Part 1. Overview Information

Key Dates

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. 

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the NOFO) 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.

There are several options available to submit your application through Grants.gov to NIH and Department of Health and Human Services partners. You must use one of these submission options to access the application forms for this opportunity.

1. Use the NIH ASSIST system to prepare, submit and track your application online.
2. Use an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution to prepare and submit your application to Grants.gov and eRA Commons to track your application. Check with your institutional officials regarding availability.
   
   
3. Use Grants.gov Workspace to prepare and submit your application and eRA Commons to track your application.



Table of Contents
Part 1. Overview Information
Key Dates
Part 2. Full Text of Announcement
Section I. Notice of 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

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description

There is a pressing need to enhance biomedical research capacity and opportunities for research at resource-limited institutions, many of which disproportionately serve regions of the U.S. that have not historically participated in substantial NIH research, including rural areas. Support for these institutions will allow different research questions and ideas to be studied and ensure that students from all communities and regions of the country have the opportunity to participate in high quality scientific inquiries and explore careers in biomedical research. The Support for Research Excellence (SuRE) program aims to develop and sustain research excellence at such institutions by supporting investigator-initiated research with strong student participation.

Program Objectives

The SuRE program supports research capacity building at institutions that award baccalaureate and/or graduate degrees in biomedical sciences, and receive limited NIH Research Project Grant funding. It seeks to develop and sustain research excellence of full-time faculty investigators and provide students with research opportunities while enhancing the institutional research culture and enriching the research environment. The SuRE program will support investigator-initiated research in the basic, social, clinical, behavioral, and translational sciences (collectively termed "biomedical" sciences) that falls in the mission areas of NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices. Research activities funded by the SuRE program require participation by students. Two distinct Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) support research projects led by full-time faculty investigators at different career stages. This NOFO is for the SuRE-First Award that supports investigators who have not had any prior independent external research grants. The SuRE-First Award allows these investigators to develop their independent research programs. A SuRE-First applicant must identify a scientist based in the U.S. with expertise and an extramural funding record in the proposed field of research to serve as a mentor. The companion NOFO, PAR-25-414, supports investigators who are not funded by an NIH Research Project Grant except for SuRE or SuRE-First awards. A SuRE Resource Center has been established to enhance the administrative research infrastructure of SuRE-eligible institutions and to provide services to advise faculty investigators who are interested in applying for a SuRE award.

Program Considerations

SuRE-First investigator-initiated research projects must fall within the scope of the NIH mission or they will be withdrawn prior to review. More complete information about the mission of each NIH Institute/Center (IC) can be found at https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/list-institutes-centers . Applicants are encouraged to contact the NIH IC Scientific/Research contact listed in Section VII. Agency Contacts that best aligns with their proposed research. For ICs not listed and for all general programmatic questions, inquiries should be directed to the NIGMS Scientific/Research contact.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Section II. Award Information

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

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Higher Education Institutions - Includes all types

• Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
• Private Institutions of Higher Education

This funding opportunity announcement is open to all institutions of higher education that:

1) award undergraduate (B.S. or B.A.) and/or graduate degrees in biomedical sciences; and 

2) have received no more than $6 million dollars per year (total costs) from NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) in each of the preceding two fiscal years, calculated using NIH RePORTER, at the time of the application; and

3) enroll at least 25% of undergraduate students supported by Pell grants based on the most recent two years of data available from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics

IPEDS reports the percentage of students supported by Pell grants in two ways: (1) the percentage of all undergraduates enrolled and (2) the percentage of full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students. Institutions may use either option for determining their eligibility. Irrespective of which category of IPEDS data is used, the institution’s Pell enrollment in that category must be at least 25% for the two most recent years of reported data.

The application must be submitted by an eligible organization with a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and a unique NIH eRA Institutional Profile File (IPF) number. For institutions with multiple campuses, eligibility can be considered for an individual campus (e.g., main, satellite, etc.) as the applicant organization only if a UEI and a unique NIH eRA IPF number are established for the individual campus. For institutions that use one UEI or NIH IPF number for multiple campuses, eligibility as the applicant organization is determined for the campuses together.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) 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

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the How to Apply- Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. Failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications for additional information.

• System for Award Management (SAM) – Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.
  • NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code – Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) - A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
• eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their Grants.gov registrations; all registrations must be in place by time of submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
• Grants.gov – Applicants must have an active SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account.  PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

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 their organization to develop an application for support.

