All of Us (AoU) University of Arizona-Banner Health
Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network (PGRN)
Seed Grant Request for Proposals
Introduction and Background:
The All of Us (AoU) Research Program is part of an effort to advance individualized health care by enrolling one million or more participants to advance precision medicine research and fuel new insights into human health. The program aims to reflect the diversity of the United States; to include participants from groups that have been historically underrepresented in health research in the past; and, to be inclusive and accessible to a wide range of scientists. This NIH funded program is developing custom tools and software to help researchers analyze participant data while keeping information secure. Learn more about AoU at AllofUs.nih.gov. The Researcher Workbench houses data at three levels of data accessibility: 1) public tier with interactive Data Browser, 2) registered tier, and 3) controlled tier, which includes genomic data. Notably, the most recent release of new data includes 245,350 whole genomes as well as participant data on social determinants of health (SDoH), EHR, and other participant provided information (PPI) to enable new opportunities for research. The depth of genomic data in diverse participants, coupled with electronic health record (EHR) and SDoH/PPI data enables researchers to launch a wide variety of new studies.
This grant announcement solicits proposals to pursue seed grants to inform two objectives:
1) Encourage investigators to leverage AoU Researcher Workbench data to:
a. conduct studies using AoU data relevant to investigator-specific research question(s) and study aims, including both clinical and/or omics studies using the controlled and/or registered tiers;
b. prepare peer reviewed publications and disseminate findings;
c. engage and develop an active and diverse research investigator cohort in our region and with community partners.
2) Participate as research partners in continuous improvementregarding access to the AoU Research support resources. Findings and feedback from seed grant study investigators will inform AoU program staff in further developing resources for technical assistance. We will conduct monthly meetings with all awardees and support staff to facilitate a community around AoU-based research and discovery. Help us help you!
Description:
The UArizona/Banner AoU Research program seeks to identify and empower diverse research projects that take advantage of the AoU Researcher Workbench infrastructure. The AoU Seed Grants are designed to jump-start projects that leverage and interrogating the AoU data repositories relative to important lines of inquiry. AoU Seed grants may be single or multi-investigator awards providing up to $40,000 (inclusive of indirect costs) per competitive grant awarded.
Our goal is to fund one seed grant proposal focused in precision health. Our expectation at the conclusion of the award is for the seed grants to lead to peer reviewed publications and dissemination. (See citations, to date, resulting from AoU Research Workbench data.) Possible approaches include, but are not limited to:
- The use of participant-provided health information (validated survey instruments) and electronic health record (EHR) data to investigate original research questions, to validate existing epidemiological and/or clinical evidence, and to demonstrate potential for novel approaches and analyses in the diverse AoU dataset.
- The discovery of new genetic variants, genome-wide and phenome-wide association studies, and/or polygenic risk scores.
- Studies of ancestral and genetic influences versus social and environmental influences and how those impact health.
- Proposals to support lines of inquiry and participatory research on health questions for/with underserved, vulnerable, and minority populations.
Eligibility
This AoU Seed Grant is open to Principal Investigators who are members of the Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network (PGRN). Access to the AoU Researcher Workbench is available only to registered researchers with an institutional Data Use and Registration Agreement (DURA) and grant awardees must be from institutions with an active, approved AoU DURA. Proposals with diverse representation amongst the study team are welcome and highly encouraged. Proposals are reviewed using the following criteria:
a) commitment to advance scholarly research and dissemination of results through peer reviewed publication in keeping with the aims of AoU program;
b) feasibility assessment of study question(s)/aims relative to identification of AoU descriptive statistics/data categories from public tier summary data;
c) overall significance and merit of proposal;
d) consistency of project with AoU core values, Data Security Policies, and Privacy and Trust Principles, including prohibition of stigmatizing research and re-identification of participants;
e) evidence key personnel are experienced and qualified to conduct the study; and,
f) potential to grow diversity among researchers engaged in public health and/or precision medicine research.
Use of the Funds
Funds for awarded seed grant projects will be distributed as subawards on the UArizona-Banner OTA account. Time required to establish a subaward may delay the initial start of projects. Collaborative grants that include investigators from multiple institutions with an AoU DURA are allowed, but additional subaward processing times may be encountered. As funds originate from NIH, institution-specific NIH rates for indirect costs apply unless exemptions are acquired. The $40,000 grant amount includes institutional indirect costs, which should be reflected in the submitted budget.
The following provides a list of generally allowable costs:
- Indirect Costs at Institution-specific NIH rates (inclusive of $40,000 total award amount)
- Effort for PI(s) (Current NIH Salary Cap Applies).
- Effort for other key personnel and non-key personnel supporting research aims.
