NIH Small Grants

1. NIH Small Grants Linda Rueckert NEIU Office of Research Development

2. This PowerPoint can be found at:http://www.neiu.edu/~ordev

3. Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA; R15) • Small grants (R03) • NIH – Academic-Community Partnership Conference Series • General information about NIH

4. National Institutes of Health Office of the Director National Institute on Aging National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Cancer Institute National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Eye Institute National Institute of General Medical Sciences National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Human Genome Research Institute National Institute of Mental Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institute of Nursing Research National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine National Library of Medicine National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities Fogarty International Center National Center for Research Resources Clinical Center Center for Scientific Review Center for Information Technology

5. Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)

6. Objectives of the AREA Program • Stimulate research at smaller schools that are not major recipients of NIH funding • Support meritorious scientific research in the biomedical and behavioral sciences • Expose students to meritorious research

7. Features of the AREA Program • Up to $150,000 direct costs, plus applicable facilities and administrative (F&A) costs, expressed in modules of $25,000 • Up to 36 months of support awarded in a single budget/project period. • Majority of research must be done at the eligible, applicant organization. • Eligible for administrative supplements for under-represented minority students Details: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-042.html

8. Allocation Examples of $150,000 (in $25,000 modules)

9. Eligibility of College/University/School • Domestic educational institution (public or private) • Institution granting baccalaureate or higher level degree in a health-related science, such as biology, chemistry, microbiology, bioengineering, bioinformatics, computational biology, etc. • In 4 or more of the last 7 years, no more than $3 Million in Total Costs (DC + F&A Costs) per year in NIH research support. • Eligible at time of application and at time of award

10. Eligibility of College/University/School • Eligibility based on entire College/University or on individual health-related Colleges with the University. • Eligibility “formula” is two-tiered. Based on award data for last 7 fiscal years. Only determines ineligibility. • Breaks out the following Colleges within a University: School/College of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Podiatry, Nutrition, Dentistry, Osteopathy, Pharmacy, Public Health, Optometry, Nursing, Chiropractic Medicine, and Allied Health. All NIH funding considered “Other Academic.”

11. Eligibility of thePrincipal Investigator • Tied to eligibility of applicant organization • No application for the same project as a pending AREA application in the same cycle • Eligible for only one AREA grant at a time • Must be registered in ERA Commons • Transfer of PI may cause ineligibility • Publications a plus but not required; expertise may be demonstrated by preliminary data

12. Submitting an Application • Electronic submission only • Modular format; use modular budget forms • Appendices permitted but limited • Three Receipt dates per year: February 25, June 25, and October 25 (also AIDS-specific receipt dates) • Due electronically by 5:00 p.m. local time. • New, Renewal, and Resubmissions permitted • 25 pages allowed for research plan • R15 applications are for research, not training

13. AREA or R15 Application Timeline Cycle I Cycle II Cycle III Submissions Feb 25 June 25 Oct 25 Review Jun/Jul Oct/Nov Feb/Mar Council Sept/Oct Jan/Feb May/Jun Award Dec/Jan April /May July/Aug

14. Review Criteria and Considerations • Standard NIH review criteria: significance, approach, innovation, investigator, environment. • Reviewers to comment in the Overall Evaluation on whether the application addresses the goals of the AREA program • Priority scores only; not percentiled

15. AREA Application & Award Data1999-2005

16. Small Research Grants (R03)

17. Small Research Grants (R03) • Up to $50K per year for 2 Years (plus F&A) • Some institutes may have different restrictions (e.g. new investigators only)

18. Small Research Grants (R03) cont’d • Electronic submission through grants.gov • Receipt dates: Feb. 16, June 16, Oct. 16 • Research plan may not exceed 10 pages • Preliminary data not required More info: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-180.html

19. Academic-Community Partnership Conference Series

20. Academic-Community Partnership Conference Series • Limited to EARDA institutions. • Conduct health-disparities related workshops and meetings. • Topics: violence reduction, obesity, health literacy, information dissemination, infant mortality, fibroid tumors. • Academics and community members meet to develop a research agenda.

