Purpose:
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released two new funding opportunities to address chronic diseases and health disparities in the nation. These funding opportunities are a direct result of congressional interest in addressing health disparities and chronic disease, the importance of which has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations bill allocated $45 million to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to support the establishment of comprehensive research centers focused on the prevention, treatment and management of comorbid chronic diseases associated with health disparities. These diseases include but are not limited to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and obesity.
Background:
The Centers for Multiple Chronic Diseases Associated with Health Disparities, to be funded using the P50 mechanism, will be regionally focused with a goal to address disparities within that region for one or more populations that endure health disparities. Applicants should be prepared to provide a rationale for why the selected geographic region is best for addressing a particular chronic disease. Centers proposed must also address two or more chronic diseases that disproportionately affect populations with health disparities. In addition, Centers should include lead investigators from at least two research institutions and a coalition of relevant stakeholders from the region. These stakeholders should reflect the needs of the research proposed and may include but are not limited to community-based organizations, social service agencies, school systems, and patient advocacy groups. Applications for the Centers must also include at least one Center Research Project that involves a clinical trial that tests an intervention. NIMHD will work in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to support research at these Centers.
The Multiple Chronic Disease Disparities Research Coordinating Center, to be funded through the U24 cooperative agreement mechanism, will coordinate activities across the Centers for Multiple Chronic Diseases. The Research Coordinating Center will oversee harmonizing projects across the centers through data sharing, facilitating outreach to the network, and providing mechanisms for collaboration and communication among individual researchers.
For the Centers Funding Opportunity, NIH intends to commit up to $40.5 million to fund up to 8 to 9 awards in FY 2021. For the Research Coordinating Center Funding Opportunity, NIH intends to commit up to $4.5 million in FY 2021 to fund one award. For both opportunities, the application budgets are limited to $3,000,000 in direct costs annually and the maximum project period may not exceed five years.
Key Dates:
The application due date for the Centers Funding Opportunity is June 10, 2021, with a letter of intent due on May 8, 2021. The earliest start date is September 2021.
The application due date for the Research Coordinating Center Funding Opportunity is June 11, 2021 with a letter of intent due on May 11, 2021. The earliest start date is December 2021.
Pre-Application Webinars:
NIH will host a pre-application Technical Assistance webinar for prospective applicants on Tuesday April 27, 2021, from 3 – 5 pm ET for the Centers Funding Opportunity. An additional webinar will be held for the Research Coordinating Center Funding Opportunity on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, from 3 – 5 pm ET. Both webinars will clarify expectations for the funding opportunities, outline the goals of the objectives, while answering questions from attendees. Webinar information can be found in the relevant funding opportunity.
URLs for more information:
- https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MD-21-007.html
- https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MD-21-008.html
Filed Under: Funding Opportunities