National Institutes of Health

Description

Purpose. The goal of this FOA, which represents part of a larger partnership between the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is to generate new data to support improved programs to prevent and treat iron deficiency in areas of endemic infection, particularly malaria. To achieve this goal the FOA is intended to solicit high-quality research projects to fill urgent knowledge gaps regarding the safety of interventions to prevent and treat iron deficiency. Projects should be designed to answer any of the following core questions: 1) what are the key mechanisms by which iron status and interventions that may impact on that status can influence the immune system and response to infections such as malaria? 2) what are the most sensitive and specific indicators of iron status that can be used in resource-limited settings, and what are the most appropriate biomarkers of iron status and disease outcome? and 3) what are the safest and most effective interventions to prevent and treat iron deficiency in areas of endemic malaria? Mechanism of Support. This FOA will utilize the Cooperative Research (U01) grant mechanism. Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards. The NICHD intends to commit approximately $1.1 million to support 3 to 6 awards in FY 2009.The ODS will provide additional support to one or more meritorious grants that address any of the three core areas, i.e., mechanisms, biomarkers or safety/efficacy studies, consistent with ODS mission and contingent on availability of funds. Awards issued under this FOA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Because the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary.The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the quality, duration, the need to have applications representing each of the core objectives of the initiative (i.e., mechanisms, biomarkers, and interventions), and costs of the applications received. Budget and Project Period.For any given application, budgets for total costs of up to $200,000 per year and a project duration of up to 4 years may be requested for a maximum of $800,000 total costs over a four-year project period.

Who can apply

• State governments
• County governments
• City or township governments
• Special district governments
• Independent school districts
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Public housing authorities / Indian housing authorities
• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized)
• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education)
• Private institutions of higher education
• For-profit organizations other than small businesses
• Small businesses
• Others

Contact

NIH OER Webmaster<br/>FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV<br/>
FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV