In the recently completed budget agreement, Congress approved large increases for health-related grants. According to Health Grants and Contract Weekly, the National Institutes of Health fared especially well, with an increase of $2 billion to a total of $15.6 billion for the next year. This means around 10,000 new and competing grants will be funded, probably with a larger average size. Also getting large increases are the Ryan White AIDS programs and the disease prevention programs of the Centers for Disease Control and prevention.

County grant seekers will also be glad to know that two important programs which are perennially threatened with budget cuts the health professions programs of the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research were funded at requested levels.
 
 

NEW NIH INVESTIGATORS GROUP 

As described above, there may be no better time than now for new investigators to break into the ranks of NIH-funded researchers. NIH has pledged to devote a substantial portion of its resources to investigators who have not previously been funded, and NIH now has more resources than ever. Many active researchers within the County system may be well-situated to try an NIH grant application. If you are a researcher who:
 

• Is employed by one of the institutions in the Cook County Bureau of Health Services;
• Has completed preliminary or pilot studies with encouraging results;
• Has published or made professional presentations in the chosen field of study;
• Has never been the principal investigator on any Public Health Service-supported research project other than a small grant (R03), an Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15), an exploratory/developmental grant (R21), or a mentored research career award for clinicians;
• Has the time and interest to develop a polished application to NIH;

then you may want to join a "New NIH Investigators" group to be facilitated by the Office of Research Development. We will meet regularly to go over the process for obtaining NIH funding, to provide supportive group critiques of research proposals as they develop, to get help in dealing with the application forms, and to identify appropriate NIH opportunities.

As currently envisioned, the group members will be asked to commit to weekly one-hour meetings for an 8 week period. (This schedule may be adjusted if group members wish). If you are interested, or have questions, please call Karen Smith at 312-633-4940.

REVIEWERS NEEDED

In conjunction with the new investigators group described above, we would like to identify a pool of experienced researchers who are willing to provide occasional pre-reviews of research applications before they are submitted. If you have experience as a reviewer, for NIH or any other research funding agency, and are willing to provide a helpful critique to a new investigator, please fill out the form below and mail it to: 

Karen Smith, 277 Hektoen, 627 South Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612.
Or you may fax it to: 312-572-3509;
Or e-mail the information to: kmsmith@wwa.com;
Or just call, and we'll write it down (312-633-4940).

Reviewer Information
 

Name:
 

Office Address:
 
 

Telephone:
 

Pager:
 

Areas in which you have research expertise:
 

EMPLOYEES AS RESEARCH SUBJECTS

When an employee is recruited to volunteer for research, he or she is considered to be especially vulnerable to coercion. If an employee refuses to participate, is there any real or perceived penalty? If the answer is yes, then the employee has not been given the chance to freely consent. The autonomous choice to participate or not is a basic right of all research subjects. 

Researchers who wish to study employees need to take extra steps to insure that there is no overt or implied coercion. To the extent possible, studies should be carried out without identifiers linking particular employees to particular data. If this is not feasible, steps should be taken to restrict access to the data, to code it so that the linkage back to individual subjects is well-masked, and to assure the prospective volunteer that there will be no penalty for refusing to participate or for dropping out after enrollment. Consent procedures should explicitly state that the employee's choice will not affect his/her job status, and that information linked to individuals will not be shared with supervisors. 
 
 

Back to top

[A long-term calendar showing most of the major academic medical society meetings can be found on the web at: http://www.aamc.org/meetings/mjmtgcal.htm] 

Donors Forum of Chicago Workshops:
"Outcome Evaluation for Nonprofit Organizations" (November 19)
"The ABCs of Proposal Preparation & Writing" (November 23-24; or December 14-15; or January 7-8) Call 312-578-0090 ext. 135 for more information.
 

Marquette University Grant Workshops:
"Grant Proposal Planning & Writing" (November 20 in Milwaukee, December 4 in Kenosha)
"Computerized Grant Seeking" (December 18 in Milwaukee, December 28 in Kenosha). For information, call 414-288-7345.
 

Office of Research Development Workshops 

These workshops are open to any County-affiliated investigator or grant-seeker. Enrollment for some sessions is limited, so please register only for those you will be able to attend. 

Grant Writing Seminar:

Gives an overview of the entire process of developing a project and applying for funding. Includes information on approaching both governmental and private funders, describes an approach to developing grant budgets, discusses stylistic and content issues that are frequent stumbling blocks in writing grant applications.

