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Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
May 14, 2004 |
EGRP NEWS FLASH
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 News Flash from the Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
(EGRP) provides information about:
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Job Opportunities with EGRP
EGRP has three job opportunities available for Cancer Research Training
Award (CRTA) fellows. The positions are to work on EGRP's:
- Knowledge Transfer Team
- Long Island Geographic Information System (LI GIS)
- Breast and Colon Cancer Family Registries (CFRs)
The candidates must meet basic qualifications for a CRTA appointment:
a.) be a U.S. citizen or resident alien; b) be at least 16 years of age;
c) provide copy of university transcript, or documentation of enrollment
in a doctoral program, or documentation of less than 5 years but no more
than 8 years postdoctoral or medical training (specifics vary with position;
see EGRP's Web site); and d) provide 1-page statement of interest and
experience.
The salary range depends on the CRTA category and years of experience.
The fellows will work in EGRP's offices in Rockville, Md., which is a
suburb of Washington, D.C.
Please refer to EGRP's Web site to read
the complete advertisements and learn where to send letters of interest,
CVs, and names and contact information for references.
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Direct Cost Limitations Changed for Certain Solicited Applications
NIH has revised its policy on direct cost limitations on solicited applications.
Applications in response to Program Announcements (PAs) and Requests for
Applications (RFAs) that include a limitation on direct costs are to exclude
from that limit the facilities and administrative (F&A) costs requested
by consortium participants. The F&A costs requested by the consortium
will be reflected in the PHS 398 application according to current instructions,
and F&A costs awarded under these programs will continue to be awarded
under the current practice. However, these consortium F&A costs will
not be counted as a direct cost when determining if an applicant is in
compliance with a direct cost limitation on a solicited application.
This change applies to applications submitted on or after April 30. Direct
questions to the Grants Management Specialist listed in the RFA/PA or
to the Division of Grants Policy: (301) 435-0949.
This revision does not change the NIH policy on acceptance of applications
requesting direct costs of $500,000 or more for any one year. NIH requires
grant applicants with a requested budget over $500,000 direct costs in
any year to contact the appropriate program staff before submitting applications
to the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) for peer review. The NIH
Guide Notice stipulates that if the requested dollar amount is more
than $1.5 million in direct costs in any year, approval must be sought
6 weeks prior to submitting the grant to CSR. However, approval for
NCI epidemiology applications must be sought at least 8 weeks prior to
submission to CSR to complete the necessary internal processing by the
deadline. CSR no longer accepts amended budgets for submissions over
$500,000.
Read more about the policy change in the
NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts,
NOT-OD-04-040.
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FAQs Posted for RFA on Pharmacogenetics Research Network and Knowledge
Base
The Frequently
Asked Questions about the Request for Applications (RFA) for open recompetition
of the Pharmacogenetics Research Network and Knowledge Base (U01)
are now posted on the Web. Investigators who are not current members of
the Network are strongly encouraged to respond.
EGRP, which is a cosponsor of the RFA, is particularly interested in
epidemiologic research of drug responses and effects relevant to cancer
in understudied populations of diverse racial and ethnic origin. NCI is
a cosponsor through EGRP and the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP),
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD).
The Pharmacogenetics
Research Network consists of multidisciplinary, collaborative groups
of investigators that contribute their data to the publicly available
knowledge base PharmGKB, which is
an open research tool accessible to all scientists.
The research groups in the network have interests across a range of biological
processes: drug metabolism, small molecule transport, target receptors,
and biological pathways involved in the drug treatment of cardiovascular
diseases, asthma, cancer, and depression. Other areas are welcome consistent
with the interests of the funding Institutes. The groups are collecting
comprehensive, integrated information about specific proteins and gene
families important to the field of pharmacogenetics.
