FUNDING-Attention
Investigators; August 25, 2017
The UK Center for Appalachian
Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES) is now accepting
applications for Pilot Projects. The overall goal of the UK-CARES Pilot Program
is to enhance the interactions and expand the critical mass of investigators
and citizen scientists with expertise and experience in transdisciplinary,
translational environmental health research on the UK campus and in Appalachian
communities. The purpose of this funding mechanism is to provide a new
opportunity and resources to support innovative, collaborative environmental
research. Two categories of awards will be available:
Ø
Innovation/High
Impact Awards
Ø
Early
Career Investigator Awards
Deadline
for submission of Letter of Intent: August 25, 2017
Information on the program is found in the attached
RFA.
For questions contact tecurry@uky.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
UK Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences and the Center for
Clinical and Translational Science
Call
for Applications
Pilot and Innovation
Research Program
The UK Center for Appalachian
Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES) is now accepting
applications for Pilot Projects. The overall goal of the UK-CARES Pilot Program
is to enhance the interactions and expand the critical mass of investigators
and citizen scientists with expertise and experience in transdisciplinary,
translational environmental health research on the UK campus and in Appalachian
communities (targeted region: Big Sandy, Cumberland Valley, Kentucky River).
The purpose of this funding mechanism is to provide a new opportunity and
resources to support innovative, collaborative environmental research.
The categories of awards will
be as follows:
I. INNOVATION/HIGH IMPACT
AWARD
This award is for
investigators at all stages of career development; junior, midlevel, and senior
investigators, and is intended to stimulate innovation and to support pilot
studies that will lead to extramural funding. Pilot grants will support
projects that catalyze new research opportunities, expand research interactions
with citizen scientists, volunteer faculty, or bring new dimensions to the
Center. The total award is limited to $50,000 which must be spent over 18
months.
o
Eligibility
is limited to full-time faculty (all title series including regular, research,
clinical and special) at the University of Kentucky and affiliated institutions.
o
Investigators in training
including residents, post-doctoral fellows, and clinical fellows are NOT
eligible to serve as PIs but may be co-investigators.
o
Volunteer
faculty, adjunct faculty, and citizen scientists are NOT eligible to serve as
PIs but are encouraged as co-investigators. UK-CARES partner organizations and
collaborators are encouraged to serve as volunteer faculty and/or citizen
scientists.
II. EARLY CAREER
INVESTIGATOR AWARD
This award is intended to
support pilot studies by early stage investigators to obtain preliminary data
for an extramural grant submission. The maximum award will be $25,000 which
must be spent over 18 months. This award is only open to investigators in the
early stage of their career, or investigators who are transitioning into a new
area. Applicants must identify a mentor to assist with the investigator’s
training. If appropriate for the focus of the project, applicants are expected
to identify at least one citizen scientist in Appalachian Kentucky to
collaborate on the project.
o
Eligibility
is limited to full-time faculty (all title series including regular, research,
clinical and special) of the University of Kentucky and affiliated institutions.
o
Investigators who are PIs on
other career development awards or R01-type funding are NOT eligible.
o
Investigators in training
including residents, post-doctoral fellows, and clinical fellows are NOT
eligible to serve as PIs but may be co-investigators.
o
Volunteer
faculty and adjunct faculty, and citizen scientists are NOT eligible to serve as
PIs but may be co-investigators.
The
UK-Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences Center will accept
applications for pilot projects according to the following schedule:
v
Call for
Applications: July 26, 2017
v
Letter of Intent
due: August 25, 2017
v
Invitation to
submit Full Application: September 22, 2017
v
Full Application
due: October 10, 2017
v
Funding Decision:
December, 2017
GOALS:
The Goals of the UK-CARES
Pilot Project Program are to:
Ø
Expand the research mission of UK-CARES by
supporting new and novel areas of investigation in promising transdisciplinary
and community-engaged areas of environmental health sciences and environmental
medicine.
Ø
Provide research support, including
financial, administrative, and mentoring, for early career faculty to establish
competitive research programs in environmental health sciences and
environmental medicine.
Ø
Provide support for faculty to explore new
and innovative directions representing a significant departure from ongoing
funded research into the environmental health sciences discipline.
Ø
Enhance the interactions with citizen
scientists in Appalachian Kentucky and expand the critical mass of investigators
with expertise and experience in transdisciplinary, translational environmental
health and environmental medicine research on the UK campus and in the
community.
