Slots: 1
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Monday, June 12th, 2023, 5pm PT
LOI: July 4, 2023
External Deadline: August 4, 2023
Award Information
Award Type: Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: 10
Anticipated Award Amount: $7,000,000
Who May Serve as PI: Standard NIH requirements.
Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MD-23-011.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 NIMHD Centers of Excellence program, established by the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-525), has played a vital role in support of NIMHD’s mission to support research in minority health and health disparities, promote the training of a diverse research workforce, disseminate research findings to communities, and foster innovative collaborations and partnerships. This funding opportunity announcement seeks to facilitate the research training and education of investigators from diverse backgrounds, including those underrepresented in biomedical research, particularly interested in diseases that disproportionately impact populations that experience health disparities (https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/).
Tackling the complex drivers of health disparities requires a diverse, well-trained scientific workforce and a transdisciplinary framework that cuts across scientific and organizational silos to integrate multiple disciplines– biology, behavioral and social sciences, epidemiology, data science, public health, health services, economics, clinical science, and public policy. It also requires strong collaborations between researchers, community organizations, health service providers, public health agencies, policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure that relevant, contextually appropriate research is conducted and, more importantly, that findings can be translated into sustainable community and system-level changes that promote health equity.
NIMHD’s Interest in Diversity
The NIMHD’s mission is to conduct and support research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to minority health and health disparities. This funding opportunity seeks to facilitate the education of participants from diverse backgrounds, including those underrepresented in biomedical research to pursue clinical research, translational and/or patient-oriented research, particularly on diseases that disproportionately impact populations that experience health disparities https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/.
NIH’s Interest in Diversity
Every facet of the United States scientific research enterprise—from basic laboratory research to clinical and translational research to policy formation–requires superior intellect, creativity and a wide range of skill sets and viewpoints. NIH’s ability to help ensure that the nation remains a global leader in scientific discovery and innovation is dependent upon a pool of highly talented scientists from diverse backgrounds who will help to further the NIH mission (see NOT-OD-20-031).
Research shows that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogenous teams. Scientists and trainees from diverse backgrounds and life experiences bring different perspectives, creativity, and individual enterprise to address complex scientific problems. There are many benefits that flow from a diverse NIH-supported scientific workforce, including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved or health disparity populations participate in, and benefit from health research, and enhancing public trust.
Research Objectives
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) supports many aspects of minority health and health disparities research from biological, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences research, as well as research on health care services, health systems and workforce development. NIMHD focuses on the full continuum of causes of health disparities and the interventions to address these causes. Projects must include a focus on one or more of the following NIH-designated populations that experience health disparities in the United States: Black/African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, socioeconomic disadvantaged individuals, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minorities (SGMs).
The Center of Excellence must include the following required components:
- Overall
- Administrative Core
- Investigator Development Core
- Community Engagement and Dissemination Core
Descriptions of Required Components
The Administrative Core will provide overall scientific leadership and strategic direction for the Center of Excellence. Provide administrative oversight and create mechanisms and procedures for ensuring interaction between the Center’s Cores. Evaluate the quality, performance, and outcomes of the educational activities. Create and maintain a system for: 1) tracking pilot-study investigators through and beyond the award of independent research funding and 2) sharing information and data related to investigators and mentors (e.g., study aims of pilots, other research projects, collaborations, and publications and other accomplishments associated with investigators). Project oversight and evaluation, ensuring that component plans are implemented per proposed timelines, submitting annual progress reports, monitoring progress on pilot projects, and ensuring that Center supported activities are carried out in compliance with applicable federal regulations and policies. The Administrative Core must be directed by the PD(s)/PI(s) of the Center.
The Investigator Development Core shall offer career enhancement activities for investigators at all faculty levels of the applicant and collaborating institutions, including post-doctoral fellows and junior investigators. Resources may be requested to support seminars, workshops, and/or other activities that promote the recruitment, advancement, and retention of investigators in biomedical, behavioral, social, and clinical research relevant to minority health and health disparities. The Investigator Development Core will also develop a pilot project program that provides opportunities for the applicant and collaborating institution’s post-doctoral fellows, junior faculty, and other early-stage investigators to develop research training skills and expertise in minority health and health disparities as well as to support awardees to ensure successful completion of projects to publication of results and submission of subsequent grant applications. Annual funding for the pilot project program should be a minimum of $300,000 total direct costs with at least three new pilot projects awarded each year. NIMHD encourages projects that use approaches encompassing multiple domains of influence (e.g., biological, behavioral, sociocultural, environmental, physical environment, health system) and multiple levels of influence (e.g., individual, interpersonal, family, peer group, community, societal) to understand and address health disparities (see the NIMHD Research Framework, https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/research-framework.html, for more information).
Eligibility to receive a pilot project award is limited to post-doctoral fellows, junior faculty and other early stage investigators as defined by NIH (see https://grants.nih.gov/policy/new_investigators/index.htm#definition). Recruitment of investigators from groups underrepresented in science (http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/) is encouraged. This additional research experience should allow the participant to continue working toward establishing their own independent research program as a research scientist leading to applications for individual mentored career development (K) or research grant (R series) awards from NIH.
The Community Engagement and Dissemination Core will facilitate equitable collaborative and sustainable relationships with community and other stakeholders. The Core will coordinate dissemination activities with community members, partner organizations, and relevant service organizations or policymakers, as well as the scientific community. Dissemination activities include the presentation of findings from pilot projects and strategic planning about how to translate findings into sustainable community and system-level changes at the local level and beyond.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.