NHLBI SHORT-TERM TRAINING FOR MINORITY STUDENTS PROGRAM (T35M)

Release Date:  May 25, 1999

RFA:  HL-99-018

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Letter of Intent Receipt Date: July 1, 1999
Application Receipt Date: August 26, 1999

PURPOSE

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) invites grant
applications for the Short-Term Training for Minority Students Program.  This
program provides short-term research support to underrepresented minority
undergraduate and graduate students and students in health professional
schools to provide them with career opportunities in cardiovascular,
pulmonary, hematologic and sleep disorders research.  The grant provides
training experiences of two to three consecutive months and exposes talented
students to the various possibilities in pursuing a biomedical or behavioral
research career.

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 Request for Applications (RFA),
NHLBI NRSA Short-Term Training for Minority Students Program, is related to -
one or more of the priority areas.  Potential applicants may obtain a copy of
"Healthy People 2000" at http://www.crisny.org/health/us/health7.html

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications may be submitted by non-federal, domestic, for-profit and non-
profit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges,
medical schools, and units of state and local government. The applicant
institution must have the available research facilities, personnel, and
support for the program in the areas of cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic
or sleep disorders.  Minority institutions with adequate staff and resources
in these areas are encouraged to apply.  Only one application per health
professional school may be submitted for a given receipt date and a health
professional school may have only one active NHLBI Short-Term Training for
Minority Students Program award at any time.  Racial/ethnic minority
individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply as
program directors.  Applications from foreign institutions will not be
accepted.  These grants will support short-term research training experiences
of consecutive two to three months duration for minority undergraduate
students, minority students in health professional schools, and minority
graduate students.  The grantee institution will be responsible for the
selection and appointment of trainees.  Special attention should be given to
the recruitment of individuals from minority groups that are underrepresented
nationally in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, i.e., Blacks, Hispanics,
American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders.

Trainees must have successfully completed at least one undergraduate year at
an accredited school or university (including baccalaureate schools of
nursing) or have successfully completed one semester at a school of medicine,
optometry, osteopathy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, or public
health, or an institution with an accredited graduate program, prior to
participating in the program.  These grants are intended to introduce students
to research that would not otherwise be available through their regular course
of studies.  For graduate students, this may include graduate students in
programs, such as mathematics, where they would not normally be exposed to
biomedical research or minority graduate students who may need a specialized
research experience to supplement their normal graduate education.

Trainees appointed to this program must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of
the United States or have been lawfully admitted to the United States for
permanent residence (i.e., in possession of the Alien Registration Receipt
Card, I-155).  Noncitizen nationals are generally persons born in outlying
possessions of the United States (i.e., American Samoa and Swains Island).  An
individual admitted lawfully for permanent residence must submit with the
application a notarized statement indicating possession of the Alien
Registration Receipt Card.  Individuals on temporary or student visas and
individuals holding Ph.D., M.D., D.V.M. or equivalent doctoral degrees in the
health sciences are not eligible.

Trainees appointed to the program need not be from the applicant institution,
but may include a number of minority students from other institutions,
schools, colleges, or universities.  The applicant's program can be designed
to include research experiences for minority individuals at the applicant
institution but applicants are strongly encouraged to propose a program that
includes a number of individuals from other institutions, schools, colleges or
universities.  The only requirement for student selection is that the trainees
fulfill the above referenced eligibility requirements.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

This RFA will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Short-Term Training
Grant (T35).  Responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of the
proposed training program will be solely that of the applicant.  The total
project period for an application submitted in response to this RFA may not
exceed five years.  Funding beyond the first year of the grant is contingent
upon satisfactory progress during the preceding year and availability of
funds. Facilities and Administrative Costs will be awarded based on eight
percent of total costs exclusive of equipment, tuition and fees.  The
anticipated award date is April 1, 2000.

FUNDS AVAILABLE

The estimated funds (total costs) available for the first year of support for
the entire program is expected to be $250,000 in fiscal year 2000.  The actual
amount may vary, depending on the response to the RFA and availability of
funds.  Seven new awards are anticipated.

