Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
January 27, 2006
EGRP BULLETIN
From the Office of
Edward Trapido, Sc.D., Associate Director
Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
This Bulletin brings you news about:
- NIH Starts Online Newsletter for Grantees, Prepare for Electronic Submission of Grant Applications
- A. R. (Joe) Patel, Ph.D., Retires from EGRP
- New EGRP Staff Appointments
- UCI's Anton-Culver Is IPA for NCI Division of Cancer Biology
- Funding Opportunities
- Two NIH Regional Seminars Set on Grant Application and Review Process - Boston, California
- Humane Epigenome Project Workshop Report Published,
EGRP's Verma Available To Discuss Cancer Epigenetics Research Proposals - Nature Reviews Cancer: Identifying the Causes and Preventability of Cancer?
- NCI Publishes Cancer Trends Progress Report: 2005 Update
- Subscribe to EGRP Bulletins and News Flashes
NIH Starts Online Newsletter for Grantees, Prepare for Electronic Submission of Grant Applications
NIH's Office of Extramural Research (OER) began this month publishing a bimonthly online newsletter – the NIH Extramural Nexus. OER is responsible for coordination of NIH's extramural programs and activities including grants policy and operations and grants administration. The January issue includes an article on the new requirement for online submission of grant applications and use of the new SF424 (R&D) application form. The article explains the 2-step requirement to preregister with the eRA Commons and Grants.gov. Completing the registration processes can take several weeks. NIH recommends starting the registration process now, or at a minimum 2 - 4 weeks ahead of your target submission date.
We can't emphasize enough the importance of preparing for this transition. Deadlines for use of the new application procedure are according to grant mechanism. The 2006 deadlines are:
- Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) (R15) – February 25, 2006,
- Small Grant Programs (R03) and Exploratory/Development Research Grant Awards (R21, R23) – June 1, 2006, and
- Research Project Grant Program (R01) – October 1, 2006.
The transition has already taken place for applications for Conferences and Scientific Meetings Support (R13, U13) and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Programs (R41, R42, R43, R44).
Resources:
- Videocast "NIH's New Electronic Grant Application Process and the SF424 (R+R)", Jan. 11, 2005 (Search by date or title) Accompanying materials.
- NIH OER Electronic Submission of Grant Application Web site
- eRA Commons Web site (The grantee's organization must be registered before the individual investigator can register.)
- Cancer.Gov
To subscribe to the NIH Extramural Nexus, send a plain text e-mail message to Listserv@list.nih.gov including in the body of the message only the words: Subscribe EXTRAMURALNEXUS
A. R. (Joe) Patel Retires from EGRP
A.R. (Joe) Patel, Ph.D., retired in January with 28 years of service at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Most of his career was spent working in the extramural epidemiology research program where he is known especially for his early stewardship of research on diet, nutrition, and cancer, and on minorities and cancer.
In 1977 with a doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry, Dr. Patel joined NCI to manage contracts for testing chemical agents for carcinogenicity and a carcinogen standards repository. Soon thereafter, he became responsible for developing the extramural diet, nutrition, and cancer research program, including animal and human studies. He wrote the Institute's first Request for Proposals (RFP) for contracts to study natural inhibitors of carcinogenesis, predating the establishment of NCI's large-scale cancer chemoprevention research program.
In the early 1980s, Dr. Patel jump-started investigation of diet and cancer by writing a Request for Applications (RFA) to encourage research grants in dietary assessment methods. "At this time, diet and nutrition were only starting to be appreciated as possible determinants of cancer. The RFA was central to the advancements that have been made in the field of nutritional epidemiology," said Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., of Harvard University, who is internationally renowned for his research on diet and nutrition and was one of Dr. Patel's grantees for more than 20 years.
"The development of validated dietary assessment methods through the NCI funding had a major benefit not only for cancer research but many other fields as well," said Dr. Willett. "For example, as a result of leads provided by dietary assessments, vitamin A supplementation is now part of standard care for patients with visual impairment due to retinitis. Trans fatty acids have been identified as an important contributor to coronary heart disease and are rapidly being removed from the food supply. B-vitamin supplements are part of standard care for pregnant women in Africa infected with HIV. None of this would have happened without the methodological developments encouraged by Dr. Patel."
Dr. Patel followed the initial RFA by writing two others to stimulate development of biochemical markers of human exposure to carcinogens and of cancer susceptibility to use in epidemiologic studies.
In the early 1990s, his focus turned to encouraging and helping extramural investigators launch epidemiologic studies on U.S. ethnic and minority populations and cancer, an achievement which Dr. Patel views as his most important contribution. With expansion of this research portfolio, he began promoting the establishment of cohort studies so that long-term prospective studies, particularly on diet and cancer causation in diverse populations, would be possible.
He leaves an impressive list of cohort studies for which he was Program Director that includes populations of U.S. African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Japanese, Filipinos, Chinese, and Caucasians. Some cohort studies have wide name recognition, such as the Nurses' Health Study, Health Professionals Follow-up Study, Black Women's Health Study, and California Teachers Study.
