 Okay, well, thank you everyone for joining this pre-application webinar. My name is Tina Gatlin and I am a program director at NHGRI. We at NHGRI are excited to be offering a new funding opportunity entitled Genome Research Experiences to Attract Talented Undergraduates into the Genomics Field to Promote Diversity, which we refer to as the Great Program. This RFA was published in August and we considered this new program to be another path forward in NHGRI's efforts to enhance the diversity of the genomics workforce. I would like to first start off by going over the webinar process for today. Assisting in this webinar is Amber Jackson and Gerald Simani and Elvaro Encinas. Amber is our scientific program analyst for the extramural training program and Gerald is a Ben Gerald and Elvaro are support specialists in our IT branch. I will be giving a presentation first, which will take about 20 minutes and then we will open it up to Q&A. Participants will be on mute throughout the webinar. Please ask your questions in the Q&A box and anonymous submissions are allowed. Chat will be disabled for this webinar and then after the webinar your questions will be rendered into frequently asked questions with our answers posted on the great webinar website. In fact, there is actually already current FAQs posted from questions that have come in since the August release date of the RFA and so any Q&A from this webinar would then be appended. Lastly, this webinar is being recorded and this video and slides will be posted later to the webinar site. This is a listing of relevant links for the great program. The first listed is to the published RFA followed by the pre-application webinar link in which you can find a link to the FAQs. In developing a proposal for this program, the recent NHGRI strategic vision is an excellent source to consult when considering research focus areas for students to participate in. For additional information, you could also go back to the February 2021 concept clearance for this program. On this Council website, you can find the concept document, Council presentation, video and slides and you can also contact me at the email address listed. Here's an outline for the presentation. I will first give you some background and our rationale for moving this program forward. Take the purpose of the great program, summarize the programmatic approach as detailed in the RFA, make some points about the application process and then open it up to Q&A. As background, we all know that the biomedical research workforce lacks diversity and that includes the genomics workforce as well. The genomics workforce poorly reflects the makeup of the U.S. population and as such at the beginning of the year, early January 2021, NHGRI published an Action Agenda which details the institute's vision for building a more diverse genomics workforce. There are four goals to the Action Agenda which I won't read off and this great program addresses principally the second goal which is to develop and support training programs and networks that connect undergraduate and graduate education to careers in genomics and in particular to ensure that undergraduate minority serving institutions are aware of and tightly connected to that network. This great program is now one of many NHGRI funding opportunities which are targeted to promote diversity in the genomics workforce. These FOAs are detailed in our website via the link which is at the bottom of this slide. I won't go through these initiatives. I just want to point out that we have five new initiatives that we have launched since the start of this year. Those are labeled with orange asterisks and the initiatives with yellow asterisks are NIH initiatives that NHGRI has signed on to. Some of them are long standing such as the F31 predoctoral fellowship and research supplements to promote diversity. We now have opportunities at all career levels from undergraduates to investigators. For all of these opportunities however our awards go predominantly to research intensive institutions which have high levels of NIH funding. This great program is an opportunity to correct that and specifically to make awards to institutes that have lower levels of NIH funding many of which include minority serving institutions or MSIs. The stated purpose of the great program is to encourage undergraduates from diverse backgrounds at eligible MSIs and and IDEA institutions to pursue further training and careers in the scientific, medical, ethical, social and or legal areas of genomic research by providing research educational activities via institutional partnerships. I mentioned MSIs but we have expanded the program to include IDEA institutions. Many of you may already be familiar with the IDEA program. IDEA stands for Institutional Development Award. This is a can congressionally mandated program dating back to 1993 and the goal is to broaden the geographical distribution of NIH funding by building research capacity at institutes in states that have historically low levels of funding. The IDEA states include 23 U.S. states in Puerto Rico and is an opportunity to target unique populations such as rural, medically underserved and disadvantaged communities. Also to note about our goal for undergraduates to pursue further training. Since we are a genomics research institute, ideally we would like underrepresented students to matriculate into a PhD program to help strengthen the undergraduate to graduate school pathway and also matriculating into PhD programs and fields that are within NHGRI's mission areas. For programmatic approach, again, research educational