Extramural Glossary

The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory, which is currently located at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, performs and standardizes the pre-clinical characterization of nanomaterials intended for cancer therapeutics and diagnostics developed by researchers from academia, government, and industry.

Each Institute of the National Institutes of Health maintains a national advisory council composed of both scientitsts and lay individuals which has two general functions: (1) to advise the Institute on policy and procedures affecting the extramural research programs and (2) to provide a second level of review for all grant and cooperative agreement applications considered by the Institute for funding.

NASA is an executive branch agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's civilian space program and aeronautics and aerospace research.

A chartered advisory committee to the Secretary, DHHS, and the Director, NCI, composed of both scientists and lay members, which performs the final advisory review of grant applications and advises on matters of significance to the policies, missions, and goals of the NCI.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NCI, established under the National Cancer Act of 1937, is the Federal Government's principal agency for cancer research and training. The National Cancer Act of 1971 broadened the scope and responsibilities of the NCI and created the National Cancer Program. Over the years, legislative amendments have maintained the NCI authorities and responsibilities and added new information dissemination mandates as well as a requirement to assess the incorporation of state-of-the-art cancer treatments into clinical practice.

A cancer research institution that is a recipient of a cancer center support grant and that also meets additional criteria for community outreach and education.

To provide an opportunity for outstanding new investigators to begin their independent research careers, first within the special environment of the National Cancer Institute and then at an institution of their choice. Specifically, this Program provides necessary resources to initiate an independent research program of 3 to 4 years at the NCI followed by an extramural funding mechanism (K22) to support their research program for 2 years at the extramural institution to which they are recruited.

A chartered advisory group composed primarily on non-Federal scientific experts who conduct the scientific and technical merit review (initial peer review) of grant applications and assign priority scores to meritorious applications.

To provide support to outstanding newly trained basic or clinical investigators to develop their independent research skills through a two phase program; an initial period involving and intramural appointment at the NIH and a final period of support at an extramural institution. The award is intended to facilitate the establishment of a record of independent research by the investigator in order to sustain or promote a successful research career.

NCCAM is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices in the context of rigorous science; training CAM researchers and disseminating authoritative information.

NCRR advances biomedical research and improves human health through research projects andshared resources that create, develop, and provide a comprehensive range of human, animal, technological, and other resources. NCRR's support is concentrated in four areas: biomedical technology, clinical research, comparative medicine, and research infrastructure. CC is the clinical research facility of the National Institutes of Health. As a national resource, it provides the patient care, services, and environment needed to initiate and support the highest quality conduct of and training in clinical research.

The mission of NCMHD is to promote minority health and to lead, coordinate, support, and assess the NIH effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities. In this effort NCMHD will conduct and support basic, clinical, social, and behavioral research, promote research infrastructure and training, foster emerging programs, disseminate information, and reach out to minority and other health disparity communities.

NEI conducts and supports research that helps prevent and treat eye diseases and other disorders of vision. This research leads to sight-saving treatments, reduces visual impairment and blindness, and improves the quality of life for people of all ages. NEI-supported research has advanced our knowledge of how the eye functions in health and disease.

NHLBI provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and sleep disorders. Since October 1997, the NHLBI has also had administrative responsibility for the NIH Woman's Health Initiative. The Institute plans, conducts, fosters, and supports an integrated and coordinated program of basic research, clinical investigations and trials, observational studies, and demonstration and education projects

NHGRI supports the NIH component of the Human Genome Project, a worldwide research effort designed to analyze the structure of human DNA and determine the location of the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 human genes. The NHGRI Intramural Research Program develops and implements technology for understanding, diagnosing, and treating genetic diseases.

NINR supports clinical and basic research to establish a scientific basis for the care of individuals across the life span--from the management of patients during illness and recovery to the reduction of risks for disease and disability; the promotion of healthy lifestyles; the promotion of quality of life in those with chronic illness; and the care for individuals at the end of life. This research may also include families within a community context, and it also focuses on the special needs of at-risk and under-served populations, with an emphasis on health disparities.

NIAID research strives to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent the myriad infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases that threaten millions of human lives.

NIAMS supports research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research, and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases

NIBIB improves health by promoting fundamental discoveries, design and development, and translation and assessment of technological capabilities in biomedical imaging and bioengineering, enabled by relevant areas of information science, physics, chemistry, mathematics, materials science, and computer sciences.

NICHD research on fertility, pregnancy, growth, development, and medical rehabilitation strives to ensure that every child is born healthy and wanted and grows up free from disease and disability.

NIDCD conducts and supports biomedical research and research training on normal mechanisms as well as diseases and disorders of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, and language that affect 46 million Americans.

NIDCR provides leadership for a national research program designed to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent the infectious and inherited craniofacial-oral-dental diseases and disorders that compromise millions of human lives.