Dr. Patel also is pleased to have written an RFA in the early 1980s on study of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke and cancer risk. The findings from these studies indicated an association, caught the attention of regulatory agencies, and paved the way for measures to curb smoking in public places and educate the public about the dangers of second-hand smoke, he said.
With his newfound time, Dr. Patel will work part-time as a tax consultant and financial advisor – and no longer commute from Virginia to Maryland, especially during snowstorms.
New EGRP Staff Appointments
Naoko Ishibe, Sc.D., has joined EGRP's Analytic Epidemiology Research Branch (AERB) as a Program Director. She had been working in NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), the intramural epidemiology research component of NCI, first as a post-doctoral fellow and then as a tenure-track investigator. Dr. Ishibe's research focused on familial chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and von Hippel-Lindau disease. She received her Sc.D. in epidemiology and environmental sciences from Harvard School of Public Health where she investigated gene-environment interactions in relation to lung, breast, and colorectal cancer risk. E-mail: ishiben@mail.nih.gov; tel.: 301-435-4911.
Chinonye (Nonye) Harvey, M.P.H., joins AERB as a Program Analyst. She had been a Program Analyst in NCI's Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS), Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), before taking a leave of absence to have a child. Ms. Harvey returns to our Division bringing a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience. While at OCS, she did portfolio analyses of grants, assisted with meeting and conference planning, and much more. Among her AERB duties, Ms. Harvey will work with the Breast and Prostate Cancer and Hormone-Related Gene Variants Cohort Consortium (BPC3 Study). She received her M.P.H. in maternal and child health and international health from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. She also managed a federally funded grant on children's environmental health while at the university. E-mail: harveyn@mail.nih.gov; tel.: 301-594-3667.
Sheri Dixon Schully, Ph.D., is doing a 6-month rotation in EGRP as a Presidential Management Fellow. She will work with the Cancer Family Registries, a research resource overseen through the Clinical and Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch (CGERB), and will be coordinating a mitochondrial DNA workshop for AERB. Dr. Shully recently completed a rotation in DCEG where one of her responsibilities was organizing activities for the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility Initiative. She received her Ph.D. in biological sciences from Louisiana State University. While at the university, she also was a Teaching Assistant instructing science majors on basic biology principles, themes, and laboratory skills, and a Graduate Assistant evaluating equipment and curricula for the Department of Biological Science's "Scope-On-A-Rope" science outreach program; preparing and executing teacher training, activities, and workshops; and developing techniques, applications, and lesson plans. E-mail: schullys@mail.nih.gov; tel.: 301-435-4910.
John Fox, M.P.H., joins EGRP's Office of the Associate Director (OAD) as a Program Analyst. He received his B.S. in biology and M.P.H. in occupational and environmental epidemiology and in public health genetics from the University of Michigan. Mr. Fox's experience includes an internship at a Michigan county health department studying the long-term sequelae of individuals who developed meningoencephalitis from the 2002 West Nile Virus epidemic. He also was a graduate student instructor for two years and taught physiology lab class. Mr. Fox moved to the Washington, D.C., area last year and took a position with our Division's Behavioral Research Program (BRP) providing grants administration support. E-mail: foxjoh@mail.nih.gov; tel.: 301-594-7348.
UCI's Anton-Culver Is IPA With NCI Division of Cancer Biology
Hoda Anton-Culver, Ph.D., of the University of California, Irvine, is working part time in NCI's Division of Cancer Biology (DCB) under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA). DCB manages NCI's grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts relevant to cancer biology. She will be advising on the state of the science and research opportunities for new collaborations between DCB and other NCI Divisions, particularly DCCPS. For example, the areas of cancer susceptibility genes and gene/environment interactions are ripe for interdisciplinary investigations, Dr. Anton-Culver says, but they need a catalyst to accelerate discussions and initiatives across NCI Divisions. She is Chief of the Epidemiology Division and Director of the Genetic Epidemiology Research Institute (GERI) at UC-Irvine. Dr. Anton-Culver also is a long-time EGRP grantee and a member of NCI's Board of Scientific Advisors (BSA), which provides scientific advice on matters concerning scientific program policy, progress, and future direction of the Institute's extramural research programs, and concept review of extramural program initiatives.
Funding Opportunities
RFA Issued for Training a New Interdisciplinary Research Workforce
NIH has reissued a Request for Applications (RFA) inviting applications for developing and implementing novel training programs focused on interdisciplinary science. This RFA is an NIH Roadmap Initiative and all NIH Institutes are participating. Letters of intent are due February 14, 2006, and the deadline for receipt of applications is April 7.
These interdisciplinary programs will support a variety of new and innovative didactic and research experiences designed to provide students with the knowledge and research experiences necessary to develop interdisciplinary solutions to complex health problems and to increase quality and years of healthy life and eliminate health disparities. Programs will be supported that enable the development of novel research training and education programs that provide integrated interdisciplinary training for undergraduates, predoctoral and/or postdoctoral trainees, or independent faculty-level investigators. The funding opportunity also will support basic and clinical research to develop an interdisciplinary knowledge base for care across the life span, across disciplines, and across settings during states of illness and health.