support will be provided to undergraduates who are enrolled at eligible MSI and IDEA institutions. The program will provide resources for institutions to establish partnerships in order to implement collaborative approaches to genomics research education. The partnership must include an MSI or IDEA institution as the lead and applicant institution and one or more partnership institutions which must be a research intensive institution with a suitable research base for graduate level training in genomics or other research mission areas of NHGRI. So why did we choose a partnership model? Well, there is evidence that shows that for students, talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. We all have a sense of this and this results in underrepresented students often being underprivileged and that they have unequal access to education resources and experiences. And so this partnership model is therefore an effort to help level the playing field between low and high resource institutions. Further on programmatic approach, this initiative utilizes the R25 research education mechanism and applicants will be expected to develop a two-year program where students will be supported full-time in the summer and part-time during the academic year. This R25 mechanism allows for five specific research education focus areas and this R25 focuses on research experiences and also courses for skills development. The predominant focus area should be research experiences and this should take place primarily at the research intensive institution where students will conduct genomics related research with participating faculty members. However, research at the MSIRID institution is also encouraged if the research projects and environment are well aligned with NHGRI's research mission. Programs must also include courses for skills development, which can be taken in a broad sense to include complementary didactic activities such as courses, boot camps, seminars, career development and these activities should be conducted at both the lead and partnership institutions to maximize impact of the program. Again when choosing research focus areas, the latest NHGRI strategic vision is a document worth consulting. The general science areas are genomic sciences, genomic medicine and the ethical, legal and social implications of genomic research and focusing on more than one science area is acceptable and programs that focus research on the impact of genomics on society are particularly encouraged. Students will be eligible for the program if they have already completed one academic year of post-secondary education and applicants are expected to propose an outstanding mentoring plan not only to develop research technical skills but also professional career skills such as leadership, scientific writing, oral presentation skills, dual mentoring is encouraged with one faculty member focused more on the scientific mentoring and another on career mentoring and with mentors at each collaborating institute represented. There is more in the RFA with regard to mentoring and programmatic approach and we encourage applicants to be innovative with respect to developing an effective program. For the application process, as we do for all funding opportunities, we strongly encourage contacting a program officer listed in the FOA before submitting an application to check for responsiveness and compliancy and for this great RFA the contact is me Tina Gatlin. Please do follow all instructions in the application guide and please don't hesitate to reach out to me or to the NIH help desk if anything is unclear. In putting together an application where you will most likely spend most of your time is on the research education program plan. However, please read the RFA carefully and be aware of all components that need to be included in the application. This is to make note of particular items that need to be included. A recruitment plan to enhance diversity, which should describe not only recruitment plans but retention and follow up activities in order to ensure a well qualified undergraduate participant pool. And as with all R25s a plan for instruction in the responsible conduct of research also known as RCR training must be included. Also an evaluation plan, which I will say more about shortly. A plan for the appointment of an advisory committee must be added as an attachment to the application. The role of the committee should be to monitor progress of the great program and evaluate the overall effectiveness. Lastly, faculty tables need to be added to the application as well. And I will point out that in yellow, this is a hard NIH line that if the recruitment and RCR plans are missing in the application, the application will not be accepted and will not be reviewed. So please make sure to include these these items in particular. I mentioned faculty tables, NIH has standard data tables related to faculty. For anyone who is involved with administering T32 programs, these tables are very familiar. NIH data tables, numbers two and four must be included. And these provide details about the participating faculty and their research support. This will help reviewers assess the training environment and the breadth of research experiences that the students may be exposed to. The tables here are examples and for more details, the NIH website that is listed at the bottom of the slide can provide more information and instructions for putting together the data tables. I want to go over eligibility, institutional eligibility, since this is where I have gotten the most inquiries. This is outlined in the eligibility