OBJECTIVES

Background

There is a need for minority individuals to participate in research activities
to develop their investigative talents and increase the pool of accomplished
minority biomedical investigators. In 1991, 108 Ph.Ds in the natural sciences
were awarded to Blacks.  Academic positions for Blacks totaled 1177 (1.7%) and
for Hispanics 1113 (1.6%) in the life sciences out of a total of 69,122
individuals.  In medical schools, there were 1748 Black (2.3%) and 2087
Hispanic (2.8%) faculty members in 1993.  Blacks represented 7.4% of the total
enrollment in medical schools in 1993.  There are existing programs at the NIH
that are designed to address this need.  These include the Minority
Institutional Research Training Program, the Minority Institution Faculty
Mentored Research Scientist Development Award, and the Mentored Research
Scientist Development Award for Minority Faculty.  Even though these programs
appear successful in meeting their specific objectives and career development
goals, minority graduate, health professional, and postdoctoral students need
additional opportunities to develop biomedical and behavioral research skills
and become productive investigators.

Although there is strong interest in the scientific community in attracting
minority students into research careers, few minority students opt for science
degrees and research careers, and few minority graduates of health
professional schools go on to investigative careers.  The shortage of
qualified minority investigators in academic research positions may even
exacerbate the situation due to a lack of visible role models for students. 
One method of addressing this problem is by attracting minority students to
research opportunities and by providing them with research training to develop
their research capabilities in cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, and
sleep disorders.

This RFA is designed to offer research training opportunities for minority
students in an effort to encourage their participation in cardiovascular,
pulmonary, hematologic, and sleep disorders research.

The Short-Term Training for Minority Students program is intended to:

o Provide minority undergraduate and graduate students and students in health
professional schools exposure to opportunities inherent in research careers in
areas relevant to cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, and sleep disorders.

o Attract highly qualified minority students into biomedical and behavioral
research careers and increase the supply of minority investigators.

o Increase the already short supply of qualified minority investigators.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS - Provisions of the Award

Institutions may request support for at least 4 but not more than 24 short-
term trainees per budget period, based on a full-time three month appointment. 
A trainee may be appointed for a minimum of two months and a maximum of three
months during a budget period; however, institutions are encouraged to appoint
a trainee for more than one budget period, e.g., two or more successive summer
research experiences.  A student may be appointed, in special circumstances,
to more than one 3-month period during a budget period, provided prior
approval is obtained from the staff of the NHLBI.  All research training must
be full-time during the specific training sequence.  It is expected that most
programs will be designed to provide a summer research experience but other
innovative program designs and time schedules will be considered.  The
requested number of short-term trainees must be justified in the application.

Funds may be requested for:

o Stipends - The current stipend level for trainees is $1,224 per month.
Stipends may be supplemented from non-federal funds.

o Training-related Expenses - Up to $125 per month per trainee may be
requested yearly; and may be used for faculty, laboratory, and secretarial
assistance; supplies and equipment; consultant costs; and tuition and fees.

o Travel Expenses - The institution may request up to $500 per year per
trainee to cover the cost of travel to and from the training institution.  The
institution may also request up to $250 per month per trainee to cover the
cost of housing expenses.

A Statement of Appointment form (PHS 2271, rev. 4/98) must be submitted at the
start of each trainee appointment and reappointment.  This form is available
at the following URL address: https://grants.nih.gov/training/phs2271.pdf. 
Individuals supported under this program are not required to sign an NRSA
Payback Agreement or submit an NRSA Termination Notice.

Facilities and administrative (Indirect) costs for short-term training grants
will be reimbursed at 8 percent of total allowable direct costs.

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 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 at
the following URL address:
http://www.nih.gov/grants/guide/1994/94.03.18/notice-nih-guideline008.html

INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANT 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://www.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html

LETTER OF INTENT

Prospective applicants are asked to submit, by July 1, 1999, a letter of
intent that includes the name, address, and telephone number of the Principal
Investigator, the identities of other key personnel and participating
institutions, and the number and title of the RFA in response to which the
application may be submitted. Although a letter of intent is not required, is
not binding, and does not enter into the review of subsequent applications,
the information that it contains allows NHLBI staff to estimate the potential
review workload and to avoid conflict of interest in the review.  The letter
of intent is to be faxed or sent to Dr. C. James Scheirer at the address
listed under APPLICATION PROCEDURES.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

The research grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) and its Additional
Instructions for Preparing Institutional National Research Service Award
Applications (Pages V-1 - V-8; Substitution Pages NN - PP) is to be used in
applying for these grants, with the modifications noted below.  These forms
are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research; 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, email: grantsinfo@nih.gov; and at the following URL address:
http://www.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html

The RFA label available in the PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) application form must be
affixed to the bottom of the face page of the application.  Failure to use
this label could result in delayed processing of the application such that it
may not reach the review committee in time for review.  In addition, the RFA
title (NHLBI Short-Term Training for Minority Students Program) and number
(HL-99-018) must be typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form
and on the RFA label and the YES box must be marked.

