Department of Health and Human Services


Part 1. Overview Information
Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Funding Opportunity Title

Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (HIRN-CMAI) (UC4)

Activity Code

UC4 High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreement Programs

Announcement Type

New

Related Notices

  • December 17, 2018 - This RFA has been reissued as RFA-DK-18-013.
  • November 27, 2013 - See Notice NOT-DK-14-006. Notice of Correction to Award Budget.

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number

RFA-DK-13-017

Companion Funding Opportunity

RFA-DK-13-013, U01 Research Project Cooperative Agreements
RFA-DK-13-014, U01 Research Project Cooperative Agreements
RFA-DK-13-015, UC4 High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreement Programs
RFA-DK-13-016, UC4 High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreement Programs
RFA-DK-13-018, UC4 High Impact Research and Research Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreement Programs

Number of Applications

See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)

93.847

Funding Opportunity Purpose

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites new applications to participate in a Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (CMAI) that will be focused on the goal of developing robust systems to measure and model the biology of human type 1 diabetes. CMAI will be a founding consortium within the Human Islet Research Network (HIRN).

Key Dates
Posted Date

September 26, 2013

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

January 27, 2014

Letter of Intent Due Date(s)

January 27, 2014

Application Due Date(s)

February 27, 2014, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

AIDS Application Due Date(s)

Not Applicable

Scientific Merit Review

June/July 2014

Advisory Council Review

October 2014

Earliest Start Date

December, 2014

Expiration Date

February 28, 2014

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement


Section I. Funding Opportunity Description


Purpose

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) requests applications for a new research consortium, the Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (CMAI) that will support research into producing in vitro and in vivo systems that model the human biology that underlies development of Type 1 Diabetes. CMAI will be part of a collaborative research framework, the Human Islet Research Network (HIRN) that will include four research consortia and an Administrative Hub composed of a Bioinformatics Center and a Coordinating Center. HIRN's overall mission will be to support innovative and collaborative translational research to understand how human beta cells are lost in T1D, and to find innovative strategies to protect and replace functional beta cell mass in humans. In order to maximize scientific exchanges and accelerate research in that field, it is expected that all information, data, biomaterials, models, protocols, reagents, resources and methods developed by CMAI investigators will be shared not only within CMAI, but also with other HIRN investigators, and with the research community.

Background

The NIDDK Human Islet Research Network (HIRN)

Starting in 2014 NIDDK will establish a new team science program, the Human Islet Research Network (HIRN), to help organize and support collaborative translational research related to the loss of functional beta cell mass in type 1diabetes (T1D). HIRN will be jointly supported by NIDDK and the type 1 diabetes special funding program, and its overall mission will be to better understand how human beta cells are lost in T1D, and to find innovative strategies to protect or replace functional beta cell mass in diabetic patients. This program will be configured as a modular network of small research consortia, each defined by a specific set of research priorities. The network structure will help to facilitate interactions between small communities of investigators organized around common biological and/or technological challenges, with the overall goal of developing innovative strategies for the treatment, prevention and monitoring of T1D.

HIRN will be initiated through issuance of six related funding opportunity announcements, and will use a Cooperative Agreement funding mechanism. Two complementary initiatives will provide the administrative structure needed to support HIRN activities through the creation of an Administrative Hub (HIRN-AH) composed of a Coordinating Center (HIRN-CC; RFA-DK-13-013) and a Bioinformatics Center (HIRN-BC; RFA-DK-13-014). Four independent research initiatives will invite four founding consortia, each supporting investigator-initiated projects in the following areas: Targeting and Regeneration (CTAR; RFA-DK-13-015), Human Islet Biomimetics (CHIB; RFA-DK-13-016), Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (CMAI; RFA-DK-13-017) and Beta Cell Death and Survival (CBDS; RFA-DK-13-018).

All HIRN research initiatives put a strong emphasis on human disease biology, the use of human cells and tissues, and the development of reagents, tools and disease-modeling platforms that can help further our understanding of the human disease process, or lead to innovative treatment strategies for patients with severely depleted beta cell mass. Beyond the set of six founding FOAs issued in 2014, it is anticipated that additional HIRN initiatives may be issued in future years, provided availability of funds, to support the evolution of the program over time, and in response to emerging scientific and technological advances.

Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (HIRN-CMAI)

Currently, HLA genetics and family history, combined with autoantibody and metabolic parameters, account for a substantial proportion of T1D risk. Nevertheless, the significant barriers to studying type 1 diabetes directly in humans have made it difficult to define the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for development of T1D. The earliest phases of T1D pathogenesis occur in the absence of clinical symptoms, with hyperglycemia detected only after autoimmunity is well-established and the majority of beta cell function has been lost. Since the pancreas is relatively inaccessible, most of what has been learned about human disease to date has been learned by studying the blood of patients. Given these limitations to studying the disease in human patients, rodent models of autoimmune type 1 diabetes have been used to provide important clues to potential mechanisms of T1D pathogenesis. Although these rodent systems appear to model many of the cellular, molecular and genetic features of human disease, a complete understanding of type 1 diabetes will require that the disease be studied directly in the context of human cells, genetics, and physiology. To aggressively attack this problem will require support for developing the novel concepts, innovative approaches, and cutting-edge technologies that will be needed to reveal key aspects of human T1D.

This initiative will create a Consortium on Modeling Autoimmune Interactions (CMAI) that will be responsible for developing the technologies, resources and reagents needed to model key aspects of cell biology that are relevant to development of human T1D. The ultimate goal of CMAI will be to generate reproducible model systems that recapitulate fundamental features of human immunity, in the context of genetically matched human islet cells. It is anticipated that once developed, these models can subsequently be engineered into novel in vivo and in vitro platforms to help elucidate pathogenic mechanisms, and to support preclinical development of new therapies or imaging modalities for T1D.

HIRN-CMAI Research Objectives and Scope

HIRN-CMAI will consist of groups of investigators developing innovative approaches to model basic aspects of human T1D biology using novel in vivo and in vitro platforms. The goal of the program will be to develop the models and associated technologies needed to measure the sequence of molecular events that occur as beta cell dysfunction and autoimmune destruction commence. Of particular interest are studies that take advantage of novel rodent platforms designed to support the study of human stem cells and/or human regenerative medicine. Where possible, studies should incorporate approaches that enable live cell imaging in the context of fluorescent or photo-convertible cell tracker dyes, uniquely engineered quantum dots, or other innovative techniques, to allow dynamic visualization of human cell responses as they occur in real-time as immune responses to beta cells are initiated, amplified, and executed. Emerging data also suggests that individual immune cells exhibit heterogeneous response profiles that may be obscured in population-based measurements. For this reason, technologies capable of defining responses of immune and pancreatic cells at the single-cell level may be particularly important to measure the character and kinetics of any T1D-relevant cell physiology. By developing models to observe and define responses of human immune and pancreatic cells in real-time, at the single cell level, it may be possible to uncover previously unrecognized biological distinctions between cell types, and to identify mechanisms that will advance our understanding of T1D pathogenesis. In the future, CMAI technologies may ultimately be adapted to provide the assays needed to measure or predict responses to treatment in T1D clinical trials, and/or to evaluate efficacy and toxicity of new immunomodulators, imaging compounds, and drug delivery vehicles.

Applications for the HIRN-CMAI should include multidisciplinary teams with the necessary expertise in both immunology and beta cell biology to address fundamental barriers to modeling key features of human T1D biology. As needed for individual projects, investigative teams should have documented experience and take advantage of recent advances in human stem cell biology, cellular imaging, high throughput technologies, and in vivo model system development, to demonstrate facility with the techniques needed to successfully develop models from renewable human cell sources.

