Subject: NIH GUIDE - Vol. 20, No. 10, March 8, 1991 - RFA CA9113
From: Dot Baker <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 08 Mar 91 10:18 EST

Hi Paul,
#l3  Please post to the listserver as: RFACA-91-13.910308
    Thanks.  dottie
 ---------------------------- Text of forwarded message -----------------------
 
$$XID RFA CA9113 CA-91-13 P1O1 *****************************************
 
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
 
RFA:  CA-91-13
 
P.T. 34, FF; K.W. 0715035, 0710030
 
MINORITY SCHOOL FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARD
 
National Cancer Institute
 
Letter of Intent Receipt Date:  April 5, 1991
Application Receipt Date:  May 17, 1991
 
I. PURPOSE
 
The Comprehensive Minority Biomedical Program, Division of Extramural
Activities, National Cancer Institute (NCI), invites academic health
centers or schools 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.
 
II.  BACKGROUND
 
Despite a variety of efforts directed toward increasing minority faculty
representation, the percentage of minority faculty in U.S. medical and
other health professional schools has remained at consistently low
levels.  The continuation of this deficiency is projected by observing
the discrepancies between the proportion of underrepresented minorities
in the medical school population and the general population.  While 12
percent of the U.S. population is African American, less than 1 percent
of persons holding a Ph.D. in science is African American and
percentages for other minority groups are correspondingly small.
 
The proportion of minority biomedical investigators, receiving funding
support from agencies of the Federal government is strikingly low.  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 to do state-of-the-art research in
this area.
 
III.  GOALS AND SCOPE
 
The objective of this Request for Applications (RFA) 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.
 
IV.  MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
 
Support of this program will be through the National Institutes of
Health grant-in-aid (K14).  Applicants will be responsible for the
planning, direction, and execution of the proposed project.  Except as
otherwise stated in this RFA, 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.  Applicants may request three to five years of support.  Awards
are non-renewable and nontransferable from one awardee to another.
Funding beyond the first year of the grant is contingent on satisfactory
progress during the preceding year.  Future program interest in this
initiative will be announced through the NIH program announcement
mechanism.
 
A set-aside of approximately $300,000 in total costs per year has been
designated for this group of applications.  The earliest feasible
starting date for the initial award will be September 30, 1991.  It is
anticipated that three to four awards will be made.  This funding level
is dependent upon the receipt of a sufficient number of applications of
high scientific merit.  Although this program is provided for in the
financial plans of the NCI, the award of grants pursuant to this RFA is
also contingent upon the availability of funds for this purpose.
 
V. ELIGIBILITY
 
A Minority School
 
A minority school is defined as a medical or non-medical 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.
 
B 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., PhD., or
equivalent 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 Public Health Service
research grant support or its equivalent at the time of Minority School
Faculty Development Award application, nor may they apply currently for
any other type of academic award.  However, they may apply for, and
accept research grant support subsequent to award of the Minority School
Faculty Development Award.
 
C Mentor at Research Center
 
Each candidate must also identify and complete arrangements with a
mentor, preferably at a nearby majority or minority institution (within
reasonable commuting distance) 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 an intensive training period should be developed with the
mentor.
 
The commitment of the mentor and his institution to both the summer and
academic year training must be evidenced by letters of support to be
included in the application.  A commitment from the mentor's department
chairman must be included in the application.
 
D Allowable Costs
 
o Salary:  The salary of the candidate may be requested up to a maximum
of $50,000, plus fringe benefits, per annum for the time and effort
committed to the activities of the award, consistent with similar pay
scales at the applicant institution.
 
o Research Support:  A maximum of $10,000 annually for years 01 and 02
and $20,000 annually for succeeding years to provide for categories
listed below:
 
Equipment:  Specialized research equipment essential to the proposed
program; in accordance with PHS policy, title to such equipment will
vest with the grantee institution.
 
Supplies:  Consumable supplies essential to the proposed program.
 
