NIH Small Grants

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NIH Small Grants

• Linda Rueckert
• NEIU Office of Research Development

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This PowerPoint can be found athttp//www.neiu
.edu/ordev
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• Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA R15)
• Small grants (R03)
• NIH Academic-Community Partnership Conference
  Series
• General information about NIH

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

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Features of the AREA Program

• Up to 150,000 direct costs, plus applicable
  facilities and administrative (FA) 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-fi
  les/PA-06-042.html

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Allocation Examples of 150,000 (in 25,000
modules)
Budget Period First Year Second Year Third Year
3-Year Award 50,000 50,000 50,000
2-Year Award 75,000 75,000
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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 FA Costs) per year
  in NIH research support.
• Eligible at time of application and at time of
  award

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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.

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Eligibility of the Principal 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

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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 500 p.m. local time.
• New, Renewal, and Resubmissions permitted
• 25 pages allowed for research plan
• R15 applications are for research, not training

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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

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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

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AREA Application Award Data1999-2005
Year Competing Awards Success Rate Awarded (1,000s)
1999 441 180 39.5 17,634
2000 501 125 25.0 19,871
2001 523 164 33.8 23,901
2002 500 188 38.8 26,277
2003 506 214 42.3 30,467
2004 619 195 31.2 37,633
2005 662 197 29.8 39,740
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Small Research Grants (R03)
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Small Research Grants (R03)

• Up to 50K per year for 2 Years (plus FA)
• Some institutes may have different restrictions
  (e.g. new investigators only)

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Small Research Grants (R03) contd

• 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
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Academic-Community Partnership Conference Series
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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.

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Academic-Community Partnership Conference Series
contd

• 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
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NIH General Information

• Types of Funding Opportunity Announcements
• Organization of NIH
• Application Process
• Proposal writing tips

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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/)

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NIH Parent FOAs

• Generic
• Can be on any health-related topic
• Ongoing receipt dates
• Examples R03 (small grants) R15 R01

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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

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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

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NIH Organization
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The NIH Extramural Team
Review Staff
Program Staff
Grants Management
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National Institutes of Health
Office of the Director
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
National Institute of Arthritis
and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
National Cancer Institute
National Institute on Aging
National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Rese
arch
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences
National Institute on Deafness and
Other Communication Disorders
National Eye Institute
National Human Genome Research Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
National Institute of Mental Health
National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
National Institute of Nursing Research
National Library of Medicine
National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine
National Center on Minority Health and Health
Disparities
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and
Bioengineering
Fogarty International Center
National Center for Research Resources
Center for Scientific Review
Center for Information Technology
Clinical Center
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NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) with
ExtramuralFunding Authority

• 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)

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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)

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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)

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NIH Application Process
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• 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

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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

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• 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)

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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

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Review Criteria

• Significance
• Approach
• Innovation
• Investigators
• Environment
• Plus HS Protection Inclusion of Gender,
  Minority and Children

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Grant Application Cycle
National Institutes of Health
Center for Scientific Review (Receipt Referral)
Initiates Research Idea
Submits Application
Accepts Assigns to IC SRG

Scientific Review Group
Applicant Institution
Principal Investigator
Reviews for Scientific Merit
Institute/Center
Receives AwardMakes Assurances Allocates Funds
Conducts Research
Evaluates for Program Relevance
Advisory Councils and Boards
Performs Second-Level Review
Institute Director
Makes Funding Decision
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Timeline New Applications
Council Review October February June
Award Date December April July

• Receipt
• Date
• February 1
• June 1
• October 1

Scientific Review July October March
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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.

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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

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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