Constructing a Grant Budget:

Covers many of the technical aspects of developing an accurate time line and budget for a grant proposal.

What Are All These Forms? Interacting With the Scientific Committee: 

Gives an orientation to procedures -- and the associated forms -- used by the Scientific Committee to 
ensure that patients are protected from undue risks in research. The Bureau forms will be discussed, and new policies and changes in federal regulations will be covered.

To register for any of these, call Bennetta Anderson at 312-633-4941. If you would like to schedule one or more of these workshops in your Department or at another site, please call Karen Smith at 633-4940. 
 
 
 
 

Back to top
 
 
 

To have the NIH Guide sent automatically to your e-mail address every week, click on the LISTSERV link on this page and follow the instructions.

To ask specific questions about NIH grant programs, send e-mail to: grantsinfo@nih.gov 
 

These are one time only opportunities. Call 312-633-4940 to check for due dates or to get copies of full announcements

HIV PREVENTION TRIALS NETWORK LEADERSHIP GROUP (RFA AI-98-015)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health

REPLICATION OF COMMUNITY-BASED HIV INTERVENTIONS FOR YOUTH
(RFA HD-98-015) National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Mental Health

HIV VACCINE TRIALS NETWORK LEADERSHIP GROUP (RFA AI-98-014)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

PREVENTING FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME (FAS) (RFA AA-99-002)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

MOUSE SPERM CRYOPRESERVATION
(RFA HD-98-012) National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Center for Research Resources

HEPATITIS ANIMAL MODEL (Sol # NIAID-DMID-99-19) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(http://www.niaid.nih.gov/contracts )
Back to top

NIH PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS 
(PA'S): These are ongoing funding priorities, with due dates usually October 1, February 1 and June 1 of each year. Note that HIV-related applications are due January 2, May 1 and September. Past PA's, many of which are still open, can be searched at the NIH Guide web site.
 
 

SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM FOR BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH IN CANCER CONTROL (PAR-99-006) National Cancer Institute

BIOENGINEERING RESEARCH GRANTS
(PAR-99-009) All Institutes

PROBES AND INSTRUMENTS FOR MICRO-IMAGING THE BRAIN (PA-99-007)
National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

ACUTE AND CHRONIC CARE DURING MECHANICAL VENTILATION (PA-99-003)
National Institute of Nursing Research

STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY OF MEMBRANE PROTEINS (PA-99-004) National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

BIOENGINEERING RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS (PAS-99-010), All Institutes

FOGARTY INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION AWARD (PAR-99-008)
Fogarty International Center

INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOLLOWING IDENTIFICATION OF NEONATAL HEARING
IMPAIRMENT (PAS-99-011) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD INDIVIDUAL POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS (PA-99-005) Agency for Health Care Policy and Research

December 18
REHABILITATION TRAINING, Department of Education (404-562-6336 or http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm)

January 10
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING/RESEARCH TO AID PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, National Science Foundation (http://www.eng.nsf.gov/bes)

January 10 and July 10
BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
MICROBIAL GENETICS
BIOCHEMISTRY OF GENE EXPRESSION
METABOLIC BIOCHEMISTRY
CELL BIOLOGY
National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov/bio/mcb-pd.htm )

January 10 and July 10
NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov/bio/ibn )

December 15
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, American Federation for Aging Research and Pfizer, Inc (212-752-2327 or http://www.afar.org )

January 6
BRAIN TUMOR RESEARCH, American Brain Tumor Association (847-827-9910 or http://www.abta.org )

January 15
HEALTH PROFESSIONS LOAN REPAYMENT, Indian Health Service (301-443-3396)

Open
NUTRITION, Allen Foundation, Inc (517-832-8842 or http://tamu.edu:800/~d0bl745/allen.html)

December 1 (letter of intent)
EXERCISE SCIENCE RESEARCH, Life Fitness Academy (800-735-3867)

January 15
TRANSPLANT RESEARCH, Marrow Foundation and the National Marrow Donor Program (612-362-3425 or http://www.marrow.org/WHATSNEWS/PROANN/amym_grant.html)

January 15 (letter of intent)
AGING AND FINANCIAL SECURITY
LIVING WITH CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS, AARP Andrus Foundation (202-434-6190 or andrus@aarp.org)

December 15
RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP IN DOMESTIC POVERTY, Joint Center for Poverty Research (http://www.jcpr.org)

LOST A LINK? 
Look in the alphabetical index to links on this site