KOSEN 한인과학기술자네트워크

Ecology of Infectious Diseases Primary Sponsor: Fogarty International Center Deadline: 4/2/2001; 5/17/2001 KEYWORDS RFA: TW-01-004 Fogarty International Center National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institute of General Medical Sciences National Science Foundation U.S. Geological Survey Letter of Intent Receipt Date: April 2, 2001 Application Receipt Date: May 17, 2001 PURPOSE The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (hereafter "the Government" or "the Participating Agencies") invite applications for the establishment of research programs to elucidate the underlying mechanisms that govern the relationships between anthropogenic environmental changes and the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. This Request for Applications (RFA) calls for the development of interdisciplinary research programs on the ecology of infectious diseases in the context of anthropogenic environmental changes such as biodiversity loss, habitat transformation, environmental contamination, climate change and other influences. The focus of this RFA is on discovery of basic ecological and biological mechanisms and development of predictive models for the emergence and transmission of diseases in humans and other animals, and ultimately the development of strategies to prevent or control them. This is the second RFA issued for this program. The most significant change from the previous RFA is a more inclusive definition of relevant climate change-disease projects. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a PHS-led national activity for setting priority areas. This RFA, Ecology of Infectious Diseases (EID), is related to one or more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign for-profit and non-profit organizations, both public and private (including domestic institutions with foreign collaborators), such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of State and local governments, and eligible agencies of the Federal Government. Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply as Principal Investigators (PIs). MECHANISM OF SUPPORT The participating agencies will jointly administer the program from receipt of proposals and throughout the duration of awards. Following the initial review, the institutes and agencies involved will choose from the top scoring applications those that they will support. Each award will be made by NSF or NIH. In some cases, the awards will include support from the other agency. For awards that will be made by the NSF, the PIs will be asked to resubmit the same application on NSF forms through the Fast Lane Internet system (http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.htm) prior to making the award. Grant awards by the NIH will use the R01 research project grant award mechanism. Participating NIH components are the Fogarty International Center (FIC), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). NSF participation is principally through the Directorate for Biological Sciences. If collaborative support from the USGS, as described below, is of interest, applicants should prearrange this collaboration with the appropriate agency representatives and document this support in their applications. Individual agency and institute contacts are listed later in this announcement. Responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of the proposed project will be solely that of the applicant. The total project period for an application submitted in response to this RFA may not exceed five years. We do not know at this time if or when this RFA will be issued again. Future unsolicited competing continuation applications will compete with all investigator-initiated applications and be reviewed according to the customary peer review procedures of the receiving agency or institute. The anticipated award date is approximately February 1, 2002 for NSF awards and March 1, 2002 for NIH awards. USGS will provide, by agreement among investigators, support through collaboration with USGS laboratories for research addressing needs related to the ecology of infectious diseases. These needs include, but are not limited to: access to databases for water quality, the chemical and physical characteristics of earth materials, land (both natural and man-made attributes), and satellite and airborne remotely sensed data; laboratory analysis of wildlife diseases, including wildlife and environmental toxicology; and chemical analysis of water, plants, soils, rocks, and sediments. The USGS studies, assesses, and develops and maintains National Data Bases on the Nation's water (quantity and quality) resources, flora, fauna, land characteristics, natural hazards including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, coastal erosion, and mineral and energy resources; and determines past ecological and climate histories. Grant funds to support research or post-doctoral associates will not be available through USGS National Programs. Post-doctoral support may, however, be available through individual USGS laboratories. If such support is of interest, applicants must arrange it with the appropriate USGS laboratory, describe it, and provide supporting letters in their application. Information on potential collaborators and resources within the USGS can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.usgs.gov. Note that unconfirmed support from USGS or any other collaborator cannot be considered during initial peer review of an application. While such collaborations could be added to a project after it has been funded, investigators are encouraged to develop these for the initial application. FUNDS AVAILABLE An applicant may request a project period of up to five years, with a budget of up to $350,000 per year direct costs. We anticipate that the nature and scope of projects will vary, and accordingly, the budget and duration of funded projects will also vary. Contingent upon the availability of funds, the Government anticipates a total from all collaborating agencies of approximately $3 million will be awarded for the first year, providing for an estimated six to eight grants. Additional funding may become available to support more awards if Congressional budget allocations and/or potential interest from other institutes allow for it. Because the anticipated award size is greater than $250,000 per year, the NIH modular approach will not be used for any application submitted for this RFA. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Definitions For the purpose of this RFA, some relevant terms are defined below. o Anthropogenic Environmental Change - A sustained change in the natural environment resulting from human activity such as deforestation, exotic species introduction, chemical effluent release, carbon dioxide release, etc. o Biocomplexity - A property of systems structured or influenced by living organisms, their components, or biological processes. This RFA focuses on biocomplexity that arises from the interactions of living organisms with all facets of their external environment, particularly those interactions involving multiple levels of biological organization and/or multiple spatial and temporal scales. o Biodiversity - The structural and functional variety of life forms at genetic, population, species, and ecosystems levels. o Biological Invasion - The mass movement or encroachment of organisms from one area into another, generally, non-native area. o Climate Change – Sustained directional change in atmospheric temperature, seasonality, or other feature of climate that may be considered a result of human activities such as release of carbon dioxide. o Ecology - The study of the abundance and distribution of organisms and of the relationships between organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments, including climate. o Habitat Fragmentation - The disruption of extensive habitats into isolated and smaller patches, typically by agriculture, human settlement or development projects. o Infection - The process of invasion and establishment by a microorganism or helminth within host tissues. o Infectious Diseases - Diseases resulting from presence of an infectious agent. o Species Richness - The absolute number of species in an assemblage or community. INQUIRIES It is strongly advised that prospective applicants contact program representatives early in their planning process to discuss their applications and to obtain any clarifying information or instructions that may be developed. Applicants are encouraged to contact the agency representative below that is closest to your interest, background or affiliation. Dr. Joshua Rosenthal Program Director Fogarty International Center National Institutes of Health 31 CENTER DRIVE MSC 2220 BETHESDA MD 20892-2220 Telephone: 301-496-1653 FAX: 301-402-2056 Email: joshua_rosenthal@nih.gov Dr. Allen Dearry Chief, Chemical Exposures and Molecular Biology Branch National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) MD EC-21 P.O. Box 12233 Research Triangle Park NC 27709 Telephone: 919-541-4943 FAX: 919-541-2843 e-mail: ad29x@nih.gov Dr. Irene Eckstrand Program Director Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) 45 Center Drive Bethesda MD 20892 Telephone: 301-594-0943 FAX: 301-480-2753 e-mail: eckstrai@gml.nigms.nih.gov Dr. Samuel M. Scheiner Program Director Division of Environmental Biology National Science Foundation (NSF) 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm. 635 Arlington VA 22230 Telephone: 703-306-1481 FAX: 703-306-0817 e-mail: sscheine@nsf.gov Janet Hren Science Advisor for Environment U.S. Geological Survey 107 National Center Reston VA 20192 Telephone: 703-648-4480 Fax: 703-648-5470 Email: jhren@usgs.gov Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to: Bruce R. Butrum Grants Management Officer Fogarty International Center Building 31. Room B2C29 Bethesda, MD 20892-2220 Phone 301-496-1653 Fax 301-594-1211 Email: butrumb@mail.nih.gov Fogarty International Center (http://www.nih.gov/fic/) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (http://www.niehs.nih.gov) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (http://www.nigms.nih.gov/) National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov) U.S. Geological Survey (http://www.usgs.gov)