Scholarships to improve health information services

Purpose of this program:

To improve health information services by providing funds to train professional personnel; to conduct research in biomedical informatics, bioinformatics and related computer and information sciences; to strengthen library and information services; to facilitate access to and management of health science information; to plan and develop advanced information networks and tools; to prepare certain kinds of biomedical publications; to advance biocomputing and bioinformatics through participation in the Biomedical Information Science and Technology Initiative (BISTI), and NIH Roadmap Initiatives relating to biomedical informatics,

bioinformatics and biomedical computing Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program: to increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal research and development; to stimulate and foster scientific and technological innovation through cooperative research development carried out between small business concerns and research institutions, to foster and encourage participation of socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned small business concerns in technological innovation, and to advance the field of biomedical informatics and bioinformatics, where new and emerging computer and information technologies are being developed by the small business, benefiting both public health and medical research.

Possible uses and use restrictions...

For all mechanisms of support, the award and use of funds is subject to applicable provisions of basic statutory authorities, appropriation acts, applicable regulations and operational policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine. RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAMS: Research Grants support scientific investigation into issues of biomedical informatics and bioinformatics, with a focus on the organization, processing, representation, and utilization of knowledge. The scope of NLM's research interests includes, but is not limited to: knowledge representation, data mining, natural language processing, feature recognition, process modeling, visualization and other applications of computer sciences to problems of medicine and biology. All Research grants provide support for direct costs and for facilities and administration costs at the institution's negotiated rate. Basic research grants provide up to $500,000 per year for up to 4 years. Exploratory/Developmental Research grants provide up to $275,000 in a 2-year period for feasibility testing. Small Research Project grants provide up to $50,00 per year for one or two years for preliminary research studies. Support may be requested for allowable direct costs of such projects as specified under National Institutes of Health and National Library of Medicine program guidelines and accompanying policies and regulations for research grants for costs, including equipment, supplies, personnel, and travel, as justified by the nature and scope of the project.vel, as justified by the nature and scope of the project. Institutional Training Grants and Fellowships promote the research career training of talented persons who seek academic careers in medical informatics research and applied informatics. Availability of Institutional Training Grants is announced occasionally. Institutional Training support may be at the pre- or post-doctoral level and may be awarded to academic health scientists well qualified to conduct the proposed training activities. Training sites are expected to have well established computer facilities, strong research and education programs, experienced faculty and staff committed to health computer science research, and available courses or experience in computer science, information science, and cognitive sciences. Institutional grants provide trainee stipends, tuition and fees, travel, and certain institutional support costs. Individual fellowships for Research Career Training in Medical Informatics and Applied Informatics are at the pre - and post-doctoral level. Fellowships for training in the Application of Informatics are also available, with salary replacement stipends up to $58,000 per annum. SBIR Phase I grants (of approximately 6-months' duration) are to establish the technical merit and feasibility of a proposed research effort that may lead to a commercial product or process. Phase II grants are for the continuation of the research initiated in Phase I and that are likely to result in commercial products or processes. Only Phase I awardees are eligible to receive Phase II support. STTR Phase I grants (normally of 1-year duration) are to determine the scientific, technical, and commercial merit and feasibility of the proposed cooperative effort that has potential for commercial application. Phase II funding is based on results of research initiated in Phase I and scientific and technical merit and commercial potential on Phase II application.

How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance

$45,000 to $2,000,000; $275,000 (direct costs).

Note: This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations

Obligations: (Grants) FY 03 $64,073,000; FY 04 est $66,321,000; and FY 05 est $68,648.

Note: The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.

Contact information...
Web Sites

* www.nlm.nih.gov/ep
* www.nih.gov
* www.hhs.gov

Regional Or Local Office

Not applicable.

Note: This section lists the agency contact person, address and telephone number of the Federal Regional or Local Office(s) to be contacted for detailed information regarding a program such as: (1) current availability of funds and the likelihood of receiving assistance within a given period; (2) pre-application and application forms required; (3) whether a pre-application conference is recommended; (4) assistance available in preparation of applications; (5) whether funding decisions are made at the headquarters, regional or local level; (6) application renewal procedures (including continuations and supplementals) or appeal procedures for rejected applications; and (7) recently published program guidelines and material. However, for most federal programs, this section will instruct the reader to consult the so-called Appendix IV of the Catalog due to the large volume of Regional and Local Office Contacts for most agencies. This information is provided in Additional Contact Information (see below).
Headquarters Office

Extramural Programs, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, MD 20894. Telephone: (301) 496-4621. Program Contacts: Telephone: (301) 594-4882. Grants Management Contact: Grants Management Officer: Telephone: (301) 496- 4221. Grant Review Contact: Scientific Review Administrator. Telephone: (301) 496-4253. Use the same numbers for FTS. Website: www.nlm.nih.gov/ep.

Note: This section lists names and addresses of the office at the headquarters level with direct operational responsibility for managing a program. A telephone number is provided in cases where a Regional or Local Office is not normally able to answer detailed inquiries concerning a program. Also listed are the name(s) and telephone number(s) of the information contact person(s) who can provide additional program information to applicants.