Since the SuRE-First award is structured to best support a single PD/PI, multiple PD(s)/PI(s) are not allowed. Institutions can apply for separate awards for PDs/PIs with similar or complementary research interests.

The PD/PI must have a full-time appointment, defined here as a tenure-track or other type of independent faculty position, at the applicant institution and must be leading their own independent research program. An individual holding a postdoctoral, trainee, or similar non-independent position is not eligible to apply.

Eligibility is limited to applicants who, at the time of submission, have not been or are not the PD/PI of any NIH SCORE grant or any peer-reviewed, externally funded federal or non-federal research award. NIH RPGs or other grants that name the SuRE-First applicant as a co-investigator, project leader, collaborator, consultant, or to a position other than PD/PI do not disqualify an applicant from applying for SuRE-First support. An applicant who is the PD/PI of a career development grant is eligible to apply, if allowable by the terms and conditions of the award.

The applicant must commit a minimum 6 person-months per year to conduct the proposed research. The SuRE-First award is not renewable. A PD/PI may hold only one SuRE, SuRE-First, or SCORE award at any time. Concurrent or duplicate applications to the SuRE-First and SuRE NOFOs are not allowed.

2. Cost Sharing

This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct and is led by a different PD/PI. Concurrent applications by the same PD/PI to this NOFO and its companion, PAR-25-414 are prohibited.

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. This means that the NIH will not accept:

• A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.
• A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.
• An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.9.4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications).

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package

The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed in this notice of funding opportunity 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.

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the How to Apply- Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply- Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed.

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

It is expected that the research will be directed by the PD/PI and the majority of experiments will be conducted at the applicant institution. Limited use of special facilities or equipment at another institution is permitted but should be well-justified. For any proposed research facilities or equipment at a site(s) other than the applicant institution, provide a description of the resource(s) and describe the PD/PI’s access to these resources.

Other Attachments: The application must include the following four attachments: 1) "Institutional Letter – Strategic Plan for Building Research Capacity and Research Excellence”, 2) "Institutional Letter – Support for the PD/PI’s Research Career Development", 3) "PD/PI's Research Enhancement Plan", and 4) “Prior, Current and Pending Support”.  Applications missing any of the four attachments will be considered incomplete and be withdrawn without review. 

1) Institutional Letter – Strategic Plan for Building Research Capacity and Research Excellence:

A letter from the Provost, the President, the Vice-President for Research or equivalent senior institutional official that describes the institution’s strategic plan for the development of research capacity and research excellence is required. The letter should address the institution’s vision and commitment to develop and sustain an environment that enables and rewards research and how this supports the educational mission of the institution.

The file should be named “Institutional Letter – Strategic Plan”.

2) Institutional Letter - Support for the PD/PI’s Research Career Development:

A letter from the Department Chair or Dean confirming that the time and effort requested by the applicant (a minimum of 6 person-months per year) for the proposed project will be provided. Additional institutional support to the PD/PI, including mentoring, should also be described.

The file should be named “Institutional Letter – PD/PI Support”.

3) PD/PI's Research Enhancement Plan:

The Plan must describe in detail the PD/PI's objectives for career enhancement and explain how SuRE-First support will allow the PD/PI to improve research productivity and establish an independent research program. The Plan should explain how the proposed project, the PD/PI's time devoted to it (i.e., 6 person-months per year), and the participation of the mentor(s) and any collaborators/consultants (if applicable) will help the PD/PI to gather preliminary data, increase research productivity, and compete for future research grants. The Plan should describe the mentor’s research qualifications and track record of mentoring experience, the mentor's role in the proposed project and the areas in which the mentor will assist with the PD/PI's scientific and career development. The Plan should include specific milestones and a detailed timeline for research progress, publications and grant submissions that will lead to research excellence.

The file should be named “Research Enhancement Plan”.

4) Prior, Current and Pending Support:

The application must include the following information about the applicant’s prior, current and pending support for both research and non-research grants including: fellowship, career development, institutional support, and research grants and contracts for which the applicant made significant contributions but was not the PD/PI. Include the following information for each source of support:

• Title
• Major Goals
• Status of Support
• Project Number
• Name of PD/PI
• Source of Support
• Primary Place of Performance
• Project/Proposal Start and End Date: (MM/YYYY) (if available)
• Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs)
• Person Months (Calendar/Academic/Summer) per budget period

The file should be named “Prior, Current and Pending Support”.

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed.

