MINORITY SCHOOL FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARD 

PA: PA-92-32

 

P.T. 14, FF



Keywords:

  Cancer/Carcinogenesis 

  Biomedical Research, Multidiscipl 

 

National Cancer Institute

 

Application Receipt Dates:  February 1, 1992, June 1, 1992, October 1,

1992

 

PURPOSE

 

The Comprehensive Minority Biomedical Research Program, Division of

Extramural Activities, National Cancer Institute (NCI), invites

academic health centers and other health professional schools that

employ, educate, or serve a preponderance of minority faculty, staff,

trainees, and communities to submit applications for support of

activities directed at the development of faculty investigators at

minority schools in areas relevant to cancer.  The intent of the award

is to provide the awardee with increased access to research

opportunities through collaborative arrangements with outstanding

cancer research scientists, usually at institutions within a 100 mile

radius of the applicant organization.

 

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000

 

The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health

promotion and disease prevention  objectives of "Health People 2000,"

a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas.  This Program

Announcement, Minority School Faculty Development Award, is related to

the priority area of cancer.  Potential  applicants may obtain a copy

of "Healthy People 2000" (Full Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00474-0) or

"Health People 2000" (Summary Report:  Stock No. 017-001-00473-1)

through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC  20402-9325 (telephone 202-783-3238).

 

ELIGIBILITY

 

Minority School

 

A minority school is defined as a medical or nonmedical college,

university, or equivalent school in which students of minority ethnic

groups, including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and

Asian or Pacific Islanders, comprise a significant proportion of the

school enrollment and that has a commitment to the special

encouragement of minority faculty, students, and investigators.

 

Faculty Development Award Candidate

 

Candidates for this award are minority school faculty members who: (1)

are citizens of the United States, noncitizen nationals or permanent

residents at the time of application; (2) have a M.D., Ph.D., or

equivalent degree, in a biomedical or behavioral science; (3) wish to

receive specialized training in cancer research; and (4) have the

background and potential to become an independent biomedical

investigator.  A minimum of 50 percent effort annually must be

committed to the award.

 

Applicants may not apply for, or accept, other PHS research grant

support or its equivalent at the time of Minority School Faculty

Development Award application, nor may they apply concurrently for any

other type of academic award.  However, applicants may apply for and

accept research grant support subsequent to award of the Minority

School Faculty Development Award.

 

Mentor at Research Center

 

Each candidate must also identify and complete arrangements with a

mentor, at a preferably nearby (within reasonable commuting distance),

majority or minority institution who is recognized as an accomplished,

independently funded investigator in the research area proposed and who

will provide guidance for the awardee's development and research plan.

Plans for obtaining an intensive research experience must be developed

with the mentor.

 

The commitment of the mentor and his/her institution to year round

(i.e., summer and academic year) exposure to research must be evidenced

by a letter of support from each to be included in the application.  A

commitment from the mentor's department chair must be included in the

application.

 

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

 

Support of this program will be through the National Institutes of

Health Academic/teacher award (K07). Applicants will be responsible for

the planning, direction, and execution of the proposed project.  Awards

will be administered under PHS grants policy as stated in the Public

Health Service Grants Policy Statement, DHHS Publication No.(OASH)

90-50,000, revised October 1, 1990.  Awards are non-renewable and

non-transferable from one awardee to another.  Funding beyond the first

year of the grant is contingent on satisfactory progress during the

preceding year.

 

Awards may be requested for a period of three to five years.  Allowable

costs include:

 

o  The salary of the applicant up to a maximum base salary of $50,000

per year and related fringe benefits.

 

o  Costs for further optional preparation of the applicant in

additional clinical or basic research methodologies (this aspect of the

program is not to exceed the equivalent of one academic year total over

the duration of the award).

 

o  Domestic travel expenses for the awardee to attend professional

meetings, training courses, and an annual two-day awardee meeting in

Bethesda, MD.

 

o  Partial salary support up to $40,000 per year for one additional

faculty or staff researcher as a direct participant in research-related

activities or services.

 

o  Up to $10,000 per year in supplies for research activities.

 

o  Indirect costs not to exceed a maximum of eight percent of direct

costs, exclusive of tuition fees, if any.

 

o  The total award may not exceed $100,000 in direct costs per year.

 

o  Equipment:  Specialized research equipment essential to the proposed

program.  In accordance with PHS policy, title to such equipment will

vest with the grantee institution.

 

o  Supplies:  Consumable supplies essential to the proposed program.

 

o  Tuition and Fees:  If essential to the awardee's individual research

development program.

 

o  Other:  Personnel, publication costs, computer costs, and other

costs necessary for the research program; and

 

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

 

This program is designed to offer support for cancer-related research

to  minority school faculty members at the M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent

level who have the interest and capability of doing state-of-the-art

research in this area.

 

The objective of this Program Announcement is to broaden the experience

of faculty members at minority schools, to increase the pool of

biomedical and behavioral investigators in cancer research, and have

graduate and undergraduate students, most of whom will be minority

individuals, become more cognizant of research opportunities in cancer

research.

 

STUDY POPULATIONS

 

It is the NIH policy that women and minorities must be included in

clinical study populations unless there is a good reason to exclude

them, and the study design must seek to identify any pertinent gender

or minority population differences.  If appropriate, these issues must

be addressed in the application.

 

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO APPLICANTS REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF NIH

POLICIES CONCERNING INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN CLINICAL

RESEARCH STUDY POPULATIONS

 

NIH and ADAMHA policy is that applicants for NIH/ADAMHA clinical

research grants and cooperative agreements will be required to include

minorities and women in study populations so that research findings can

be of benefit to all persons at risk of the disease, disorder or

condition under study; special emphasis should be placed on the need

for inclusion of minorities and women in studies of diseases, disorders

and conditions which disproportionately affect them.  This policy is

intended to apply to males and females of all ages.  If women or

minorities are excluded or inadequately represented in clinical

research, particularly in proposed population-based studies, a clear

compelling rationale should be provided.

