Funding-Limited Submission - NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (P30); January 11, 2010

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) invites applications from qualified institutions for support of Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) Core Centers. A Core Center Grant is an institutional award to support centralized scientific resources and facilities shared by investigators with existing research projects. The NIEHS plans to award up to $6 million in FY 2011 to fund approximately four grants in response to this FOA. New or first-time applicants can apply for up to 4 years of support. New applications are limited to requests for no more than $600,000 in direct costs in the first year; $700,000 in direct costs in the second year; $800,000 in direct costs in the third year; and $900,000 in direct costs in the fourth year and a minimum of $100,000 per year is to be dedicated to the Community Outreach and Education Core (COEC).

General Description and Required Components

The EHS Core Center must be an identifiable organizational unit within a single university, medical center, or a consortium of cooperating institutions with a university affiliation. To qualify for an EHS Core Center the applicant institution must already have a substantial base of ongoing, independently supported, peer-reviewed research projects clearly dedicated to the study of environmental health sciences or environmental medicine, a substantial portion of which should be supported by NIEHS. This currently funded research base provides the major support for a group of investigators who would benefit from shared resources. The research base must exist prior to the submission of an application and will be considered by program staff. Focus, relevance, interrelationships, quality, productivity, and, to some extent, quantity, are all considerations in judging the adequacy of the research base.

Required Components are:

1. Center Director: required commitment is a minimum of 20% effort to the Center.

2. Administrative Core: oversees organizational, budgeting and reporting aspects and provides the leadership for scientific and programmatic activities.

3. A Pilot Projects Program is required and is considered to be an integral part of the support provided. This program provides modest support for new initiatives or feasibility projects for either new investigators or for established investigators who are moving into research areas of direct interest to the EHS Core Centers. Up to 25% of the budget may be allocated to the pilot projects program.

4. Facility Cores: the major function of the EHS Core Center, sharing facilities, enhancing research or improving cost effectiveness of services, techniques, or instrumentation used by the member investigators. A Center should have a minimum of two facility cores - including the required Integrative Health Sciences Facility Core (see below) - and each facility core must serve at least three users.

The Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core is intended to facilitate translational and clinical investigations, either patient-oriented or population-based research, that enhance translation of basic research findings into practical applications for patients and communities. Services available through this Core may, for example, provide the opportunity for Center members to obtain clinical samples and patient data needed for their research. These services could also be directed at studies of the etiology, pathogenesis, and prognosis of disease in patient populations.

5. Community Outreach and Education Core (COEC) that serves as a bi-directional resource for information and expertise to surrounding communities, stakeholders, and Center members to further scientific collaborations and dissemination of research results.

See the complete announcement for details: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-10-001.html

Because the NIEHS limits an institution to one application, UK has established an internal selection process and a deadline for receipt of applications. Researchers wanting to submit a proposal to establish an Environmental Health Sciences Core Center are to send the following material electronically to the Office of the Vice President for Research at vpr@email.uky.edu and a copy to their Associate Dean for Research by Monday, January 11, 2010:

1. Names and departments of the Project Director(s) and other key personnel of the project team

2. A list of currently active NIEHS-supported and other funded grants relevant to the proposed Core Center (PI name and grant number)

3. Project narrative – maximum 4 pages. Identify the central theme and the goals of the Core Center; briefly describe the training and career development plans, the Pilot Projects Program, and the Community Outreach and Education Core

The Vice President for Research will appoint a committee to review the material and make recommendations as to the University’s applicant. The individual will be notified in time for the March 1, 2010 letter of intent and March 31, 2010 complete application deadlines.

Questions about the submission process may be sent to Ms. Annette Evans in the Office of the Vice President for Research (alevan4@email.uky.edu or 257-1