The mentor must be identified as senior/key personnel even if they are not committing any specified measurable effort to the proposed project. Enter “Other Professional” for the “Project Role” field and enter “Mentor” in the “Other Project Role Category” field.

Biographical Sketch: Biosketches for the PD/PI and the mentor are required. The Personal Statement of the PD/PI’s biosketch should include a summary of prior and current experience supervising students in research. Publications should indicate with an asterisk the names of any student authors who were directly supervised by the PD/PI.

R&R Budget

All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed.

The Budget Justification must state that the PD/PI will devote at least 6 person-months effort per year (typically 4.5 person-months during the academic year and 1.5 person-months during the summer) to the SuRE-First research project.

R&R Subaward Budget

All instructions in the How to Apply-Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Research Plan

All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy: The application should include a detailed strategy that describes experimental approach(es) and expected/alternative outcomes for the proposed studies. The scientific foundation for the proposed research should be established using preliminary data and/or published data. Although preliminary data are not required for a SuRE-First application, they may be included if available.  The approach should be made compelling primarily by the logic of the arguments presented and reference to the published literature. The Research Strategy must include a separate section entitled "Student Involvement Plan" that describes how students will be involved and supervised in conducting hands-on, rigorous research, including their participation in the execution, analysis, and reporting of the research.

Formal training plans (e.g., non-research activities, didactic training, seminars) should not be provided although programs available at the institution can be described in the Facilities and Other Resources section. 

Letters of Support: A signed letter from the mentor is required. The letter should include a detailed plan that describes the nature and frequency of interactions with the SuRE-First PD/PI and how progress toward specified milestones will be evaluated, especially the transition to other sources of research funding.

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the How to Apply- Application Guide.

Other Plan(s): 

All instructions in the How to Apply-Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

• All applicants planning research (funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH) that results in the generation of scientific data are required to comply with the instructions for the Data Management and Sharing Plan. All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, must address a Data Management and Sharing Plan.

Appendix: Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the How to Apply- Application Guide.

• No publications or other material, with the exception of blank questionnaires or blank surveys, may be included in the Appendix.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the How to Apply- Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered “Yes” to the question “Are Human Subjects Involved?” on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed.

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start). All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed.

PHS Assignment Request Form

All instructions in the How to Apply- Application Guide must be followed.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

See Part 2. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov

4. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to 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. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time.  If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date 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 How to Apply-Application Guide.

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. Funding Restrictions

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 Section 7.9.1 Selected Items of Cost.

For this NOFO:

• A permanent change of PD/PI is not allowed. A temporary change of PD/PI may be allowed with NIH prior approval under circumstances such as sabbatical, medical leave, disability, or personal or family situations.
• In the event of a change in the employment of the PD/PI (e.g., leaving the grantee institution, inability to direct the project for a prolonged time period, accepting an appointment at another institution, or loss of full-time appointment as defined in Section III), a temporary change may be permitted with NIH prior approval only to allow for orderly termination of grant activities.
• SuRE-First awards may only be transferred to another SuRE-eligible institution with the consent of the recipient institution and NIH prior approval. This is expected to be a rare occurrence.

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the How to Apply 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 How to Apply – Application Guide. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile form. 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. See Section III of this NOFO for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the unique entity identifier provided on the application is the same identifier used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the How to Apply Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review and NIGMS. Applications that are incomplete and/or non-compliant will not be reviewed.

Recipients or subrecipients must submit any information related to violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the federal award. See Mandatory Disclosures, 2 CFR 200.113 and NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4.1.35.

Send written disclosures to the NIH Chief Grants Management Officer listed on the Notice of Award for the IC that funded the award and to the HHS Office of Inspector Grant Self Disclosure Program at [email protected].

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

For this particular announcement, note the following:

This NOFO has three objectives: (1) provide support for meritorious research conducted by eligible full-time faculty investigators who have not been the PD/PI of any external research grants and who are at institutions with limited NIH Research Project Grant funding, (2) strengthen the research capacity of these institutions, and (3) provide students with opportunities to participate in high-quality biomedical research.

The scientific foundation for the proposed research should be established using preliminary data and/or publish data. Although preliminary data are not required for a SuRE-First application, they may be included if available. The approach should be made compelling primarily by the logic of the arguments presented and reference to the published literature. 

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to make important scientific contributions to the research field(s) involved, while providing research opportunities to students, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Reviewers will consider Factors 1, 2 and 3 in the determination of scientific merit, and in providing an overall impact score. In addition, Factors 1 and 2 will each receive a separate factor score. 

