Grant Proposals and Applications

What

The NIH revised the definition of a clinical trial in 2014. This new definition broadens the type of human subject research that meets the NIH criteria of a clinical trial, and may now include studies that have not been considered clinical trials in the past, such as behavioral and mechanistic studies.

Impact: Effective January 25, 2018, investigators applying for NIH funding are required to identify whether their study is a clinical trial based on this definition.

Why

Correctly identifying whether your study is a clinical trial is important for:

1. Selecting the correct NIH funding opportunity

• Clinical Trial-Specific Funding Opportunities
• FAQ

Note: The NIH may reject your application if you choose the wrong funding opportunity announcement.

2. Completing NIH application requirements

• InfoEd Instructions for Completing the Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information Form
• New Human Subjects and Clinical Trial Information Form (FORMS-E)
• Clinical Trial-Specific Review Criteria
• FAQ

3. Complying with NIH requirements

• Required GCP Training
  • Policy on Good Clinical Practice Training for NIH Awardees Involved in NIH-funded Clinical Trials
  • ISMMS GCP Training
• ClinicalTrials.gov Registration and Reporting
• Single IRB (SIRB) Policy for Multi-Site Research
  • Final NIH Policy on the Use of a Single Institutional Review Board for Multi-Site Research
  • Mount Sinai and Single IRB Policy
  • GCO’s Guidance Document on NIH’s sIRB Policy
  • Single IRB Policy for Multi-Site Research
  • FAQ

How

To help identify if your study is a clinical trial, use the following NIH tools and resources:

• NIH Definition of a Clinical Trial
• Case Studies
• FAQ
• Podcast: “Understanding the Definition of a Clinical Trial and What that Means for You”

Resources

• Clinical Trial Requirements for Grants and Contracts
• Training Resources

Institutional Information

Refer to the Administrative Information Sheet for Institutional facts that may be required for grant and contract applications including information related to:

• Sponsored Projects
• Compliance (PPHS/IRB, IACUC, Research Integrity Officer, Institutional Biosafety Program)
• Finance
• GCO deadlines for review and approval

Grant Application Resource Center (GARC)

GARC provides Standardized Language describing the Mount Sinai Health System programs and resources for use in grant applications. This includes language for:

• Health System and Central Resources
• Institutes
• Centers
• Research
• Education

Vertebrate Animal Research

• Center for Comparative Medicine and Surgery - Standardized Language for Vertebrate Animals Section (scroll to the bottom of the page to Related Resources (VAS Fact Sheet )
• Boilerplate Language for Human Subject and Vertebrate Animals Sections of Competitive NIH Training Grant Applications

Human Subject Research

• Boilerplate Language for Human Subject and Vertebrate Animals Sections of Competitive NIH Training Grant Applications

Preferred Name Use on Sponsored Project Applications

Changes to NIH Biosketch and Other Support Pages for Due Dates on/after May 25, 2021
The NIH has issued a notice (NOT-OD-21-073) announcing substantive changes to the Biosketch and Other Support pages on competitive applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) with due dates on or after May 25, 2021. For detailed guidance and resources, refer to the GCO website – NIH Biosketch and Other Support Changes.

For more information contact:
Amanda Amescua
Director, Grants and Contracts Office
amanda.amescua@mssm.edu

What

Cost sharing occurs when a departmental or unrestricted fund account covers a project cost rather than the sponsored project budget. Examples of cost sharing are:

1. ISMMS investigator contributing effort but his/her salary will be charged to an unrestricted account rather that the grant budget.
2. Equipment that a department purchases for the PI to conduct the study, rather than the PI requesting the equipment funds on the grant budget.

How

If a proposal includes either mandatory or voluntary Cost-Sharing, the commitment becomes a requirement of the agreement and Mount Sinai must comply.

InfoEd Application Requirements: If applicable, a fully signed Cost-Sharing Form must be included in the InfoEd application. Failure to include a fully executed copy of the cost sharing form may result in delays processing and approving applications.

Resources

Cost Sharing Policy
GCO

NIH and Foreign Influences on Research Integrity

Please see this GCO communication re: foreign subawards on NIH sponsored project applications.

What

A common misconception is that foreign involvement only occurs when there is a subaward to a foreign institution. The Foreign Component definition (in section 1.2) from the NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS) is much broader. It includes, the performance of any significant scientific element or segment of a project outside of the United States, either by the recipient or by a researcher employed by a foreign organization, whether or not grant funds are expended.

Activities that would meet this definition include, but are not limited to:

• The involvement of human subjects or animals.
• Extensive foreign travel by recipient project staff for the purpose of data collection, surveying, sampling, and similar activities.
• Any activity of the recipient that may have an impact on U.S. foreign policy through involvement in the affairs or environment of a foreign country.

Examples of other grant-related activities that may be significant are:

• Collaborations with investigators at a foreign site anticipated to result in co-authorship.
• Use of facilities or instrumentation at a foreign site.
• Receipt of financial support or resources from a foreign entity.