section 3.1. The lead applicant, again, must be an MSI or IDEA institution. That awards undergraduate degrees. The MSI must also receive less than $7.5 million a year in NIH research project grants, also known as RPGs. This is a common threshold that's used in NIH mechanisms. The IDEA institution must also receive less than $7.5 million a year and additionally must have at least 50% of their undergraduate students supported by Pell grants. This is an effort to target students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The research-intensive institution must have, as stated in the RFA, an existing genomics or genomics-related program and a significant number of potential mentors with NIH R01 or equivalent extramural research support or with private funds. What this latter part means is that the lead applicant can partner not only with academic institutions but can consider partnering with companies as well. As long as those companies or organizations can demonstrate that they have a strong base of research that is also aligned with NHGRI research mission areas. Some comments about the budget section. So up to $350,000 direct costs per year can be requested. R25s are limited to 8% indirects and so the total cost is limited to $378,000 per year. Project periods are limited to three years. The MSI or IDEA institution will be the awardee and partner institutions would be funded by subaward. I also wanted to make note of budget categories. So any budget line item will fit into one of three categories. Personnel costs, other program-related expenses and participant costs. The first two, personnel costs and other administrative expenses, have maximum levels that cannot be exceeded in any year of the project period. This is to ensure that at least 50% of expenses are going to support the undergraduate participants directly. And going back to the evaluation plan, a plan must be included for evaluating the activities supported by the award. Outline metrics should be included as well as measures to gauge the short and long-term success of the program. In developing the evaluation plan, it is suggested to consult section six of the application where NHGRI has outlined measures that we will use in the future to determine overall outcomes of the great program and whether goals are being met. Again, these are suggested measures and include aggregate number and demographic characteristics of student participants, new knowledge or skills that students acquire, participants' feedback to help identify successes and any weaknesses which can be focused on for program improvement. And then subsequent career progressions such as the successful completion of an undergraduate degree, admission to advanced degree programs such as PhD programs and genomics-related field. And then continuing to participate in research in a genomics-related field or subsequent employment in a genomics-related field. Section 6.2 outlines reporting requirements. This is not a part of the application process, so I'm not going to go into detail. Once awards are made, NHGRI will circle back with more guidance on these requirements. So briefly, awardees must submit trainee appointment forms, also known as PHS Form 2271. These forms are definitely a task, but they must be completed for each student that's appointed to the program. A trainee diversity reports or TDR, it's automatically generated from the appointment forms and summarizes the demographic characteristics of the student's program. The TDR must be attached to the annual reports. And then last table of student outcomes needs to be submitted every year with the annual report using a standardized format, specifically NIH data table number eight. The first application due date is a little less than two months from now, December 1st. A letter of intent is not required, but is always encouraged to be submitted generally one month in advance, so November 1st. This helps NHGRI staff to estimate the potential number of applications and get an early start on planning the review. And as a piece of advice, please do not wait until the last day to submit your application. Submission errors are not uncommon. If you get an error, you should immediately contact the ERA service desk. There's often very little that NHGRI staff can do since applications are submitted to NIH central and not to NHGRI. And so while you should contact the service desk first, you can of course reach out to NHGRI staff and we can try to do what we can to facilitate the process. And a final slide on review and selection process. The first level of review is a peer review panel, which will be convened by NHGRI. The second level of review is by NHGRI's council. And as outlined in Section 5.2 of the RFA, NHGRI will make funding decisions based on the scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by peer and council review. The availability of funds, relevance of the proposed project to program priorities and the geographic distribution of program sites. And then in terms of timing for an application due date of December 1, funding decisions would be made in early summer of 2022 with the early start date projected to be August of 2022 next year. So that concludes my presentation. So now I will open the floor to any questions. And I already see a few questions coming in. So I will attempt to answer your questions. So the first question is, will there be subsequent deadline or is this the only one? So if you look in the RFA, there are three receipt dates. So the second receipt date will be next July of 2022. And the the following one will be July of 2023. Another