Senior International Fellowships (93.989)
Program
93.989 Senior International Fellowships
Federal Agency
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Authorization
Public Health Service Act, Sections 301 and 405, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 241 and 284.
Program Number
93.989
Last Known Status
Active
Objectives
The John E. Fogarty International Center (FIC) supports research and research training to reduce global disparities in health and to foster partnerships between U.S. scientists and their counterparts abroad. FIC supports basic biological, behavioral, and social science research--including research in the fields of economics, demography, and ethics--as well as related research training. The research portfolio is divided into several programs that support a wide variety of funding mechanisms to meet programmatic objectives.
Types of Assistance
Project Grants.
Uses and Use Restrictions
Research Grants: Research Grants provide funds for salaries, equipment, supplies, travel, and other expenses associated with scientific investigation concerning global health issues. They are awarded to universities, colleges, medical and dental schools, hospitals, and other nonprofit and for-profit institutions. Awards include investigator-initiated research grants, cooperative agreements, international training grants, career development awards to enable investigators with outstanding research potential to develop their careers, and small grants.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
Grants: Scientists at universities, medical and dental schools, hospitals, laboratories, and other public or private nonprofit and for-profit institutions. Some restrictions apply and differ among the programs described below.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Any nonprofit or for-profit organization, company or institution engaged in biomedical research. Some restrictions apply and differ among the programs described below.
Credentials/Documentation
Grants: Applications for grants must show the objectives, methodology, and resources for the specific research project and must present the applicant's competence and interest. Career development awards: (1) Individual Candidates: the applicant's academic record, research experience, citizenship, institutional sponsorship, and the proposed area and plan of training, must be included in the application. (2) Institutional Candidates: the applicant institution must show the objectives, methodology, and resources for the research training program, the research qualifications and experience of directing staff to train students, the criteria to be used in selecting individuals for awards, and a detailed budget and justification for the amount of grants funds requested. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular A-21 - Cost Principles for Educational Institutions, Circular A-110 - Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Nonprofit Organizations, Circular A-102 - Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments, and Circular A-87 for State and local governments. For-profit organizations' costs are determined in accordance with Subpart 31.2 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. For other than State and local government grantees, costs will be determined by Health and Human Services (HHS) Regulations 45 CFR, Part 74, Subpart Q.
Application and Award Process
Preapplication Coordination
Not applicable. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure
Grants: Scientists at universities, hospitals, laboratories, and other public or private nonprofit and for-profit institutions. Career development awards: (1) Nonprofit domestic organizations may apply for institutional awards. (2) Individual candidates or applicants must arrange sponsorship by a public or nonprofit private institution having staff and facilities appropriate to the proposed research training program. (3) All awardees must be citizens, or non-citizen nationals of the United States or have been admitted to the United States for permanent residence. (4) To be eligible, career development awardees must have a professional or scientific degree (M.D., Ph.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., Sc.D., D.Eng., or equivalent domestic or foreign degree). Institutional applicants must be able to provide the staff and facilities suitable for the proposed research training. Under some programs non-U.S. institutions and investigators may be eligible for direct awards.
Award Procedure
NIH initial review group, followed by a second level review by the Fogarty International Center National Advisory Board.
Deadlines
GRANTS: An application deadline date will appear in the Request for Applications (RFA) or Program Announcement (PA) for each competition. Contact Headquarters Office listed below for information on when RFAs may be published. FIC PAs have the following receipt dates: FIRCA: March 25, July 25, and November 25.AIDS FIRCA: January 2, May 1 and September 1. International Research Scientist Development Award (IRSDA): February 13.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Appeals
A principal investigator (P.I.) may question the substantive or procedural aspects of the review of his or her application by communicating with the staff of the FIC.
Renewals
Non-competing renewal applications may be made for all multi-year awards. Applicants must submit their request on form PHS 2590 two months before the end of the last budget period. Competing renewal applications may be submitted only in response to a Request for Applications (RFA) or Program Announcements (PA.)
Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
This Program has no statutory formula or matching requirements.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Grants: Approval of a project includes a determination of support for the authorized project period (not to exceed 5 years). Awards to support the project are made on an annual basis. At the time of initial award, the grant provides funds for the conduct of the project during the first budget period (usually 12 months) and the Notice of Grant Award (Form PHS-1533) indicates the support recommended and expected to be made available for the remainder of the project beyond the approved project period, an application for renewal (PHS-398, Revised 7/10/01) must be submitted in accordance with the deadline dates and instructions attached to the form. Funds are allocated annually based on progress in the preceding year. Assistance is awarded by an Electronic Transfer System for domestic grantees and by U.S. Treasury Check for foreign grantees.
Post Assistance Requirements
Reports
Grants: Annual and terminal reports on progress, expenditures, and inventions must be provided to FIC staff in accordance with the CFR Title 42 Part 52 - Grants for Research Projects and the CFR Title 45 Part 74 - Uniform Administrative Requirements for grants and cooperative agreements.
Audits
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133, "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations," nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. In addition, grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspection and audits by DHHS and other Federal government officials.
Records
Expenditures and other financial records must be retained for 3 years from the day on which the grantee submits the last expenditure report for the report period.
Program Accomplishments
Minority International Research Training Grant: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 28 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 28 awards each year. International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 6 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 5 awards each year. International Maternal and Child Health Research and Training Program: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 11 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 11 awards each year. International Studies on Health and Economic Development: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 11 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 11 awards each year. International Clinical, Operational, and Health Services Research and Training Award: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 14 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 14 awards each year. International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 17 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 17 awards each year. International Malaria Research Training Program: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 11 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 13 awards each year. AIDS International Training and Research Program: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 24 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expect to make 23 awards each year. Actions for Building Capacity in Support of the International Collaborations in Infectious Disease Research Program: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 10 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 10 awards each year. International Research Scientist Development Award: In fiscal year 2001, FIC made 9 awards, and in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, expects to make 12 to 14 awards each year.
Financial Information
Account Identification
75-0819-0-1-552.
Obligations
(Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Career Awards) FY 02 $45,142,000; FY 03 est $51,010,460; FY 04 est $56,879,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
FIC regular research grants, education projects, and international training grants grantees receive from $100,000 to $1,300,000; $400,000. FIC Career Development Awards grantees receive from $50,000 to $150,000; $127,000. FIC Cooperative Agreements grantees may receive approximately $500,000- $700,000; $600,000. FIC FIRCA small grant program grantees receive from $30,00 to $45,000; $40,000.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
The grant program legislation and program regulation cited in this Notice of Grant Award, the restrictions on the expenditure of federal funds in appropriations acts, to the extent those restrictions are pertinent to the award, 45 CFR Part 74 or 45 CFR Part 92 as applicable, the NIH Grants Policy Statement, including addenda in effect as of the beginning date of the budget period, and the terms and conditions on the notice of grant award. Information regarding FIC programs can be found at: http://www.nih.gov/fic/programs.html.
Related Programs
None.
Information Contacts
Regional or Local Office
Not applicable.
Headquarters Office
Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Building 31, Room B2C39, MSC 2220, Bethesda, MD 20892-2220. Telephone: (301) 496-1653. Grants Management Contact: Mr. Bruce Butrum, Grants Management Officer.