Letters of intent are due July 19, and applications are due August
19, 2004. Inquiries related to molecular and genetic epidemiology
may be directed to EGRP's J. Fernando Arena, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical and
Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch (CGERB), e-mail: arenaj@mail.nih.gov;
or Kumiko (Kumi) Iwamoto, M.D., Dr.P.H., Analytic Epidemiology Research
Branch (AERB), e-mail: iwamotok@mail.nih.gov.
The RFA's lead sponsor is the National Institute of General Medical Sciences
(NIGMS). General inquiries about the RFA or the Network may be directed
to Rochelle Long, Ph.D.; tel. (listed incorrectly in the RFA): (301) 594-1826;
e-mail: longr@nigms.nih.gov.
Other participating NIH Institutes are the National Heart, Lung and Blood
Institute (NHLBI), National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS), National Library of Medicine (NLM), and the Office of
Research on Women's Health (ORWH).
Read more about the RFA in the NIH Guide,
RFA-GM-04-002.
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Funding Opportunities Elsewhere in Our Division
- PA on Testing Tobacco Products Promoted to Reduce Harm
A new Program Announcement (PA) has been issued to stimulate multidisciplinary
research on potential reduced-exposure tobacco products, both smoked
and smokeless, through the interplay of basic, biological, and behavioral
research, surveillance, and epidemiology (R01 and R21). The tobacco
industry is currently promoting some new products with claims that
they are less harmful or less addictive because these products purportedly
deliver lower amounts of toxic, carcinogenic, and/or addictive agents
to the user compared with conventional products. However, to date,
the scientific evidence is insufficient to evaluate whether these
new products actually reduce the users' exposure or risk for tobacco-related
diseases. The key research question of this PA is "Do potential
reduced-exposure tobacco products provide a truly, less-harmful alternative
to conventional tobacco products, both on the individual and population
level?"
The PA's objective is to stimulate multidisciplinary research on the
chemical composition, behavior of use, exposure to toxic agents, addictive
properties, differential toxicity, and individual and public health
impact of potential reduced-exposure tobacco products.
Direct questions about scientific/research issues for cancer-related
research to Mirjana V. Djordjevic, Ph.D., DCCPS's Tobacco Control Research
Branch, Behavioral Research Program; tel: (301) 496-8584; e-mail: djordjev@mail.nih.gov.
The PA is cosponsored with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA),
where the contact on scientific/research issues is Allison L. Chausmer,
Ph.D., tel.: (301) 402-5088; e-mail: achausme@nida.nih.gov.
Read more about the PA in the NIH Guide,
PA-04-103.
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- Administrative Supplements for Disseminating Evidence-based
Intervention Research Products
Applications are invited for administrative supplements for NCI-funded
cancer control intervention research R01, P01, P50, U01, and U19 grants.
Applicants may apply for a supplement to a related R01, P01, P50,
U01, or U19 intervention research award, as long as the following
conditions are met:
- The focus of the awarded grant is similar to the focus of the intervention
dissemination supplement that is being proposed.
- There are no funds in the related award related to the proposed
dissemination effort.
- There must be an active parent grant during the entire funding period
of this supplement.
- The Principal Investigator for the supplement must be the Principal
Investigator of the parent grant.
These supplements are to provide 1-year funding to cancer control investigators
whose intervention efficacy data have been analyzed and who are conducting
peer-reviewed research (with an active NCI grant award) related to the
intervention program proposed for dissemination. Intervention research
across the cancer control continuum that may be eligible for these supplements,
includes: tobacco use prevention and cessation; promotion of appropriate
changes in diet and physical activity; reduction of sun exposure and
ultraviolet radiation exposure; facilitation of informed decisions about
genetic testing for cancer susceptibility; enhancement of screening
for breast, cervix and colorectal cancers; quality of care; and improvements
in coping skills and quality-of-life for cancer survivors and their
families.
The deadline for applications is June 30, 2004. Direct inquiries
concerning the programmatic and review matters to Jon F. Kerner, Ph.D.,
DCCPS Deputy Director for Research Dissemination and Diffusion; tel.:
(301) 594-7294; e-mail: jon.kerner@nih.gov.
