$$XID RFA GM9201 GM-92-01 P1O1 ***************************************** PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AWARDS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS RFA: GM-92-01 P.T. 22, FF; K.W. 0720005 National Institute of General Medical Sciences Application Receipt Date: April 22, 1992 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) is accepting applications for individual National Research Service Award (NRSA) Predoctoral Fellowships for Minority Students. This program was inaugurated last year and will provide fellowships for up to five years of support for research training leading to either the Ph.D. degree or the combined M.D./Ph.D. and other combined professional/research Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical sciences for highly qualified students from underrepresented minority groups. Support is NOT available for individuals enrolled in medical or other professional schools UNLESS they are enrolled in a combined M.D./Ph.D. and other combined professional/research Ph.D. degree program in biomedical research. The intent of this Minority Predoctoral Fellowship Program is to make graduate fellowships available to underrepresented minority graduates from all institutions, including the many minority undergraduate students who have participated in the various NIH-sponsored programs to prepare them for research careers. It is anticipated that this program will encourage greater numbers of minorities to pursue graduate degrees, thus fulfilling the goal of increasing the number of minority students trained to pursue careers in biomedical research. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Eligibility for these awards is limited to students who are U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents from ethnic/racial groups that are underrepresented in research in the biomedical sciences in the U.S. For purposes of this announcement, underrepresented minority students are defined as individuals belonging to a particular ethnic or racial group that has been determined by the applicant's graduate institution to be underrepresented in biomedical or behavioral research. In making these awards, the NIH will give priority consideration to applications from Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders and other ethnic or racial group members who have been found to be underrepresented in biomedical or behavioral research nationally. In addition, an applicant must currently be enrolled in a Ph.D. or combined M.D./Ph.D. or other combined professional/research Ph.D. graduate program in the biomedical sciences, or have been accepted by and agreed to enroll in such a graduate program in the 1992-93 academic year. The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program of NIGMS has a similar fellowship program of support for graduates of the MARC Honors Undergraduate Research Training programs to attend graduate school in biomedical sciences. Graduates of the MARC Program are encouraged to apply for the MARC Predoctoral Fellowship Program. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT This Request for Applications (RFA) for individual fellowships (F31) is under the auspices of the National Research Service Award Act. Prospective student applicants must work with their research advisor or graduate program director in preparing the application. Except as otherwise stated in this RFA, awards will be administered under the PHS Grants Policy Statement and the Guidelines for National Research Service Awards. The period of fellowship support requested in response to this RFA may not exceed five years. (Note: the total period of predoctoral training grant support under the NRSA authorization may not exceed five years.) Continuation of the fellowship award for each subsequent year beyond the first is based on evidence of satisfactory progress of the applicant in a graduate program. For FY 1992, it is anticipated that at least 45 new fellowship awards will be made, if sufficient numbers of high quality applications are received. Although this program is included in the financial plans of the participating institutes and centers, the award of fellowships in response to this RFA is also contingent upon the availability of funds for this purpose. In addition to the NIGMS,the following awarding components of the NIH and the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) are providing funds to support this program: the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Eye Institute, the National Center for Human Genome Research, and the National Center for Research Resources. There is a single receipt date for applications: April 22, 1992. The NIGMS may announce subsequent RFA receipt dates at a later time. STIPENDS AND OTHER EXPENSES An annual stipend of $8800 is provided to help meet the fellow's living expenses. A tuition and fee allowance is paid in accordance with NIH policy. Also provided is an annual institutional allowance that may be used for travel to scientific meetings and for laboratory and other training expenses. PAYBACK REQUIREMENTS Before individuals can receive an NRSA fellowship, they must agree to fulfill the payback requirements legislatively mandated under the NRSA. Recipients must agree to