Notice Number: NOT-RM-15-012

Key Dates
Release Date: February 20, 2015
Application Due Date: May 15, 2015
Earliest Anticipated Start Date: July 2015

Issued by
Office of Strategic Coordination (Common Fund)

Purpose

This Notice announces an opportunity to request administrative supplements to existing NIH research grants, to support generation of new data that will also advance the goals of the LINCS program. LINCS (Library of Integrated Network-Based Cellular Signatures) is an NIH Common Fund program whose goal is to develop a network-based understanding of cellular functions and responses, by cataloging changes in gene expression and other cellular processes when cells are exposed to a variety of perturbing agents, and using computational tools to integrate this information into a comprehensive view of normal and disease states. Details about the LINCS program can be found at http://lincsproject.org. This Notice reflects one part of the overall Outreach efforts of the LINCS consortia and further details are there in the FAQ (see link below).

The LINCS data is a growing community resource and these supplements will support generation of new data and signatures, in collaboration with the LINCS Centers, with a focus on broadening the applicability or relevance of LINCS data to scientific communities. Types of projects that would be responsive can include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Requesting profiling using assays that are already implemented in one or more of the LINCS DSGCs (see FAQ for details) of specific cell types of interest to and provided by the applicant. For example, an applicant may wish to study lung biology with appropriate cells provided by their laboratories in collaboration with one or more of the LINCS centers, with the latter performing the screening assays and generating the corresponding signatures
• Profiling of iPS-derived cells representing specific diseases/tissues along with analysis of signatures in collaborations with LINCS centers
• Requesting profiling of specific perturbations of relevance to specific scientific domains along with analysis of the resulting signatures with LINCS centers
• Extend the LINCS cell types, assays or perturbations by providing access to new assays with follow up analysis with LINCS centers that will enable deeper understanding of a specific biology or disease phenomena
• Collaborating with the LINCS Data Coordinating and Integration Center to deposit your signatures in the LINCS signature-database and are requesting assistance to establish appropriate metadata elements or to extend the database to capture more complex signatures

Parent grants may be issued from any NIH Institute or Center (IC). NIH intends to commit about $2M in FY2015 to fund 5-6 awards. The maximum award budget is $200,000 total cost for the applicant, and the work must be completed within the approved project period of the parent award. The supplement request must stay within the original Council-approved scope of the parent award.

Although this Notice identifies an opportunity to request administrative supplements, there is no guarantee that funds are available from the awarding IC for any specific grant. All applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss potential requests with one of the NIH contacts listed below, as well as their IC program officer. Additionally, prior to submission, applicants must review the awarding IC's web site to ensure they meet the IC's requirements. A list of those web sites is available athttps://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/admin_supp/index.htm.

Administrative supplement requests must conform to the requirements of, and be submitted under, PA-14-077. Administrative supplement applications will be evaluated by NIH program staff, who will consider parent IC interest, the ability of the proposed supplement activities to increase the parent award’s overall impact within the original scope of award, as well as the ability to enhance the value and utility of the LINCS resource. Please specify LINCS and this Notice number early in the application.

A webpage for frequently asked questions is available at: http://commonfund.nih.gov/LINCS/faq

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Ajay Pillai, Ph.D.
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Telephone: 301-594-7108
Email: lincsproject@mail.nih.gov

Albert Lee, Ph.D.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Telephone: 301-435-0567
Email: lincsproject@mail.nih.gov