NIDDK conducts and supports basic and applied research and provides leadership for a national program in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases and nutrition; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. Several of these diseases are among the leading causes of disability and death; all seriously affect the quality of life of those who have them.

NIEHS reduces the burden of human illness and dysfunction from environmental causes by, defining how environmental exposures, genetic susceptibility, and age interact to affect an individual's health.

NIGMS supports basic biomedical research that is not targeted to specific diseases. NIGMS funds studies on genes, proteins, and cells, as well as on fundamental processes like communication within and between cells, how our bodies use energy, and how we respond to medicines. The results of this research increase our understanding of life and lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. NIGMS also supports research training programs that produce the next generation of biomedical scientists, and it has special programs to encourage underrepresented minorities to pursue biomedical research careers.

NIMH provides national leadership dedicated to understanding, treating, and preventing mental illnesses through basic research on the brain and behavior, and through clinical, epidemiological, and services research.

The mission of the NINDS is to reduce the burden of neurological diseases -- a burden borne by every age group, every segment of society, and people all over the world. To accomplish this goal the NINDS supports and conducts research, both basic and clinical, on the normal and diseased nervous system, fosters the training of investigators in the basic and clinical neurosciences, and seeks better understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of neurological disorders.

NIA leads a national program of research on the biomedical, social, and behavioral aspects of the aging process; the prevention of age-related diseases and disabilities; and the promotion of a better quality of life for all older Americans.

NIAAA conducts research focused on improving the treatment and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems to reduce the enormous health, social, and economic consequences of this disease.

NIDA leads the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction through support and conduct of research across a broad range of disciplines and rapid and effective dissemination of results of that research to improve drug abuse and addiction prevention, treatment, and policy.

A Federal agency, whose mission is to improve the health of the people of the United States. NIH is part of the PHS, which is part of the U.S. DHHS.

NIH is one of the agencies of the Public Health Services which, in turn, is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Comprised of 27 separate components, mainly Institutes and Centers, NIH has in excess of 75 buildings on more than 300 acres in Bethesda, Maryland. From a total of about $300 in 1887, NIH has been appropriated nearly $23.4 billion for 2002.

NLM collects, organizes, and makes available biomedical science information to investigators, educators, and practitioners and carries out programs designed to strengthen medical library services in the United States. Its electronic data bases, including MEDLINE and MEDLINEplus are used extensively throughout the world by both health professionals and the public.

Awards to both individuals and institutions to provide research training in specified health-related areas.

An NIH fellowship application and award program that is designed to provide postdoctoral research training to individuals to broaden their scientific background and extend their potential for research in specified health-related areas.

An NIH fellowship application and award program that is designed to provide opportunities for experienced scientists to make major changes in the direction of research careers, to broaden scientific background, to acquire new research capabilities, to enlarge command of an allied research field, or to take time from regular professional responsibilities for the purpose of increasing capabilities to engage in health-related research.

An NIH fellowship application and award program that is designed to enable institutions to make National Research Service Awards to individuals selected by them for predoctoral and postdoctoral research training in specified shortage areas.

A Human Subjects term indcating a person having origins in the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

A meta-directory that enables application programs staff to easily find information about the people who work at NIH.

Negotiations are exchanges, in either a competitive or sole source environment, between the Government and offerors, that are undertaken with the intent of allowing the offeror to revise its proposal. These negotiations may include bargaining. Bargaining includes persuasion, alteration of assumptions and positions, give-and-take, and may apply to price, schedule, technical requirements, type of contract, or other terms of a proposed contract. When negotiations are conducted in a competitive acquisition, they take place after establishment of the competitive range and are called discussions.

Refers to an application not previously proposed, or one that has not received prior funding.

The study results submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) once clinical trials are completed. Application by a drug sponsor to FDA to approve a new pharmaceutical for sale and marketing in the United States under regulations 21 CFR 314, based on data from animal studies and clinical trials.

A new investigator is an individual who has not previously competed successfully for an NIH-supported research project other than the following small or early stage research awards: Pathway to Independence Award-Research Phase (R00) Small Grant (R03) Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15) Exploratory/Developmental Grant (R21) Clinical Trial Planning Grant (R34) Dissertation Award (R36) Small Business Technology Transfer Grant-Phase I (R41) Small Business Innovation Research Grant-Phase I (R43) Shannon Award (R55) NIH High Priority, Short-Term Project Award (R56) Additionally, an individual is not excluded from consideration as a ?New Investigator? if he/she has received an award from the following classes of awards: Training-Related and Mentored Career Awards Fellowships (F05, F30, F31, F32, F34, F37, F38) Mentored-career awards (K01, K08, K22, K23, K25, K99-R00) Other mentored career awards (developmental K02 as used by NINDS and the developmental K07) Loan repayment contracts (L30, L32, L40, L50, L60) Note: Current or past recipients of non-mentored career awards that normally require independent research support (K02, K05, K24, and K26) are not considered new investigators. Instrumentation, Construction, Education, or Meeting Awards G07, G08, G11, G13, G20 S10, S15 X01, X02 R25 C06, UC6 R13, U13.