How

Three ways to report foreign involvement:

1. Reporting in Competitive Grant Applications
2. Reporting in Annual Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR)
3. Prior Approval Request

For detailed information, refer to The NIH and Foreign Influences on Research Integrity guide.

What

The NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy, applies to all NIH-funded research (e.g., grants, contracts and intramural research) that generates large-scale human or non-human genomic data, regardless of the funding level, as well as the use of this data for subsequent research.

Large-scale data include genome-wide association studies (GWAS), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) arrays, and genome sequence, transcriptomic, epigenomic, and gene expression data.

For more information, refer to the following references:

• Office of Science Policy - Institutional Certifications
• Office of Science Policy - Scientific Data Sharing

How

NIH Grant Applications: Refer to the GCO guidelines outlined in Procedures for NIH Grant Applications that Propose to Generate or Use Large-Scale Genomic Data.

IRB Requirements: Refer to the ISMMS PPHS guidelines listed under NIH Human Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy and Guidelines.

Resources

PPHS Guidance and Policies 
GCO

 Changes to NIH Biosketch and Other Support Pages for Due Dates on/after May 25, 2021
The NIH has issued a notice (NOT-OD-21-073) announcing substantive changes to the Biosketch and Other Support pages on competitive applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) with due dates on or after May 25, 2021. For detailed guidance and resources, refer to the GCO website – NIH Biosketch and Other Support Changes.

What

According to the NIH, other support includes all financial resources, whether Federal, non-Federal, commercial or institutional, available in direct support of an individual’s research endeavors, including but not limited to research grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and/or institutional awards. Training awards, prizes or gifts do not need to be included.

Who

The NIH requests Other Support pages for senior/key personnel designated in the application.

When

Other support requests may be made during the Just in Time (JIT) process and during the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) submission.

How

For detailed guidance and resources, refer to the GCO website – NIH Biosketch and Other Support Changes.

Resources

• GCO -  NIH Biosketch and Other Support Changes
• GCO – Other Support SharePoint Site (templates, instructions, presentation slides and video)

Refer to the following documents to learn more about the federal requirement for single IRB (sIRB) review:

• Information Sheet –  Single Institutional Review Board Requirements
• GCO sIRB Memo

ISMMS IRB Criteria to serve as the sIRB of Record

The ISMMS IRB may serve as the sIRB if the application has:

1. Five or fewer sites in addition to the ISMMS site
2. All of the sites participate in the SMART IRB initiative

Requests to have ISMMS IRB serve as the reviewing IRB should be made well in advance of your grant submission. For detailed guidance, refer to Request for ISMMS to Serve (R2S) as the Reviewing IRB.

Note: For circumstances where the ISMMS IRB will not serve as the sIRB, the ISMMS IRB can advise the PI of alternative sIRBs that may be acceptable. Alternatives include:

1. Participating Accredited SMART IRBs
2. Commercial IRBs with which ISMMS has an existing master agreement
3. NCI CIRB
4. Trial Innovation Network (TIN) sIRB

Required Documentation for NIH Grant and Contract Applications

Refer to the ISMMS sIRB Memo for guidance on the documentation required to be included in applications.

Resources

• Final NIH Policy on the Use of a Single Institutional Review Board for Multi-Site Research
• NIH FAQ – Single IRB Policy for Multi-site Research
• Scenarios to Illustrate the Use of Direct and Indirect Costs for Single IRB Review under the NIH Policy on the Use of a Single IRB for Multi-site Research
• SMART IRB – Participating Institutions 

Investigator proposals which involve the use of vertebrate animals are required to include a Vertebrate Animal Sections (VAS) section in their grant application, contract proposals and cooperative agreements. This includes animals used for harvesting tissue and the generation of custom antibodies.

For guidance, contact the IACUC Office and Center for Comparative Medicine and Surgery (CCMS).

Resources

• NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare - Vertebrate Animal Section
• NIH Grants & Funding 
• Boilerplate Language for Human Subject and Vertebrate Animals Sections of Competitive NIH Training Grant Applications
• Center for Comparative Medicine and Surgery - Standardized Language for Vertebrate Animals Section (scroll to the bottom)
• Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals

NIH and Foreign Influences on Research Integrity

Please see this GCO communication re: foreign subawards on NIH sponsored project applications.

Outgoing Subawards (ISMMS is the Prime Institute)

What

When ISMMS is the Prime Institution applying for a project with a subaward, the following information and documentation is required from sub-recipient organizations:

• Signed Statement of Intent (SOI) or PPH 398 Face Page
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Certificate of Compliance with HHS Financial Conflict of Interest (COI) Rules and Regulations
• Budget and budget justification

Additional Information Required for NIH Applications

• Performance site information
• Resources and facilities page
• Biosketches for key personnel including other significant contributors
• Letter of support
• Single IRB (sIRB) reliance statement, if applicable
• Inclusion enrollment report data for projects with human subjects, if applicable
• Multiple PI (MPI) plan, if applicable
• Consortium/contractual arrangements

When

The above documents are required for the InfoEd application. The GCO recommends receipt of required documents from the sub-recipient at least 10 business days before the NIH deadline.

