Participating Organization(s)	National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Components of Participating Organizations	National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Funding Opportunity Title	NIAMS Building Interdisciplinary Research Team (BIRT) Revision Awards (R01)
Activity Code	R01 Research Project Grant
Announcement Type	New
Related Notices	June 3, 2014 - Notice NOT-14-074 supersedes instructions in Section III.3 regarding applications that are essentially the same. May 30, 2013 (NOT-OD-13-074) - NIH to Require Use of Updated Electronic Application Forms for Due Dates on or after September 25, 2013. Forms-C applications are required for due dates on or after September 25, 2013.
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number	RFA-AR-13-003
Companion Funding Opportunity	None
Number of Applications	See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)	93.846
Funding Opportunity Purpose	The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) solicits applications that promote building new interdisciplinary teams among independent investigators for basic or translational research. These teams should pursue a clear and significant scientific opportunity in an area of shared interest of relevance to NIAMS. Interdisciplinary teams can undertake conceptually and technically novel approaches that would be less likely to succeed if undertaken by a more narrowly focused group of investigators. The NIAMS plans to provide up to one year of Revision support to currently active NIAMS R01s (parent grant) to establish such collaborations for high innovation and potentially high impact research. It is understood that such an application may entail high risk. Teams developed under this award are expected to make significant advances beyond the progress anticipated from the individual researchers alone.

Posted Date	June 22, 2012
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)	October 15, 2012
Letter of Intent Due Date	October 15, 2012; June 15, 2013; June 15, 2014
Application Due Date(s)	November 15, 2012; July 15, 2013; July 15, 2014, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
AIDS Application Due Date(s)	Not Applicable.
Scientific Merit Review	February/March, 2013 ; October/November, 2013; October/November, 2014
Advisory Council Review	May, 2013 ; January, 2014; January, 2015
Earliest Start Date(s)	July 1, 2013; April 1, 2014; April 1, 2015
Expiration Date	July 16, 2014
Due Dates for E.O. 12372	Not Applicable.

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

The study of human biology and behavior is a dynamic process and requires the bridging of scientific disciplines to speed the pace of scientific discovery. The scale and complexity of today's biomedical research problems demand that scientists move beyond the confines of their individual disciplines and explore new organizational models for team science. Integrating different disciplines holds the promise of opening up scientific avenues of inquiry and, in the process, may result in new disciplines with which to tackle increasingly complex questions. For example, advances in musculoskeletal tissue engineering including bone, muscle, cartilage, tendon and ligament, and skin tissue engineering and regenerative medicine will be enhanced through collaborations among diverse groups cell biologists, material scientists, developmental biologists, engineers, immunologists, and clinicians.

This FOA is open to all of the NIAMS mission relevant areas including musculoskeletal biology and diseases, skin biology and diseases, and rheumatic diseases. The NIAMS intends to foster the building of interdisciplinary research teams that will lead to new scientific advances beyond the progress attainable in the absence of collaboration. A successful interdisciplinary approach combines aspects of individual disciplines to provide a new conceptual approach of solving a problem that is likely to yield insights that could not have been achieved by an isolated laboratory. Some examples include establishing collaborations between experimental biologists and mathematicians, physicists, or engineers.

The goal of the BIRT Revision Awards is to promote building new interdisciplinary teams among independent investigators that pursue a clear and significant scientific opportunity in an area of shared interest of relevance to NIAMS. Such teams can undertake conceptually and technically novel approaches that would be less likely to succeed if undertaken by a more narrowly focused group of investigators. This FOA seeks BIRT revision applications in basic or translational research areas with high innovation and potentially high impact. It is understood that such an application may entail high risk. BIRT revision applications for incremental additions to existing projects that do not meet these criteria are outside the scope of this FOA.

A new interdisciplinary team for this FOA must meet both of the following criteria:

• Involve a new collaboration among independent investigators who have not coauthored primary research publications within the past three years and who have not had research funding together from any source within the past five years.
• Involve independent investigators whose primary training, research and experience are in different fields, as demonstrated by different academic degrees, participation in different degree programs (e.g., genetics and chemistry), affiliation with different academic schools or divisions (e.g., medicine and engineering), membership in different professional societies, participation in different scientific meetings, or publication in different journals.

At least one of the proposed Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) must be listed as the PD/PI of an R01 currently funded by NIAMS.

Applicants are encouraged to establish new interdisciplinary collaborations that leverage existing NIH funded resources, such as the CTSAs (http://www.ncats.nih.gov/research/cts/ctsa/ctsa.html) and core facilities. Applicants are also encouraged to contact Scientific/Research Contact(s) under Section VII. Agency Contacts if clarification for the above criteria is needed.

Applicants are required to provide a paragraph in the "Introduction to Revision Application" clearly delineating the new interdisciplinary nature of their teams. On-going, formal collaborations in the parent grant or other funded projects are not considered as building new teams. It is anticipated that a successful collaboration will result in development of new competitive research projects (such as new multi-PI R01s), or creation of resources and facilities shared in scientific communities.

