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Date: Wed, 27 Feb 91 14:35 EST
From: Dot Baker <UNCDOT@UNC.BITNET>
Subject: RFA LM-9l-0l       3/l/9l NIH Guide
To: pjones@UNCVX1.BITNET

Hi Paul,
   This is one of three RFAs to be posted today.  Please post this one
to the NIH Listserver as:
      RFALM-91-01.910301
                        Dottie
 ---------------------------- Text of forwarded message -----------------------
 
$$XID RFA LM9101 LM-91-01 P1O1 *****************************************
 
MEDICAL INFORMATICS RESEARCH TRAINING
 
RFA:  LM-91-01
 
P.T. 22; K.W. 1004017, 1004000, 0720005, 0710030
 
National Library of Medicine
 
Letter of Intent Receipt Date:  May 1, 1991
Application Receipt Date:  June 10, 1991
 
PURPOSE
 
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) invites training grant
applications in a single competition for predoctoral and
postdoctoral research training in medical informatics.
Applications may be for the creation of new training centers
or for the renewal of existing NLM-supported training
programs.  Such training will help meet a growing need for
qualified, talented investigators, well prepared to address
information problems in health care, health professional
education, and biomedical research.  These investigators
will contribute to the growth of science by their studies of
knowledge management and by advancing the frontiers of the
computer sciences for acquiring, organizing, retrieving, and
utilizing health knowledge.  The expectation is that
trainees will become able, cross-disciplinary informatics
specialists.
 
BACKGROUND
 
Medical informatics goes beyond the use of the computer as a
computational tool and extends into the process of knowledge
representation, acquisition, storage, retrieval, and
manipulation largely to support reasoning and decision-
making.
 
OBJECTIVES
 
Acceptable applications must clearly indicate that the
primary intent of the program is preparation for an academic
career in Medical Informatics.  Applications must describe
the process by which trainees will become familiar with the
many relevant disciplines.  To prepare trainees for research
careers in a demanding research environment, the sponsorship
of a research-oriented, academic health sciences institution
is critical.  It is expected that the core of training will
emphasize the synthesis, organization, retrieval, and
effective management of knowledge.  The curricula should be
inter-disciplinary by including topics in medicine and the biological
sciences, the cognitive sciences, information science, and computer
science.  Training sites must offer an excellent setting for instruction
in important health computer science research programs, and
opportunities for meaningful trainee involvement in such research.
 
In addition to the general goal of assisting in the
education of persons to take academic positions to
conduct research and teach medical informatics, several more
specialized additions to the training programs are likely to
become available during the next few years to enhance
research training grants approved in the FY 1991 competition.
Consequently, NLM invites applicant institutions to include
their plans for such possible enhancements within the
application.  Some potential enhancement areas (described in
the following paragraphs) are high performance computing and
communication, biotechnology, cancer, and information
systems.   Dental informatics is another area for which
additional training slots may become available in the
future.
 
High performance computers and high speed computer networks
are key technologies for modern science.  Applicants should
be aware that the President's Office of Science and
Technology Policy has proposed a multi-agency High
Performance Computing and Communication Initiative (HPCC).
NLM, representing NIH, is included in the HPCC as the
biomedical component. These activities will include creation
and transmission of digital electronic images, linking of
academic health centers via the future high performance
communication networks, and development of advanced methods
of retrieving biomedical information (as well as molecular
biology computing, and training in informatics).  Applicants
for NLM training program support are encouraged to indicate
their experience in any of these Enhancement Areas, and to
indicate those areas (if any) in which they may plan to
offer training experience, or in which they could in the
future accept candidates for training.
Increases in funding support in
these areas might take the form of supplements to training
grants and/or the availability of individual fellowships in
one or more of the Enhancement Areas.
 
The recent establishment within NLM of the National Center
for Biotechnology Information intensifies the Library's
interest and responsibilities in this special area of
informatics.  The appearance of new experimental methods has
greatly increased the rate at which data are accumulating
about the molecular control of life processes.  Because of
their enormous size and subtle complexity, the vast data
accumulations can only be analyzed and compared by
sophisticated computer methodologies.  Applicants are urged
to include training in biotechnology informatics in their
proposed curriculum, if such training is feasible and
appropriate for the institution.
 