Supports small-scale research projects in the biomedical and behavioral sciences conducted by faculty and students at educational institutions that have not been major recipients of NIH research grant funds.

The focus of bioengineering issues at the NIH is the Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) which consists of senior-level representatives from each of the NIH institutes, centers, and divisions plus representatives of other federal agencies concerned with biomedical research and development.

The NIH Director's Pioneer Award supports individual scientists of exceptional creativity who propose pioneering approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research. The term ?pioneering? is used to describe highly innovative ? potentially transformative ? approaches having the potential to produce an unusually high impact, and the term ?award? is used to mean a grant for conducting research, rather than a reward for past achievements. Biomedical and behavioral research is defined broadly in this announcement as encompassing scientific investigations in the biological, behavioral, clinical, social, physical, chemical, computational, engineering, and mathematical sciences.

A consolidated resource of policy requirements that serve as the terms and conditions of NIH grant awards. It also provides general information about NIH?its organization, staff, and grants process. Current and historical versions of the NIHGPS can be found on the OER Grants Policy and Guidance webpage.

An electronic publication issued by NIH on a regular (weekly) basis which includes announcements of NIH institute initiatives (e.g., Requests for Applications and Program Announcements), policy notices, and contract opportunities for services and or/products from educational and nonprofit organizations.

The official publication for NIH?s medical and behavioral research grants policies, guidelines and funding opportunities. Go to Funding Opportunities and Notices.

NIHMS is a system developed by NIH, and allows users to deposit and manage manuscripts.

Also called the "EZ Accrual Database."

The reference number assigned to a final peer-reviewed manuscript when it is submitted to the NIHMS. It can be cited on applications, proposals or reports when the PMCID has not been assigned yet.

On the basis of evaluations of scientific merit, these applications are in the lower 50% of grant applications reviewed by an initial review group (IRG) and are not scored.

In-house review.

An extension of time to a project period and/or budget period to complete the work of the grant or contract under that period, without additional Federal funds or competition. For grants issued under expanded authorities, a principal investigator does not need approval from NCI to extend a project period one time for up to twelve months. An extension of a contract's period of performance requires a bilateral contract modification.

Examples: Construction (C06) grants, Cancer Center (P30/P20/U54) grants, Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) (P50) grants, Cancer prevention and control grants, Training (F31-F36 & T32/T35/T36) grants such as the National Research Service Awards (NRSAs), Research Career Program Grants (K Series), Cancer Education Program (R25), Clinical Cooperative Groups (U10), Scientific Evaluation (U09), Resource Grants (R24/U24), Conference Grants (R13), Exploratory Grants/Cooperative Agreements (U56)

Those applications which will be reviewed noncompetitively, rather than through the usual competitive review process. Also, an ongoing grant whose award is contigent on a grantee's submitting a PHS 2590 progress report to the NCI as the condition of getting further support. An application for a year of continued support for a funded grant. Applications for this continued support do not undergo peer review, but are administratively reviewed by the Institute/Center (i.e., NCI) and receive an award based on prior award commitments.

A financial assistance award for a subsequent budget period within a previously approved project period for which a recipient does not have to compete with other applicants.

An ongoing grant whose award is contingent on the completion of a progress report as the condition for the release of money for the following year.

The Public Health Service (PHS) noncompeting grant progress report is submitted to the NIH by a grantee to report progress and to continue funding for a grant's out years. The form is submitted annually, two months before the beginning of a new budget period. NIH has an electronic Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process (eSNAP or SNAP) for submitting the PHS 2590; award notices identify whether a grant is eligible for use of eSNAP.

Lower 50 percent of applications in the study section?criterion and impact scores provided by assigned reviewers but no discussion at meeting.

"NP" is noted on the vote sheet for a study section or special emphasis panel review group when a reviewer is not present for the review of a grant application; please note that this term is not used if the reviewer is absent because of a conflict-of-interest (in such cases, "CF" is noted instead).

A judgment made by a scientific review group for applications when the merit of the proposed research is not significant and substantial enough to warrant a further review, or that there are serious human subject, animal welfare, or other concerns. The study section does not recommend funding; the application cannot be funded by an institute.

Official notification to the applicant that the project is being funded by the Institute. This official award document is signed by the Grants Management Officer. It contains or references all the terms and conditions of the grant and provides the documentary basis for recording the obligation of Federal funds in the Department's accounting system.

When the application receives an SRG assignment, a computer- generated letter is sent to the applicant and business office. This letter indicates the Assignment Number, the SRG, the SRA with address and phone number, the IC assignment with address and phone number, and the Council date. In addition, this letter states that the principal investigator should contact the SRA with any questions, concerns, or other issues that may arise before the review, and should contact the program staff in the IC with any questions after the review is completed.