NIH Resource Core Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Centers (P30)

Please distribute this information to your faculty to determine if they have an interest in submitting a proposal to this program.

WHAT: Limited Submission Proposal for the NIH Resource Core Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Centers (P30)

WHO:  Texas A&M University faculty, including TAES, TEES and TTI personnel.

WHY:  Applicants can request support of between $500,000 and $800,000 in direct costs per year for a maximum of five years.

WHEN: Internal proposal deadline of February 18, 2008.

HOW:  Faculty should submit internal proposal to osppc@tamu.edu  for review by the internal selection committee.

THE FINE PRINT:

The funding agency, NIH, has limited the number of proposals to one per institution.

BRIEF PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:  The purpose of the NIH Resource Core Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Centers (P30) Program is to support environments in which scientists from the basic and applied/clinical disciplines can come together to develop a coherent program of transdisciplinary research.  Two specific goals are to encourage:  translational research between the basic sciences into the development and testing of novel preventive intervention approaches and translation of preventive intervention findings back into basic science laboratory studies that can better explicate underlying intervention mechanisms and effects of basic systems such as neurobiology.  It is expected that a transdisciplinary approach will be used to explore and catalyze new ways of conceptualizing drug abuse prevention research.   

This type of translational research approach is bidirectional in nature, with findings from the basic sciences informing preventive intervention development and refinement and findings from preventive interventions informing new lines of basic science inquiry.  The kinds of basic science disciplines include, but are not limited to:  biochemistry, biology, biomedicine, computational science, computer science, economics, engineering, geography, genetics, informatics/information science, mathematics, neurobiology, neuroscience, physics or physiology.  Researchers from these diverse disciplines are expected to collaborate and form investigative teams of both applied prevention scientists and basic scientists.

The following scientific themes that may benefit from transdisciplinary collaborations can include:  using basic science research and emerging technologies to explicate under-explored mechanisms of neurobiological risk to facilitate understanding of the biological and neurobiological effects of social, emotional and behavioral preventive interventions; using basic science laboratory research to understand how early adversity (stress, abuse, neglect, toxins) effects neurobiological systems (pre-natal and post-natal), to assess the degree of plasticity in these systems over time and to assess the effects of early environmental intervention on later developmental trajectories; development and testing of innovative interdisciplinary methods for studying adolescent cognition, affect regulation, impulsivity and decision-making related to drug use and sexual risk behaviors that will apply more readily to real world settings and have implications for novel intervention development; applying methodologies and/or technologies that facilitate the study of gene/environment interactions on a large scale, especially those that explore the bidirectional nature of these relationships within the context of preventive interventions; using methodologies and/or technologies that may improve or facilitate the integration of environmental data with behavioral, biological, genetic and other health-related data at the individual level to inform preventive intervention approaches; applying methodologies and/or technologies that improve our understanding of how communities and neighborhoods trigger biological processes in humans that relate to health disparities in the population, and how preventive interventions may alter developmental trajectories in positive directions; and improving our understanding of the bi-directional relationship between developmental processes at the individual and macro (societal) levels. 

Applications must identify at least three currently funded research projects (qualifying projects) that will collaborate with the Center.  At least one of the qualifying projects must include some ongoing basic science inquiry, and at least one qualifying project should include some ongoing preventive intervention research inquiry.  The Resource Core Center is expected to maintain three or more active qualifying project collaborations at all times.  In addition, Research Core Centers must have a minimum of three components including an Administrative Core, a Shared Resources Core and a Pilot Project Component, which will provide modest support for new initiatives or feasibility projects to develop new ideas and encourage new investigators.

More information can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-08-012.html

Internal Selection Procedures and Deadlines

February 15, 2008:  Deadline for an email of intent, including the names of the PI and co-PIs, title of internal proposal and a 1-3 sentence description of the project.  Send email of intent to osppc@tamu.edu   

February 18, 2008: Deadline to obtain signatures of approval from your department head and college dean to submit an internal proposal to the Office of Sponsored Projects for review by the internal selection committee.  The internal proposal should include:

An executive summary, up to three pages, based on the proposal description as outlined in the NIH program announcement;
Summary budget;
Project and Management Plans (including team members) 

The form for completing the internal proposal is here.

This completed form should be submitted electronically to osppc@tamu.edu for review by the internal selection committee.

Please read the RFP carefully for specific requirements of the program at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-08-012.html 

Selection of a proposal will be based on NIH guidelines.  The needs of the university’s reinvestment plan will also be taken into account.  

During the selection process, the internal selection committee may contact departments and colleges for their opinions and commitments.  They may also request additional information from PIs.

February 29, 2008: The Internal Selection Committee will notify PIs of the result of the internal competition.

March 17, 2008:  Deadline for optional, but recommended, letter of intent.

April 15, 2008:  Deadline for full proposal.