Travel:  Domestic travel for the awardee that is essential to the
proposed program.
 
Tuition and Fees:  If essential to the awardee's individual research
development program; and
 
Other:  Personnel, publication costs, computer costs, and other costs
necessary for the research program.
 
o Indirect costs will be provided for at a rate of eight percent of the
total direct costs of each award, exclusive of tuition, fees, and
expenditures for equipment.
 
VI.  REVIEW PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA
 
Review Procedures
 
Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by the Division of Research
Grants (DRG) DRG for completeness.  Incomplete applications will be
returned to the applicant without further consideration.  Applications
will be evaluated by NCI program staff to determine whether they are
responsive to this announcement and meet the stated goals and objectives
of this program.  Applications that are judged non-responsive will be
returned to the applicant.  Questions concerning the relevance of
proposed research to the announcement should be directed to program
staff, as described in the INQUIRIES section.
 
In cases where the number of applications is large compared to the
number of awards to be made, the NCI will conduct a preliminary
scientific peer review to eliminate those that are clearly not
competitive.  The NCI will remove from competition those applications
judged to be noncompetitive for award and notify the applicant and
institutional business official.
 
Those applications judged to be both competitive and responsive will be
reviewed for scientific technical merit by an appropriate review group
convened by the Division of Extramural Activities, NCI.  The second
level of review by the National Cancer Advisory Board considers the
special needs of the Institute and the priorities of the National Cancer
Program.
 
Review Criteria
 
  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 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 chairman.
 
  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 as reflected
     by receipt of support from national peer reviewed funding sources.
 
VII.  METHOD OF APPLYING
 
A - Research grant application form PHS 398 (revised 10/88), must be
used in applying for these grants.  These forms are available at most
institutional business offices; from the Office of Grants Inquiries,
Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health, Room 449,
Westwood Building, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20892; and
from the NCI Program Director named below.
 
The RFA label available in the revised 10/88 revision of application
form PHS 398 must be affixed to the bottom of the face page.  Failure to
use this label could result in delayed processing of your application
such that it may not reach the review committee in time for review.  In
addition, the RFA number and title must be typed on line 2 of the face
page of the application form.
 
Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the
Checklist, and four (4) signed, exact photocopies, in one package to 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 838
5333 Westbard Avenue
Bethesda, MD  20892
 
Applications must be received by May 17, 1991.  If an application is
received after that date, it will be returned.  If the proposed research
section of the application submitted in response to this RFA is
substantially similar to a research grant application already submitted
to the NIH for review, but which has not yet been reviewed, the
applicant will be asked to withdraw either the pending application or
the new one.  Simultaneous submission of identical applications will not
be allowed, nor will essentially identical applications be reviewed by
different review committees.  Therefore, an application cannot be
submitted in response to this RFA which is essentially identical to one
that has already been 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.
 
B - Instructions for Completing Applications
 
Items on the application form that require explanation are listed below.
Those not listed are considered to be self-explanatory.  If additional
space is needed to complete any of the items, use continuation pages and
identify each item with its number.
 
o Face Page (Page 12 of application form):  Numbers below refer to items
of Face Page.
 
1 - Title of Application must be the "NCI Minority School Faculty
Development Award:  K-14."
 
2 - Total Period must be at least three and no more than five years.
 
3 - Enter the total amount requested for the entire three to five-year
project period (from the "Budget Estimates for All Years of Support
Requested," page five of the application form).
 
4 - The application form requires signatures of the candidate and an
authorized official of the applicant organization as certification that
they agree to abide by PHS policies if an award is made.
 
o Budget (Use pages four and five of application form and continuation
pages):  Refer to the section of this announcement entitled:
"Provisions of the Award" for allowable budgetary items and amounts of
support that may be requested.
 
o Budget Justification:  All budget items should be clearly labeled and
justified.
 
o Initial 12-month period:  Present a detailed budget with justification
for all requested items.
 
o Future years:  Indicate totals for each budget category and justify
items other than the awardee's salary for each of the four future years.
 
o Other support:  The candidate should include all Federal and
non-Federal fellowship, grant and contract awards - past, current, and
pending.  For each grant listed, give its number, subject of the
research and title of the candidate's position, (e.g., co-investigator,
research assistant) and level of effort.
 
o Reference letters:  Ask three persons to submit letters of reference
to the following address by the application receipt date.  Please list
the names, titles, and complete addresses of these individuals on the
last page of the grant application under the title "Reference Letters."
 
