The Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education
and
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Jointly Sponsored Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Awards (K08)
and
Mentored Patient Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
The Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education (TSFRE) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) have wish to announce a program of jointly sponsored programs for Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Awards (K08) and Mentored Patient Oriented Research Career Development Awards (K23).
The Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education is pleased to acknowledge the generosity of The William J. von Liebig Foundation, Datascope Corporation, The Foundation for the Advancement of Cardiac Therapies, The Cross-Jones Fund directed at thoracic surgeon scientists in the early stages of their research careers and The Starr Foundation for supporting this program.
Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08)
Purpose
The purpose of the Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Awards (MCSDA) is to support surgeon scientists in the early stages of their research careers . the development of outstanding clinician research scientists.
Because of the focus on progression to independence as an investigator, the prospective candidate s should propose a period of study and development consistent with this goal and his or her previous research and clinical experience. For example, candidates with limited experience in a given field of research may propose find a phased developmental 5-year program lasting for five years, which that includes a designated period of didactic training and supervised research experience as the most efficient way to begin to work toward means of attaining independent funding for future research work. Each candidates with substantial previous research experience might propose a 3-year research project preparatory to application for independent research funding from NIH and/ or another major competitive funding source may require a shorter award period appropriate for the transition to independence. The entire program should be comparable in scope and rigor to meeting the requirements of an advanced research degree.
Eligibility Requirements
The candidate must have an M.D. degree or its equivalent. He or she, must have completed postgraduate clinical training in thoracic surgery, must have identify a mentor with extensive research experience. The candidate and his or her institution, and must be willing to have him or her spend a minimum of 75 percent of full time professional effort for conducting research and research career development.
Applications may be submitted, on behalf of candidates, by domestic, non-Federal organizations, public or private, such as medical schools or other institutions of higher education. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply. Candidates must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt Card
(I-151 or I-551) or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident. Non-citizen nationals, though not U.S. citizens, owe permanent allegiance to the U.S. They are usually born in lands that are not states but are under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.
Former principal investigators on NIH research project (R01), FIRST Awards (R29), sub-projects of program project (P01) or center grants (P50), or the equivalent, such as VA Merit Reviews, or AHA awards are not eligible. A candidate for the MCSDA may not concurrently apply for any other PHS award that duplicates the provisions of this award nor have another application pending award. MCSDA recipients are encouraged to apply for independent research grant support during the period of this award. Questions regarding eligibility requirements should be directed to the NHLBI contact listed at the end of this announcement.
Mechanism of Support
Awards in response to this program announcement will use the K08 mechanism. Planning, direction, and execution of the program will be the responsibility of the candidate and his/her mentor on behalf of the applicant institution. The project period may be for 3, 4 three, four or 5 five years . Successful applicants will receive funding from NHLBI and TSFRE via their ins t itution’s research administration . and will depend upon the number of years of prior research experience, the need for additional experience to achieve independence, and the policy of each particular institute or center. Awards are not renewable.
Research Objectives
A. Environment: The institution must have a well established research and clinical career development program and qualified faculty in clinical and basic research to serve as mentors. The institution must be able to demonstrate a commitment of the development of the candidates as a productive, independent investigator. And, the candidate, mentor and institution must be able to describe a multi-disciplinary career development program that will maximize the use of relevant research and educational resources.
B. Program: The award provides three to five consecutive 12-month appointments. At least 75 percent of the recipient’s full-time professional effort must be devoted to the program and the remainder devoted to other clinical and teaching pursuits consonant with the objectives of the award. The basic science component must develop knowledge and research skills in scientific areas relevant to the career goals of the candidate.
C. Mentor(s): The recipient must receive appropriate mentoring throughout the three to five year program. Where feasible, women and minority mentors should be involved as role models.
D. Allowable Costs:
1. Salary Support: TSFRE and the NHLBI will each provide salary up to $75,000 per year and NHLBI will award fringe benefits on each salary it awards for the MCSDA recipient (for a total of up to $150,000 per year) direct costs to the institution of the awardee.
The institution may supplement the salary of the recipient up to a level that is consistent with the institution’s salary scale; however, supplementation may not be from Federal funds unless specifically authorized by the Federal program from which such funds are derived. In no case may PHS funds be used for salary supplementation. Institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the MCSDA.
2. Research Development Support: NHLBI will award up to $25,000 per year for research-related expenses including a) tuition, fees, and books related to career development; b) research expenses, such as supplies, equipment, and technical personnel; c) travel to research meetings or training; d) statistical services including personnel and computer time.
3. Facilities and Administrative Costs: F & A costs will be reimbursed at the percentage of the allowable direct costs contributed by the NHLBI. TSFRE will not reimburse F & A costs.
Mentored Patient Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Purpose
This award is designed to support the training of clinically trained professionals who have made a commitment to focus on patient-oriented research. For the purpose of this award, patient-oriented research is research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator interacts directly with human subjects.
Eligibility Requirements
T he candidate must have an M.D. degree or its equivalent, and must have completed their postgraduate training in thoracic surgery. Candidates must identify a mentor with extensive research experience and must be willing to spend a minimum of 75 percent of full time professional effort conducting clinical research and research career development.
Applications may be submitted on behalf of candidates by domestic, non-Federal organizations, public or private, such as medical or other institutions of higher education. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply. Candidates must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551) or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident. Non-citizen nationals, though not U.S. citizens, owe permanent allegiance to the U.S. They are usually born in lands that are not states but are under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.
