Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information
Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)

Funding Opportunity Title

Short Term Research Career Enhancement Opportunities for Established Veterinarians (K18)

Activity Code

K18 Career Enhancement Award

Announcement Type

New

Related Notices

None

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number

RFA-RR-11-002

Companion FOA

None

Number of Applications

See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)

93.389

FOA Purpose

Awards under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will provide a short-term, specialized research career opportunity for established veterinarians (DVM, VMD or equivalent) with an interest in comparative medicine and translational research. The term of the award may range from 6-24 months. Awardees are expected to be at the Associate or Full Professor level (or equivalent in a non-academic setting). The focus is to support the research career enhancement for established veterinarian researchers (DVM, VMD or equivalent) using animal models in translational research. The intent of this FOA is to provide grantees with protected time to achieve a shift in the focus of their research direction or to learn new research techniques and/or procedures relevant to their ongoing research projects and to the NCRR mission. This FOA is not intended as a substitute for ongoing research project support.

Key Dates
Posted Date

March 29, 2011

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

May 12, 2011

Letter of Intent Due Date

Not Applicable

Application Due Date(s)

June 14, 2011, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

AIDS Application Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Scientific Merit Review

October 2011

Advisory Council Review

January 2012

Earliest Start Date(s)

April 2012

Expiration Date

June 15, 2011

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide, especially Supplemental Instructions to the SF424 (R&R) for Preparing an Individual Research Career Development Award (CDA) Application ( K Series) except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

The overall goal of the NIH Research Career Development program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists are available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. More information about Career programs may be found at the NIH Extramural Training Mechanisms website.

Background:

A goal of the Division of Comparative Medicine, NCRR, is to increase the number of veterinarians trained in translational research, particularly in the areas of comparative medicine and animal model development as outlined in the NCRR 2009-2013 Strategic Plan. NCRR has several programs to address this goal, including Institutional T32 post-doctoral training grants, T32 pre-doctoral training grants, T35 pre-doctoral summer awards, and K01 and K26 career mentored awards. This K18 award program will further enhance the experience of funded veterinarian researchers. It also addresses the need for increased training and research career enhancement opportunities in translational research for veterinarians funded in biomedical or behavioral research.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is directed to veterinarians who:

Purpose:

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) establishes a program of short-term mentored career enhancement awards, with a range of 6 to 24 months duration, aimed at funded, mid- to senior-level veterinarian investigators, to support the development of research capabilities in using comparative medicine to further translational research that impacts the NIH mission (See NCRR Strategic Plan under Background).

The program is directed to veterinarians who wish to enhance their research experience in the areas noted in this FOA. These career development awards will typically coincide with the academic sabbatical time.

The intent of this FOA is to provide candidates with protected time to achieve a shift in the focus of their research direction, or to learn or be exposed to biology relevant to their ongoing research projects. It is not intended as a substitute for ongoing research project support.

Applicants will be expected to hold the rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor, or equivalent in non-academic settings. Assistant Professors, Research Associates and post-doctoral staff are not eligible for this FOA. The applicant must propose a career enhancement program, along with a research project, to be conducted in a NIH-supported resource or program that has the appropriate ongoing research and the resources to provide research enhancement in translational research or animal model development for the duration of the award. It is expected that the applicant will gain new research experience and will not have an ongoing or recent (within the past 12 months) collaboration with the sponsoring institution in the area of support requested under this FOA.

Applicants also should describe any clinical, administrative, research, or grant related commitments they intend to maintain during the period of the award, and arrangements made to provide protected release time from the parent institution. Candidates may propose a career development program of 6 24 months duration.

Examples of research topics can include, but are not limited to, development, characterization, and archiving of animal models of human disease, development of animal-based genetic and genomic tools, phenotyping, reproductive biology, regenerative medicine, and screening for and control of selected laboratory animal diseases. The career enhancing activities will be conducted at NIH-supported animal and biological materials resources. NIH-supported resources can be found on the following NCRR website http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/scientific_resources/.

The candidate must devote a minimum of 25% of full-time professional effort to the goals of this award. The remainder may be devoted to clinical, teaching, or other research pursuits consistent with the objectives of the award. The translational research must be designed to develop or enhance the necessary knowledge and research skills in scientific areas relevant to the career goals of the candidate.

All career development programs must be tailored to meet the individual needs of the candidate. The candidate and mentor are jointly responsible for the preparation of the plan for the career development program. Applicants must justify the need for this award and provide a convincing case that the proposed period of support will substantially enhance or broaden their careers as independent investigators in their chosen area of research. The sponsoring institution must be able to demonstrate a commitment to provide the resources and environment necessary for the applicant to pursue the translational research objectives.

Section II. Award Information
Funding Instrument

Grant

Application Types Allowed

New

The OER Glossary and the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

The NCRR plans to commit $750,000/year. The number of awards will vary dependent upon the appropriation of funds and the number of meritorious applications, but may be up to 5 awards.

Award Budget

Award budgets are composed of salary and other program-related expenses, as described below.