View detailed
instructions for applying for this supplement and a Question and
Answer series.
See also the NIH Guide, NOT-CA-04-011.
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Funding Opportunities Elsewhere at NCI
- RFA for Community Networks to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities
NCI's Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities invites applications
for cooperative agreements (U01) for Community Networks to Reduce
Cancer Health Disparities through Education, Research, and Training
(Community Networks Program - CNP). The CNP's purpose is to reduce
cancer health disparities by conducting community-based participatory
education, training, and research among racial/ethnic minorities (e.g.,
African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native
Americans/Alaska Natives) and underserved populations (e.g., Appalachian,
rural, low socioeconomic status, and other underserved populations).
The overall goals of this program are to significantly improve access
to and utilization of beneficial cancer interventions in communities
with cancer health disparities, thereby reducing these disparities.
Letters of intent are due June 14, and applications are due July
13, 2004. (The RFA is a reissue of RFA-CA-99-003.)
Direct questions about scientific/research issues to Kenneth Chu,
Ph.D., Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities, tel.: (301) 496-8589;
e-mail: kc10d@nih.gov.
Read more about the RFA in the NIH Guide,
RFA-CA-05-012.
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Small Business Programs Conference at NIH on June 23-24
On June 23-24, NIH will host its annual conference focusing on funding
opportunities available through the Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs for small
businesses that have innovative biomedical or behavioral research ideas
with commercial potential. The conference is to benefit those who are
relatively new to the Programs, as well as those who are more experienced.
The conference will be held at the Natcher Conference Center, NIH Campus,
Bethesda, Md. Registration is free but mandatory, and space fills quickly.
Read
more about the conference and register online.
In the SBIR Program, funding is usually provided for up to 6 months and
$100,000 total cost for Phase I feasibility studies, and for up to 2 years
and $750,000 for Phase II projects.
The STTR Program requires close collaboration between the small business
and a partnered research institution. The small business is to conduct
at least 40% of the research project, and the single, partner institution
conducts at least 30% of the work. Funding is usually provided for up
to 1 year and $100,000 total cost for Phase I feasibility studies, and
for up to 2 years and $750,000 for Phase II projects.
Learn about research topics of special interest
to EGRP on its SBIR/STTR
Programs Web page.
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Highlights of Research by EGRP Grantees
We now have a section on our Web site with highlights
of research conducted and published by grantees supported through
EGRP. Our investigators are very productive, and we can't begin to do
justice to all the research. We welcome your suggestions on additions.
Contact Linda Anderson, EGRP Communications Director; e-mail: andersoL2@mail.nih.gov.
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Steps Taken to Protect EGRP ListServ From Being Spoofed
Recently a hacker gained access to EGRP's ListServ e-mail address, "Friends-of-NCI-EGRP-L,"
to send an attachment that may have contained a virus. In computer lingo,
it's called "spoofing." There was no message in the body of
the e-mail, only the attachment. Some of our readers let us know that
their computer security systems deleted the attachment or flagged it as
suspicious. A few people opened the attachment but did not encountering
problems, which may be because the NIH computer security experts have
in place systems to try and strip viruses that may be attached to outgoing
messages.
We've now set up an extra level of protection with the help of the NIH
ListServ staff. After we send an e-mail message to the ListServ for distribution,
a message will be returned asking us to confirm that the communication
is truly from us before it will be sent. In addition, if we have any attachments
to share with you, we will post them on our Web site and let you access
them from there.
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Subscribe to Receive EGRP Bulletins and News Flashes
You are welcome to tell others about EGRP's ListServ through which we
send occasional Bulletins and News Flashes about funding
opportunities, resources, and activities of potential interest to researchers
and administrators working in cancer epidemiology. To subscribe, contact
Linda Anderson; e-mail: andersoL2@mail.nih.gov.
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