NIOSH Pilot Projects Research Training Program
Graduate students, other junior investigators in occupational health and safety and established investigators with new interests in occupational health and safety are invited to submit applications for short-term research projects. Support for these projects is available through a supplemental Research Training award from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH) located at the School of Public Health of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Prime Award Information (back to top)
| CFDA Program and Number: |
93.262 |
| Award Name: |
Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health |
| Award Number: |
T42 OH008421-05 |
| Award Year: |
July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011 |
| Federal Awarding Agencies: |
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health |
Sub-Award Flow-Through Requirements (back to top)
| Administrative Requirements: |
2 CFR Part 215 |
| Cost Principles: |
2 CFR Part 220 (A21) |
| Audit Requirements: |
OMB Circular A-133 |
Purpose (back to top)
The goal of the Pilot Projects Research Training Program is to enhance SWCOEH regional outreach efforts in research training and to foster stronger interinstitutional ties in occupational health research within Federal Region VI. The objective of this program is to provide a support mechanism for pilot research projects initiated by:
- New investigators that explore the feasibility of new research approaches that may allow investigators to collect preliminary data to subsequently develop R01 applications
- Graduate research trainees that need partial or supplementary funding to complete or enhance short term studies (e.g., doctoral dissertation research) and/or
- Established investigators in areas other than occupational health research that wish to transition or expand their research interest to workers' health issues ("transitional investigators").
Eligible Applicants (back to top)
The Pilot Projects program aims to provide a support mechanism for research projects initiated by personnel at any institution with graduate programs located within Federal Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas), including those with NIOSH–funded Education and Research Centers (ERC’s) or Training Program Grants. Funds are available for three categories of awards including:
- New Investigator Award: New investigators with research interests in the general area of occupational health and safety. New investigators are defined as academic faculty that have not served as PI on any Public Health Service (PHS)-supported research grants other than a R03, R15, R21, K01, K08, or K12.
- Research Trainee Awards: Graduate doctoral students or postdoctoral fellows in an occupational health and safety-related discipline.
- Transitional Investigator Awards: Established investigators in non-occupational health research areas who wish to transition or expand into occupational health and safety research.
Availability/Use of Funds (back to top)
Approximately $80,000 is available in the current fiscal year to fund 6 to 8 short-term research projects. The maximum amount awarded to a single project will be $10,000 for the New Investigator and Research Trainee award categories and $20,000 for the Transitional Investigator awards, inclusive of direct and indirect costs. Awards will be made on a one-time basis for a maximum of one year without possibility of renewal. Funding is contingent upon NIOSH's notice of renewal award to the SWCOEH for the corresponding fiscal year.
Use
Funding is designed to directly support the implementation of the research plan. Salary support for the investigator is discouraged and administrative staff support will not be allowed. Course costs (i.e., tuition and fees) are not an allowable expense. Additionally, the budgeting of computers into the proposals is not an allowable expense unless it is an essential need to conduct the research (e.g., a laptop to collect data during the field work; but not simply data entry). Otherwise, the computer resources at your institution (i.e., library, computer lab, or even laptops which can be loaned to researchers in our institution) should be enough to complete your project.
All applicants are encouraged to request that their institutions wave indirect cost requirements. Should indirect cost requirements not be waived, the program will only support up to 8% of the direct costs. Proof of IDC Waiver application to the applicant organization must be submitted with the proposal packet. Whether IDC is waived or not by the applicant organization, a letter from the applicant organization stating such must also be submitted.
Programmatic Interest (back to top)
Submitted projects must be relevant to the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) of NIOSH (see http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs). Submitted applications for the New Investigator and Research Trainee award categories should originate from areas within the traditional occupational health and safety-related disciplines including occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, industrial hygiene, occupational safety, ergonomics, toxicology and occupational epidemiology. Applications for the Transitional Investigator award category should originate from investigators in areas other than those listed above.
Proposals in the New Investigator and Research Trainee category should emphasize applied research. Proposals in the Transitional Investigator award category can focus on applied or basic research that brings especially innovative perspectives or paradigms, ideas, and/or approaches to occupational health research. All applications should address occupational health and safety needs in Region VI, foster the research career of the Principal Investigator, and promote research capacity-building in the Region. In addition, the proposal should include a brief statement describing the investigator’s plan for dissemination of project results in the peer-reviewed literature and future applications for extramural funding.
Reporting Requirements (back to top)
Successful awardees will be required to present the results of their projects in two ways:
- An oral presentation of the study results at a research seminar or symposium held at The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston. The submitted budget must reflect allowance for expenses related to travel to Houston for this one-time presentation.