Funding Instrument	Grant
Application Types Allowed	Revision The OER Glossary and the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards	The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations, and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. NIAMS intends to commit $1.5M in FY 2013, 2014, and 2015 to fund up to 10 awards per fiscal year.
Award Budget	Application budgets are limited to $100,000 direct costs per award. Budgets must be submitted as required in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, Part. I, Section 2.8, "Revision" Application.
Award Project Period	1 year

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Domestic institutions with active NIAMS R01 grants.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of the following registrations.

• Central Contractor Registration (CCR) must maintain an active registration, to be renewed at least annually
• Grants.gov
• eRA Commons

All Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) must also work with their institutional officials to register with the eRA Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated with the eRA Commons account of the applicant organization.

All registrations must be completed by the application due date. Applicant organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration process at least 4-6 weeks prior to the application due date.

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PD(s)/PI(s), visit the Multiple Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide.

A BIRT Revision application may not be requested to support collaborations among investigators who already have on-going, formal collaborations in the parent grant or other funded projects.

Single PD/PI R01 grants may be modified into Multiple PD(s)/PI(s) applications in this revision by adding a Multiple PD/PI leadership plan.

A new investigator added to the parent R01 as a PD/PI with this revision will lose his or her new investigator status if the BIRT application is awarded.

The contact PD/PI whether in a multiple PD(s)/PI(s) revision or a single PD/PI revision application must be the same as on the parent grant.

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

NIH will not accept any application in response to this FOA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial peer review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application.

The NIAMS BIRT Revision Award is to build new interdisciplinary teams for basic or translational research that will lead to new scientific advances in areas relevant to the NIAMS mission not incremental additions to existing grants. Therefore, BIRT support cannot be requested for projects among investigators who already have on-going, formal collaborations in the parent grant or other funded projects.

Research revision support will be awarded to active NIAMS R01s. To ensure sufficient time for full development of the collaboration, the NIAMS parent R01 should not end earlier than the following dates:

The budget period for the revision must not exceed that of the parent award and may not extend into a no cost extension of the parent award.

The scientific scope of the revision should be relevant to and can be beyond the aims of the NIAMS parent R01. The goal(s) of the revision should not substitute for the specific aims of the anticipated competitive renewal of the parent grant, and should represent a significant addition to the initial specific aims. The BIRT project should either lead to new directions or add a new dimension or significant expertise from different disciplines to the parent grant.

The revision must have the same budget format as that of the parent R01.

Only one BIRT Revision application can be submitted for each active NIAMS R01.

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

For information on Application Submission and Receipt, visit Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications.

Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.

By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information, prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:

• Descriptive title of proposed research
• Name, address, and telephone number of the PD(s)/PI(s)
• Names of other key personnel
• Participating institutions
• Number and title of this funding opportunity

The letter of intent should be sent to:

Xibin Wang, Ph.D.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIH
6701 Democracy Blvd, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892-4872
Phone: 301-594-5055
Email: wangx1@mail.nih.gov

The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, mandatory and optional. Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for submission of applications for this FOA. Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide to ensure you complete all appropriate optional components.

All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and must be followed, with the following exception:

• For this specific FOA, the Research Strategy section is limited to 6 pages.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

BIRT revision applications can be requested only for active NIAMS R01s that meet eligibility criteria. Please note that the BIRT applications will be evaluated by review panels that represent a diversity of the NIAMS scientific interests and broad expertise. Therefore, the application should clearly explain the new interdisciplinary team, the challenge, the potential impact, and the approach in language that scientists in other fields can understand. Jargons must be avoided.

Application details

A BIRT revision application must follow these guidelines. After downloading the application package, please do the following:

In the SF424 (R & R):

• Include the IC and serial number of the parent grant number in the Federal Identifier (Item #4 on the SF424 R&R)
• Select the Revision under 8. * TYPE OF APPLICATION on the first page of the SF 424 (R&R) Cover , and then select A. Increase Award .
• All other sections must match the parent grant for proper processing.

In the RESEARCH & RELATED Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded)

• Key Personnel A Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) of the revision application must be a PD/PI in the parent grant. The contact PD/PI in a multiple PD/PI revision application must be the contact PD/PI of the parent R01. Note: A new investigator added to the parent R01 as a PD/PI with this revision will lose his or her new PD/PI status if the BIRT application is awarded.

In the PHS 398 Research Plan:

Introduction to the application (one page):

• Provide a paragraph clearly delineating the new interdisciplinary team, including which disciplines are involved and how the collaboration qualifies as a new one. Note: a clear description will contribute positively to a competitive application.
• Describe the nature of the BIRT revision including:
• which significant challenge(s) it addresses;
• how it leads to new direction(s) through the development of the interdisciplinary collaborations or how it adds new interdisciplinary aspect(s) to the parent grant; and
• the impact of the proposed work on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventive interventions that drive the NIAMS mission.

Additional Instructions:

Do not include the parent grant’s Project Description/Abstract and Specific Aims as they will be provided to the reviewers by the NIAMS Scientific Review Officer prior to the review. In addition to sufficient background specific to the revision, applicants should provide the following information:

• The scientific problem(s)/challenge(s) to be addressed in the BIRT application;
• The innovation of the BIRT research and collaboration;
• The potential impact of the BIRT research, if successful, on the NIAMS mission areas;
• How the proposed new interdisciplinary research/team is uniquely suited to the BIRT FOA and how it differs from the parent grant.