The RFA uses the T90 mechanism which includes linked research training and education programs. Applicants are to submit a single unified grant application and, if selected for funding, two separate awards may be issued, an R90 (Research Education award) and a T90 (Research Training award), based on distinct research training- and education-related funding authorities.
NIH is committing about $2.6 million to support this RFA in FY 2006. However, the total amount awarded and the number of awards made will depend upon the number, quality, and cost of the applications received. It is anticipated that 8-10 awards will be made. An applicant may request a project period of up to four years with annual direct costs of new funds not to exceed $325,000.
The RFA is coordinated by the National Institute on Drug Administration (NIDA). Scientific questions may be directed to Allison Chausmer, Ph.D., NIDA, tel.: 301-402-5088; e-mail: achausme@nida.nih.gov.
- See the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts (RFA-RM-06-006)
Omnibus Solicitation for Small Business Grants Issued for 2006
The Omnibus Solicitation for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Grant Programs for 2006 was announced in the NIH Guide on January 27, 2006. Refer to EGRP's topics of specific interest in the solicitation or view them at epi.grants.cancer.gov/ResPort/sbir.html. Only electronic applications will be accepted, and they must be submitted through the Federal-wide portal Grants.gov.
- NIH Guide (NOT-OD-06-033)
The EGRP Program Director is Jay Choudhry, M.S., tel.: 301-435-6613; e-mail: choudhj@mail.nih.gov.
Two NIH Regional Seminars Scheduled on Grant Application and Review Process
NIH will hold Regional Seminars on Program Funding and Grants in Boston in March and in California in May-June 2006. These annual seminars help demystify the grant application and review process, clarify federal regulations and policies, and highlight current areas of special interest or concern. NIH policy, grants management, review, and program staff provide expertise and encourage personal interaction between themselves and seminar participants. The seminars are appropriate for grants administrators, researchers new to NIH, and graduate students. Registration is limited.
- March 30-31, Boston, Mass., co-hosted by Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, and
- May 31-June 1, Riverside, Calif., co-hosted by University of California, Riverside.
Programmatic and logistical information
Presentations from earlier seminar
Humane Epigenome Project Workshop Report Published,
EGRP's Verma
Available To Discuss Cancer Epigenetic Research Proposals
The report from the workshop to develop a blueprint for a Human Epigenome Project, which was sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) last year, is published in the December 15, 2005, issue of Cancer Research. The goal of the Human Epigenome Project "is to identify all the chemical changes and relationships among chromatin constituents that provide function to the DNA code, which will allow a fuller understanding of normal development, aging, abnormal gene control in cancer, and other diseases as well as the role of the environment in human health." Mukesh Verma, Ph.D., Acting Chief of AERB, represented DCCPS at the June 2005 workshop and is available to discuss research ideas related to cancer with investigators.
- Jones PA, Martienssen R. A blueprint for a Human Epigenome Project: The AACR Human Epigenome Workshop. Cancer Res 2005 Dec 15;65(24):11241-6.
- See also earlier EGRP Bulletin article on epigenetics written by Dr. Verma.
Nature Reviews Cancer: Identifying the Causes and Preventability of Cancer?
"Epidemiology – identifying the causes and preventability of cancer?" is published as a perspectives paper in the January 2006 issue of Nature Reviews Cancer. The authors review studies of cancer incidence using different epidemiologic techniques that have been conducted in the 25 years since Professor Sir Richard Doll and Professor Sir Richard Peto published their landmark comprehensive analysis of evidence on the risk and preventability of cancer. They make some suggestions for future directions in research. The review was written by Graham Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health; Thomas Sellers, Ph.D., H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute; and Edward Trapido, Sc.D., of EGRP.
- Colditz GA, Sellers TA, Trapido E. Epidemiology - identifying the causes and preventability of cancer? Nat Rev Cancer 2006 Jan;6(1):75-83.
NCI Publishes Cancer Trends Progress Report: 2005 Update
NCI's new Cancer Trends Progress Report: 2005 Update summarizes our nation's progress against cancer in relation to the Healthy People 2010 targets developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This online report, first issued in 2001 as the Cancer Progress Report, is released every other year. The revised and expanded report is intended for policy makers, researchers, clinicians, and public health service providers, offering updated national trends data and a variety of new features.
New additions to this year's report include:
- Quick tutorial to make navigation and downloading of materials within the report as simple as possible
- Prevention measures: e.g., "Doctors' and Dentists' Advice to Quit Smoking"; "Pesticides"; and "Dioxins"
- Treatment measures: "Breast Cancer Treatment" and "Colorectal Cancer Treatment"
- Updated "Trends-at-a-Glance" snapshot
- Links to state- and county-level data
- Data, graphs, and slides that are easy to download
- Links to Healthy People 2010 materials
- Custom report features
- Open text search capability
- Fully accessible to persons with disabilities.
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