- A final report written in manuscript form is due at the completion of the project. A list and copies/reprints of any publications resulting from the project must be included in this final report.
Evaluation Criteria (back to top)
The mechanism for funding projects through this Program will be a competitive process modeled after the National Institutes of Health enhanced peer review system and modified to meet the purpose of this RFA. Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated by the SWCOEH for completeness and responsiveness. Incomplete and/or non-responsive applications will not be reviewed. If the proposed project involves organizations or persons other than those affiliated with the applicant institution, letters of support must be included.
Applications that are complete and responsive to the announcement will be reviewed by a Scientific Review Panel composed of internal and external peer reviewers and will be determined to be scientifically meritorious or non-meritorious based on review criteria described below. Non-meritorious applications will be withdrawn from further consideration and the principal investigator will be notified. Meritorious applications will be assigned a priority score based on scientific merit. Following this first-level review, the applications will undergo a Programmatic Review for relevance to the goals and objectives of this RFA. Disregarding the outcome of the review, all applications will receive a written critique.
Review criteria for the Scientific Review include:
- Significance and Innovation:
- Does this study address an occupational health and safety problem relevant to Region VI?
- If the study aims are achieved, how will scientific knowledge be advanced?
- Does the study involve novel concepts, approaches or methods?
- Approach:
- Are the research design, methods, and data analysis appropriate to the study aims?
- Are potential problem areas (or study limitations) acknowledged and addressed?
- Principal Investigator:
- Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator?
- How does the project fit in and foster the investigator’s future career in occupational health and safety?
- Resources and Environment:
- Are the scientific environment and facilities adequate for achieving the aims of the proposed study?
- If the principal investigator is a graduate student, is there support from the student’s academic and/or thesis advisor(s)?
- Human Subjects, Gender/Minority/Children and/or Vertebrate Animals Issues:
- Are the procedures proposed adequate for the protection of human subjects and/or vertebrate animals, appropriately documented, and in compliance with applicable published regulations?
- If human subjects are involved, does the research plan include both genders, minorities and/or children? If the plan does not include such gender, minority and/or children representation, is there justification?
- Budget:
- Is the budget reasonable and appropriately justified?
- Are all costs (direct and indirect) included in the budget?
- Has travel for presentation of results at The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston been included?
Review Criteria for the Programmatic Review include:
- Relevance of the proposed research to occupational safety and health issues in Region VI.
- Severity of the injury or disease in the region.
- Usefulness of the research to technical knowledge on the identification, evaluation, or control of occupational safety and health hazards on a regional and national basis.
- Scientific merit of the proposal as determined by the Scientific Review.
- Availability of funds.
Applications considered scientifically meritorious and programmatically relevant, will be invited to revise and resubmit their proposals in view of the received written critique. There is no guarantee that revised proposals will be awarded. Revised proposals should satisfactorily address the reviewer's comments and will receive a second level of review by the Scientific Review Panel.
Notices (back to top)
Budgets must be inclusive of direct and indirect costs and must include travel for a presentation of results at The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston. Supplements will not be awarded.
Appropriate approvals must be obtained prior to the Scientific Review and awards for use of animals, human subjects, radioisotopes, biohazards or other special approvals.
Decisions of the review panel will be final.
Deadlines (back to top)
A letter of intent is required and requested by March 26, 2010. This letter should include a paragraph describing the objectives of the proposed research and which areas of occupational safety and health it addresses. The requested receipt date for proposals is April 30, 2010. Please send an electronic version of your proposal to PilotProjects@uth.tmc.edu. No printed version is required to be mailed at this point.
Awards will be announced in early June 2010. Funds cannot be disbursed to any awardee until all pertinent institutional review board (IRB) approvals are received by the Pilot Projects Research Training Program Coordinator.
For More Information (back to top)
Programmatic technical assistance and additional information can be obtained by contacting:
David Gimeno, PhD
Associate Professor and Director
NIOSH Pilot Projects Research Training Program
The University of Texas School of Public Health
San Antonio Regional Campus
Telephone: (210) 562-5500
E-mail: David.Gimeno@uth.tmc.edu
or
Maricé Barahona
Coordinator
NIOSH Pilot Projects Research Training Program
The University of Texas School of Public Health
P.O. Box 20186
Houston, TX 77225-0186
Telephone: (713) 500-9440
Fax: (713) 500-9442
E-mail: Marice.Barahona@uth.tmc.edu
