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Introduction |
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PAR
Number: PA 04-126
Release Date: 07-09-04
Expiration Date: 07-09-07, unless reissued |
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Scope and Priorities |
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Purpose
The participating Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) along with the Office of Research on Women’s Health
announces a continuing program for administrative supplements to
research grants to support individuals with high potential to reenter
an active research career after taking time off to care for children or
attend to other family responsibilities. The aim of these supplements
is to encourage such individuals to reenter research careers within the
missions of all the program areas of NIH. This program will provide
administrative supplements to existing NIH research grants for the
purpose of supporting full-time or part-time research by these
individuals in a program geared to bring their existing research skills
and knowledge up to date. It is anticipated that at the completion of
the supplement, the reentry scientist will be in a position to apply
for a career development (K) award, a research award, or some other
form of independent research support.
Objective
The NIH recognizes the need to increase the number of underrepresented
racial and ethnic groups, women, individuals with disabilities, and
people from disadvantaged backgrounds in biomedical, behavioral,
clinical and social science research careers. Among the reasons for the
low representation of women may be the fact that women bear a majority
of the responsibilities surrounding child and family care. To address
this issue, this program is designed to offer opportunities to women
and men who have interrupted their research careers to care for
children or parents or to attend to other family responsibilities. A
second objective of the program is to mentor and guide those who
receive support to reestablish careers in biomedical, behavioral,
clinical or social science research.
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Eligibility |
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Eligible Awards
Only the following active NIH award
mechanisms at domestic institutions are eligible for Supplements to
Promote Reentry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers: R01,
R10, R18, R24, R35, R37, P01, P40, P41, P50, P51, U54, P60, U01,and
U10. Principal Investigators on such awards are invited to submit a
request for an administrative supplement to the awarding component of
the parent grant to support an eligible candidate interested in
reestablishing a research career. The parent grant should have at least
two years of support remaining at the time of the proposed beginning
date of the supplemental funding. The rationale for this policy is to
assure ample opportunity for the candidate to develop further her or
his research skills. A maximum of three years of supplemental support
can be awarded under this program. Usually, a research grant or a
subproject of a multi-project grant would support only one
administrative supplement including Research Supplements to Promote
Diversity in Biomedical, Clinical, and Behavioral Research Careers.
Grants most likely to support more than a single administrative
supplement are multi-project awards.
Eligible Individuals
Candidates must have a doctoral degree, such as M.D.,
D.D.S., Ph.D., O.D., D.V.M., or equivalent; and must have had
sufficient prior research experience to qualify for a doctoral level
research staff or faculty position at the time they left active
research. Candidates who have begun the reentry process through a
fellowship, traineeship, or similar mechanism are not eligible for this
program. Awards will be limited to citizens or non-citizen nationals of
the United States or to individuals who have been lawfully admitted for
permanent residence (i.e., in possession of an Alien Registration
Receipt Card) at the time of application.
The following guidelines will generally be applied with discretion by
the individual Institutes and Centers (ICs). In general, the duration
of the career interruption should be for at least one year and no more
than eight years. Examples of qualifying interruptions would include
child rearing; an incapacitating illness or injury of the candidate,
spouse, partner, or a member of the immediate family; relocation to
accommodate a spouse, partner, or other close family member; pursuit of
non-research endeavors that would permit earlier retirement of debt
incurred in obtaining a doctoral degree; and military service. The
program is not intended to support additional graduate training and is
not intended to support career changes from non-research to research
careers for individuals without prior research training. Generally, at
the time of application, a candidate should not be engaged in full-time
paid research activities. Because NIH Institutes and Centers may have
varying degrees of flexibility in interpreting and implementing the
Reentry program, potential applicants should consult with the contact
at the NIH awarding component at the earliest possible stage to discuss
his or her unique situation.
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Mechanism |
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In all cases, the proposed research must be directly related to the
funded approved ongoing research of the parent grant or cooperative
agreement. The individual supported under this supplemental award,
hereafter called the reentry candidate, must be afforded the
opportunity to act as a full participant in the research project and
must be given an opportunity to update and enhance her or his research
capabilities. This will allow the candidate to begin the process of
establishing or reestablishing a career as a productive, competitive
research investigator. Supplemental awards will be consistent with the
goals of strengthening the existing research program and with the
overall programmatic balance and priorities of the funding program
of the NIH. Administrative supplements provided under this program may
be for either part-time or full-time support for the candidate, and all
supported time is to be spent updating and enhancing research skills.
Proposed part-time appointments may not be less than 50% effort.