Ø
Foster opportunities that meet the goals
and research interest areas relevant to NIEHS and the Environmental Health
Sciences Core Centers.
SCOPE:
Within the general guidelines
outlined above, the types of projects that will be considered within this
mechanism include projects that:
Stimulate the development of new translational inter-
and multidisciplinary teams with a focus on environmental health sciences
Support investigators entering into the field of
environmental health sciences.
Support investigators changing focus within the
discipline of environmental health sciences. For example, investigators moving
from environmental science related to diabetes to environmental science
associated with cancer.
Promote community-engaged research in collaboration
with citizen scientists to solve environmental health issues in Appalachian
Kentucky.
Provide support for early career investigators.
Develop new methodologies to leverage institutional
strengths and new initiatives.
Pursue high-risk, high
reward studies.
PRIORITIES FOR FUNDING:
The main priorities for
funding are: 1) the scientific merit of the project, 2) clear clinical and
translational relevance for residents of Appalachian Kentucky, and 3) the
likelihood that funding will result in submission of a competitive application
for extramural funding. Where appropriate, priority will be awarded based upon
the strength of the research team including citizen scientists or, for early
career investigators, the mentorship team and citizen scientists. Other
priorities for funding include:
Significance of the clinical and/or translational
work in terms of potential environmental health impact.
Capacity for overall impact on health of the
Appalachian Kentucky, with a special focus on the southeastern Kentucky region
(Big Sandy, Cumberland Valley, Kentucky River)
Scientific rigor and
novelty of the proposed approach.
Experience and productivity of the investigators.
Multidisciplinary research
teams representing the basic, clinical and/or population sciences with an
emphasis on bridging the divisions between basic and population scientists.
Pilot studies which generate
critical preliminary data that will lead to subsequent external funding and/or
commercial development.
FUNDING INFORMATION:
Individual project awards (up
to $25,000 in total direct costs for early career investigators and 50,000 in
total direct costs for high impact awards over an 18-month period) will be made
on a competitive basis. Proposed costs should be commensurate with the work. It
is anticipated that funds will be available to support 3 high impact and 2
early career investigator awards.
Sufficient justification and
detail should be provided to validate the need and cost of each item. The
budget will be comprehensively reviewed to insure that the funds being
requested are relevant to the research being proposed.
ALLOWABLE COSTS
Funds are to be used for the conduct of the project,
including supplies, subject payments, assays, etc.
It is expected that travel funds will be needed for study
conduct and/or dissemination to the community.
NON-ALLOWABLE
COSTS.
Funding is not available for thesis or dissertation
projects.
Funding will not be awarded as bridge funding for
ongoing projects.
Facilities and
Administrative costs: also known as indirect costs are not permitted.
In the event that additional
intra/extramural funds are secured to support the study outlined in your
application you must immediately notify Elodie
Elayi (859-323-7939), eel222@email.uky.edu).
Funds will be held by the CCTS
and the budgets invoiced for a period of 18 months maximum, dependent on the
nature and scope of the study. Individual principal investigators will not be
allowed to hold more than one UK-CARES pilot research award at any one time.
LOI AND BIOSKETCH SUBMISSION
INSTRUCTIONS
DEADLINE DATE for LOI:
August 25 by 5:00 PM (EST)
Letters of Intent (LOI) and
Biosketch (BS) in NIH format will be solicited from
faculty on all the campuses. The LOIs will be reviewed and subject to a standard
NIH-type study section assessment by the UK-CARES Pilot Review Committee (PRC).
A subset of meritorious LOIs will be selected and applicants will be invited to
submit Full applications.
Full
proposals will be subject to a standard NIH-type study section assessment. Each
proposal will be given a primary and two secondary reviewers.
LOI SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
The LOI must be within a 2
page-limit describing the following elements:
1. PROJECT TITLE (Full Project
Title required)
2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES,
SPECIFIC AIMS
Describe the Science driving
the translational effort. Provide concise, clear statements regarding
anticipated outcomes of the proposed research and how it will add to existing
knowledge or create value
3. BRIEF BACKGROUND AND
PRELIMINARY DATA
4. A PARAGRAPH DESCRIBING
STUDY DESIGN, METHODOLOGY AND OUTCOMES
5. PROJECT MILESTONES
6. DESCRIBE HOW THE PILOT
GRANT WOULD FACILITATE A FUTURE EXTERNAL GRANT (priority will be given to
applications with a more specific plan and timeline (ex. Identification of the
study section and time line planned).
