APPLICATION DEADLINE

• Call for Applications: Opens July 1, 2021
• Letter of Intent (LOI) Due: Nov 4, 2021
• Invitation for Full Applications: Nov 5 – Nov 10, 2021
• Full Application Due: Dec 17, 2021
• Funding Decisions: Jan 21, 2022
• Start of Cohort 3: Spring 2022

APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Please submit application materials to nadrcmar.ireach@wsu.edu

DOWNLOAD FORMS

• Research Education Program and Pilot Project Info Sheet
• Pilot Project Application Form

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible, Research Education Program applicants must:

• Plan to conduct research with American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, or Pacific Islanders on a topic related to ADRD;
• Have an advanced degree in social, behavioral, or health sciences or a similar field;
• Be a transitioning postdoctoral fellow, a junior faculty member, or a mid-career scientist newly transitioning into research on ADRD;
• Be up to date with human subjects training or commit to completing training before the cohort’s kickoff meeting; and
• Obtain a letter from their academic supervisor guaranteeing adequate release time to conduct the Pilot Study.

RESEARCH EDUCATION PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

The 18-month Research Education Program will involve seven components:

1. A 2-day introductory meeting on health disparities pertaining to ADRD and American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander elders (Month 1)
2. An intensive workshop on ADRD (timing varies)
3. Pilot Study (Months 1-12)
4. Regular in-person/Zoom meetings in Seattle that include didactic sessions (every 3-4 months)
5. Bi-weekly interactions with mentor team (Months 1-18)
6. A 5-day intensive grant-writing workshop (Month 13)
7. A mock review of each trainee’s funding proposal (Month 18)

RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS

Research Education Program Scholars (i.e., training participants) are expected to attend and/or complete all of the program activities listed above. Participants must produce at least one publication based on their Pilot Study and will be required to complete a Duke University course in scientific writing before starting the program. During the twelfth month of the program, participants will provide a brief standardized report of their accomplishments, including the status of their Pilot Study, publications, current plans for grant application(s), and plans for future career development.

Because some outcomes of pilot funding will not be immediate, we will annually request and review each participant’s progress in terms of all new publications, presentations, grants, and contributions to health and health disparities research during all five years of parent grant funding. In addition, participants, along with other RCMAR scientists, will present their findings at the Resource Center for Minority Aging Research annual conference, as requested by the National Institute on Aging. This will stimulate new collaborations, highlight active projects, and publicize the achievements of both NAD RCMAR and our RCMAR scientists.

ANALYSIS MENTORING AND DATA ACCESS

Scholars are assigned a statistical mentor who will provide support for quantitative data analyses. The extent of the support will vary according to the skills and needs of each Scholar, but in all cases, the statistical mentor must have access to a deidentified copy of the Pilot Project dataset. For primary data collection or data sources that are not publicly available, applicants who are invited to submit a full proposal may be required to provide documentation guaranteeing timely access prior to acceptance into the program.

FUNDING: 18-MONTH PROGRAM: 12-MONTH PILOT PROJECT + 6-MONTH GRANT-WRITING TRAINING

12-MONTH PILOT PROJECT AWARD

Applicants proposing primary data collection may request a maximum of 0.20 FTE in salary along with benefits, in addition to $25,000 in direct costs to conduct their Pilot Study in Months 1-12 of the relevant cycle. For primary data collection projects, the request for direct costs may include salary support for staff or research coordinators, as needed, and funds for participant incentives. We anticipate most projects will require 0.10 to 0.15 in faculty FTE and no more than $20,000 in direct costs. The maximum total award for a primary data analysis project is $40,000 in direct costs.

Applicants proposing a secondary data analysis may request up to 0.20 FTE of their salary along with benefits, plus the costs of acquiring the dataset (if not in the public domain or accessible to the investigator). The maximum total award for a secondary data analysis project is $25,000 in direct costs.

Budget requests for equipment and other faculty salaries will be discouraged, although they may occasionally be appropriate. Therefore, we will maintain flexibility to consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Applicants cannot request travel costs. All Research Education Program-related travel will be covered by the parent grant.

Applicants cannot request indirect costs. A memo from the NAD RCMAR Principal Investigator regarding indirect costs is available upon request for documentation purposes.

6-MONTH GRANT-WRITING TRAINING AWARD

Applicants may request up to 0.20 FTE in salary along with benefits for the 6-month grant-writing training portion of the Program. Applicants cannot request travel costs. All Research Education Program-related travel will be covered by the parent grant.

APPLICATION AND REVIEW PROCESS

The NAD RCMAR Pilot Project application and review process consists of two levels. First, eligible applicants will submit Letters of Intent (LOIs) by November 4, 2021. The LOIs will be reviewed for scientific merit and programmatic priorities by NAD RCMAR Project Leads and our expert Alzheimer’s and related dementias group.

After this initial review of LOIs, we will invite selected applicants to complete and submit a full application, which will be assigned to a team of three NAD RCMAR reviewers with appropriate expertise. Limited support, primarily comprising guidance on organization and level of detail needed, will be available to those who are invited to submit the full application. External reviewers with specific expertise may also be engaged, as needed. Individuals with conflicts of interest, according to standard institutional definitions, will recuse themselves from review. Review criteria will include the following:

1. Adherence to eligibility criteria
2. Relevance to our ADRD focus area
3. Scientific excellence
4. Likelihood of resulting in a peer-reviewed publication
5. Likelihood of resulting in federal research funding
6. Innovation
7. Likelihood of facilitating the applicant’s progress toward independent research funding
8. Feasibility within the time frame and available resources

Reviewers will assign scores based on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) system, from a high of 10 to a low of 90, such that applications scored above 35 are unlikely to be funded. Applicants should expect to be contacted to answer any questions or provide clarification on their proposed Pilot Study. Based on application scores and interviews, the Research Education Core Review Committee will make funding recommendations to the NAD RCMAR Executive Committee.

To submit a Letter of Intent, please include the following:

1. A completed NAD RCMAR Initial Application form
2. A list of potential co-investigators and community partners who will assist in the completion of the project
3. The intended community, tribe, setting, or dataset for the proposed project
4. A 500-word abstract, including:
   • Background
   • Specific Aims
   • Methods and data analysis plan

The Full Application must include the following:

1. A completed NAD RCMAR Initial Application form
2. A cover letter describing your goals, need for the program, and experience working with American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander communities
3. A detailed budget and a budget justification for both the:
   • 12-Month Pilot Project
   • 6-Month Grant-Writing Training
4. A 4-page scientific narrative including:
   • Specific Aims (1 page)
   • Significance (1 page)
   • Innovation and Approach (2 pages)
   • Bibliography (limited to 1 page; does not count toward page limit)
5. A one-page statement of future directions and career plans
6. Biosketches (NIH format) for the Pilot PI and key personnel
7. Letters of support from collaborators or community partners
8. Tribal resolutions and letters from community organizations may also be required for some applications.

Please submit Letters of Intent to nadrcmar.ireach@wsu.edu by November 4, 2021.
For further information, please contact Kyra Oziel at kyra.oziel@wsu.edu. She will send your inquiry to the appropriate faculty member, as needed.

THIS RESEARCH IS SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH UNDER AWARD NUMBER P30AG059295