The requested salary and fringe benefits for a reentry candidate must
be in accordance with the salary structure of the grantee institution,
consistent with the level of effort. An additional amount up to $10,000
may be requested for supplies, domestic travel, and publication costs
relevant to the proposed research. Equipment may not be purchased as a
part of this supplement without justification and specific prior
approval of the NIH.
The decision to fund a supplement will take approximately ten weeks
from the time all of the necessary information is received by the
awarding IC in an acceptable format. During the first budget period,
funds will be provided as an administrative supplement to the parent
grant. In subsequent years, continued funding for the supplement is
contingent on funding of the parent grant and the re-entry candidate’s
progress and cannot extend beyond the current competitive segment of
the parent grant.
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Review Criteria |
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The program staff of the individual ICs will review requests for
supplements using the following general criteria:
1. The qualifications of the reentry candidate, including career goals,
prior research training, research potential, and any relevant
experience
2.The plan for the proposed research experience in the supplemental
request and its relationship to the parent grant
3. Evidence from the Principal Investigator that the experience will
enhance the research potential, knowledge, and/or skills of the reentry
candidate
4. Evidence from the Principal Investigator that the activities of the
reentry candidate are an integral part of the project
5. Evidence of effort by the reentry candidate to initiate the reentry
process, such as attending scientific meetings, keeping current with
journals
6. Evidence that proposed research will achieve the stated objectives of
the reentry supplements
7. Evidence that the Principal Investigator understands the importance
of the mentoring component of this supplement and has prepared a
mentoring plan
In noncompeting continuation applications, the progress report for the
reentry supplement should be clearly delineated from the progress
report for the parent grant. The progress report should include
information about the research activities supported by the supplement,
even if support for future years is not requested. Since these
applications will undergo administrative review, summary statements
will not be produced. This is consistent with NIH practice for other
similar programs, such as those referenced in the Eligibility section of this page.
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Application Procedures |
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A request for a supplement may be made at any time during the funding
year, providing there will be two full years of funding remaining for
the parent grant at the time of funding. In making requests, the
grantee institution, on behalf of the Principal Investigator, SHOULD
SUBMIT THE REQUEST FOR SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS DIRECTLY TO THE AWARDING
COMPONENT THAT SUPPORTS THE PARENT GRANT. The request is NOT to be
submitted to the NIH Center for Scientific Review. Principal
Investigators are encouraged to obtain the address for submission from
the NIH program administrator on the parent grant.
The request for a supplemental award must include the following:
1. A completed face page (with appropriate signatures) from Grant Application Form PHS 398. Include the title and grant number of the parent grant on line 1 and the type of supplement being requested on line 2.
2. A brief three to four page description, prepared by the Principal Investigator of the parent grant, that includes:
a. A summary or abstract of the funded grant or project.
b. A description of the research proposed for the candidate
c. A description of how the supplement will expand and foster the
independent research capabilities of the candidate
d. A description of how the proposed research relates to the specific
research goals and objectives of the parent grant
e. A description of the scope and nature of the mentoring relationship
between the Principal Investigator and the candidate
3. A brief statement prepared by the candidate, which includes:
a. Research objectives and career goals
b. Research experience prior to onset of hiatus
c. Length of and reason for career hiatus
d. A description of how the candidate has kept current or attempted to
keep current in her/his field
e. Identification of any steps already taken toward reentry (if any,
such as attending scientific meetings)
4. A biographical sketch of the candidate that includes:
a. Curriculum vitae
b. Social Security number
c. Citizenship status
d. Publications
e. Other evidence of scientific achievement
f. Current source of support
5. A proposed budget entered on budget pages from the grant
application form PHS 398 related to the percent effort for the research
proposed for the reentry candidate during the first and future budget
period(s). (The amount requested for the supplement must coincide with
the current period of support. Thus, if the initial budget period
requested is less than 12 months, the budget must be prorated
accordingly.)
6. Documentation if applicable, that the proposed research is approved
by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or human
subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the grantee institution.
7. Under unusual circumstances where the applicant and mentor would be
at a site other than the grantee institution, an appropriately signed
letter from the institution where the research is to be conducted must
also be submitted.
The request must be signed by the Principal Investigator, the reentry
candidate, and the appropriate institution business official.
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Contact Information |
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Candidates and Principal Investigators interested in participating in these programs
are encouraged to contact NIH staff administering the parent grant. For general
information
about the Research Supplements To Promote Reentry Into Biomedical And Behavioral
Research
Careers, contact the
following staff person in the appropriate awarding component:
Valerie Florance, PhD
Extramural Programs
National Library of Medicine
Rockledge 1, Suite 301
6705 Rockledge Drive MSC 7968
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 594-4882
FAX: (301) 402-2952
Email: floranv@mail.nih.gov
Web site: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ |
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