question, can you have more than one partner? Yes, you certainly can have more than one partner. But the lead applicant should be an MSI or an idea state. So there really should only be one lead. And then you can have multiple partners from research intensive institutions. Another question is, can you describe the expectations related to course curriculum development at the applicant institution? So that is a good question. So again, so this R25, you know, there's some R25s that are focused on course and curriculum development. But that that's not the focus of this one. But there can certainly be, you know, course and curriculum development. But it has to be, you know, within the first year you have to be able to offer those those courses or seminars or workshops. So there shouldn't be a significant amount of effort and funds going into course development. And if you have any more specific questions related to that, you can always reach out to me. And again, you know, any questions that are that are coming through today will be posted to the web to the webinar website. OK, another question is, how many students, what range do you envision one grant to support each year? That is another good question. So let's see. I mean, I'm just kind of comparing it to, you know, our other R25 program, which is related to, you know, which is based on research experiences. So so I would say it's I don't want to say. Exactly. So I mean, I would try and and make it so that you're supporting it at least 10 students. Let's put it that way. So another question is, can you employ existing courses and training? Certainly, of course, you can you can take advantage of existing courses and training that would be advantageous to the program to synergize. OK, more questions. So making sure I'm not repeating anything. Can you explain the limit on other program related expenses? Specifically, travel costs are described as limited to three thousand total for travel for all PIs. So the other program related expenses are basically those administrative costs that are not related to personnel costs. So and then those program related expenses are limited to 10 percent of the overall budget. And so travel costs are limited to administrative personnel to just three thousand total. And that is to, you know, we also want personnel to travel to our annual NHGRI training meeting that we host every every spring. Another question, is there a requirement to provide a plan for instruction in methods for enhancing reproducibility? So that's a that's a good question. And I know there's some language in the RFA, but if there's not a specific plan and but there there has to be some language in there with regard to you know, enhancing your reproducibility. And I think it just needs to be part of the research education plan. But that's something that I'll have to circle back to. And I will make sure that that question is answered properly when we post the FAQs. OK, another question. Is this application only for minority serving colleges? So, no. So the again, the lead applicants can be either a minority serving college or or or university or it can be a college or university that is from an idea that is from an idea state. And so again, you know, really go go to the eligibility section in terms of looking over you know, that the particular eligibility for for MSIs and idea states has to be based on but not, you know, receiving less than a certain number of a certain level of NIH funds and also for idea states having 50 percent or more that are that are on Pell grants. OK, a number of questions coming through. What time is it? OK. All right. Another question. Do you support a pilot version of the program for two to three years to iron out potential challenges? That is a good question. So. Yeah, so this isn't really to serve as a pilot. I mean, it's really to develop a program that you feel is going to be effective and certainly within the first first year and certainly within the first two years of the program. And again, you know, there's a five year you can request up to five years of support, but it doesn't have to be five years. It can it can be for less than that. All right. So here's a long question. So how closely should the research interests of faculty at the MSI align with NHGRI research areas? If faculty are conducting genomics and bioinformatics research, but their focus is not on questions related to human health or body organisms, would this present a problem for the application? So it might present a problem. So again, you know, we're the National Institute National Human, you know, the National Institute of Human Genome Research. So I mean, if you're just conducting like plant genomics at your MSI, that really would not be in alignment. But again, if you bring in a research intensive institution that is aligned with genomics of human health and that then that may kind of cover what you may be lacking at your MSI or idea institution. Another question for the time period when undergraduates should be completing part time training with the research intensive institution, can this be done virtually or remotely? Well, certainly, certainly it can. So so kind of the idea is like the summer research experience would be kind of an in person experience, you know, wet lab dry lab or in the case of an LC focused program. Then it could be more classroom based. But for during the academic year, you know, obviously the undergraduates are busy with their studies. And if the research intensive institution is not, you know, located locally, that obviously is an issue. So that should that, you know, almost is more