MINORITY ONCOLOGY LEADERSHIP ACADEMIC AWARD 

PA: PA-92-33

 

P.T. 34, FF



Keywords:

  Cancer/Carcinogenesis 

  Oncology 

  Clinical Medicine, General 

  Epidemiology 

  Disease Prevention+ 

 

National Cancer Institute

 

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

1992

 

PURPOSE

 

The Comprehensive Minority Biomedical Program, Division of Extramural

Activities, National Cancer Institute (NCI), invites academic health

centers and other professional schools that employ, educate, or serve

a preponderance of minority faculty, staff, trainees, and communities

to submit applications for support of an individual to pursue

leadership activities in the development of research and training

programs in clinically oriented cancer research (defined as including

population research; surgical, medical, or radiation oncology; cancer

prevention and control; epidemiology and biostatistics; nutrition;

clinical pharmacology and clinical trials; behavioral medicine; and

related areas of cancer research).

 

The purpose of this initiative is to address underrepresentation of

minority groups in research projects as investigators and subjects in

research projects involving human populations.  One method of

addressing this problem is to broaden the experience of the faculty at

minority health professional schools that serve these populations in

the initiation and participation in cancer research.  In doing so, the

pool of clinical biomedical investigators in all aspects of cancer

research will be increased, and trainees will become more  cognizant of

research opportunities in oncology and related disciplines.  These

institutions represent a unique concentration of minority faculty,

trainees, and patients to address the needs outlined above.

 

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000

 

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

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

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

Announcement, Minority Oncology Leadership Academic 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

"Healthy 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 AND REQUIRED ELEMENTS

 

Minority School

 

A minority health professional school is defined as a medical, dental,

pharmacy, public health, or equivalent school in which students of

minority ethnic groups, including African Americans, Hispanics,

American Indians, and Asians or Pacific Islanders, comprise a

significant proportion of the enrollments and that has a commitment to

the special encouragement of minority faculty, students, and

investigators.

 

Candidate

 

To be eligible, candidates must:

 

o  Have an appropriate clinical academic appointment at a minority

health professional school at the time the award is activated.  The

candidate must be a citizen, a non-citizen national of the U.S., or

have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence.

 

o  Have appropriate documented research experience and background in a

clinical oncology specialty and/or cancer research.

 

o  Specify a program for enhancement of personal research skills as

needed, and for the conduct of research in one or more areas cited in

this announcement.  Proposed research must be described in sufficient

detail for reviewers to evaluate the likelihood of success of this

element of the plan.  All sources of support proposed for this activity

must be indicated.

 

o  Present a program for developing or improving clinical cancer

research and training capabilities at the grantee institution.

 

o  Commit a minimum of 60 percent total time and effort to the research

and development aspects of the program.

 

o  Agree to report annually on the status of the program and to meet

annually to exchange information with NCI staff and other awardees.

 

o  Specify a plan for evaluating the effect of this award on the

candidate and institution.

 

The minority health professional school must:

 

o  Name and sponsor a senior or mid-level faculty member with research

competence and a major career interest in oncology and/or clinical

cancer research and related training programs.

 

o  Present plans to develop or improve cancer-related research and

research training educational programs.

 

o  Identify and document the availability of resources (populations,

patients, manpower, materials, equipment, laboratory facilities)

necessary to implement the proposed program.

 

o  Provide the candidate with time to acquire any new skills necessary

for individual professional development and for the development of the

program.

 

o  Provide evidence of commitment from the highest levels of

administration and from the sponsoring Departmental chairpersons to

implement the proposed program and to coordinate it with other ongoing

activities.

 

o  State the mechanisms planned for continued institutional support of

the program in the future.

 

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  A portion of the salary of the faculty leader up to a maximum of

$50,000 per year and related fringe benefits.

 

o  Costs for further optional preparation of the faculty leader 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.

 

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

 

This award is aimed at encouraging and assisting a designated leader in

any of the minority health professional schools to increase his/her

institution's efforts in clinical cancer research in areas such as

medical oncology, prevention, etiology, diagnosis, treatment, or

control; and to aid in establishing a cadre of faculty and staff

capable of developing new research protocols and increasing

participation in intervention studies and clinical trials in these

areas.

 

These awards offer opportunities for supporting start-up or expansion

of such activities and are intended to meet needs that have not been

addressed by other types of awards available from the NCI or other

Federal agencies.  Priority is given to those minority institutions

with an interest in and commitment to expansion of clinical cancer

research-related activities in local populations.

 

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.

 

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN CLINICAL

RESEARCH STUDIES

 

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 in adequately 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 PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA

 

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 Program Announcement 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

 

o  Background and potential of the named candidate as a leader in

research and training activities in oncology and cancer and

demonstration of effectiveness as a leader within the institution.

 

o  Merit of the candidate's personal plan for development and his/her

plans for fostering increased research and training within the

institution.

 

o  Scope and nature of the collaboration and commitment among

participating departments and/or schools.

 

o  Merit of the institutional plan to strengthen research and training

activities beyond the current status of activities and capacities.

 

o  Appropriateness and potential efficacy of the proposed use of funds

to achieve the goals of the award.

 

o  Potential of the institution for recruitment and utilization of

clinical populations and research training of clinical researchers.

 

o  Commitment of the institution to strengthen clinical cancer research

and to support the candidate's efforts in this regard.

 

METHOD OF APPLYING

 

The research grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 10/88 and 9/91) must

be used in applying to this program.  These forms are available at most

institutional business offices, from the Office of Grants Inquiries,

Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health, Westwood

Building, Room 449, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, MD  20892,

telephone 301/496-7441, and from the NCI program director named below.

 

Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the

Checklist, and four signed, exact photocopies, in one package to DRG at

the address below.  The photocopies must be clear and single sided.

 

Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building, Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**

 

At time of submission, send two (2) additional copies of the

application to:

 

Referral Officer

Division of Extramural Activities

National Cancer Institute

Westwood Building, Room 848

5333 Westbard Avenue

Bethesda, MD  20892

 

The title and number of this announcement must be typed in line 2 and

the box must be checked YES.

 

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.




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