Award Project Period

The total project period may not exceed 2 years.

Other Award Budget Information
Salary

NIH will contribute a minimum of 25% up to a maximum of 50% of full-time support (3-6 person months effort) per year toward the salary of the career award recipient.

The total salary requested must be based on a full-time staff appointment. The salary must be consistent both with the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned.

The sponsoring institution may supplement the NIH salary contribution up to a level that is consistent with the institution's salary scale. However, supplementation may not be from Federal funds unless specifically authorized by the Federal program from which such funds are derived. In no case may PHS funds be used for salary supplementation. Institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the career award.

Other Program-Related Expenses

NIH will contribute $50,000 per year toward the research development costs of the award recipient, which must be justified and consistent with the stage of development of the candidate and the proportion of time to be spent in research or career development activities.

Salary for mentors is not allowed.

Indirect Costs

Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities & Administrative [F&A] Costs) are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants
Eligible Organizations

Higher Education Institutions:

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

Governments

Other

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply. Foreign (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not allowed.

Required Registrations

Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of the following registrations.

All Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PIs) must also work with their institutional officials to register with the eRA Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated with the eRA Commons account of the applicant organization.

All registrations must be completed by the application due date. Applicant organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration process at least four (4) weeks prior to the application due date.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any candidate with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is invited to work with his/her mentor and organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. Multiple Principal Investigators are not allowed.

By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card USCIS Form I-551, or other legal verification of such status), or for non-U.S. citizen/permanent residents, requirements are described below.

Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI): This award is intended for mid-career and senior investigators holding a DVM, VMD or equivalent, who are at the academic rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor, or the equivalent in nonacademic settings, who have established records of independent, peer-reviewed Federal or private research grant funding, who wish to explore applications of their research or learn new research applications in comparative medicine/translational research.

2. Cost Sharing

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. An individual may not have two or more competing NIH career development applications pending review concurrently.

Level of Effort

At the time of award, the candidate must have a full-time appointment at the academic institution that is the applicant institution. Candidates who have VA appointments may not consider part of the VA effort toward satisfying the full time requirement at the applicant institution. Candidates with VA appointments should contact the staff person in the relevant Institute or Center prior to preparing an application to discuss their eligibility. Under certain circumstances, an awardee may submit a written request to the awarding component requesting a reduction in minimum required percent effort, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Details on this policy are provided in NOT-OD-09-036.

Mentor

Before submitting the application, the candidate must identify a mentor who will supervise the proposed career development and research experience. The mentor should be an active investigator in the area of the proposed research and be committed both to the career development of the candidate and to the direct supervision of the candidate’s research. The mentor must document the availability of sufficient research support and facilities for high-quality research. The mentor, or a member of the mentoring team, should have a successful track record of mentoring. Candidates are encouraged to identify more than one mentor, i.e., a mentoring team, if this is deemed advantageous for providing expert advice in all aspects of the research career development program. In such cases, one individual must be identified as the principal mentor who will coordinate the candidate’s research. The candidate must work with the mentor(s) in preparing the application.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Required and Optional Components

The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, mandatory and optional. Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for application submission. Follow the instructions in the SF 424 (R&R) to determine which components are required.

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Other Project Information Component

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Project Summary/Abstract (Component of the Other Project Information Component)

PHS 398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Candidate’s Background (Component of Candidate Information)

Career Goals and Objectives (Component of Candidate Information)

Career Development/Training Activities During Award Period (Component of Candidate Information)

Statements by Mentor, Co-mentor(s), Consultants, Contributors (Component of Statements of Support)

Description of Institutional Environment (Component of Environment and Institutional Commitment to the Candidate)

Institutional Commitment to the Candidate’s Research Career Development (Component of Environment and Institutional Commitment to the Candidate)

Research Strategy (Component of Research Plan)

Resource Sharing Plan

Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Appendix

Do not use the appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Letters of Reference

Candidates must carefully follow the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, including the time period for when letters of reference will be accepted Applications lacking the required reference letters will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed. Please note that the specified format must be used. This is a separate process from submitting an application electronically. Reference letters are submitted directly through the eRA Commons Referee Information link and not through Grants.gov.

3. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit in advance of the deadline to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.

Organizations must submit applications via Grants.gov, the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies. Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

4. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

5. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

6. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically.

Important reminders:
All PD/PIs must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF 424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by NCRR, NIH. Applications that are incomplete and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-10-115.

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Overall Impact

Reviewers should provide their assessment of the likelihood for the candidate to maintain a strong research program, taking into consideration the criteria below in determining the overall impact/priority score.

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact.

Candidate

Is there evidence of past and present research productivity as evidenced by contributions to the scientific literature, and success in obtaining independent funding? Is the candidate’s level of training, experience, and competence commensurate with the purposes of the award? Is there evidence of current independent, peer-reviewed research support? Is the candidate an outstanding veterinary researcher who is making significant contributions to the field of comparative medicine/translational research?