 

The composition of the proposed study populations must be described in

terms of gender and racial/ethnic group.  In addition, gender and

racial/ethnic issues should be addressed in developing a research

design and sample size appropriate for the scientific objectives of the

study.  This information should be included in the form PHS 398 in

Section 2, A-D of the Research Plan AND summarized in Section 2, E,

Human Subjects.  Applicants/offerors are urged to assess carefully the

feasibility of including the broadest possible representation of

minority groups.  However, NIH recognizes that it may not be feasible

or appropriate in all research projects to include representation of

the full array of United States racial/ethnic minority populations

(i.e., Native Americans (including American Indians or Alaskan

Natives), Asian/Pacific Islanders, Blacks, Hispanics).  The rationale

for studies on single minority population groups should be provided.

 

For the purpose of this policy, clinical research includes human

biomedical and behavioral studies of etiology, epidemiology, prevention

(and preventive strategies), diagnosis, or treatment of diseases,

disorders or conditions, including but not limited to clinical trials.

 

The usual NIH policies concerning research on human subjects also

apply.  Basic research or clinical studies in which human tissues

cannot be identified or linked to individuals are excluded.  However,

every effort should be made to include human tissues from women and

racial/ethnic minorities when it is important to apply the results of

the study broadly, and this should be addressed by applicants.

 

For foreign awards, the policy on inclusion of women applies fully;

since the definition of minority differs in other countries, the

applicant must discuss the relevance of research involving foreign

population groups to the United States' populations, including

minorities.

 

If the required information is not contained within the application,

the review will be deferred until the information is provided.

 

Peer reviewers will address specifically whether the research plan in

the application conforms to these policies.  If the representation of

women or minorities in a study design is inadequate to answer the

scientific question(s) addressed AND the justification for the selected

study population is inadequate, it will be considered a scientific

weakness or deficiency in the study design and will be reflected in

assigning the priority score to the application.

 

All applications for clinical research submitted to NIH are required to

address these policies.  NIH funding components will not award grants

or cooperative agreements that do not comply with these policies.

 

REVIEW PROCEDURE

 

Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by the Division of Research

Grants (DRG) for completeness.  Incomplete applications will be

returned to the applicant without further consideration.  Evaluation

for responsiveness to the program requirements and criteria stated in

the announcement is an NCI program staff function.  Applications that

are judged non-responsive will be returned to the applicant.  Questions

concerning the relevance of proposed research may be directed to

program staff as described in the INQUIRIES section.

 

Applications will receive technical review by an initial review group

appointed by the NCI, with secondary review by the National Cancer

Advisory Board.

 

REVIEW CRITERIA

 

Those applications judged to be both competitive and responsive will be

reviewed for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate review

group convened by the Division of Extramural Activities, NCI.  The

second level review by the National Cancer Advisory Board considers the

special needs of the Institute and the priorities of the National

Cancer Program.  The following criteria will apply:

 

o  The overall merit of the candidate's plan for research and the

development of research skills.

 

o  The background and potential of the proposed candidate for

development into an independent biomedical investigator.

 

o  The candidate's commitment to a research career.

 

o  The ability of both the minority institution and the training center

to provide facilities, resources, and opportunities necessary for the

candidate's research development.

 

o  The commitment of the minority institution to the faculty

candidate's research and development must clearly be presented in the

application, including statement(s) from the sponsor and the department

chair.

 

o  The qualifications, ability, and plans of the mentor who will

provide the candidate with the guidance necessary for career

development in research.  Recognition of the mentor is reflected by

receipt of support from national peer-reviewed funding sources.

 

METHOD OF APPLYING

 

Applications must be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398

(rev. 10/88 and 9/91) and will be accepted at the application deadlines

indicated in the application kit.

 

Application kits are available at most institutional business and

grant/contract offices and may be obtained from the Office of Grants

Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health,

Westwood Building, Room 449, Bethesda, MD  20892, telephone 301-496-

7273.  The title and number of this announcement must be typed on line

2 and the box checked yes.

 

The completed original application and six legible copies must be sent

or delivered to:

 

Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**

 

INQUIRIES

 

Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to:

 

Dr. Lemuel Evans

Division of Extramural Activities

Comprehensive Minority Biomedical Program

National Cancer Institute

Building 31, Room 10A04

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-7344

FAX:  (301) 402-0062

 

Written and telephone inquiries concerning the objectives and scope of

this Program Announcement and inquiries about whether or not specific

proposed research would be responsive are encouraged and should be

directed to Dr. Lemuel Evans at the above address.  The Program

Director welcomes the opportunity to clarify any issues or questions

from potential applicants.

 

For information regarding budgetary/administrative issues, contact:

 

Ms. Carolyn Mason

Grants Management Specialist

Grants Administration Branch

National Cancer Institute

Executive Plaza South, Room 243

Bethesda, MD  20892

Telephone:  (301) 496-7800, Extension 59

 

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

 

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance, No. 93.398 Cancer Research Manpower.  National Institutes

of Health, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human

Services  authorization:  Public Health Service Act, Service 413, as

amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 U.S.C. 285a:  Public Health Service

Act, Section 487, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 U.S.C. 288.

Federal Agency:  National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service,

Department of  Health and Human Services authorization:  Public Health

Service Act, Section 301, Public Law 78-410, 42 U.S.C. 241, and Section

412, as amended by Public Law 99.158, 42 U.S.C. 285a-1.  This program

is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of

Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.


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