engage in health-related biomedical or health- related behavioral research and/or teaching for a period equal to the period of NRSA support in excess of 12 months. Details are found in Part V of the application instructions (PHS 416-1). REVIEW PROCEDURE Upon receipt, applications will be reviewed by NIH staff for completeness and responsiveness to this announcement. Incomplete or non-responsive applications will be returned to the applicant without review. All items listed below (see Method of Applying) MUST be included for the application to be considered complete. Applications that are complete and responsive will be evaluated for scientific merit and training potential in accordance with the criteria stated below. Applications may be subjected to preliminary review to determine merit relative to other applications received in response to this RFA. The NIH will withdraw from competition those applications judged to be noncompetitive and notify the applicant of such withdrawal. Those applications judged to be competitive will undergo review for scientific and training merit by an appropriately constituted initial review group within the NIGMS. The second level of review will be provided by the NIGMS Fellowship Overview Group. REVIEW CRITERIA The review criteria include: o academic record and research experience of the applicant; o quality of the graduate program in which the applicant is already enrolled or plans to enroll; o qualifications and research/research training experience of the applicant's sponsor or research advisor; o for advanced graduate students, scientific significance, originality and feasibility of proposed research. METHOD OF APPLYING The fellowship application form PHS 416-1 (revised 4/89) must be used in applying for these grants. These forms are available at most university business offices; from the Office of Grants Inquiries, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20892; and from the NIGMS program administrators named below. The applicant MUST follow all instructions in the application including information described in supplemental instructions (see below). The following MUST be included at the time of submission: o a copy of the results of either the Graduate Record Examination or the Medical College Admission Test (for M.D./Ph.D. applicants); o a copy of the applicant's undergraduate transcript; o if applicable, a copy of the applicant's graduate transcript; o a description of the graduate or combined degree program in which the applicant is either enrolled or has been admitted and agreed to enroll (Item 33); o at least THREE reference letters sealed in envelopes; and o certification of eligibility completed by the institution. Supplemental Instructions for Completing the Application A. To be completed by the Student-Applicant Item 1. ("Title of Research Training Proposal"), type: MINORITY PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM - NIGMS. Item 2. ("Level of Fellowship") type: Predoctoral. Item 3. ("Program Announcement Area"), type: RFA GM-92-01. Items 4 - 8. Self explanatory. (Items 9 - 14. Completed by sponsor; see below). Item 15. SIGNATURE. Items 16-19. Self explanatory; for each item that does not apply, type N/A. (Item 20. Completed by sponsor; see B. below) Item 21. (Abstract of Proposed Research) Must be completed if a research thesis topic has been selected. If a thesis topic has not been selected, enter "no thesis selected" and give a brief description of research interests. Item 23. (Employment) Employment history during college must be included if a significant time commitment was involved. Item 27. Research Experience a. (Summary) Provide a thorough description of relevant work and research experiences, including time, place, research director, and the role in the research. b. (Doctoral Dissertation) do not complete. c. (Publications) Include a list of publications, abstracts, and poster presentations. Three collated sets of copies of publications may be provided as part of Section 3 (Appendix). Item 28. (Revised Application) To be completed ONLY if this application is a revision of an application submitted earlier. Item 29. (Research Training Plan) a. (Activities Under Award) - Include a statement concerning research training and long-range career goals, with an explanation of how the proposed course of study to be supported by this fellowship will facilitate achievement of these goals. If appropriate, explain how prior work and research experiences affected the choice of career goals. b and c. (Research Proposal and Respective Contributions) Must be completed ONLY if a research thesis topic has been selected. d. (Selection of a Sponsor and Institution) Explain the rationale for selecting this university/institution and this graduate program. If a research advisor has been selected, give the rationale for the choice. If an advisor has not been selected, identify up to five preferred individuals for an advisor and give the rationale for these choices. B. To be completed by the Research Advisor or Sponsor If the applicant HAS SELECTED A RESEARCH ADVISOR, the ADVISOR must complete the items in this section. If the applicant HAS NOT YET SELECTED A RESEARCH ADVISOR, the director of the graduate program must designate a sponsor