NIDCD DUAL-DEGREE INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS FOR TRAINING PHYSICIAN-SCIENTISTS Release Date: July 31, 2001 PA NUMBER: PA-01-122 (This PA has been replaced, see PA-05-151) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (http://www.nidcd.nih.gov) PURPOSE The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) invites applications for Individual Predoctoral National Research Service Award Fellowships (F30) to train physician-scientists on a dual MD/PhD track to conduct biomedical and behavioral research on human communication. There is a critical need for physician-scientists who can apply both their medical and research training to investigate problems of disease in humans. This initiative is designed to increase the number of physician-scientists trained to conduct basic and clinical research in the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, and language. 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 is related to one or more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Citizenship: By the time of award, individuals must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, or must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or other legal verification of such status). Non-citizen nationals are generally persons born in outlying possessions of the United States (i.e., American Samoa and Swains Island). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. Degree Requirements: The applicant must have a baccalaureate degree and show evidence of both high academic performance in the sciences and significant interest in research within the scientific mission areas of the NIDCD. The applicant must be enrolled in an MD program at an accredited medical school, accepted in a science PhD program and supervised by a mentor in that scientific discipline at the time the application is submitted. The typical applicant will apply during the first two years of medical school, however, applications may be submitted at any stage of medical school. Sponsor: Before submitting a fellowship application, the applicant must identify a sponsoring institution and an individual who will serve as a sponsor (also called mentor or supervisor) and will supervise the training and research experience. The applicant"s sponsor should be an active investigator in the area of the proposed research who will directly supervise the candidate"s research. Furthermore, the sponsor must hold research grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The sponsor must document the availability of staff, research support, and facilities for high-quality research training. The sponsoring institution must be a domestic private (profit or nonprofit) or public academic institution. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT Awards made under this program announcement will use the Individual Predoctoral NRSA for MD/PhD Fellowship (F30) mechanism to provide combined medical school and predoctoral PhD support for a maximum of six years, no other predoctoral NRSA support may be received during this time. Any exception to these limitations requires a waiver from the NIDCD, based on a review of the justification provided by the individual awardee and his or her sponsor. Continued support beyond the first year is dependent upon satisfactory progress toward the combined degree. Annual reports are to be provided by the fellow, the PhD department and sponsor, and the medical school. Although NRSAs are not usually awarded for training leading to a health professional degree, or for training that is part of a clinical residency, this program is specifically designed to support training in a combined MD/PhD program. NIDCD intends to award up to three fellowships per year under this initiative. 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 should consult with Institute staff, noted at the end of this announcement, for the latest stipend level. Alternatively, applicants may obtain information about current stipend levels and other policies from the "NIH Research Training Opportunities website: http://www.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm Tuition, Fees and Health Insurance: The NIDCD will offset the combined cost of tuition, fees and health insurance (self only or family, as appropriate) at the following rate: 100 percent of all costs up to $3,000, plus 60 percent of costs above $3,000. A full description of the tuition policy is contained under NRSA Policy Guidelines on the NIH website at: http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm Institutional Allowance: An allowance of up to $2,500 per twelve month period may be requested by the sponsoring institution to help defray such expenses as research supplies, equipment, travel to scientific meetings, and related items for the fellow. 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. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Background Recent reports issued by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) (Zemlo et al., 2000) and by other groups underscore the critical shortage of physician-scientists in the United States, despite the current era of expansion of biomedical research. Declining numbers of matriculating and graduating medical students elect to pursue a career in research. Moreover, while the number of Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) applications submitted to and awarded by the NIH has dramatically increased between 1978 and 1998, there is no net growth in the number of first-time MD applicants for NIH research project grants (RPGs) over the same period. In contrast, the number of first-time MD/PhD applicants for RPGs, albeit very small, has steadily increased over this period. In a study of its dual-degree Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTPs), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the NIH found that while MD/PhDs constitute only 2.5% of the medical student graduates each year, they hold about one-third of the NIH grants going to physician-scientists (NIGMS, 1998). Clearly MSTP graduates and other MD/PhDs represent a small subgroup of physicians who, as a group, are committed to establishing an independent research program and receive training, encouragement and mentorship toward that goal. The FASEB Report underscores that additional measures are needed to identify and train students who become inspired to pursue careers in biomedical research during the course of their medical education. In December 1999, the NIDCD convened a working group to discuss research training and career development needs relevant to its scientific mission. The report of the Work Group on Research Training and Career Development(WGRTCD) can be found at: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/about/groups/ndcdac/minutes/oct98/wgsmpgreport.asp). The