* Optional attachments at the
LOI stage could include key relevant publications
LOI SUBMISSION LINK:
https://redcap.uky.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=AP7T4M4JHR
The BIOSKETCH
template can
be downloaded here. Note: the new format NIH biosketch is required.
PILOT RESEARCH PROTOCOL
SUBMISSION PROCESS
Investigators are encouraged
to contact Elodie Elayi
(323-7939, eel222@uky.edu) to schedule a meeting to review the basis of your
submission, to learn how the UK-CARES Pilot Research Program operates, to learn
which CCTS services you might utilize for your study, and to devise a budget
for your protocol.
We also suggest that you
consult with the following:
Ø
For Community Engagement consultation and
development: Ellen J. Hahn, PhD, RN, FAAN (ejhahn00@email.uky.edu)
Ø
For consultation on Analytical Core and
Analysis: Andrew Morris, PhD (a.j.morris@uky.edu)
Ø
For guidance, assistance, and operational
support for multi-directional translational and clinical research development of
the pilot proposal: John Bauer, PhD (
john.bauer@uky.edu).
Ø
For Study Design Consultation: Catherine
Starnes, Statistician Assistant (catherine.starnes@uky.edu)
Ø
For help with your Data Safety Monitoring
Plan during protocol development: Lisa Tannock, MD,
Research Participant Advocate (lisa.tannock@uky.edu)
Ø
For Biomedical Informatics Consultation:
Tammy Harper, MHA, (257-9384, Tamela.Harper@uky.edu).
UK-CARES
PILOT RESEARCH PROGRAM APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
For those LOIs selected for
full application, applicants are encouraged to review the instructions provided
below carefully and to contact Elodie Elayi
(323-7939, eel222@email.uky.edu) with questions. Incomplete or incorrectly
prepared applications will be returned without review.
Follow the steps below to
apply for UK-CARES pilot research support:
For the application,
margins must be no smaller than 0.5” at all points.
Use an Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or
Georgia typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 11 points or larger. (A
Symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters; the font
size requirement still applies).
Type density, including characters and spaces, must
be no more than 15 characters per inch. Type may be no more than six lines per
inch.
EACH page should provide the
applicant’s name in the upper right hand corner. The application should be
numbered consecutively in the center bottom.
*APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE
ASSEMBLED IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER*
I. Cover Page(s): (not
included in the 6 page limit)
1.
Title of the Project and Total Amount Requested.
2.
The Category of Grant you are applying for: Early Career award, High Impact
award.
3. Applicant’s information for
Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators :
o Name
o Degree(s)
o Rank,
Title (s)
o College
or Community Organization
o Department
/Division or County of Work or Residence
o eRA
Commons Username
o Campus
or Organization Address
o Contact
Information including e-mail and telephone number
Please indicate if you are
an NIH new investigator or early stage investigator (not having a previous R01)
Please indicate clinical privileges
4. Mentor’s information
(Applicable only for early career investigators): Name, Degree(s) and Rank,
Campus Address, and Contact Information
5. Applicant’s Chair or
Community Organization Supervisor (if appropriate) Information for each
collaborator:
Name, Campus or Community
Address, and Contact Information
II. Detailed budget and
budget justification in NIH format, direct cost only
Allowable requests include:
Equipment essential for the conduct of the study
Data analysis costs
Participant reimbursement costs
Research assistant salary
support
Non faculty personnel salary support (Faculty salary
support is not allowable)
Project specific specimen collection/analysis or
testing
Chemistry and biological lab supplies
Purchase of cell lines, cultures reagents etc.
Animal purchase and housing costs.
Specimen or environmental exposure data
collection/analysis or testing
Participant reimbursement/recruitment costs
Travel to present findings
and/or collect data in the community
**Budget must be approved by
Elodie Elayi BEFORE
submission.
Applicants must account for
fringe benefit costs when considering research assistant salary levels. NO
INDIRECT COSTS ARE ASSIGNABLE THROUGH THIS MECHANISM.
Budget template can be
downloaded here:
Initial budget: link
Entire Budget Period:
link
III. Body of the
proposal: (limited to 6 pages)
The format of the
application will follow NIH guidelines as outlined below.