in alignment with having a virtual or remote interaction during the the academic year. OK. Another question. Are student participants limited to URMs, students with disabilities and disadvantaged students? So so that is a good question. NIH does not make a requirement. It's just an encouragement. So you all may be aware of, you know, and NIH has a published notice of interest and diversity. And so so, you know, again, that's noticed. It encourages institutes, you know, to have participants in their programs that are, you know, from diverse backgrounds, including those that are underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce. And that includes certain categories of race, race ethnicity and also disability and disadvantaged. But again, you know, it's not a requirement. It's really it's really up to the Institute to kind of make the case of why this particular population is considered diverse and and maybe also underrepresented. Will this slide deck be available to us later? Yes, it will. It should be actually a pretty quick turnaround. Our IT folks should be getting the slides and also the video of this recording onto our webinar site within it within a short period of time. Another question. Can an R1 institution that is also an MSI be the lead applicant? So so again, the MSI being the lead applicant. So so again. The there's a requirement that the MSI has to have less than seven point five million dollars per year in NIH funding. So so that so that's the first thing to check. So OK, the next question. The advisory group, as indicated in the FOA, seems to play a central role than would normally be. What is the thinking behind putting examples of role as indicated in the FOA? So I'm not quite understanding the question. What is thinking by putting examples of role as indicated in the FOA? So, yeah, I mean, maybe the the the RFA, the FOA did place a little bit of emphasis on the advisory committee. Again, it's really, you know, the the PIs and the key personnel. That will largely play a central role. But the advisory committee really it's an advisory and that they should kind of be having some role in overseeing the monitoring of the program and and also having a role in in determining out how successful the program is and meeting its its overall program goals. Next question. Is there a means of offering support for partnering partnering lab mentors? Like support for graduate student postdoc mentors, for instance. And so so again, you know, there's that, you know, that would be covered under, you know, administrative costs. And I don't know if you're talking talking about admin personnel personnel support for lab mentors. I don't know if we specifically don't allow that. I'm going to have to circle back to that. So but if you're talking about like, you know, support for their lab in terms of supplies, you know, that would be falling under that other other program related expenses, which is limited to 10 percent of the overall budget. The next question. Are you looking for PIs with substantial training experience? So I would say yes. I think that the language in the RFA is that the PI needs to be conducting either research or education with regard to genomics. So and then it would only help if they have a substantial training experience as well. I would think that they would do better in peer review if there's plenty of experience without, especially in working with individuals from diverse backgrounds. OK, another the next question. Yeah, OK, I think I sort of answered that question. Another question, can grant fund support students living costs during in person summer research experiences? Yes. So student support can be in the form of travel costs to the site and also a stipend and and living costs. In terms of housing and I can't remember where their food was was allowable. OK, another question. Does the does the NIH funding limit extend to other training grants and institutional development grants or is it limited to research grants? Let me just read that again. It wasn't quite correct. Does the NIH funding limit extend to other NIH grant other training grants and institution development grants or is it limited to research grants? So oh, are you talking about the maybe you're referring to the the the limit of seven point five million dollars a year for for MSI is an idea institution. So I mean, it's it's it's common across the NIH, but it's not. But anyway, so I guess I'm just not really clear about the question. So maybe if you can answer and ask it in another way or just kind of follow up with me in an email afterwards. OK, next question. Do you encourage dry lab, wet lab or a combination in this application? I mean, certainly, you know, one area of emphasis is to develop is to develop computational skills and and bioinformatics skills because it's very critical to conducting genomics research. So dry labs dry lab skills are certainly encouraged wet lab. So and definitely a combination and also, you know, if you again, if you have, you know, an LC focus project, ethical, legal and social implications of genomic advances, you're not necessarily conducting any dry or wet lab. All right. So that is all the questions that I'm seeing coming through. Maybe I'll wait for just a short period of time for any more questions. And again, I think we'll go ahead and wrap up this webinar. So I thank everybody for attending. We had a good turnout. I'm very pleased about that. And, you know, again, I'm offering, you know, any time if you think of any more questions, you know, please feel free to reach out to me. And thank you for attending this webinar.