These letters are to be forwarded by the referees directly to:
 
Referral Officer
Division of Extramural Activities
National Cancer Institute
Westwood Building, Room 838
5333 Westbard Avenue
Bethesda, MD  20892
 
o  Research and career development plans to be completed by the
candidate.
 
1.  Describe the research and career development plans for the
requested five-year period of the award.
 
a. Background Information
 
i. Aspects of the candidate's education and training background that
qualify him/her for participation in the program described.
 
ii. Areas in the candidate's educational and training background that
can be developed by the proposed program.
 
b. Research Project
 
The candidate should follow the guidelines in the instructions for
PHS 398 (rev. 10/88) applications, pages 19-23.
 
The candidate should describe the proposed five-year research program
in sufficient detail to permit adequate evaluation.  If, during the
course of the outlined study, the awardee should find that he/she
would like to alter the direction or emphasis of the research, such
a change may be made with the approval of the mentor and of the
NCI.
 
2.  Information Provided by Mentor:
 
The mentor should describe in detail:
 
a.  His/Her concept of the research and career development plan
of the awardee.
 
b.  Specific plans for guidance counseling or any other formal
or informal training of the candidate.
 
c.  How the supervision and training provided the candidate will
promote his/her transition toward the status of an independent
investigator in areas relevant to cancer by the end of the grant
award period.
 
d.  His/Her curriculum vitae, bibliography, and research support.
 
3. Information Provided by Department Chairperson
 
The chairperson of the department sponsoring the candidate should
submit, as part of the application, a signed statement detailing
the Department's commitment to the candidate during the term of the
award.
 
4. Information Provided by the Mentor's Institution
 
The chairperson of the participating Department at the Mentor's
Institution should submit a signed statement detailing the
Department commitment to the development of the candidate during the
term of the award.
 
SIGNED STATEMENT BY THE CANDIDATE:  Candidates should submit as part of
the application a signed statement indicating that they will abide by
the requirements in this RFA and the PHS policies for grants and awards.
 
VII.  LETTER OF INTENT
 
Prospective applicants are asked to submit, by April 5, 1991, a letter
of intent that includes descriptive title of the proposed research, the
name and address of the Principal Investigator, the names of other key
personnel, the participating institutions, and the number and title of
the RFA in response to which the application is being submitted.  The
letter of intent is of great benefit to the NCI in planning for and
implementing the review process although the letter is not required, is
not binding, and does not enter into the review of subsequent
applications.
 
VIII.  INQUIRIES
 
Written or telephone inquiries concerning the objectives and scope of
the RFA or inquiries about whether or not specific proposed research
would be responsive should be directed to:
 
Dr. Lemuel A. Evans
Director
Comprehensive Minority Biomedical Program
National Cancer Institute
Building 31, Room 10A04
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-7344
FAX:  (301) 402-0062
 
The Program Director welcomes the opportunity to clarify any issues or
questions from potential applicants, and to aid in identification of
institutions and potential mentors appropriate to the interests of the
applicant.
 
For information regarding budgetary/administrative issues related to
this RFA, please contact:
 
Mr. Leo Buscher, Jr.
Chief, Grants Administration Branch
National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health
Executive Plaza South, Room 216
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-7753
 
This program is described in the Catalogue of Federal Domestic
Assistance No. 93,398, Cancer Research Manpower.  Awards are under the
authority of 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 42 CFR
Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 74.  This program is not subject to the
intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health
Systems Agency review.