Former principal investigators of NIH research project grants are not eligible. Questions regarding eligibility should be directed to the NHLBI contact at the end of this announcement.
Mechanism Of Support
Awards in response to this program announcement for the Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award will use the K23 mechanism. Planning, direction, and execution of the program will be the responsibility of the candidate and his/her mentor on behalf of the applicant institution. The project period will be 3 to 5 years. Awards are not renewable.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
A. Environment: The institution must have a well-established research and clinical career development program and a qualified faculty in clinical research with an emphasis on patient-oriented research to serve as mentors. The institution must be able to demonstrate a commitment to the development of the candidate as a productive, independent investigator. And, the candidate, mentor and institution must be able to describe a multi-disciplinary career development program that will maximize the use of relevant research and educational resources.
B. Program: The Award provides up to 5 consecutive 12 month appointments. At least 75 percent of the recipient’s full-time professional effort must be devoted to the program and the remainder devoted to other clinical and teaching pursuits consonant with the objectives of the award. Both the didactic and research phases of an award period must be designed to develop knowledge and research skills in scientific areas relevant to the career goals of the candidate.
C. Mentor(s): The K23 recipient must receive appropriate mentoring throughout the 5 year program. Where feasible, women and minority mentors should be involved as role models.
D. Allowable Costs: TSFRE and NHLBI will each award salary up to $75,000 per year. In the application to the NIH, the applicant may also request funds for research development support up to $50,000 per year. The applicant must submit a categorical budget; modular budgets will not be accepted. Annual escalation, if any, will be determined by the current NHLBI policy.
1. Salary Support: TSFRE and the NHLBI will each provide salary up to $75,000 per year and NHLBI will award fringe benefits on each salary it awards. It is anticipated that up to $150,000 a year will be used for salary for the award recipient. The institution may supplement the contribution of TSFRE and NHLBI up to a level that is consistent with the institution’s salary scale; however, supplementation may not be from Federal funds unless specifically authorized by the Federal program from which such funds are derived. Institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the MCSDA.
2. Research Development Support: It is anticipated that up to $50,000 per year is allowable for research related expenses including: a) tuition, fees, and books related to career development; b) research expenses, such as supplies, equipment, and technical personnel; c) travel to research meetings or training; and d) statistical services including personnel and computer time.
3. Facilities and Administrative Costs: F & A costs will be reimbursed at the percentage of the allowable direct costs contributed by the NHLBI. TSFRE will not reimburse F & A costs.
Application Procedures
Applications should conform to the guidelines published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts for the Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-00-003.html) or the Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-00-004.html).
Applications are to be prepared using PHS 398 (rev. 5/01 or subsequent revisions) and instructions found under Section IV “Research Career Award”. The PHS 398 form is available at http://www.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html, and will be accepted on or before the receipt deadline of May 31. Forms are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Office of Grants Information, Center for Scientific Review, NIH, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone: 301/435-0714, E-Mail: GrantsInfo@nih.gov
Please take note that the maximum salary budget to be requested of the NHLBI using Form PHS 398 is $75,000. Any request over $75,000 in salary support may be cause for rejection of the application by the Center for Scientific Review of the NIH. As a function of the overall awards program and separate and distinct from the NHLBI application, TSFRE will be contributing $75,000 in addition to whatever is awarded by the NHLBI under the KO8 an K23 provisions.
To identify the application as a response to this program announcement, check YES on item 2a of page 1 of the application and for a K08 Award enter PA-00-003”: Assign to NHLBI, and for the K23 Award enter PA-00-004: Assign to NHLBI. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application with Checklist and five signed photocopies, in one package to: Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040, MSC 7710, Bethesda, MD 20892-7710 and three signed photocopies to the TSFRE Research Committee, 900 Cummings Center, Suite 221-U, Beverly, MA 01915. In addition, send one photocopy to: Michael Commarato, MA, Leader Research Training and Special Programs, Division of Heart and Vascular Diseases, NHLBI, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Suite 9140, MSC 7940, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-7940.
Review Considerations
Applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review and for responsiveness to this program announcement by the TSFRE and by the NHLBI. Applications that are complete and responsive to the program announcement will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened at the NHLBI in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures. As part of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written critique and undergo a process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed, assigned a priority score, and receive a second level review by the appropriate advisory council or board. The applications will also receive a secondary review by the Research Committee of TSFRE.
Award Process
NHLBI will notify the applicants of the NIH funding decision in March and subsequently the TSFRE will notify applicants of its funding decision. It is anticipated that the jointly sponsored MCSDA awards will be made each year and the names of the awardees will be announced thereafter at the national meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in May and January of each year respectively.
Contacts
For questions regarding eligibility requirements and the KO8 or K23 application process:
Michael Commarato
Leader of Research Training and Special Programs
Division of Heart and Vascular Disease
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive
Suite 9140, MSC 7710
Bethesda, MD 20892-7956
(301) 435-0535
For questions regarding the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education
Rebecca Bonsaint
TSFRE
900 Cummings Center
Suite 221-U
Beverly, MA 01915
(978) 927-8330
Deadline
Applications are to be submitted to NHLBI on form PHS 398 (rev. 5/01) and will be accepted on or before the receipt deadline of May 31. Applications for the TSFRE matching grant are due at the TSFRE offices on or before May 31.