Career Development Plan/ Career Goals & Objectives/ Plan to Provide Mentoring

Is there evidence that the award will enable the candidate to devote the required minimum percentage of full-time professional effort to research and related duties by release from teaching, administration, clinical work, and other responsibilities? Is there evidence provided that the candidate has mentored junior researchers in the past? Will training received under this FOA provide or enhance mentoring skills in the future? If applicable, does the plan enhance their ability to serve as mentors for aspiring or more junior investigators interested in animal model development? Is there documentation of the commitment to devote at least 3-6 person months effort to the career enhancement award?lWhat is the likelihood that the award will contribute substantially to the continued scientific development and productivity of the candidate?

Research Plan

Is the proposed research project appropriate for the candidate’s stage of research development and as a vehicle for enhancement or re-direction of research skills described in the career development plan? Is the proposed research relevant to stated career objectives? Is the research plan of high quality, and does it have potential for advancing the field of study? ? Is the research plan appropriate for developing or enhancing research skills in comparative medicine/translational research?

Mentor(s), Co-Mentor(s), Consultant(s), Collaborator(s)

Are the mentor's research qualifications in the area of the proposed research appropriate? Do(es) the mentor(s) adequately address the candidate’s potential and his/her strengths and areas needing improvement? Is there adequate description of the quality and extent of the mentor s proposed role in providing guidance and advice to the candidate? Is there evidence of previous research productivity and peer-reviewed support? Is active/pending support for the proposed research project appropriate and adequate? Are the proposed collaborations with other active investigators and other opportunities for professional growth appropriate and of high quality? Is adequate information provided that clearly documents expertise in the proposed area(s) of consulting/collaboration?

Environment & Institutional Commitment to the Candidate

Are there adequate and appropriate research facilities and educational opportunities, including collaborating faculty? Is there strong institutional commitment to fostering the career enhancement of the candidate? Are there unique features of the scientific environment that benefit the proposed research, e.g., useful collaborative arrangements? Is the environment of high quality and relevance for scientific and professional development of the candidate? Is there clear commitment from the candidate’s home and/or parent and sponsoring institution to ensure that 3-6 person monthsof the candidate’s effort will be dedicated to the research career enhancement plan during the active period of the award? Is there institutional commitment to the candidate’s career development in the new research trajectory?

Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact/priority score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children

When the proposed project involves clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

Biohazards

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Resubmissions

Not Applicable.

Renewals

Not Applicable.

Revisions

Not Applicable.

Additional Review Considerations

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact/priority score.

Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research

Taking into account the circumstances of the candidate, including level of experience, the reviewers will address the following questions. Does the plan satisfactorily address the format of instruction, e.g. lectures, coursework, and/or real-time discussion groups? Do plans include a sufficiently broad selection of subject matter, such as conflict of interest, authorship, data management, human subjects and animal use, laboratory safety? Do the plans adequately describe the role of the sponsor/mentor or other faculty involvement in the candidate’s instruction? Does the plan meet the minimum requirements for RCR, i.e., eight contact hours of instruction every four years. Plans and past record will be rated as acceptable or unacceptable, and the summary statement will provide the consensus of the review committee.

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Resource Sharing Plans

Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: 1) Data Sharing Plan; 2) Sharing Model Organisms; and 3) Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS).

Budget and Period of Support

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s), in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. . Review assignments will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the NCRR National Advisory Council . The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to the DUNS, CCR Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.

Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

Evaluation

In carrying out its stewardship of human resource-related programs, the NIH may request information essential to an assessment of the effectiveness of this program. Accordingly, recipients are hereby notified that they may be contacted after the completion of this award for periodic updates on various aspects of their employment history, publications, support from research grants or contracts, honors and awards, professional activities, and other information helpful in evaluating the impact of the program.

3. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Non-Competing Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The Additional Instructions for Preparing Continuation Career Development Award (CDA) Progress Reports, must be followed.

A final progress report, invention statement, and Financial Status Report are required when an award is relinquished when a recipient changes institutions or when an award is terminated.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Application Submission Contacts

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading or navigating forms)
Contact Center Phone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov

eRA Commons Help Desk(Questions regarding eRA Commons registration, tracking application status, post submission issues)
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: commons@od.nih.gov

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

William T. Watson, D.V.M., MS, DACLAM
Health Scientist Administrator
Division of Comparative Medicine
National Center for Research Resources(NCRR)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
6701 Democracy Blvd., Room 954
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: 301-435-0744
Email: watsonwm@mail.nih.gov

Peer Review Contact(s)

Bonnie B. Dunn, Ph.D.
Scientific Review Officer
Office of Review
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
6701 Democracy Blvd., Room 1066
Bethesda, MD 20892-4874
Courier service zip code 20817
Telephone: 301-435-0824 (direct line)
Email: Dunnbo@mail.nih.gov).

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Susan Lowenthal
Grants Management Specialist
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
6701 Democracy Blvd., Room 1051
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: 301-435-0848
Email: lowenths@mail.nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Authority and Regulations

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.


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