To
evaluate alternative, complementary, or unconventional medical treatments.
The following objectives support this goal: (1) Coordinate and facilitate
the investigation of alternative medical practices through peer-reviewed
grant solicitations; (2) Interface with the Center's National Advisory
Council; (3) Conduct technology assessment conferences for the purpose
of establishing areas of Clinical and Pre-clinical research that
need to be further developed within Alternative Medicine; (4) Maintain
a comprehensive bibliographic data base in conjunction with the
National Library of Medicine; (5) Develop and continue contacts
with international programs in complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM); and (6) Establish an intra- and extra-mural clinical research
fellowship program focusing on broad areas of clinical, scientific,
and administrative training in CAM. The major purpose of all of
these programs is to foster collaborations between practitioners
of CAM and individuals knowledgeable in biomedical research.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
Training. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Project
grants and cooperative agreements may be made to eligible institutions
for the support of various projects in CAM. The grants may be used
for personnel, consultant costs, equipment, supplies, travel, patient
costs, animals miscellaneous items, and indirect costs. For the
individual post-doctoral training grant, support is for salary of
the trainee, tuition and fees, self-only health insurance, research
supplies, equipment, travel to scientific meetings, and related
items.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: The awardee will be either a university,
college, hospital, public agency, nonprofit research institution,
or for-profit organization that submits an application and receives
a grant or cooperative agreement for support of research by a named
principal investigator.
Beneficiary
Eligibility: Any nonprofit or for-profit organization,
company, or institution engaged in biomedical research.
Credentials/Documentation:
For-profit organizations costs are determined by in accordance
with 48 CFR, Subpart 31.2 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations.
Costs will be determined in accordance with HHS Regulations 45
CFR 74, Subpart Q.
Pre-application
Coordination: No preapplication is required.
This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application
Procedure: Application form PHS-398 is the
standard form that can be obtained from the NIH homepage on the
Internet at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm Application
forms may also be obtained by contacting the NCCAM Division of
Extramural Research, Training, and Review at 301-496-4792. The
standard application forms, as furnished by PHS and required by
45 CFR, Part 92 for State and local governments, must be used
for this program. For the postdoctoral training program, application
form PHS- 416-1 should be used.
Award
Procedure: Award Procedure: All accepted applications
are evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate
scientific peer review panel and by a national advisory council
or board. All applications receiving a priority score ranging
from the best (100) to worst (500) compete for available funds
based on scientific merit, program relevance, and program balance
and are made annually. Initial award provides funds for the first
budget period (usually 12 months) and Notice of Grant Award (Form
PHS 1533) indicates support recommended for remainder of project
period, allocation of Federal funds by budget categories, and
special conditions, if any.
Deadlines:
New Grants and Cooperative Agreements: February 1, June 1, and
October 1. Renewals and Supplements: March 1, July 1, and November
1. Postdoctoral Training, April 5, August 5, and December 5.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: Grants and Cooperation
Agreement: Approximately 10 months. Training: For 9 months.
Appeals:
A principal investigator (P.I.) may question the substantive or
procedural aspects of the review of his/her application by communicating
with the staff of the Office. A description of the NIH Peer Review
Appeal procedures is available on the NIH homepage www.nih.gov/grants/guide/1997/97.11.21/n2.html.
Renewals:
Applications submitted for renewal are reviewed and selected for
funding on a competitive basis.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: This program has
no statutory formula or matching requirements.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Grants and
cooperative agreements: Average 3 to 4 years, maximum of 5 years.
Renewals may be awarded for additional periods of up to 5 years
based on competitive peer review. Funds are provided through Monthly
Demand Payment System or an Electronic Transfer System.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Progress reports are required each year. Annual financial status
report is required 90 days after the end of the budget period. Special
reports may be requested by the DHHS. Terminal reports are required
6 months after the end of the project.
Audits:
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised,
June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit
Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance
of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a
program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities
that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt
from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted
in Circular No. A-133. In addition, grants and cooperative agreements
are subject to inspection and audits by DHHS and other Federal
officials.
Records:
Expenditures and other financial records must be retained for
3 years from the day on which the grantee submits the last financial
status report for the report period.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 75-0896-0-1-552.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 01 $66,000,000; FY 02 est $74,000,000; and FY 03 est
$80,000,000.
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance:
From $125,000 to $3,000,000 for grants; Average: $300,000.
($22,000-$330,000 for training.)
In fiscal year 2001, 110 total grants were funded. It is estimated
that 117 grants will be funded in fiscal year 2002 and 124 grants
in fiscal year 2003. In fiscal year 2001, 16 centers were funded
using the Specialized Centers mechanism. Topics for these centers
include arthritis, botanicals, cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurology,
and pediatrics Several large clinical trials were in progress: Hypericum
for Depression; Acupuncture for Symptomatic Relief from Osteoarthritis;
Ginkgo biloba for Preventing Dementia; Shark Cartilage as an adjunctive
therapy for non-small Cell Lung Cancer; and Glucosamine/Chondroitin
for Osteoarthritis. Numerous investigator-initiated research grants
were studying the breath of CAM modalities including clinical and
basic studies of acupuncture, botanicals, chiropractic, distant
healing, homeopathy, massage therapy, magnet therapy and naturopathy
to name a few. Finally, individual postdoctoral and predoctoral
fellows and two institutional training awards were funded under
National Research Service Awards (NRSA).
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Grants will be available under the authority of and administered
in accordance with the PHS Grants Policy Statement and Federal regulations
at 42 CFR 52 and 42 U.S.C. 241.
NFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: Not applicable.
Headquarters
Office: Division of Extramural Research, Training
and Review, National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health
and Human Services, 6707 Democracy Blvd. Suite 401, Bethesda,
MD 20892-5475. Telephone: (301) 496-4792 Fax: (301) 402-4741.
Web
Site Address: http://www.nih.gov
EXAMPLES
OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
The Centers program is supporting a variety of on-going or planned
studies including the chiropractic treatment of temporomandibular
joint disease and lower back pain, the use of gingko biloba to treat
stroke, tibetan medicine for the treatment of metastatic breast
cancer, the evaluation of Korean ginseng for chemopreventive activity,
a multi-site randomized clinical trial of homeopathy for the treatment
of fibromyalgia, a pilot study of Kudzu for the treatment of alcoholism,
the efficacy of oral immunotherapy to reduce allergic rhinitis and
asthma, music therapy as an adjunct to conventional care for traumatic
brain injury, and basic science studies of acupuncture analgesia.
Also supported through investigator-initiated grants are basic research
investigations of chiropractic and traditional Chinese medicine,
clinical applications of alternative medicine for the treatment
of alcoholism, allodynia, Alzheimer's disease, attention deficient
syndrome, and autism.
CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
The major elements in evaluating proposals include assessments of:
(1) The scientific merit and general significance of the proposed
study and its objectives; (2) the technical adequacy of the experimental
design and approach; (3) the competency of the proposed investigator
or group to successfully pursue the project; (4) the adequacy of
the available and proposed facilities and resources; (5) the necessity
of the budget components requested in relation to the proposed project;
(6) the relevance and importance to the announced program objectives;
and (7) the interfacing of conventional researchers and technology
with unconventional/alternative clinicians for the purpose of providing
clinical and scientific collaborations when and where appropriate.