Research of interest within HIRN-CMAI includes the areas described above and the examples listed below. These are examples only and are not intended to be limiting in scope or approach. However, all studies should focus on using human cells, and on the bold and innovative concepts, novel approaches, and unique resources needed to generate reproducible models of human physiology from defined, standardized and renewable sources of human immune and islet cells. The source and availability of human cells to be used for these studies should be clearly described. Examples of focus areas include:

1. Development of sensitive technologies to reproducibly measure the sequence of molecular and cellular events that occur when human islets encounter genetically matched human immune cells, as well as interactions occurring within and among immune cells, in the context of potential triggers of T1D. Of particular interest will be studies that incorporate extensions or expansions of new and emerging techniques in stem cell biology. For example, studies may incorporate techniques to produce sets of highly characterized, reproducible, and potentially scalable islet cell preparations in vitro that are engineered to serve as assays of beta cell immune reactivity in the context of immune cells recovered from various and disparate sources. Alternatively, systems of interest may incorporate islet cells provided from iPS or other renewable sources that are isogenic to the immune cell populations being assayed. Potential approaches include:

The consistent theme of projects proposed under this focus area should be the development of technologies and techniques that are sufficient to quantify dynamic molecular features of individual human immune cells and islet cells, in the context of cellular interactions that occur coincident with and immediately following encounters between immune cells and normal islet cells. It is expected that during the project period these systems can be adapted to measure how specific T1D-relevant stressors impact the interactions and physiologic outcomes so defined. These CMAI techniques and models, once developed, may provide the approaches needed to identify the early cellular events that precipitate T1D pathogenesis in humans.

2. Development of reproducible, individualized models of human T1D biology based on robust incorporation of human immune systems and beta/islet cells into rodent platforms. Of particular interest are studies that make use of renewable sources of cells, such as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), to generate genetically matched immune and pancreatic systems for in vivo modeling.

The consistent theme of projects proposed under this focus area should be the development of techniques and resources needed to recapitulate development of a functional human immune system in the context of a functional human islet structure, in a tractable rodent platform. It is expected that initial proof of principle may be obtained using non-T1D human cell sources. Nevertheless, the project should be designed to approach the ultimate goal of incorporating and performing comparative analyses of T1D-relevant populations.

All methods, reagents, resources, biomaterials (including cells, cell lines and animal models), protocols, data and analytical tools developed by CMAI investigators are expected to be shared in timely way with the research community. Because individual projects will be coordinated through CMAI, the timeline and processes for sharing within CMAI and with the community at large will be established at the outset of the program by the CMAI Steering Committee in conjunction with the NIDDK project scientist. All participants will be expected to adhere to these policies as a term of the award. Policy documents for CMAI will be made accessible on the HIRN website.

Meetings of CMAI and HIRN

Principal Investigator(s)/Program Director(s) of CMAI must participate in an initial in-person HIRN meeting soon after awards are made, in the annual HIRN Investigator Scientific Retreat, as well as CMAI Steering Committee teleconferences to be held at least bi-annually. All participants will be obligated to abide by the policies adopted the majority vote of the CMAI Steering Committee. In the application, research project budget requests must include costs for the PD/PI and up to two other members of the individual project to attend both the initial in-person HIRN meeting and the annual HIRN Investigator's Scientific Retreat. The annual HIRN Investigator's Scientific Retreat will last 2-3 days. All CMAI teleconferences will be facilitated by the HIRN CC to coordinate the research projects to be conducted by the research grantees. Note that the CC will support costs of all CMAI and HIRN-related meetings except for costs for research project investigators to travel and attend the meetings. The CC is also responsible for maintaining a record of minutes of all CMAI meetings, which will be approved by the CMAI Steering Committee.

Section II. Award Information
Funding Instrument

Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities.

Application Types Allowed

New

The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

NIDDK intends to commit $9 million to fund 2-4 awards in FY 2014.

Award Budget

Application budgets are limited to $600,000 per year in direct costs. This limit is inclusive of any direct and F&A costs associated with consortium or subcontract arrangements.

Award Project Period

The maximum project period is five years.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Section III. Eligibility Information


1. Eligible Applicants


Eligible Organizations

Higher Education Institutions

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

For-Profit Organizations

Governments

Other

Foreign Institutions

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.

Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

Required Registrations

Applicant Organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account and should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate an existing account with the applicant organization’s eRA Commons account. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

2. Cost Sharing

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility


Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed within the past thirty-seven months (as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement), except for submission:

Section IV. Application and Submission Information


1. Requesting an Application Package

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

For information on Application Submission and Receipt, visit Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.

Letter of Intent

Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.

