart from the normal training activities. Under no circumstances may the conditions of stipend supplementation or the services provided for compensation interfere with, detract from, or prolong the fellow"s training, nor be for the same research program. Institutional Allowance: An allowance of up to $2,500 per predoctoral fellow per twelve month period will be provided to the sponsoring institution to help defray such expenses as research supplies, equipment, travel to scientific meetings, and related items for the individual fellow, and to otherwise offset, to the extent possible, appropriate administrative costs of graduate research training. The allowance is provided only upon official activation of the award, and the sponsoring institution is expected to administer the allowance and disburse the funds. In the event of an early termination, the stipend will be prorated according to the amount of time spent in training and the Notice of Research Fellowship Award will be revised. The balance of any institutional allowance (at least 1/2) must be refunded if the training has been for six months or less. Tuition and Fees: Tuition and fees will be funded in accordance with the NIH Notice: OD-00-008 National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipend Increase and Other Budgetary Changes Effective for Fiscal Year 2000, that was published in the NIH Guide on December 23, 1999 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-008.html). NIH will reimburse 100 percent of the cost of tuition up to $3,000 and 60 percent of tuition costs above $3,000 for the predoctoral fellow. Tuition, for the purposes of this NRSA policy, means the combined cost of tuition, fees, and health insurance. Health Insurance: Beginning with NRSA awards made from FY 2000 funds, family health insurance is an allowable cost for fellows who have families and are eligible for family health insurance coverage at the awardee or sponsoring institution only if such family health insurance is required of all persons in a similar training status regardless of the source of support. Self-only health insurance is an allowable cost for fellows without families only if such self-only health insurance is required of all persons in a similar training status regardless of the source of support. Health insurance for predoctoral fellows who are eligible for this coverage is included in the calculation of the combined cost of tuition, fees, and health insurance. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES This program will provide predoctoral training support for doctoral candidates that have successfully completed their comprehensive examinations or the equivalent by the time of award and will be performing dissertation research and training. The applicant should provide evidence of potential for a productive research career based upon the quality of previous research training and academic record. The applicant must propose a dissertation research and training program which falls into a research area within the scientific mission of the NIAAA, NIDCD, NIDA, NIMH, or NINDS. The research training experience must enhance the applicant’s conceptualization of research problems and research skills, under the guidance and supervision of a committed mentor who is an active and established investigator in the area of the applicant"s proposed research. The research training program should be carried out in a research environment that includes appropriate human and technical resources and is demonstrably committed to the research training of the applicant in the program he/she proposes in the application. The application must include evidence that instruction in the principles of responsible conduct of research will be incorporated into the proposed research training plan. Applications without plans for training in responsible conduct of research will be considered incomplete and may be returned without review. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Awards must be activated within six months of receipt of the award notice (see below for application receipt, review, and start dates). No funds may be disbursed until the individual has started training as a doctoral candidate and an Activation Notice (PHS 416-5) has been submitted to and accepted by the NIH awarding component. Individuals are required to pursue their research training on a full-time basis, devoting at least 40 hours per week to the training program. 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 policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43). All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," which was published in the Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (FR 59 14508-14513) and in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 23, No. 11, March 18, 1994, available on the web at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not94-100.html. INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) must be included in all human subjects research, conducted or supported by the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them. This policy applies to all initial (Type 1) applications submitted for receipt dates after October 1, 1998. All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Children as Participants in Research Involving Human Subjects" that was published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, March 6, 1998, and is available at the following URL address: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html. 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. URLs IN NIH GRANT APPLICATIONS OR APPENDICES All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within specified page limitations. Unless otherwise specified in an NIH solicitation, internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide information necessary to the review because reviewers are under no obligation to view the Internet sites. Reviewers are cautioned that their anonymity may be compromised when they directly access an Internet site. APPLICATION PROCEDURES SCHEDULE (NOTE: THE EARLIER START DATE MONTHS IN THE RANGE ACCOMMODATE THE NIDCD’s PLANNED EXPEDITED REVIEW/AWARD SCHEDULE) Application Receipt Dates: Apr 5 Aug 5 Dec 5 Initial Review Dates: Jun/Jul Oct/Nov Feb/Mar Earliest Start Dates: Aug-Dec Dec-March April-June Applications received after these receipt dates are subject to assignment to the next cycle or may be returned to the applicant. Prospective applicants should contact the relevant Institute Program Staff listed under INQUIRIES, for information regarding the application process. The Individual National Research Service Award application kit PHS 416-1 (rev. 12/98) must be used in applying for fellowships. These forms are available on the WWW at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm and at most institutional offices of sponsored research. They may also be obtained from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892- 7910, Telephone: (301) 710-0267, FAX: (301) 480-0525, Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov. The number and title of this program announcement must be typed in Item 3 on the face page of the application form. At least three completed letters of reference in sealed envelopes must be attached to the application. Applications without the required number of reference letters will be returned without review. An original and two copies of the completed and signed application are to be submitted to: CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040 - MSC 7710 BETHESDA, MD 20892-7710 BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service) Applicants submitting applications that are within the scientific purview of the NIDCD should send, at the time of submission, one of these copies to: Chief, Scientific Review Branch Division of Extramural Research National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 6120 Executive Boulevard, Room 400-C - MSC-7180 Bethesda, MD 20892-7180 Telephone: (301) 496-8683 ATTN: NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Applications will be assigned to the appropriate Institute on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines. Applications that are complete and responsive to the purpose of this program will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit as well as for training potential by an appropriate peer review group convened in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures. As part of the merit review, all applications will receive a written critique and will be assigned a priority score. Staff within the assigned funding Institute will provide a second level of review. Review Criteria The F31 individual predoctoral fellowship is designed to train future generations of outstanding scientists committed to pursuing research careers relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes. The review of an application will focus on the following: the applicant, the research training plan, the sponsor, and the institutional environment/commitment. Information from the letters of reference will be used by the review committee in their consideration of these factors, and the final priority score will reflect the overall evaluation of the entire application. Applicant: o the applicant"s potential for, and commitment to, a productive scientific career. The reviewers may take into account the applicant"s history as a student, as well as past and current involvement in research activities. Research Training Plan: o objectives, design, and direction of the proposed research program, o soundness and feasibility of the experimental approach and methodology proposed to carry out the research, o specificity and clarity of the description of the research skills and knowledge to be acquired, o overall coherence and potential of the research training plan to provide the fellow with individualized supervised experiences that will develop research skills, o clarity, completeness, originality, and significance of the goals of the proposed research training plan, o adequacy of knowledge and presentation of relevant literature and current methods in the proposed research area, o potential of proposed research training to serve as a sound foundation that will lead the applicant to a productive research career in scientific areas related to alcohol abuse and alcoholism, deafness and other communication disorders, drug abuse and addiction, mental health, or neurological disorders and stroke research, o adequacy of plans for the protection of human subjects, animals, or the environment, to the extent they may be adversely affected by the research proposed, o adequacy of plans to include women, children and minorities as subjects in research, if applicable, o adequacy of plans to provide training in the responsible scientific conduct of research. Sponsor: o caliber of the sponsor as a researcher, including successful competition for research support, o evidence of the proposed sponsor"s understanding of and commitment to fulfilling the role of sponsor and mentor, o evidence of an understanding of the applicant"s research training needs and a demonstrated ability, on the part of the sponsor, to assist in meeting those needs, o past research training record of the sponsor in terms of the rate at which former predoctoral trainees obtain their doctoral degree and go on to postdoctoral or other scientific careers. Institutional Environment/Commitment: o training environment, including the institutional commitment to research training and career development, the quality of the facilities and related resources (e.g., equipment, laboratory space, computer time, subject populations) and the availability of research support. AWARD CRITERIA The responsibility for award decisions resides solely with authorized