Vanderbilt University Medical Center may submit one application to the NIMHD Specialized Centers of Excellence on Minority Health and Health Disparities (U54) funding program. The purpose of this FOA is to further advance NIMHD’s mission by supporting centers of excellence to conduct transdisciplinary, multi-level research and to provide research opportunities for postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty and other early-stage investigators to engage in this type of research.
The thematic focus must revolve around one or more NIH-designated health disparity populations, which include blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska natives, Asian Americans, native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minorities. This focus may include multiple health disparity populations, a single health disparity population, or a subgroup within a health disparity population. The thematic focus may involve:
- Specific disease areas that disproportionately affect disparity populations and contribute substantially to health outcomes
- Prevention topics that cut across health conditions and populations
- Life course groups that incorporate selected components from above
- Understanding the etiology and mechanisms of diseases and health conditions in health disparity populations
- Evaluating intervention approaches to improve minority health or reduce health disparities
- Developing methodological approaches or addressing measurement issues
The award budget is limited to a total of $950,000 in direct costs per year, for a total of $4.75 million over the five-year project period.
Interested VUMC primary investigators are encouraged to consider opportunities for collaboration across all School of Medicine departments (both VUMC and VU) as appropriate to the thematic focus. Internal proposals will be forwarded to a VUMC faculty committee for review and recommendation to select the most competitive VUMC application to this program.
Review the funding opportunity announcement for required components and complete details.
Any VUMC investigators interested in applying to this program must submit the following (compiled in a single PDF) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. on March 27, 2017:
- Brief (two-page maximum) research plan including short description of the required cores, list of key personnel and summary budget;
- Brief statement of support from department chair/center director;
- CV or NIH Biosketch
Submissions should reference the program name in the subject line of the email.
Please direct any questions to Susan Meyn in the VUMC Office of Research.
