Slots: 1
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Friday, April 12th, 2024, 5pm PT Contact RII.
LOI: May 15, 2024
External Deadline: June 15, 2024
Award Information
Award Type: Cooperative Agreement
Estimated Number of Awards: 1
Anticipated Award Amount: $1,162,500
Who May Serve as PI: Standard NIH requirements.
Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AG-25-013.html
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
Background
The NSC were created in 1995 in honor of Nathan Shock, founding head of the NIH Gerontology Research Center. The NSC provide intellectual leadership and innovation; training; pertinent service cores focused on the needs of the field; and opportunities for research career development for future leaders, both within and beyond their institutions. They also collaborate substantially with other NSCs and other NIA-funded Centers. The NSC3 was established in 2017 and is the focal point for coordinating all the activities of the NSC.
Scope
This NOFO solicits exceptional applicants with the background and expertise needed to lead the NSC3. Applicants should demonstrate an ability to work cooperatively with all NSC sites and possess sufficient scientific expertise in biology of aging and related areas to serve the national coordination functions of the NSC3 program as outlined in the activities below. This is an open competition. NIA expects that operations of the Coordinating Center will continue uninterrupted regardless of the awardee. Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIA Scientific/Research staff early to verify the consistency of their intended applications with the goals of this NOFO and NIA programs.
Requested Activities
An application for an NSC3 will need to maintain or modify those activities that are currently supported. Overall, the NSC3 provides logistic support to the NSC sites and NIA program staff. Activities include arranging and managing an annual NSC Investigators Meeting; organizing and conducting regular conference calls or virtual meetings among NIA staff, NSC Directors, and other NSC key personnel; collecting and compiling information from NSC sites in order to prepare Research Project Progress Reports (RPPRs), maintain a public-access website, and post an Annual Report on the NSC3 website.
The NSC3 should provide the following types of logistical activities to the NSC sites:
- Act as a central resource for processing and tracking the following elements:
- Applications to NSC for pilot research projects supporting early stage through senior investigators;
- Publications;
- Career progress of pilot awardees and investigators who have used services of the NSCs (for five-year following the pilot award.);
- Yearly NSC symposia;
- Dissemination of research findings supported by individual NSC (e.g., press releases and social media); and
- Creation and housing of a repository for NSC-sponsored webinars, and other outreach and education products.
- Create and maintain a website that provides public access to the above information.
- Coordinate an annual NSC symposium for presentation of research supported by the NSC, including mentoring activities and workshops.
- Travel should be budgeted for NSC directors and core leaders to attend.
- Travel should be budgeted for pilot awardees to attend and present.
- A report of the symposium will be included in the annual progress report to NIH and posted on their website (subject to constraints for publication in journals).
- Host an annual meeting of the NSC directors.
- Provide support to NSC to facilitate compliance with NIH data sharing and clinical research policies. NIH has announced new policies on data management and sharing starting in 2023, and NIA has established new policies and procedures for reporting human subject enrollment data in NIA-supported clinical research studies. The NSC3 may help NSC sites comply with these and other policies through the development of guidance, templates, information system tools, or other resources. Work with NIA staff and NSC Directors to develop and enhance the sharing of resources such as databases, measurement tools, and information about services provided with other NIA programs, NIH Center programs, and the broader scientific community.
- Provide logistical and educational support for NSC pilot grant recipients, mentors and the larger NSC community to facilitate networking. Activities include the following:
- Facilitating educational opportunities for early career investigators;
- Organizing and conducting early career investigators’ workshops and other activities in conjunction with the annual NSC Investigators meeting; providing exchange experiences among early career and new to the field (NTF) investigators at NSC locally and across the nation; and
- Offering sabbaticals and offering funding for collaborative pilot studies.
- Enhance interactions between the NSC and other NIA communication and collaborative projects; among NSC sites; and between NSC and other institutional research centers, NIA- or NIH-funded research infrastructures, and other Federal or private organizations promoting aging biology training and/or research. The NSC3 director (or appointee) will be engaged with the Research Centers Collaborative Network.
Additional activities or functions may be proposed to promote interactions among NSC sites, encourage interactions between the NSC program and other NIA- and NIH-supported resources, enhance the value and visibility of the NSC program as a whole, and contribute to the educational and professional experiences of trainees.
All activities above should be addressed in Section IV. Application and Submission Information, Research Plan.
Evaluation Plan
Applications must include a clear description of their objectives and a plan for evaluating the NSC3, including all activities supported by the NSC3, in line with the broader NSC3 program goals. The application must specify baseline metrics of NSC3 activities (e.g., numbers and characteristics of workshop participants, scientific dissemination, databases, networking opportunities with other funders, users of resources, etc.), as well as clearly defined milestones with metrics to gauge the short- or long-term success of the NSC3 in achieving its objectives. Wherever appropriate, applicants are encouraged to obtain feedback from participants to help identify weaknesses and to provide suggestions for improvements. NIH will evaluate the entire NSC3 program including the role of the NSC3 in fostering the success of the program. Based on the review, NIA will evaluate the effectiveness of the program, and determine whether to (a) continue the program as currently configured, (b) continue the program with modifications, or (c) discontinue the program after sunset and review period.
Pre-Application Webinar
A webinar is planned to provide prospective applicants the opportunity to understand and ask questions on the scientific scope of this NOFO and technical details for applying. The webinar will be open to all prospective applicants. Participation in the webinar is not a prerequisite to applying to this NOFO, but prospective applicants will need to register in order to participate. Prospective applicants are also encouraged to submit their questions in advance of the webinar; further details on where to submit the questions will be provided once the webinar has been scheduled. Please refer to the registration page for further details on the pre-application webinar, including the time and date and registration information.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.