Request for Applications: UMB-DF/HCC U56 Partnership Grant 2008

Awards will be made at two levels:

• Pilot projects: $50,000 per year for up to two years, including full direct and indirect costs
• Pre-pilot projects: $12,500 per award for one year, including full direct and indirect costs 

Deadlines:
Letter of Intent (optional): July 1, 2008
Submission: September 12, 2008
Anticipated award start date: November 1, 2008

Proposals should be submitted electronically to:
Sarah Weiler, Ph.D.
Sarah_Weiler@dfci.harvard.edu

AND/OR

Adán Colón-Carmona, Ph.D.
Adan.colon-carmona@umb.edu

Overview and Goals of the Program
Significant disparities exist in cancer incidence and outcomes among minority and underserved populations. The objective of the U56 Partnership between Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the University of Massachusetts Boston is to address cancer health disparities in minority populations, and to improve research, training and outreach opportunities for under represented minority (URM) students fellows, and faculty. The partnership seeks to:

1.    Develop interdisciplinary and collaborative research programs. Requirements include:

• Projects must represent a collaboration between UMB and DF/HCC scientists.
• Projects should focus on research related to any aspect of cancer (including cancer disparities) for proposals in which more than half of the budget goes to UMB.
• Projects should focus specifically on disparities for proposals in which more than half of the budget goes to DF/HCC.  
• For projects in which the budget is evenly split, a lead investigator should be identified. UMB-led projects should focus on cancer research. DF/HCC-led projects should focus on cancer disparities.
• All research projects should have high potential for leading to NIH funding through the K-series, R03, R21, or R01 mechanisms (for more information see http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm).
• Projects should provide training opportunities for URM students and/or fellows.

2.     Develop collaborative programs focused on community outreach, cancer education, and dissemination of evidenced-based programs. Projects that are focused in faith-based organizations are highly preferred. Outreach projects:

• Must represent a collaboration between UMB faculty and DF/HCC members.
• Must focus on cancer disparities.
• Should have high potential for leading to sustainable programs through other funding sources (e.g. local resources, foundation support).
• Should provide training opportunities for URM students and/or fellows.
  
  

It is expected that all funded projects will lead to subsequent NIH or foundation applications to support the proposed line of research, and will lead to publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Proposal Contents and Page Limits

Letter of Intent (LOI): A LOI is optional, but will be helpful in developing a competitive application. The LOI should outline the following information: (1) specific aims; and (2) DF/HCC and UMB faculty who are collaborating. Feedback will be provided on all LOIs in order to help investigators develop the strongest application possible.

Proposal: Maximum of 4 pages of text. Figures and references are allowable in addition to this page limit. No appendix material will be accepted.

Proposal must include the following:

• Purpose/specific aims, sample, methods, data collection, data analysis.
• Information on how the proposed project is part of a line of research that will lead to future NIH funding.
• Plans for inclusion of URM students/trainees.
• Strategies for developing/maintaining an active collaboration between the DF/HCC and UMB collaborators.
• Indication of the added value the proposal brings to the U56 partnership.

Eligibility: Only DF/HCC members are eligible to receive funding through this mechanism. To apply for membership in DF/HCC go to http://www.dfhcc.harvard.edu/membership. Investigators with currently funded pre-pilots through the U56 are eligible to apply for a pilot project. However, evidence of work accomplished on the pre-pilot should be provided in the application.

Biosketches: Current NIH Biosketch for each participating PI, including all funding sources for PI designated to perform project.

Budget Request: Budget requests NOT EXCEEDING the allocated amounts should be submitted on the NIH 398 form with major divisions of funds (personnel, equipment, supplies, other, etc.; but no itemization or rationale needed). Funds can be utilized for used for equipment, technician or post-doctoral fellow salary (RFA1). There is a strong preference for the funds not to be used for PI salary. However, we will consider funding a small portion of PI salary if a compelling rationale is made and there is a clear plan for efficiently implementing the proposed research.  All budget estimates MUST include appropriate indirect costs.

Review process: Pilot proposals will be reviewed by an external review committee.

In addition to Drs Colón-Carmona and Weiler, inquiries can be made to U56 Program Coordinator Jamielle Walker (617-287-6622 or Jamielle.Walker@umb.edu).