Specific Aims (limited to 1
page)
State concisely the goals of
the proposed research and summarize the expected outcome(s), including the
impact that the results of the proposed research will exert on the research
field(s) involved.
List succinctly the specific
objectives of the research proposed, e.g., to test a stated hypothesis, create
a novel design, solve a specific problem, challenge an existing paradigm or
clinical practice, address a critical barrier to progress in the field, or
develop new technology.
Research Strategy
Organize the Research Strategy
in the specified order and using the instructions provided below. Start each
section with the appropriate section heading—Significance, Innovation,
Approach. Cite published experimental details in the Research Strategy section
and provide the full reference in the Bibliography section. Given the length of
the application, investigators should strive to provide a relevant, although
not exhaustive bibliographic review (described below)
Significance
Explain the importance of the problem or critical
barrier to progress in the field that the proposed project addresses.
Explain how the proposed project will improve
scientific knowledge, environmental health in Appalachia, technical capability,
and/or clinical/public health practice in one or more broad fields.
Describe how the concepts,
methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that
drive this field will be changed if the proposed aims are achieved.
Innovation
Explain how the application challenges and seeks to
shift current research, clinical/public health practice, or community engagement
paradigms.
Describe any novel
theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation,
environmental exposure data collection or intervention(s) to be developed or
used, and any advantage over existing methodologies, instrumentation or
intervention(s).
Explain any refinements,
improvements, or new applications of theoretical concepts, approaches or
methodologies, instrumentation or interventions.
Approach
Describe the overall strategy, methodology, and
analyses to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project. Include how
the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted as well as any resource
sharing plans as appropriate.
Discuss potential problems, alternative strategies,
and benchmarks for success anticipated to achieve the aims.
If the project is in the
early stages of development, describe any strategy to establish feasibility, and
address the management of any high risk aspects of the proposed work including
engaging with the community.
Clearly describe how each
partner including citizen scientists will be engaged in the development and/or
implementation of the pilot study.
Address how the completion
of the pilot will lead to the development of extramural environmental science
grant applications, such as R03, R21, or R01.
Outreach and
Dissemination Plan (if appropriate)
Clearly describe how the
project will facilitate new understandings of environmental factors and their
community impacts.
Include a specific
communication plan for how the research team will disseminate findings to
address environmental health community concerns, as appropriate. Strategies for
disseminating findings may include, but are not limited to: community
events (e.g., public presentations, forums, workshops, lunch & learn
sessions, science cafes), media advocacy (e.g., radio talk shows, opinion
editorials, blogs), social media (e.g., facebook,
twitter), written materials/website (e.g., fact sheets).
As applicable, also include
the following information as part of the Research Strategy, keeping within the
three sections listed above: Significance, Innovation, Approach, and
Dissemination Plan.
Preliminary Studies.
Include information on Preliminary Studies. Discuss the PI’s preliminary
studies, data, and/or experience pertinent to this application. Preliminary data
can be an essential part of a research grant application and help to establish
the likelihood of success of the proposed project.
IV. APPENDIX:
Biosketch
in NIH format (note: the new biosketch format is
required!)
Protection of human subjects section and
animal assurances (if applicable)
References- Authors, year, title and
journal information is expected for each citation. Given the length of the
application, investigators should strive to provide a relevant, although not
exhaustive review. (Not more than 2-3 pages)
The
required endorsement letter from the primary mentor for new investigators (see
below), as well as letters from key personnel and citizen scientists must be
included. Relevant assessment materials may be included if they are of
reasonable length and significantly enhance the review of the application. DO
NOT submit published manuals, materials in the public domain or similar
materials. This is NOT a means of extending the length of the proposal itself.
MENTORING AND CAREER
DEVELOPMENT PLAN (new investigators): Role and qualification of mentor(s).
Inclusion of a clinician (physician, nurse, public health professional,
dentist, pharmacist, clinical psychologist, physical therapist, etc.) mentor is
highly desirable in
studies
involving direct interaction with human participants. A career development plan
must be in place to enhance clinical/public health, community engagement, and
translation research capabilities. This may include didactic coursework, the
UK-CARES Science Communication Workshops, Clinical and Translational Science
Seminar Series, Spring Appalachian Research Day (Hazard, KY), and/or the
Translational Science Spring/Fall Conference.