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) plans to make available
up to $100,000 through this RFA.  These funds would support
four (4) trainees whose projects deal with the application
of medical informatics approaches to the problems of cancer
diagnosis and therapy.  For support under this special
training track, sponsors/preceptors must request
consideration for funding by NCI and must describe how
their projects will be of benefit to the field of cancer (as
described below).  The sponsoring institution must have a
strong department in the radiological sciences and indicate
its awareness of and commitment to the application of
medical informatics to radiological research that is
relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
The purpose of this special training track is to stimulate
qualified candidates to apply for post-doctoral Medical
Informatics fellowships in areas of Radiological Sciences
that deal directly with cancer-related topics.  When
possible, the curricula should be interdisciplinary
involving radiation oncology, diagnostic radiology,
cognitive sciences, information sciences and/or computer
science.
 
Training grant applications which include sponsors/
preceptors who are requesting support for cancer-related
projects will be subjected to the same peer review process
as all other applications submitted in response to this RFA,
and grants selected for an award will be administered by the
NLM.  Prospective applicants who have an interest in the
special training track of the National Cancer Institute
should declare their interest and focus that part of the
application on areas in the Radiological Sciences that
support problem-solving in cancer-related topics.  Support
of training slots by the NCI will be based on the Initial
Review Group's recommendation and percentile score,
relevance of the proposed project to the radiological
problems that relate to the diagnosis and treatment of the
cancer patient, program interests and the availability of
funds.
 
The preparation of competent scientists remains the primary
goal of the training program.  However, NLM recognizes that
informatics specialists are often called upon for assistance
in addressing information needs of a health center, and
strongly encourages program directors to provide trainees
with some exposure to the problems of managing and
integrating academic information systems.  Such training may
be of particular interest to students enrolled in an
Master of Library Science program.
 
Institutions wishing to include the research experience
gained by a trainee toward the research requirements of
Board certification may do so at their discretion.
Proposals designed as preparation for certification in toto
in medical specialties will not be acceptable.
 
MECHANISM OF SUPPORT
 
NLM plans to make available approximately $3 million for
this program in FY 1992.  It is expected that six to ten
training grants will be awarded; however, actual award of
grants pursuant to this RFA is necessarily contingent upon
receipt of funds appropriated for this purpose.  The
specific number will also depend upon the merit and scope of
applications received as well as the availability of funds.
These awards are authorized by the Medical Library
Assistance Act and are not part of the National Research
Service Awards Program of the Public Health Service.
However, the policies and requirements of the NLM program
are similar to Public Health Service National Research
Service Awards.
 
Trainees must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the
United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent
residence at the time of appointment.  Individuals on
temporary or student visas are not eligible.
 
Predoctoral students who have been accepted as candidates
for the doctor of philosophy of science or equivalent degree
at their institutions may be appointed as predoctoral
trainees for a period not to exceed three years.
Individuals who wish to interrupt their medical, veterinary,
dental, or other professional school studies for a year or
more to engage in full-time research training before
completing their professional degrees are eligible.  Also
eligible are students enrolled in MLS programs.
 
The current stipened level for predoctoral individuals at
all levels of experience is $8,800 per annum.  There is no
payback requirement.
 
Postdoctoral individuals must have received, as of the
beginning date of appointment, a Ph.D., M.D., D.O., D.D.S.,
D.V.M., O.D., D.P.M., Sc.D., Eng.D., Dr.P.H., D.N.Sc., or
equivalent degree from an accredited domestic or foreign
institution. Certification by an authorized official of the
degree-granting institution that all degree requirements
have been met is acceptable.
 