By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information, prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:

The letter of intent, preferably electronically, should be sent to:

Francisco O. Calvo, Ph.D.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK)
6707 Democracy Boulevard, Room 752
Bethesda, MD 20892-5452
(for express/courier service: Bethesda, MD 20817)
Telephone: 301-594-8897
Email: calvof@mail.nih.gov

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Required and Optional Components

The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, required and optional. Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for submission of applications for this FOA. Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide to ensure you complete all appropriate optional components.

Instructions for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this FOA.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

R&R Budget

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. with the following additional instructions:

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Research Plan

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)) as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following modification:

Appendix: Do not use the Appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Planned Enrollment Report

When conducting clinical research, follow all instructions for completing Planned Enrollment Reports as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

PHS 398 Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment Report

When conducting clinical research, follow all instructions for completing Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment Report as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Foreign Institutions

Foreign (non-U.S.) institutions must follow policies described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, and procedures for foreign institutions described throughout the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

3. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

4. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

5. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Since these awards will be issued with a 5-year budget and project period from the same fiscal year, the grantee will not have any authority for an automatic extension nor will one be permitted with NIH prior approval. Funds will not be available for expenditure beyond June 30th of the 5th fiscal year after period of availability. Thus, extensions of the budget/project period will not be allowed.

6. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically.

Important reminders:
All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH. See Section III of this FOA for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by NIDDK, NIH. Applications that are incomplete and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.

In order to expedite review, applicants are requested to notify the NIDDK Referral Office by email at calvof@mail.nih.gov when the application has been submitted. Please include the FOA number and title, PD/PI name, and title of the application.

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-13-030.

Section V. Application Review Information


1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission, all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

Overall Impact

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Significance

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

Investigator(s)

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, or in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project? Do PD(s)/PI(s) provide evidence of experience working productively in collaborative environments? Do PD(s)/PI(s) provide documented evidence of experience sharing data and reagents with the research community?

Innovation

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?

Approach

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed?

If the project involves clinical research, are the plans for 1) protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion of minorities and members of both sexes/genders, as well as the inclusion of children, justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?

Environment

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Collaborative Research Opportunities

Does the project present an opportunity for research that would be enhanced by consortium interaction, collaboration and expertise?

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Human Subjects.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children

When the proposed project involves clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

Biohazards

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Resubmissions

Not Applicable

Renewals

Not Applicable

Revisions

Not Applicable

Additional Review Considerations

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Applications from Foreign Organizations

Reviewers will assess whether the project presents special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions that exist in other countries and either are not readily available in the United States or augment existing U.S. resources.

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Resource Sharing Plans

Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: 1) Data Sharing Plan; 2) Sharing Model Organisms; and 3) Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS).

Budget and Period of Support

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by the NIDDK, in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this FOA.

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Advisory Council (NDDKAC). The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Section VI. Award Administration Information


1. Award Notices

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee’s business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to the DUNS, SAM Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

The following special terms of award are in addition to, and not in lieu of, otherwise applicable OMB administrative guidelines, HHS grant administration regulations at 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 (Part 92 is applicable when State and local Governments are eligible to apply), and other HHS PHS, and NIH grant administration policies.

The administrative and funding instrument used for this program will be the cooperative agreement UC4, an "assistance" mechanism (rather than an "acquisition" mechanism), in which substantial NIH programmatic involvement with the awardees is anticipated during the performance of the activities. Under the cooperative agreement, the NIH purpose is to support and stimulate the recipients' activities by involvement in and otherwise working jointly with the award recipients in a partnership role; it is not to assume direction, prime responsibility, or a dominant role in the activities. Consistent with this concept, the dominant role and prime responsibility resides with the awardees for the project as a whole, although specific tasks and activities may be shared among the awardees and the NIH as defined below.

The PI(s)/PD(s) will have the primary responsibility for:

NIH staff have substantial programmatic involvement that is above and beyond the normal stewardship role in awards, as described below:

Areas of Joint Responsibility include:

Through the Awardee(s) and NIH staff, CMAI will cooperatively develop and implement processes to submit information and data to the HIRN-AH, determine criteria and processes for quality control of information and data to be posted for the research community, refine scientific objectives, and implement research advances to facilitate the goals of the study, consistent with NIH policies and achieving the goals of the program as described in the Funding Opportunity Announcement.