MENTOR
ENDORSEMENT (new investigators): To facilitate the effectiveness of the UK-CARES
Pilot Research Program in enhancing the research development of newly appointed
faculty investigators, new investigators must provide a letter of endorsement
and collaboration from a senior investigator who is willing to serve as a mentor
for the applicant over the course of the project. This person must possess a
M.D., Ph.D., PharmD, DNP,
DrPH or other doctoral degree and must have
sufficient clinical research expertise to serve as a mentor to the applicant.
The letter should reflect the amount of time the mentor is willing/able to
direct to this role as well as the specific types of activities that will be
involved. These activities should include reviewing progress on the project,
reviewing initial data, helping plan for future project funding after the pilot
phase, discussing relevant research articles or related activities. It is NOT
required that the mentor have funded effort. This letter should be included in
the appendix material of the application.
LETTER
FROM SUPERVISOR/DEPARTMENT CHAIR: A letter signed by the immediate supervisor
(e.g. Division Chief, Public Health Director) and/or Department Chair that
includes acknowledgement of their support for the project and providing
assurance that sufficient protected time to complete the research will be
available. No specific amount of protected time is required, but the review
committee will consider the distribution of effort and other activities of the
applicant.
REVIEW PROCESS& CRITERIA:
Your submission will initially
be administratively reviewed. You will be notified if portions are missing or
incomplete. The application will be sent to a minimum of two internal or
external reviewers with expertise in fields relevant to the science in the
proposal. These reviewers will be asked to disclose any relationships to the
grant applicant. Full proposals will be subject to a standard NIH-type study
section assessment. The reviewers will then provide written feedback addressing
the merits of the protocol. All applications will be scored based upon the
written reviews, relevance to the Priorities and Scope outlined above, and the
overall relevance to the long term goals of UK-CARES. You will be notified of
the outcome. The general criteria for review include:
Overall Impact
Significance
Is the study relevant to goals and
research mission of the UK-CARES program? Does the study support new and novel
areas of investigation in promising transdisciplinary and community-engaged
areas of environmental health sciences and environmental medicine?
Innovation Are the aims original and concepts novel? Are novel
methodologies proposed?
Approach Do the specific aims test the hypotheses? Are
statistical considerations provided? Is the risk/benefit ratio acceptable? If
the project is community focused, is the outreach and dissemination plan
appropriate to the aims and feasible given the scope of the project?
Investigators
Is this a new investigator? If so, a
mentorship team must be identified. The qualification and experience of the
mentor, and their plan for career development for the new investigator, will be
an important aspect of
review. As
appropriate, are citizen scientists or community organizations involved in
and/or supportive of the project? Does the investigative team have training,
expertise, and experience to conduct the proposed study?
Environment
Is the environment strong? Do the
investigators take advantage of available expertise at UK and in the community?
Is there a transdisciplinary team including citizen scientists, as appropriate,
involved in the study?
Feasibility
Is the study feasible from the
perspective of recruitment and availability of resources?
Potential Will the pilot study generate new knowledge that can be
published? Will completion of the study lead to external funding or development
of a novel or translational methodology? Is there commercial potential? Is there
potential to grow community engagement in environmental science? Importantly,
will the completion of the pilot lead to the development of an extramural
environmental science grant application, such as R03, R21, or R01?
AWARDEE RESPONSIBILITIES:
Once your protocol is fully approved and funding awarded,
you should contact Elodie Elayi, (323-7939, eel222@uky.edu) to schedule a working
meeting with the CARES and CCTS units involved with your protocol.
Successful applicants will
be required to provide semi-annually progress reports and a final written report
describing project accomplishments must be submitted within 60 days of
the project end date.
Grantees will be required to
complete the Community Engagement Core RED Cap survey quarterly to ensure that
new publications in scientific journals and emerging findings are ‘in queue’ for
community dissemination.
Grantees will be expected to
submit an abstract to present at the annual UK-CARES retreat.
The UK-CARES is evaluated by
the NIH on its effectiveness in stimulating new research findings and
publications. The following support acknowledgement should be included on all
publications that result from UK-CARES support:
“This publication was
supported by the National Institutes of Environmental Health and Sciences,
National Institutes of Health, through Grant P30 ES026529. The content is
solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the
official views of the NIH”
RELEASE OF FUNDS:
Funding for successful
application will be released upon receipt of applicable IRB/IACUC approval, if
applicable.
If required IRB/IACUC approval is not provided within a
period of 90 days after the announcement of the award, THE FUNDS WILL BE
SUBJECT TO CANCELLATION