The postdoctoral stipend for the first year of support is
determined by the number of years of relevant postdoctoral
experience at the time of appointment.  Relevant experience
may include research experience (including industrial),
teaching, internship, residency, or other time spent in
full-time studies in a health-related field beyond that of
the qualifying doctoral degree.  The stipend for each
additional year of support is the next level on the stipend
structure.  Current postdoctoral stipends are as follows:
 
Years of Relevant Experience        Stipend
 
             0                      $18,600
             1                       19,700
             2                       25,600
             3                       26,900
             4                       28,200
             5                       29,500
             6                       30,800
             7 or more               32,300
 
Stipends may be supplemented by an institution from
non-Federal funds.  No Federal funds may be used for stipend
supplementation unless specifically authorized under the
terms of the program from which funds are derived.  Under no
circumstances may the conditions of stipend supplementation
detract from or prolong the training.
 
Tuition, fees, and medical insurance are allowable trainee
costs if such charges are required of all persons in a
similar training status at the institution, without regard
to their source of support.  Tuition at the postdoctoral
level is limited to that required for specific courses in
support of the approved training program.  Costs of trainee
travel, including attendance at scientific meetings that
the institution determines to be necessary to the
individual's training, may be requested.
 
Institutional costs of up to $1,500 per year per predoctoral
trainee and up to $2,500 per year per postdoctoral trainee
may be requested to defray the costs of training-related
expenses such as staff salaries, consultant costs,
equipment, research supplies, staff travel, and other
expenses.  The availability of funds may modify the maximum
levels of institutional costs awarded.  An indirect cost
allowance based on 8% of total allowable direct costs or
actual indirect costs, whichever is less, may be requested.
 
In their proposed budgets, applicants should request trainee
travel funds for a two-day meeting each year, most likely to
be held at the NLM in Bethesda.
The purpose of these meetings will be to exchange
information among trainees, program directors, NLM program
staff, and other selected participants.
 
NLM recognizes that the technological fields upon which
medical informatics is based are advancing at a rapid rate.
Special hardware, new software, and access to centralized
databases and information sources continue to evolve, and
the trainees must be given the opportunity to work with the
latest equipment.  The necessity for this support is a
unique one occasioned by the nature of the field of medical
informatics and the type of training required.  The budget
requested may not exceed $6,000 per trainee and must relate
reasonably to the provision of computer and information
support.
 
Short-term traineeships are available for students in
medical or other professional schools of the health
sciences.  Such training is intended to give a limited
number of selected students summer or "off-quarter"
opportunities for involvement in research so that they might
consider medical informatics as a career option.  Students
selected should be encouraged to have two or more short-term
training appointments during the period of their
professional school years, thus giving an individual student
multiple periods of exposure to research training.  Senior
students would not normally be eligible for a first
appointment to a short-term traineeship; exceptions may be
requested from NLM.  The stipend level for such short-term
traineeships is at an $8,800 annual rate.
 
Recognizing that training programs of this nature require
reasonably long-term continuity, NLM is prepared to approve
awards for five-year periods.  At an appropriate time, the
availability of renewal support for these training program
grants will be announced.
 
REVIEW PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA
 
Prior to initial scientific merit review, a triage mechanism
may be employed to screen out applications that are clearly
noncompetitive.
Applications will be evaluated initially by an NLM peer
review committee for scientific and technical merit.  A
second review will be conducted by the Board of Regents of
the National Library of Medicine.
 
The training programs should demonstrate an ability to
recruit persons with high potential for academic research
careers and for continuing in the field of Medical
Informatics.  The trainees should be recognized as potential
scientific leaders, able to build new departments and
strengthen existing ones.  Although postdoctoral candidates
for training should be clearly destined for health research
careers in this field, their doctorates may have been earned
in any appropriate field of endeavor, such as medicine,
dentistry, nursing, computer science, engineering or any of
the biological sciences.  Sites should be academic medical
centers; however, consortium training arrangements with
other graduate schools and institutions are encouraged.
 
The NIH and NLM policy is to promote broader and systematic
efforts to recruit women and individuals from minority
groups who are currently underrepresented in biomedical and
behavioral research.  Initial review groups will address the
following points:
 
o  The applicant's specific plans for the recruitment of
individuals from underrepresented groups.
 
o  The applicant's past record in selecting representatives
from underrepresented groups and in training them for
research programs.
 
