April 25, 2012

Feature Articles

Roundup on Research Supplements: Reissued PAs, Electronic Requests, and More

Opportunities and Resources

In The News

Advice Corner

Peer Reviewers: Take Advantage of Updated Resources
Reader Questions
- Does NIAID accept R21 applications that are not tied to an Institute-specific program announcement?
- Is there a deadline for diversity supplement applications?

New Funding Opportunities

See the list

Roundup on Research Supplements: Reissued PAs, Electronic Requests, and More

Spring has sprung and so have some reissued program announcements (PAs), like those for Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research and Research Supplements to Promote Re-Entry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers.
New Ways to Submit
Be sure to read the PAs since they have new information on submitting your requests electronically through the eRA Commons or Grants.gov, two options you can use—in addition to the paper PHS 398 forms—if your parent award has moved to electronic submission.
Keep in mind you must go the paper route if 1) your parent award has not moved to electronic submission and 2) for the time being, you want to apply for an NIAID Primary Caregiver Technical Assistance Supplement.
For NIH's official announcement of the new electronic processes, read the February 13, 2012, Guide notice.
Consider Supplements and Their Advantages
For those who haven't given research supplements a second thought, we encourage you to consider looking into the announcements cited above.
Through a research supplement, you can add funds to your existing grant to help increase the participation of scientists from underrepresented groups in biomedical research or help promising researchers return to a scientific career.
In short, research supplements are a win-win situation. PIs get to mentor high-quality candidates and expand their workforce while those hired get a career development opportunity and can tap into salary and fringe benefits.
To take advantage, consider applying if you're a PI; and if you want to be hired, ask an NIAID-supported PI to take you on in his or her lab.
For more information, including review criteria, requirements, and instructions on submitting an application, go to Research Supplements, and read our Special Supplements for Individuals SOP.
Header: Opportunities and Resources.

Seeking Clinical Trials Units for NIAID Networks

Can your organization provide the necessary framework for an efficient, high performing clinical trials unit (CTU) that supports our clinical research networks?
If so, you may want to check out our recently released funding opportunity announcement (FOA) that calls for establishing CTUs in the following areas:

HIV/AIDS and HIV-Associated Infections in Pediatric and Maternal Populations
Integrated Strategies to Prevent HIV Infection
Microbicides to Prevent HIV Infection
Therapeutics for HIV/AIDS and HIV-Associated Infections in Adults
Vaccines to Prevent HIV Infection
Antibacterial Resistance

An optimal CTU will have the resources to conduct multiple research projects at the same time, respond quickly to ever-changing opportunities, and contribute to developing and implementing the research plans of a number of NIAID’s clinical research networks.
Role of the CTUs
We expect to fund at least 25 CTUs, both domestic and international, to be the nucleus of the research activity.
Each CTU must furnish scientific and administrative expertise as well as the infrastructure to support two or more of our HIV/AIDS clinical research networks.
As a CTU applicant, you may also propose to be part of the antibacterial resistance network, though it’s not required.
Applications are due by January 29, 2013. For complete details, read the April 10, 2012, Guide notice.
This announcement connects with our larger effort to expand on the success of our six current HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks by creating an infrastructure that can perform both HIV/AIDS research and research on antibacterial resistance.
In January, we released six FOAs to create leadership groups for the clinical research networks.
You can learn more about their tie-in with the CTUs in our February 1, 2012, Funding Newsletter article "Lead the Way for NIAID’s Clinical Trials Networks."
Grantsmanship Workshops
To help you navigate the application and review process for this FOA, we are holding three workshops:

July 28 and 29 in Washington, D.C.
August 16 to 18 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
October 25 to 27 in Johannesburg, South Africa

Check Restructuring the NIAID Clinical Trials Networks for upcoming details on these workshops, as well as information on the latest resources, policies, and guidance.
You can also Submit a Question to our program staff.
And to better understand our vision for the CTUs, go to The Future of the NIAID Clinical Trial Units.
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Get On Board with U.S.-China Collaborative Research

Through a new funding opportunity, U.S. and Chinese investigators can collaborate on basic, translational, and applied research in allergy, immunology, and infectious diseases (including HIV/AIDS and its comorbidities and coinfections)—plus cancer, mental health, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.
With a U.S.-China collaborative research grant, you can continue existing biomedical research partnerships or create new ones with Chinese collaborators who are current or former grantees of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
To apply, make sure you and your counterpart submit corresponding applications by September 18, 2012, to both NIH and NSFC respectively.
For more information, read the April 4, 2012, Guide notice.
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TB Initiative Seeks U.S.-India Collaborations