WGRTCD recommended that the NIDCD establish an F30 fellowship program to support MD/PhD students interested in pursuing their thesis research in the human communication sciences. Goals The NRSA legislation requires that the Nation"s overall need for biomedical research personnel be taken into account by giving special consideration to training physicians who propose to become active biomedical researchers. The NIDCD recognizes the critical importance of training physicians and other health professionals to conduct biomedical and behavioral research, particularly patient-oriented research. The purpose of the current initiative is to nurture physician-scientists who will perform research on human communication as their primary professional activity or as a major component of their professional activities. Applicants must propose to conduct basic or clinical biomedical or behavioral research in one or more of the scientific mission areas of the NIDCD: hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language. In addition, applicants must document that both the proposed graduate program and dissertation research project offer them an opportunity to develop research skills and knowledge leading to a research career in one or more of these scientific domains. This research training shall be under the sponsorship of an active and established investigator holding NIH research grant support in the area of the applicant’s proposed research and committed to the research training of the candidate. Furthermore, the training program shall be conducted in a research-intensive environment that includes appropriate staff and technical resources and is demonstrably committed to the research training of physician-scientists. The application must include evidence that instruction in the principles of responsible conduct of research will be incorporated into the proposed research training plan. This training should consist of a semester-long course or seminar series to be taken during the first year of the PhD phase of the program. Applications without plans for training in responsible conduct of research will not be reviewed until such information is provided. Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. 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 under the award and an Activation Notice (PHS 416-5) has been submitted to and accepted by the NIDCD. Individuals are required to pursue their MD/PhD training program 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 sub-populations must be included in all NIH-supported biomedical and behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and compelling rationale and justification are provided indicating 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 UPDATED "NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts on August 2, 2000 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-048.html), a complete copy of the updated Guidelines are available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_update.htm. The revisions relate to NIH defined Phase III clinical trials and require: a) all applications or proposals and/or protocols to provide a description of plans to conduct analyses, as appropriate, to address differences by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic groups, including subgroups if applicable, and b) all investigators to report accrual, and to conduct and report analyses, as appropriate, by sex/gender and/or racial/ethnic group differences. 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 these policies from the program staff listed under INQUIRIES. Program staff may also provide additional relevant information concerning the policy. PUBLIC ACCESS TO RESEARCH DATA THROUGH THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110 has been revised to provide public access to research data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) under some circumstances. Data that are (1) first produced in a project that is supported in whole or in part with Federal funds and (2) cited publicly and officially by a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law (i.e., a regulation) may be accessed through FOIA. It is important for applicants to understand the basic scope of this amendment. NIH has provided guidance at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/a110/a110_guidance_dec1999.htm. Applicants may wish to place data collected under this PA in a public archive, which can provide protections for the data and manage the distribution for an indefinite period of time. If so, the application should include a description of the archiving plan in the study design and include information about this in the budget justification section of the application. In addition, applicants should think about how to structure informed consent statements and other human subjects procedures given the potential for wider use of data collected under this award. 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 Prospective applicants are encouraged to communicate with the NIDCD Program Staff Contact listed below, under INQUIRIES, for pre-application consultation and 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 at most institutional offices of sponsored research or may be obtained from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, Telephone: (301) 710-0267, FAX: (301) 480-0525, Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov. Application kits are also available on the Internet at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. 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. Application Receipt and Review Schedule: Applications for fellowship applications responding to this Program Announcement will be accepted and reviewed three times a year, according to the following schedule: Application Receipt Date: April 5, August 5, and December 5 Review Meeting: June/July, October/November, and February/March Notification: July/August, November/December, and March/April Earliest Possible Start Date: August, December, and April Applications received after these receipt dates are subject to assignment to the next cycle, or may be returned to the applicant upon request by the applicant. An original and one copy 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 should send, at the time of submission of the original application and one copy to the Center for Scientific Review, one additional copy of the completed and signed application and all sets of appendix materials (if any) to: Chief, Scientific Review Branch Division of Extramural Research National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 6120 Executive Boulevard, Room 400C, MSC-7180 BETHESDA, MD 20892-7180 (for regular mail) ROCKVILLE, MD 20852 (for