Accomplishments in these areas will ensure that the
underrepresented are progressively better represented in
biomedical and behavioral research.  Applications which do
not have satisfactory plans for the recruitment of trainees
from such groups will not be funded.
 
Effective July 1, 1990, all competing institutional training
grant applications must include a description of the formal
or informal activities related to instruction in the
responsible conduct of research that will be incorporated
into the proposed research training program.  A statement of
NIH policy on instructions in the responsible conduct of
research appeared in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
on December 22, 1989 (Vol. 18, No. 45., Page 1) and an
update of this announcement appeared in the NIH Guide for
Grants and Contracts on August 17, 1990.
 
Review criteria will include the curricular offerings and
participation in or involvement with on-going research in
the field of medical informatics.  Program directors and
their colleagues must demonstrate success in obtaining
research support.  Reviewers will assess the strength of
linkages with other relevant disciplines in medicine and the
computer sciences.  These linkages may be forged within the
institution or with others, possibly in a consortium.  The
positive sponsorship and contribution of resources by the
applicant institution will be significant to reviewers.
Institutional prospects for growth of the computer sciences,
including research career opportunities, will also be
significant.
 
LETTER OF INTENT:
 
Prospective applicants are asked to submit by May 1, 1991, a
letter of intent that includes a descriptive title, the name and
The letter of intent is requested in order to
address of the Principal Investigator, the names and addresses of
any other key investigators, and the names of other participating
institutions.
provide an indication of the number and scope of
applications to be reviewed.  The letter of intent is not
binding, nor is it a requirement for submission of an
application.  The letter of intent should be sent to:
 
Roger W. Dahlen, Ph.D.
Chief, Biomedical Information
Support Branch
Extramural Programs
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Building 38A, Room 5S522
Bethesda, MD  20894
Telephone:  (301) 496-4221
FAX:  (301) 402-0421
 
METHOD OF APPLYING
 
Applications for these training awards must be submitted
on PHS 398 (rev. 10/88).  Forms may be obtained from institutional
application control offices and upon request from:
 
Office of Grants Inquiries
Division of Research Grants
National Institutes of Health
Westwood Building, Room 448
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-7441
 
Applicants should clearly identify the application as a response to this
RFA by entering the title, "Medical Informatics Research Training," and
the RFA number on line 2 of the face page.
 
The mailing
label available in the 10/88 revision (reprinted 9/89) of the
form 398 should be used and the RFA label should be stapled
to the bottom of the face page.  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.
 
Send or deliver the completed application and six (6)
signed, exact photocopies to:
 
Division of Research Grants
National Institutes of Health
Westwood Building, Room 240
Bethesda, MD  20892
 
Applications must be received by June 10, 1991.  The initial
review group will meet in July/August, and the Board of
Regents of the NLM will conduct a
final review in September 1991.  NLM will notify successful
applicants about an intention to award shortly after the
Board meeting.  Although notification of intent to award
cannot assure an award, only those so notified will be
considered for funding.  It is intended to issue awards with
a July 1, 1992 begin date.  In the administration of awards,
the policies and requirements of the grant programs of the
Public Health Service apply.
 
Inquiries about the program and this announcement may be
directed to program officials at:
 
Biomedical Information Support Branch
Extramural Programs
National Library of Medicine
Bethesda, MD  20894
Telephone:  (301) 496-4221
 
For fiscal and administrative matters, contact:
 
Ruth Bortz
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Building 38A, Room 5S522
Bethesda, MD  20892
Telephone:  (301) 496-4253
 
This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance, Medical Library Assistance, 13.879.  Grants will
be awarded under the authority of the Public Health Service
Act, Section 472 (42 USC 286b-3) and administered under PHS
grant policies and Federal Regulations, most specifically at
42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Part 74.  This program is not
subject to review by a Health Systems Agency nor to the
requirements of OMB Circular A-95.