Web Site Address
Examples of Funded Projects
Given the interdisciplinary nature of global health challenges, the Fogarty International Center (FIC) systematically seeks alliances with sister Federal agencies, international organizations, development agencies, and non-government organizations.The AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) led by FIC and in partnership with nine NIH institutes, supports research training that is critical to advancing the AIDS research agenda abroad. For example, with FIC support, investigators at the University of Nairobi and University of Washington have evaluated the rates of HIV transmission to infants through breastfeeding. In the new study, pregnant HIV-infected women joined groups that would either breastfeed or formula feed their infants. Among infants born to mothers in the breast feeding group the risk of becoming HIV infected in association with breast feeding increased by 76% in contrast to the formula fed group. Overall, 44 percent of the HIV infections in infants born to mothers in the breastfeeding group were due to breast milk. This study clearly shows the need to prevent breast milk transmission and has major implications for development and deployment of public health interventions in resource-poor settings. Additional studies a re now underway to address the related and complex social and economic implications on infant feeding.The International Training and Research Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases (ITREID) aims to increase the capabilities of developing countries to understand, control and prevent emerging infectious diseases. The ITREID is co-funded by the Fogarty International Center, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD). Recently, Harvard University researchers investigated the correlation between maize and Anopheles arabiensis, a local malaria vector. The researchers found that mosquito larvae prefer to feed on the relatively abundant maize pollen in contrast with other local food sources. The prolific pollen provides these mosquitoes the advantage of increased size and longer life span, further facilitating their ability to spread malaria among nearby human populations. Maize is a common crop that is frequently planted near homes in much of Sub-Saharan Africa; altering maize production practices could have a significant impact on the control of malaria in Ethiopia and other African nations. This study also implies that genetically altering maize could potentially impede the mosquitoes? ability to survive or spread malaria among these populations. Further research is being conducted to investigate these possibilities.The International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups (ICBG) program is a unique effort, administered by the FIC, to integrate improvement of human health through drug discovery, incentives for ecological conservation, and new models of sustainable economic activity that focus on the environment, health, equity and democracy. This program is based on the belief that the discovery and development of pharmaceutical and other useful agents from natural products can, under appropriate circumstances, promote sustained economic growth in developing countries while conserving the biological habitats from which these products are derived. The ICBG program is a partnership amongst five institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Five ICBGs are currently working in ten countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia, building research capacity in more than 20 different institutions and training hundreds of individuals. To date, over 5,000 species of plants, animals and microorganisms have been examined for biological activity in 13 different therapeutic areas. Numerous publications in chemistry, biodiversity policy, conservation and ethnobiology have emerged from the funded ICBG groups. Example accomplishments include efforts by researchers at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research to characterize a new mode of action for treatments against leishmaniasis and related parasitic diseases, and isolate promising lead compounds for this and other areas from traditional plant use in West Africa. Another example can be found in the stimulus for a new central biodiversity reserve system in Suriname to protect almost 4 million acres of interior rain forest that will preserve the habitat for research projects like the ICBG as well as other non destructive activities. ICBG research and conservation initiatives are partially credited for this government?s efforts of habitat protection. FIC established an interagency, interdisciplinary research program in FY 2000 on ecology and infectious diseases. The first 12 projects supported by this interdisciplinary program will assess how large-scale man-made environmental events such as habitat destruction, urban sprawl, water pollution, introduced species and agricultural intensification all contribute to the emergence and spread of emerging infectious diseases in animals and humans.With FIC support, scientists at Case Western Reserve and the Institute of Medical Research in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have discovered a new mutation in a gene for the Duffy blood group which reduces susceptibility of red blood cells to malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax. This parasite must interact with Duffy blood group factor on cells in order to infect them. Genetic epidemiologists have demonstrated that individuals with two copies of the mutant gene are resistant to P. vivax infection. Targeting the parasite's Duffy binding protein and its interaction with Duffy blood group may be a productive strategy for developing a vaccine for vivax malaria. The insights from this study not only suggest that is feasible but represent a conceptual model for addressing the more virulent malaria parasite, P. falciparum.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
The major elements in evaluating proposals include assessments of: (1) The scientific merit and general significance of the proposed study and its objectives; (2) the technical adequacy of the experimental design and approach; (3) the competency of the proposed investigator or group to successfully pursue the project; (4) the adequacy of the available proposed facilities and resources; (5) the necessity of the budget components requested in relation to the proposed project; and (6) the relevance and importance to the announced program objectives.