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, but will not give criterion scores for these items, and should consider them in providing an overall impact score.

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 score.

2. Review and Selection Process

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

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.

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 score.

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this NOFO. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the appropriate national Advisory Council or Board. 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.
• Geographic, institutional, and scientific portfolio balance.

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 Section 2.5.1. Just-in-Time Procedures. This request is not a Notice of Award nor should it be construed to be an indicator of possible funding.

Prior to making an award, NIH reviews an applicant’s federal award history in SAM.gov to ensure sound business practices. An applicant can review and comment on any information in the Responsibility/Qualification records available in SAM.gov. NIH will consider any comments by the applicant in the Responsibility/Qualification records in SAM.gov to ascertain the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and performance record of managing Federal awards per 2 CFR Part 200.206 “Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.” This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons. Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.4.4 Disposition of Applications.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

A Notice of Award (NoA) is the official authorizing document notifying the applicant that an award has been made and that funds may be requested from the designated HHS payment system or office. The NoA is signed by the Grants Management Officer and emailed to the recipient’s business official.

In accepting the award, the recipient agrees that any activities under the award are subject to all provisions currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions.

Recipients must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions. Any pre-award costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the applicant's own risk.  For more information on the Notice of Award, please refer to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 5. The Notice of Award and NIH Grants & Funding website, see Award Process.

Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the recipient must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

The following Federal wide and HHS-specific policy requirements apply to awards funded through NIH:

• The rules listed at 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.
• All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the terms and conditions in the Notice of Award (NoA). The NoA includes the requirements of this NOFO. 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, Recipients, and Activities.

All federal statutes and regulations relevant to federal financial assistance, including those highlighted in NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4 Public Policy Requirements, Objectives and Other Appropriation Mandates.

Recipients are responsible for ensuring that their activities comply with all applicable federal regulations.  NIH may terminate awards under certain circumstances.  See 2 CFR Part 200.340 Termination and NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.5.2 Remedies for Noncompliance or Enforcement Actions: Suspension, Termination, and Withholding of Support. 

Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, Div. N, § 405, Pub. Law 114-113, 6 USC § 1533(d), the HHS Secretary has established a common set of voluntary, consensus-based, and industry-led guidelines, best practices, methodologies, procedures, and processes.

Successful recipients under this NOFO agree that:

When recipients, subrecipients, or third-party entities have:

1. ongoing and consistent access to HHS owned or operated information or operational technology systems; and 
2. receive, maintain, transmit, store, access, exchange, process, or utilize personal identifiable information (PII) or personal health information (PHI) obtained from the awarding HHS agency for the purposes of executing the award.

Recipients shall develop plans and procedures, modeled after the NIST Cybersecurity framework, to protect HHS systems and data. Please refer to NIH Post-Award Monitoring and Reporting for additional information. 

Not Applicable

Consistent with the 2023 NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing, when data management and sharing is applicable to the award, recipients will be required to adhere to the Data Management and Sharing requirements as outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Upon the approval of a Data Management and Sharing Plan, it is required for recipients to implement the plan as described.

4. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, recipients will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.4.1 Reporting. To learn more about post-award monitoring and reporting, see the NIH Grants & Funding website, see Post-Award Monitoring and Reporting.

• Recipients are required to report information on students participating in the project in RPPR Section D. Participants, to identify publications co-authored by students and to report students’ educational and career outcomes (e.g., degree completion, subsequent employment or degrees sought).

A final RPPR, 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 Section 8.6 Closeout. NIH NOFOs outline intended research goals and objectives. Post award, NIH will review and measure performance based on the details and outcomes that are shared within the RPPR, as described at 2 CFR Part 200.301.

In carrying out stewardship of grant programs, NIGMS will periodically evaluate the SuRE program, employing the representative measures identified below, among others. In assessing the effectiveness of research capacity building investments, NIGMS may use information from progress reports and public databases, PD/PIs, and from participants themselves. Where necessary, PD/PIs and participants may be appropriately contacted after the completion of the grant period for updates on participants’ subsequent outcomes. Outcomes measures that will be used for program evaluation will include, but not be limited to:

• Number of PDs/PIs who secure subsequent SuRE, NIH or other external research funding
• Number of publications
• Number of students engaged in SuRE-funded research
• Publications co-authored by students
• Students’ educational and career outcomes (e.g., degree completion, subsequent employment or degrees sought)
• Breadth of institutions supported through SuRE grants

Section VII. Agency Contacts

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

eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues)