program staff of the Institutes. The following criteria will be used in making award decisions: (1) overall merit of the application, (2) relevance of the application to the research priorities and mission of the awarding institute and programs, and (3) availability of funds. INQUIRIES Inquiries are strongly encouraged. Prospective applicants should visit each Institute"s website in order to obtain current information about the scientific missions, program priorities, research topics of interest, and policy guidelines: NIAAA: http://silk.nih.gov/silk/niaaa1/grants/grants.htm NIDCD: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/funding/ NIDA: http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResTrainingSites.html NIMH: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/training.cfm NINDS: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/research_training.htm Direct inquiries regarding specific programmatic issues to the appropriate institute representative listed bellow: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM Tina Vanderveen, Ph.D. Deputy Director, Division of Basic Research National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 6000 Executive Boulevard, Room 402, MSC 7003 Bethesda, MD 20892-7003 Telephone: (301) 443-2531 FAX: (301) 594-0673 Email: tvanderv@willco.niaaa.nih.gov Vivian B. Faden, Ph.D. Division of Biometry and Epidemiology National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 6000 Executive Boulevard, Room 514, MSC 7003 Bethesda, MD 20892-7003 Telephone: (301) 594-6232 FAX: (301) 443-8614 Email: vfaden@willco.niaaa.nih.gov Wendy Smith, Ph.D. Division of Clinical and Prevention Research National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 6000 Executive Boulevard, Room 505, MSC 7003 Bethesda, MD 20892-7003 Telephone: (301) 443-8771 FAX: (301) 443-8774 Email: wsmith@willco.niaaa.nih.gov Benedict Latteri Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Building 31, Room 1B58, MSC 2088 Bethesda, MD 20892-2088 Telephone: (301) 402-1227 FAX: (301) 402-0016 Email: dick@dicbr.niaaa.nih.gov NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS Daniel A. Sklare, Ph.D. Division of Extramural Research National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 6120 Executive Blvd., Room 400C, MSC-7180 Bethesda, MD 20892-7180 Telephone: (301) 496-1804 FAX: (301) 402-6251 Email: daniel_sklare@nih.gov NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE Cindy Miner, Ph.D. Research Training Coordinator National Institute on Drug Abuse 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5230, MSC 9591 Bethesda, MD 20892-9591 Telephone: (301) 443-6071 FAX: (301) 443-6277 Email: cminer@nida.nih.gov NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH Mary F. Curvey Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7211, MSC 9647 Bethesda, MD 20892-9647 Telephone: (301) 443-3107 FAX: (301) 443-1731 Email: mcurvey@mail.nih.gov Walter L. Goldschmidts, Ph.D. Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7200, MSC 9645 Bethesda, MD 20892-9645 Telephone: (301) 443-3563 FAX: (301) 443-1731 Email: wgoldsch@mail.nih.gov Della Hann, Ph.D. Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6219, MSC 9621 Bethesda, MD 20892-9621 Telephone: (301) 443-9700 FAX: (301) 443-6000 Email: dhann@mail.nih.gov Fred Altman, Ph.D. Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6220, MSC 9621 Bethesda, MD 20892-9621 Telephone: (301) 443-9700 FAX: (301) 443-6000 Email: faltman@mail.nih.gov Enid Light, Ph.D. Division of Services and Intervention Research National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7160, MSC 9635 Bethesda, MD 20892-9635 Telephone: (301) 443-3599 FAX: (301) 594-6784 Email: elight@mail.nih.gov NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE Henry Khachaturian, Ph.D. Division of Extramural Research National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 6001 Executive Blvd., Room 2154 Bethesda, MD 20892-9531 Telephone: (301) 496-4188 FAX: (301) 402-4370 Email: hk11b@nih.gov Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Linda Hilley Grants Management Branch National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 6000 Executive Boulevard, Room 504, MSC 7003 Bethesda, MD 20892-7003 Telephone: (301) 443-4704 FAX: (301) 443-3891 Email: lhilley@willco.niaaa.nih.gov Sharon Hunt Grants Management Branch Division of Extramural Research National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Executive Plaza South, Room 400C 6120 Executive Blvd., MSC-7180 Bethesda, MD 20892-7180 (for regular mail) Rockville, MD 20852 (for express/courier mail) Telephone: (301) 402-0909 FAX: (301) 402-1758 Email: sh79f@nih.gov Gary Fleming Grants Management Branch National Institute on Drug Abuse 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 3131, MSC 9541 Bethesda, MD 20892-9541 Telephone: (301) 443-6710 FAX: (301) 594-6849 Email: gfleming@nida.nig.gov Diana S. Trunnell Grants Management Branch National Institute of Mental Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6115, MSC 9605 Bethesda, MD 20892-9605 Telephone: (301) 443-2805 FAX: (301) 443-6885 Email: dtrunnel@mail.nih.gov Maurice Johnson Grants Management Branch National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 6001 Executive Blvd., Room 3290 Bethesda, MD 20892-9537 Telephone: (301) 496-9231 FAX: (301) 402-0219 Email: mj34@nih.gov AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Nos. 93.173 (NIAAA), 93.272 (NIDCD), 93.278 (NIDA), 93.282 (NIMH), and 93.853 (NINDS). Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 66 and 45 CFR Part 74. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke- free workplace and promote the nonuse of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early childhood development services are provided to children. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.


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