Eager to conduct tuberculosis (TB) research with an Indian collaborator?
Take a look at a new opportunity Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program (VAP) Initiative on Tuberculosis (TB) Research: Regional Prospective Observational Research for Tuberculosis

.
In a nutshell, the program supports partnerships between U.S.-based PIs and Indian scientists to establish long-term longitudinal cohorts of TB patients and their contacts (or other high TB risk patients) for studies using state-of-the art research tools.
As a condition of eligibility, you'll need to submit a letter of intent by June 15, 2012. Read the India US TB Cohort RFP

for details, and email TBCohort@crdfglobal.org with questions.
A non-NIAID extension of our Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program (VAP), this initiative comes from CRDF Global

, in partnership with the Indian government’s Department of Biotechnology

, the Indian Council of Medical Research

, and the NIH Office of AIDS Research.
Though we do not manage these awards, the initiative serves to further our TB Research Goals.
Header: Other News.

News Flash: FY 2012 Small Business Paylines Go Up

We raised paylines for small business awards. New paylines are:

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR, R41, R42)—32 overall impact score
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR, R43, R44)—30 overall impact score

Learn about our funding policies at Paylines and Funding. For more on SBIR and STTR awards, go to Small Business Awards.
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A Round of Applause for the Public Access Cause

Congratulations to all those grantees who value the term of award we call “public access.”
Because of your diligence, compliance is up to 75 percent across NIH.
We thank you, as do the clinicians, patients, educators, students, reviewers, and fellow investigators who reap the benefits of being able to read your research results on PubMed Central.
Not familiar with public access? Learn more in our Public Access of Publications SOP.
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NIH Podcasts: Catch Them Three Ways

For tips, advice, and insights on grant topics from NIH staff in the know, tune into podcasts from NIH's Office of Extramural Research.
You can catch them whenever you want, however you choose:

Go to All About Grants Podcast for new podcasts as they are released.
Subscribe through iTunes .
Catch the podcast RSS using your favorite software.

To clear up possible confusion, the podcasts are an NIH resource, not to be mistaken for the All About Grants: Tutorials and Samples portal on our Research Funding Web site.
Visit our portal for links to helpful resources, such as timelines, application tools, and tutorials like the Strategy for NIH Funding and others in several topic areas (e.g., human subjects and small business).
Header: Advice Corner.

Peer Reviewers: Take Advantage of Updated Resources

To help make your life a little easier, NIH has updated its guidance documents and critique templates.
Be sure to check out the following on Guidelines and Fill-able Templates for Reviewers, but be aware that when NIAID conducts the peer review, you’ll need to follow the guidance you get from your scientific review officer.

Templates with review criteria that match those in parent program announcements.
Two "Review Criteria at a Glance"; one for research grants and one for training grants.
NIH Lobbying Activities Policy.
Guidelines and templates for the following:
- R Awards Table
  - R34 Investigator-Initiated Research Project Grant Applications
  - R25 NIH Research Education Grant Applications
- K Awards Table
  - K22 Career Transition Award
  - K25 Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award
  - K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award
- T Awards Table
  - T35 NRSA Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants
  - K12 Institutional Clinician Scientist Program Award

For additional information, go to NIH's Peer Review Policies and Practices.
Header: Reader Questions.

Feel free to send us a question at deaweb@niaid.nih.gov. After responding to you, we may include your question in the newsletter, incorporate it into the NIAID Research Funding site, or both.
"Does NIAID accept R21 applications that are not tied to an Institute-specific program announcement?"—Joshua Fierer, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Yes, we do, as long as your area of science fits our mission. Use the NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21) parent program announcement.
Before you write your application, contact one of the program officers listed on our Small and Exploratory/Developmental Research Grants SOP to discuss your application.
"Is there a deadline for diversity supplement applications?"—anonymous reader
There is no deadline for submission. However, there are some important dates to keep in mind when you plan your submission:

March 1. If you're trying to bring on high school or undergraduate students for summer work, we need your application by March 1 to ensure you receive funding by summer of the calendar year. As a rule we suggest you submit applications for these students as early as possible.
April 15. If you're trying to get funded before the end of a fiscal year (September 30), you have to apply by April 15.

Read more at Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research.
Header: New Funding Opportunities.