21. Academic-Community Partnership Conference Series cont’d • Up to $30,000 per year. • Up to 3 years. • Develop a proposal for a larger grant to carry out the research. • Letter of intent receipt date: May 17 • Application receipt date: June 17 More info: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-106.html

22. NIH – General Information • Types of Funding Opportunity Announcements • Organization of NIH • Application Process • Proposal writing tips

23. National Institutes of Health FOAs • “Parent” FOAs • Program Announcements (PAs) • Requests for Application (RFAs) • All posted in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts (http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/)

24. NIH Parent FOAs • Generic • Can be on any health-related topic • Ongoing receipt dates • Examples: R03 (small grants); R15; R01

25. Program Announcement (PA) • More specific than parents • Same receipt dates • Same review process • “Fit” to PA not part of review • No funds set aside • Can revise and resubmit

26. NIH Request for Applications • More specific • Funds set aside • Success rate depends on number of appls • Separate review with specific criteria • One time only - no resubmission • May have different receipt date

27. NIH Organization

28. The NIH Extramural Team Review Staff Grants Management Program Staff

29. National Institutes of Health Office of the Director National Institute on Aging National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Cancer Institute National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Eye Institute National Institute of General Medical Sciences National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Human Genome Research Institute National Institute of Mental Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institute of Nursing Research National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine National Library of Medicine National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities Fogarty International Center National Center for Research Resources Clinical Center Center for Scientific Review Center for Information Technology

30. National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Eye Institute (NEI) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) National Institute on Aging (NIA) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) National Library of Medicine (NLM) Fogarty International Center (FIC) National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) with ExtramuralFunding Authority

31. NICHD Organizational Chart • Center for Developmental Biology and Perinatal Medicine (CDBPM) • Center for Population Research (CPR) • National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) • Center for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC)

32. Center for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC) • The Center for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC), serves as the principal NIH source of support for research and research training in maternal and child health. CRMC-supported scientists are advancing fundamental and clinical knowledge concerning maternal health and child development problems such as low birth weight, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, specific learning disabilities, congenital and genetic defects, growth retardation, HIV, and other congenital infections and diseases. The major goals of the Center are to ensure that mothers and families are healthy, and that all babies are born healthy and will reach adulthood and achieve their full potential. • Endocrinology, Nutrition and Growth Branch (ENG) • Child Development and Behavior Branch (CDB) • Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch (PAMA) • Obstetric and Pediatric Pharmacology Branch (OPP)

33. NIH Application Process

34. Identify research question with clear aims and hypotheses • Identify potential collaborators • Contact program staff from NICHD • Send brief concept paper identifying significance, aims, hypotheses, methods, sample, analysis, and impact

35. Program Officials’ role in Application Development • Develop concepts for Institute/Center Initiatives • Communicate goals of Institute/Center Initiatives • Advise applicants on funding mechanisms • Provide grant writing advice and study section information • Advises on application procedures, requirements and general grant policy

36. Over 80,000 applications are received each year by CSR, which checks for compliance with NIH policies and then makes 2 assignments: • Program assignment to Institute/Center (IC) for possible funding consideration • Review assignment to a Scientific Review Group (SRG)

37. Referral for Review • Assignments are made to CSR Study Section or to an Institute/Center Review Group • Topics addressed in the application • Areas of expertise in the Study Section • Certain kinds of applications always go to an Institute/Center for review

38. Review Criteria • Significance • Approach • Innovation • Investigators • Environment Plus HS Protection & Inclusion of Gender, Minority and Children

39. Grant Application Cycle National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review (Receipt & Referral) Initiates Research Idea Submits Application Accepts & Assigns to IC & SRG Principal Investigator Applicant Institution Scientific Review Group Reviews for Scientific Merit Institute/Center Conducts Research Receives AwardMakes Assurances Allocates Funds Evaluates for Program Relevance Advisory Councils and Boards Performs Second-Level Review Institute Director Makes Funding Decision

40. Timeline: New Applications Receipt Date February1 June1 October 1 Council Review October February June Award Date December April July Scientific Review July October March

41. Proposal Writing Tips • Carefully read instructions before starting • Know and refer to the literature of your area • State strong rationale of proposed investigation • Include well-designed tables and figures • Present an organized, lucid write-up • Obtain pre-review from faculty at your institution • Never assume reviewers “will know what you mean.”

42. Grantsmanship • Remember, reviewers have a day job • Project a realistic amount of work • Be sure you have found key references • Know your reviewers/peers • Minimize typographical errors

43. Concerns Raised by Reviewers • Lack of new or original ideas • Absence of an acceptable scientific rationale, uncritical approach • Lack of experience in the essential methodology • Questionable reasoning in experimental approach • Diffuse, superficial, or unfocused research plan, insufficient experimental detail • Lack of knowledge of published relevant work • Unrealistic amount of work • Uncertainty concerning future directions