There will be an initial face-to-face meeting of HIRN and a minimum of 2 CMAI meetings (teleconferences or face-to face meetings) annually. Awardee(s), the CMAI Project Scientist, and the CMAI Program Official are expected to attend these meetings. One of these biannual meetings may be combined with the annual HIRN Investigator Scientific Retreat. A team will be established through this program to enable multiple, but coordinated, approaches to advance this area of research. If a single award is made, then CMAI will be governed by the PI and the NIH Project Scientist.

Steering Committee

If multiple UC4s are funded, then CMAI Awardees agree to the governance of the study through a Steering Committee.

HIRN Trans-Network Committee (HIRN-TNC)

The HIRN-TNC will consist of: the PI/PD of the HIRN CC, the PI/PD of the HIRN BC, and the Steering Committee Chairs and Project Scientists of the HIRN scientific topic consortia (CHIB, CTAR, CMAI, and CBDS); the TNC is not a governing body and does not cast votes.

Expert Scientific Panel (ESP)

An independent panel of 2-5 External Experts will be appointed by the NIDDK and meet by teleconference with the CMAI Project Scientist and the CMAI Project Officer at least once a year. The CMAI-ESP will be updated on progress and give feedback to the NIH on adjustments and future directions for the CMAI research projects(s). On an annual basis, and following input from the ESP members, NIDDK staff will appoint an ESP Chair who will be required to attend the annual HIRN investigator's Scientific Retreat, to participate in the CMAI Steering Committee meetings as ex-officio, and to serve as the CMAI-ESP representative to the larger HIRN-ESP that will also meet once a year. The CMAI ESP Chair will be tasked with relaying the CMAI Steering Committee recommendations for new Opportunity Funds Initiatives to the HIRN-ESP. All CMAI-ESP members will also be invited to listen as ex-officio to CMAI Steering Committee meetings. Members of CMAI-ESP may be asked, on an ad hoc basis, to assist in the peer review of applications for new research applications that request opportunity pool funds. The HIRN-CC will support costs for teleconferences between the ESP and the CMAI Steering Committee, provide teleconference technical support, maintain a record of minutes, and support costs for the CMAI ESP chair to participate in the annual HIRN Investigator's Scientific Retreat.

Dispute Resolution

Disagreements that may arise in scientific/technical matter or programmatic matters (within the scope of the award) between award recipients and the NIDDK may be brought to arbitration after first attempting to resolve the issue through the Steering Committee or its subcommittees, as appropriate. An Arbitration Panel composed of three members will be convened. It will have three members: a designee of the Steering Committee chosen without NIH staff voting, one NIH designee, and a third designee with expertise in the relevant area who is chosen by the other two; in the case of individual disagreement, the first member may be chosen by the individual awardee. This special dispute resolution procedures in no way affect the awardee's right to appeal an adverse action in accordance with PHS regulations at 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart D, and HHS regulations at 45 CFR Part 16.

3. Reporting

Progress reports for multi-year funded awards are due annually on or before the anniversary of the budget/project period start date of award. The reporting period for multi-year funded award progress report is the calendar year preceding the anniversary date of the award. Information on the content of the progress report and instructions on how to submit the report are posted at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/myf.htm.

A final progress report, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Application Submission Contacts

eRA Commons Help Desk (Questions regarding eRA Commons registration, submitting and tracking an application, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, post submission issues)
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

Web ticketing system: https://public.era.nih.gov/commonshelp
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: commons@od.nih.gov

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading forms and application packages)
Contact Center Phone: 800-518-4726

Web ticketing system: https://grants-portal.psc.gov/ContactUs.aspx
Email: support@grants.gov

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Kristin M. Abraham, Ph.D.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Phone 301-451-8048
Email: abrahamk@mail.nih.gov

Peer Review Contact(s)

Francisco O. Calvo, Ph.D.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Phone 301-594-8897
Email: calvof@mail.nih.gov

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Christina Coriz
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Telephone: 301-594-8848
Email: corizc@mail.nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Authority and Regulations

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.


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