Applicants should also provide:

• Realistic BIRT research goal(s) within a one year time frame
• A feasible research plan with potential alternative(s) to address pitfalls if any
• A collaboration plan that clearly defines the role of each collaborator in the proposed BIRT research
• A short list of any milestone(s) or specific output(s) that will be used for future BIRT program evaluations
• Brief details of any future direction(s) anticipated from the proposed BIRT research

Resource Sharing Plan

Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, Sharing Model Organisms, and Genome Wide Association Studies(GWAS)) as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Appendix

• No appendix materials will be allowed for applications submitted to this FOA.

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit in advance of the deadline to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.

Organizations must submit applications via Grants.gov, the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies. Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically.

Important reminders:
All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF 424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by components of participating organizations, NIH. Applications that are incomplete and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.

Budget Instructions The budget format (modular or non-modular) must be the same as that of the parent grant. The goal of the BIRT FOA is to build new interdicisplinary collaborations. Applicants requiring new equipment for the collaboration are strongly encouraged to look at other NIH funding opportunities to cover the costs of the equipment.

Any revision application that exceeds the page limits, or is deemed not to be interdisciplinary research in nature, or does not build a new interdisciplinary collaboration will not be reviewed nor will be eligible for funding.

Applicants are invited to visit the NIAMS BIRT website for answers to frequently asked questions (http://www.niams.nih.gov/Funding/Funding_Opportunities/niams_birt4_faq.pdf).

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-10-115.

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission, all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

Reviewers will provide an overall impact/priority score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Significance

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field? Does the proposed collaboration have the potential to significantly advance the field or create new fields beyond the progress expected from the individual researchers alone?

Investigator(s)

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or New Investigators, or in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD(s)/PI(s), do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project? Do(es) the collaborator(s) add new interdisciplinary research expertise to the parent R01?

Innovation

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed? If high risk research is proposed, is the level of risk commensurate with the anticipated reward?

Approach

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? Is a collaboration plan included and feasible? Does the research field as a whole benefit by the interdisciplinary collaboration?

If the project involves clinical research, are the plans for 1) protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion of minorities and members of both sexes/genders, as well as the inclusion of children, justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?

Environment

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact/priority score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children

When the proposed project involves clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

Biohazards

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Resubmissions

Not Applicable

Renewals

Not Applicable

Revisions

For Revisions, the committee will consider the appropriateness of the proposed expansion of the scope of the project. If the Revision application relates to a specific line of investigation presented in the original application that was not recommended for approval by the committee, then the committee will consider whether the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group are adequate and whether substantial changes are clearly evident.

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact/priority score.

Applications from Foreign Organizations

Not Applicable.

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Resource Sharing Plans

Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: 1) Data Sharing Plan; 2) Sharing Model Organisms; and 3) Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS).

Budget and Period of Support

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by the NIAMS, in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Review assignments will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

• May undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact/priority score.
• Will receive a written critique.

Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this FOA.

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council (NAMSAC). The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

• Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
• Availability of funds.
• Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD(s)/PI(s) will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee’s business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to the DUNS, CCR Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.

All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions of Award

Not Applicable.

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Non-Competing Continuation Grant Progress Report (PHS 2590) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

As part of the PHS 2590 for the parent grant, grantees are expected to report any outcomes of the revision awards leading to:

• development of new competitive research collaborative projects (such as new multi-PI R01s),
• development of new direction(s) for the competitive renewal of the parent grant,
• creation of resources and facilities shared with the communities, or establishment of series of scientific meetings/workshops that will effectively result in the exchange of ideas and the dissemination of information/knowledge of an interdisciplinary nature.

A final progress report, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading or navigating forms)
Contact Center Phone: 800-518-4726
Email: support@grants.gov

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov

eRA Commons Help Desk (Questions regarding eRA Commons registration, tracking application status, post submission issues)
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: commons@od.nih.gov

Carl C. Baker, M.D., Ph.D.
Division of Skin and Rheumatic Diseases
NIAMS, NIH, DHHS
6701 Democracy Blvd, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892-4872
Tel: (301) 594-5017
Email: bakerc@mail.nih.gov

Fei Wang, Ph.D.
Division of Musculoskeletal Diseases
NIAMS, NIH, DHHS
6701 Democracy Blvd, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20872-4872
Tel: (301) 594-5055
Email: wangf@mail.nih.gov

Charles N. Rafferty, Ph.D.
Scientific Review Branch
NIAMS, NIH, DHHS
6701 Democracy Blvd, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892-4872
Tel: (301) 594-5019
Fax: (301) 402-2406
Email: Charles.Rafferty@nih.gov

Natalie Reyes
Grants Management Branch
NIAMS, NIH, DHHS
6701 Democracy Blvd, Suite 800
Bethesda, MD 20892-4872
Tel: (301) 451-3648
Fax: (301) 480-5450
Email: reyesn@mail.nih.gov

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.