- Please note that, if needed, statistical analyst, bioinformatician, and/or health informatician effort will be available at no cost to the seed grant award budget and available effort distributed based on need across funded projects (approximately 0.25 FTE during the budget period). Additionally, UArizona AoU leadership, program management staff, and individuals experienced in the AoU Workbench are available for consultations throughout the award period.
- Computational and data storage costs. Example costs are included in the draft budget. $300 in free computational cost credits are available to all new users of the workbench.
The following provides a partial list of nonallowable costs:
- Experimental reagents and consumable research supplies. Due to the nature of AoU workbench research, these costs are not expected and will not be permitted without sufficient and compelling justification.
- Graduate tuition remission (graduate student effort is allowable).
- Equipment.
- Domestic and International Travel Costs.
- Cost for personnel from additional external institutions
- Peer review publication or open access fees.
- Any unallowable costs listed in NIH Grants policy 14.10.2 (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps/html5/section_14/14.10_allowable_and_unallowable_costs.htm).
Funds should be expended between March 1, 2024 – August 31, 2024, after which a no-cost extension may be granted, contingent on approval of a no-cost extension for the parent OTA award.
Timeline:
January 19, 2024 Proposals due by 5pm MST
January 31, 2024 Funding Decisions Communicated
March 1, 2024 Earliest Budget Period Start Date; Funds available for expenditure
August 31, 2024 Latest Budget Period End Date; All funds must be expended. A no-cost extension may be granted, contingent on approval of a no-cost extension for the parent OTA award.
Proposal Format
Proposal narratives must not exceed three (3) pages (single-spaced, 11-point font (smallest), 0.5 inch margins). Suggested fonts: Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, or Tahoma. Reduced, legible font sizes in figures and legends are acceptable. All documents, except the budget sheet, should be saved and submitted as PDF files. The budget sheet should be submitted as an editable Excel document.
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Full Proposal Proposals require the following: Cover Sheet (not counted against page limit), Proposal Narrative, and Required Supplemental Documents listed below (not counted against page limit). i) Descriptive Title of Proposal. ii)Principal Investigator(s): Name, Department, College, Rank, Contact Information. iii) Co-Investigators/Key personnel: Name, Department, College, Rank, Contact Information (student assistants and non-key personnel should be noted on the budget). iv) Keywords/Key phrases: Include up to five keywords or key phrases. b) Proposal Summary: Include a summary or abstract of your proposal. A self-contained description of the proposed work and outcomes that would result if funded should be included. This should be understandable to a scientifically or technically literate lay reader. c) Proposal Narrative: The proposal narrative is limited to three pages and should include: i) Brief description of the specific aims or objectives. The scope of the project should be reasonable, feasible, and managed within the study timeframe. Please note: It is important to review and briefly describe the descriptive statistics (or data categories) using the public data browser. These data should be used to assess evidence of target participant population(s), condition(s) of interest, and related data domains relevant to the feasibility of your research question and aims within the AoU Workbench. ii) Significance, expected outcomes, and description of how such outcomes may enrich the AoU UA/Banner research program and contribute advances to scholarly research in precision medicine and health. iii) Methods and description of how the work will be carried out. iv) Brief description as to why the PI and key personnel are qualified to conduct the study. c) Required Supplemental Documents i) References cited (Suggest a reference style used when submitting a journal article in your field). ii) PI’s CV or biosketch (Multi-PI applications are allowed). iii) Key personnel CV or biosketches. iv) Budget (see example budget) with budget justification notes only as needed for clarity. As funds originate from NIH, institution-specific NIH rates for indirect costs apply unless exemptions are acquired. The $40,000 grant amount includes institutional indirect costs. If an indirect cost exemption has been granted, evidence of this exemption is required before award processing. v) We request that the PI and key personnel attest to their compliance with data security and participant data privacy. All funded proposals are expected to comply with applicable institutional research policies, including but not limited to: human subjects, conflict of interest, HIPAA, and AoU data security and privacy policies. AoU data repositories and extracted data cohorts are kept in secure cloud spaces and access does not require IRB approval. PIs and key personnel must review the AoU data security policies. Notably:
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d) Award Requirements and Reporting
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Grant Deadlines Dates: Informational Meeting/Q&A: December 4, 3pm MST (Optional) Zoom link register Submission Deadline: January 19th; 5 pm MST Award Announcements: January 31st, 2024 Award Period (Up to 6 months): March 1, 2024-August 31, 2024 Award Amount: Not to exceed $40,000 per award, inclusive of indirect costs | Submit proposals via email, subject line : AoU Seed Grant Proposal_PILastName to aou-research@email.arizona.edu For questions, feedback, support contact:
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