to complete these items. The director may choose to serve as the sponsor. Item 9 - 14 (face Page) and 20 (page 2) Items 30-37 (Information About or Supplied By the Applicant's Sponsor) ITEM 33, in addition to the information requested in the application kit, (1) for each student, provide a full description of the graduate or combined degree program in which the applicant is (or is to be) enrolled. This description must also outline the standard course of study (both didactic and laboratory) for students enrolled in the program; (2) for students ALREADY ENROLLED in the graduate program, describe the applicant's course of study up to the time of submission of the application and plans for further study; and (3) for ALL students, provide the applicable tuition and fees for each year of support requested. C. To be supplied by the University or Institution 1. A statement from the institution certifying that (a) the applicant is enrolled as a predoctoral student OR has been accepted by and agreed to enroll in the graduate training program; (b) the applicant is an eligible minority individual, underrepresented in biomedical or behavioral research; this certification MAY include an OPTIONAL identification of the applicant's ethnic/racial group; and (c) the applicant is a citizen, non-citizen national or permanent resident of the US. This statement must be signed by the official authorized to sign for the institution. FAILURE TO INCLUDE THIS CERTIFICATION WILL PRECLUDE REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION. The institution may wish to use the format given at the end of this announcement. 2. Certification of the accuracy of the tuition and fees requested for each year of support (Item 33). Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application (including the Checklist, Personal Data form, at least three sealed reference letters, and all other required materials) and two exact, clear, single-sided photocopies of the signed application, in one package to: DIVISION OF RESEARCH GRANTS National Institute of Health Westwood Building, Room 240 Bethesda, MD 20892** Applications must be received by April 22, 1992. Any application received after that date will be returned to the applicant. APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED WITHOUT THREE REFERENCE LETTERS WILL BE RETURNED WITHOUT REVIEW. If the application submitted in response to this RFA is substantially similar to a fellowship application already submitted to the NIH for review but that has not yet been reviewed, the applicant will be asked to withdraw one of them. Simultaneous submission of identical applications will not be allowed nor will essentially identical applications be reviewed by different review committees. Therefore, an application cannot be submitted in response to this RFA that is essentially identical to one that has already been reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of substantial revisions of applications already reviewed, but such applications must include an introduction addressing the previous critique. INQUIRIES Written and telephone inquiries concerning this RFA may be directed to: Dr. Michelle Broido National Institute of General Medical Sciences Westwood Building, Room 907 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-7309 or Dr. John Norvell National Institute of General Medical Sciences Westwood Building, Room 907 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-7309 For fiscal and administrative matters, contact: Ms. Ruth Monaghan Deputy Grants Management Officer National Institute of General Medical Sciences Westwood Building Room 953 Bethesda, MD 20892 Telephone: (301) 496-7746 SCHEDULE Application Receipt Date: April 22, 1992 Initial Review: June/July 1992 Secondary Review: August 1992 Anticipated Award Date: September 1992 AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended, 42 USC 288) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 66. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. SUGGESTED CERTIFICATION FORMAT PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP AWARDS FOR MINORITY STUDENTS INSTITUTIONAL CERTIFICATION This is to certify that ______________________________________________, (Applicant Name) who has submitted an application for an NIH Predoctoral Fellowship Award for Minority Students is: _____ (1) currently enrolled in a Ph.D. or combined M.D./Ph.D., or other combined professional/research Ph.D. degree program in the biomedical sciences at this institution, or has been accepted by and agreed to enroll in such a program during the 1991-92 or 1992-93 academic year; ______ (2) an underrepresented minority student, i.e., belonging to a particular ethnic or racial group that has been determined by our institution to be underrepresented in biomedical or behavioral research in the U.S.; OPTIONAL. This individual is a member of the ___________ racial/ethnic group. ______ (3) a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or permanent resident. __________________________ __________________________ Signature Signature ___________________________ ___________________________ Name: Graduate Program Name: Authorized Director University Official ___________________________ ___________________________ Title Title