How

For detailed instructions and guidance, refer to Documentation and Instructions for Sponsored Projects with Subawards When ISMMS is the Prime Institution. 

• ASSIST
• Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP)
• HRSA Electronic Handbooks
• New York State Grants Gateway
• NIH eRA Commons
• NSF Research.gov
• NSPIRES

What 

All sponsored project applications and a subset of ISMMS projects are prepared in InfoEd and routed for approval through the department(s) in which there are key personnel each year of the project. InfoEd is an IT system that internally routes and manages sponsored projects and a subset of ISMMS supported projects for department and Grants and Contract Office (GCO) review. InfoEd is also used to submit single project, competitive federal applications directly to the funding agency. Those are called System to System (S2S) applications. 

Evaluation by the GCO includes review for accuracy of administrative and budget information, as well as for compliance with Federal, State, New York City, and Icahn School of Medicine regulations. This includes regulations pertaining to biosafety, the use of human subjects, vertebrate animals, or recombinant DNA. 

Projects that Require Submission to the GCO via InfoEd 

• All sponsored projects.  Note exceptions in next bullet point for industry sponsored projects. 

• Effective 1/1/2024, new industry sponsored clinical trials and related studies with no competitive review process and for which the agreement is negotiated by FACTS are no longer submitted to the GCO. Ongoing industry sponsored clinical trials and related studies with no competitive review process that have already been submitted to the GCO, please do continue submitting to the GCO through close out. Industry funding where MSIP signs the agreement and all industry funding that is peer reviewed, including but not limited to SBIR/STTR subawards, continues to require GCO submission and review., including industry sponsored projects.  

• All ISMMS supported projects that do not involve humans or animals. 

• All ISMMS supported projects for which the GCO signs a research related agreement (e.g., Data Transfer Use Agreement, Study Drug Donation Agreement, etc.) 

Projects that Do Not Require Submission to the GCO via InfoEd 

• New Industry sponsored clinical trials and industry related studies with no competitive review process and for which the agreement is negotiated by FACTS. See section above for more information. 

• ISMMS supported projects involving human or animal research unless it requires an agreement as noted above. 

How 

Step 1 - Take the required InfoEd PD training. 

Step 2 - Has the PI delegated InfoEd users? Delegates may edit and enter information into the InfoEd proposal. 

Step 3 - Is the funding agency or subaward institution listed in the InfoEd database? Requests to add a funding agency can be made by submitting an InfoEd ticket. Turnaround time is typically 2-3 business days. 

Step 4 - Is the investigator and other key personnel listed in the InfoEd database? Requests to add personnel can be made by submitting an InfoEd ticket. For additional information regarding required personnel, refer to the GCO Application Submission Checklist Instructions numbers 4 and 17. 

Step 5 - Choose the correct type of InfoEd Application. There are multiple types of InfoEd applications and it is crucial the correct application is selected during initial set up of the proposal. For detailed guidance, refer to the Instructions for Creating an InfoEd Application . 

Step 6 - For Human Subject Research, include a memo with your RUTH # if you have one. 

Step 7 - Review the GCO Application Information for checklists, getting started documents and additional information. 

Non-System to System Submission (non-S2S) 

For Non-S2S InfoEd submissions, upload a PDF copy of the complete application or progress report for funded studies or a copy of the protocol or progress report for unfunded applications in InfoEd. 

GCO Review and Approval Deadlines 

Federal Applications - Five business days prior to extramural funding agency, deadline by 11am. 

All Other Applications - One business day prior to extramural funding agency deadline. (Contact your GCO Grants Specialist for projects with complex budgetary and/or administrative requirements. One business day may not apply.) 

Note: Note: For projects with complex budgets/administrative requirements (e.g., program projects, application with many subawards, international extramural funding agency application with nonstandard budget forms), contact your assigned Grants Specialist in advance regarding any additional time the GCO may need in the review and approval process. 

Note: Only a subset of ISMMS projects must be submitted to the GCO. For more information, refer to Does My Project Need to be Submitted to the GCO? 

NIH and Foreign Influences on Research Integrity

Please see this GCO communication re: foreign subawards on NIH sponsored project applications.

For NIH grants -  State Department Clearance might be needed. For guidance about working with a Foreign Component and other information concerning foreign influences, refer to NIH and Foreign Influence on Research Integrity.

Consent Language - Ensure consent language takes the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) into account when dealing with European entities.

NIH Grant Budgets - Foreign institution can receive a 8% indirect cost.  For more information, refer to the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Questions

Contact your GCO Assigned Departmental Grants Specialist.