The sample RFA label available at: 
http://www.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/label-bk.pdf has been modified to
allow for this change.  Please note this is in pdf format.

Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, and three signed,
photocopies, in one package 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)

At the time of submission, send an additional two copies of the application
to:

C. James Scheirer, Ph.D.
Division of Extramural Affairs
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 7220, MSC 7924
Bethesda, MD  20892-7924
Telephone:  (301) 435-0266
FAX: (301) 480-3541
Email:  js110j@nih.gov

It is important to send these two copies at the same time as the original and
three copies are sent to the Center for Scientific Review (CSR).  These copies
are used to identify conflicts and help ensure the appropriate and timely
review of the application.

Applications must be received by August 26, 1999.  If an application is
received after that date, it will be returned to the applicant without review. 
The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) will not accept any application to this
RFA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial review,
unless the applicant withdraws the pending application.  The CSR will not
accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. 
This does not preclude the submission of substantial revisions of applications
already reviewed, but such applications must include an introduction
addressing the previous critique.

The application should provide a summary of the training program including its
objectives, the types of research activities available, the faculty who will
participate, the geographical area to be included in the recruitment, and any
special activities or experiences to be provided to the trainees.  It should
also describe the administrative structure of the program and the distribution
of responsibilities within it, plans for assigning trainees to research
activities, duration of training and months in which it will occur,
description of a typical student program including percent time to be spent in
various activities, and additional support or services to be provided by the
applicant institution.

Applicants for competitive renewal applications will be required to provide
information concerning past trainees in the program, the accomplishments of
the program, trainee publications, and whether students supported by the
program have pursued research careers.

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Center for
Scientific Review and responsiveness by the NHLBI.  Incomplete and/or non-
responsive applications will be returned to the applicant without further
consideration.  Applications that are complete and responsive to the RFA will
be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by a Special Emphasis Panel in
the Division of Extramural Affairs, NHLBI, in accordance with the review
criteria stated below.  As part of the initial merit review, a process may be
used by the initial review group in which applications receive a written
critique and undergo a process in which only those applications deemed to have
the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under
review, will be discussed assigned a priority score, and receive a second
level review by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council.

Review Criteria

The following criteria will be considered when assessing the merits of the
proposed NHLBI NRSA Short-Term Training for Minority Students Program.

o  Design of the proposed training program;

o  Qualifications, dedication, and previous training record of the program
director and participating faculty, particularly with regard to prior
experience with similar programs;

o  Adequacy of facilities, environment, and resources for the proposed
research training;

o  Recruitment and selection plans for trainees, and the availability of high
quality candidates;

o  Methods for retaining promising students in the program and methods for
tracking students;

o  Commitment of the institution and participating faculty to the goals of the
training program; and

o  Procedures for evaluation of the effectiveness of the program and the
impact of the program on the students involved.

Because the research training environment provides a powerful context in which
to promote responsible research practices, all competing applications must
include a description of formal or informal activities or instruction related
to the responsible conduct of research that will be incorporated into the
proposed research training program.

AWARD CRITERIA

The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

o Scientific, technical, and research training merit of the application as
determined by peer review;

o Program balance among the research areas of the announcement; and

o Availability of funds.

INQUIRIES

Written and telephone inquiries concerning this RFA are encouraged.  The
opportunity to clarify any issues or questions from potential applicants is
welcome.

Direct inquiries regarding program guidelines, supplemental instructions, or
programmatic issues to:

Michael Commarato, Ph.D.
Division of Heart and Vascular Diseases
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7940
Bethesda, MD 20892-7940
Telephone: (301) 435-0530
FAX: (301) 480-1454
Email: michael_commarato@nih.gov

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:

Marie Willett
Grants Operations Branch
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7926
Bethesda, MD 20892-7927
Telephone: (301) 435-0144
FAX: (301) 480-3310
Email: marie_willett@nih.gov

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance,
numbers 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, and 93.839. Awards are made under the
authority 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 grant policies and Federal Regulations at 42 CFR 52 and 45 CFR Part
74.  This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements
of Executive Order 12372 or a 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, 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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