Finding Help Online: https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

General Grants Information (Questions regarding application instructions, application processes, and NIH grant resources)
Email: [email protected] (preferred method of contact)
Telephone: 301-480-7075

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and Workspace)
Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726
Email: [email protected]

Rubin Baskir, PhD
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Email: [email protected]

Aria Crump
NIDA - NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE
Phone: 301-443-6504
E-mail: [email protected]

Dr. Jean Yuan
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Phone: 301-827-0009
E-mail: [email protected]

Cheri Wiggs
NEI - NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
Phone: (301) 402-0276
E-mail: [email protected]

Brett Miller, PhD
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Email: [email protected]

Carmen Moten, Ph.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 301-594-5945
Email: [email protected] 

Scott S. Verbridge, PhD
NIDCR - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DENTAL & CRANIOFACIAL RESEARCH
Phone: 301-594-0676
E-mail: [email protected]

Lauren Ullrich, PhD
National Institue of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Phone: 301-451-7964
Email: [email protected]

Lisa Chadwick
NHGRI - NATIONAL HUMAN GENOME RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Phone: 301-435-7275
E-mail: [email protected]

Toccara Chamberlain
NIEHS - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Phone: 984-287-4482 
Email: [email protected]

Isaah Vincent, PhD
NIAMS - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SKIN DISEASES
Phone: (301) 402-2446
E-mail: [email protected]

Katrina Jane Serrano, Ph.D.
NIDDK - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES
Phone: 301.480.7855
E-mail: [email protected]

Li Lin, Ph.D.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Phone: 301-827-7749
E-mail: [email protected]

Qi-Ying Liu, M.D.
National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Phone: 301-443-2678
E-mail: [email protected]

Tatiana Meza-Cervera, PH.D.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Telephone: 301-437-0670
Email: [email protected]

Alberto L Rivera-Rentas
NIDCD - NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
Phone: 301-496-1804
E-mail: [email protected]

Leigh A. Willis, PhD, MPH
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Telephone: 240-687-1634
Email: [email protected]

Laritza M. Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-5969
Email: [email protected]

David Gutekunst, Ph.D.
NIBIB - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BIOMEDICAL IMAGING AND BIOENGINEERING
Phone: (240)-789-0004
E-mail: [email protected]

Sung Sug (Sarah) Yoon, PhD
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Telephone: 301-496-7101
Email: [email protected]
 

Utibe Ronald Bickhamwright, Ph.D., PMP
NIMHD - NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES
Phone: 301-402-1366
E-mail: [email protected]

Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
[email protected]

Arina Kramer
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Email: [email protected]
 

Pamela G Fleming
NIDA - NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE
Phone: 301-480-1159
E-mail: [email protected]

Philip Smith
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Telephone: 301-402-3465
Email: [email protected]

Karen Robinson Smith
NEI - NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
Phone: 301-435-8178
E-mail: [email protected]

Margaret Young
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Telephone: 301-642-4552
Email: [email protected]

Chernay L. Rogers
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Phone: 240-669-2992
Email: [email protected] 

Gabriel Hidalgo, MBA
NIDCR - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DENTAL & CRANIOFACIAL RESEARCH
Phone: 301-827-4630
E-mail: [email protected]

Chief Grants Management Officer
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Email:[email protected]

Deanna L Ingersoll
NHGRI - NATIONAL HUMAN GENOME RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Phone: 301-435-7858
E-mail: [email protected]

Jenny Greer
NIEHS - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Phone: 982-287-3332 or 919-892-4180
Email: [email protected]

Erik Edgerton
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SKIN DISEASES (NIAMS)
Phone: 301-594-7760
E-mail: [email protected]

Tommy Gunter
NIDDK - NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES
Phone: 301-451-3447
E-mail: [email protected]

Judy Fox
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Telephone: 301-443-4704
Email: [email protected]

Tamara Kees
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH))
Telephone: 301-443-8811
Email: [email protected]

Samantha J Tempchin
NIDCD - NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
Phone: (301) 435-1404
E-mail: [email protected]

Jenna Briggs
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Telephone: 301-480-0639
Email: [email protected]

Crystal Wolfrey
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Telephone: 240-276-6277
Email: [email protected]

Andrea Culhane
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Telephone: 301-402-0069
Email: [email protected] 

Priscilla Grant, JD
NIMHD - NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES
Phone: 301-594-8412
E-mail: [email protected]

Section VIII. Other Information

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 2 CFR Part 200.