express/courier service) ATTN: NRSA F30 Fellowship The NIDCD now conducts the initial peer review of applications for its fellowship programs within its Scientific Review Branch based on an expedited schedule of four months from submission to award. In order to maintain this schedule, it is imperative that applicants meet the NRSA submission deadlines of April 5, August 5 and December 5, and concurrently send the additional copy to the NIDCD official noted above. Late applications may be returned. Applicants are advised to pay special attention to the following important items in PHS 416-1: Part I (Prepared by Applicant): Item 5. Training Under Proposed Award. Identify the PhD discipline according to the NIH Lexicon of NRSA disciplines on page 27 of the instructions. For example, candidates who expect to receive a PhD in Neuroscience should enter a code number of 188 (Neurobiology). Item 22. Scholastic Performance. In addition to the information requested in the application, applicants should provide scores for MCAT, GRE, and other exams relevant to medical and graduate school that they have recently taken. Item 29a. Activities Under Award. Typically, an MD/PhD student spends the first two years of the program in medical school courses, with a limited amount of time devoted to the PhD component of the program, the third and fourth years of support are spent on the PhD work, and the last two years are used to complete medical school. Applicants should describe how they expect to divide their time between medical and graduate school, e.g., medical school courses, graduate school courses, dissertation research, research training, etc., during both the school year and the summer for each year of the program. A minimum of 40 hours/week are required for support under the NRSA program. Item 29b. Research Proposal. All applicants should provide a research plan, including a description of a research proposal in which they will be involved as part of their training. The plan should include substantive detail that adds to the information about time allocations requested in Item 29a. Part II (Prepared by Sponsor): Items 32 and 33. Sponsor"s Previous Fellows/Trainees, Training Plan, Environment, and Research Facilities. The sponsor must currently be funded by the NIH to conduct independent research (e.g., Principal Investigator on an R01, P01 or P50 subproject or equivalent) and must describe past experience in the guidance of other research trainees and fellows. In addition, the sponsor must describe in detail his/her commitment to, and proposed role in, guiding the individual applicant. The chairman of the graduate committee for the PhD program must also describe the department"s commitment to, and proposed role in, guiding the individual applicant and any modifications to the department"s usual PhD requirements that are necessary to facilitate this trainee"s special needs. The application must include evidence that training in the principles of responsible conduct of research, within the format of a semester-long course or seminar series, will be incorporated in the first year of the PhD program. This should be presented under Item 33. Issues such as conflict of interest, data recording and retention, professional standards and codes of conduct, responsible authorship, and ethics in biological and behavioral research can provide the substantive basis of such training. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Upon receipt, all F30 applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed and may be returned to the applicants without further consideration. Applications that are complete will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened by the NIDCD Scientific Review Branch, in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures for fellowship applications. As part of the merit review, all applications will receive a written critique and will be assigned a priority score. Review Criteria The F30 individual MD/PhD predoctoral fellowship is designed to train future generations of qualified physician/scientists committed to pursuing a research career in the sciences underlying human communication. 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 to inform considerations 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 Specificity and clarity of the description of the research skills and knowledge to be acquired, and objective evaluation of progress in each area o Clarity, completeness, originality, and significance of the goals of the proposed research training plans o Adequacy of knowledge of relevant literature and current methods in the proposed research area 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 conduct of scientific 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 degrees and continue on to postdoctoral or other scientific careers o Plan to provide the fellow with individualized supervised experiences that will develop research skills 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 staff of the NIDCD. The following criteria will be used in making award decisions: (1) overall merit of the application, (2) relevance of the application to the research mission and priorities of the NIDCD and program balance, and (3) availability of funds. INQUIRIES Prospective applicants for this program and their sponsors are strongly encouraged to contact the following program official prior to submitting an application: Daniel A. Sklare, Ph.D. Research Training Officer Division of Extramural Research National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 6120 Executive Boulevard, Room 400C, MSC 7180 Bethesda, MD 20892 Phone: (301) 496-1804 Fax: (301) 402-6251 Email: daniel_sklare@nih.gov Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Ms. Sara Stone Chief, Grants Management Branch Division of Extramural Research National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 6120 Executive Boulevard, Room 400C, MSC 7180 Bethesda, MD 20892 Phone: (301) 402-0909 Fax: (301) 402-1758 Email: stones@nih.gov AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.173. Awards are made under authorization of sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and administered under NIH grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, and 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.


Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices



NIH Office of Extramural Research Logo
  Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - Home Page Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS)
  USA.gov - Government Made Easy
NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health®



Note: For help accessing PDF, RTF, MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Audio or Video files, see Help Downloading Files.