Indo-U.S. Program on MCH and Human Development Research

[Guest guest]

Indo-U.S. Program on Maternal and Child Health and Human Development

Research

Notice Number: NOT-HD-05-006, Release Date: January 10, 2005

Issued by: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

(NICHD), (http://www.nichd.nih.gov/)

The Republic of India and the United States of America share a

strong commitment to improve the health and well being of women,

children, and adolescents through the expansion of cooperative

biomedical and behavioral research. Although the health of women,

children, and adolescents has improved significantly in both

countries, it is recognized that important research questions remain

to be answered in order to achieve additional reductions in

morbidity and mortality. Building on a 30-year history of maternal

and child health research cooperation, representatives of India and

the United States signed a joint statement on June 13, 2000 to

enhance this cooperation through an expanded program of Maternal and

Child Health and Human Development Research.

Program Structure

The Indo-U.S. Program on Maternal and Child Health and Human

Development Research (MCHDR) is administered by a Secretariat

consisting of staff from the U.S. and Indian nodal agencies. The

nodal agencies are the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and

Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health

(NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Indian

Council for Medical Research (ICMR) of the Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare (MHFW) . Indian collaborating agencies involved in

support of this program include the Department of Women and Child

Development, MHFW, the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of

Science and Technology, and the National AIDS Control Organization.

U.S. collaborating agencies include other NIH Institutes and

Centers, other Department of Health and Human Services agencies, the

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA).

In addition to the Secretariat, the overall scientific goals and

procedures are overseen by a Joint Working Group (JWG) consisting of

independent U.S. and Indian investigators and staff from

participating agencies with expertise covering the range of topics

to be addressed by the MCHDR program.

Scope of the Program

The goal of the MCHDR program is to " facilitate collaboration on

maternal and children's health and human development research, in

part, to contribute to global understanding of the causes of

morbidity and mortality in women, particularly mothers, children and

adolescents. " To address shared women and children's health and

developmental research concerns, Indian and U.S. scientists will

undertake a coordinated program that will involve participation in

collaborative, peer-reviewed research projects, scientific workshops

and conferences, research training, and technology transfer.

Building on a history of productive biomedical and behavioral

research collaboration, this cooperation will be based on mutual

benefit, trust, and a shared commitment to the advancement of

scientific knowledge and its application to improve health.

Specific areas to be addressed within this program include, but are

not limited to:

• Prevention and treatment of leading causes of maternal, neonatal,

and pediatric morbidity and mortality (including toxemia,

hemorrhage, sepsis, birth asphyxia and trauma, accidents, diarrhea

and other infectious diseases, etc.);

• Prevention and treatment of low birth weight and intrauterine

growth retardation;

• Maternal and child nutrition and the role of micronutrients in

healthy child bearing and pediatric and adolescent health and

development;

• Birth defects, genetic disorders, and developmental research;

• Improved understanding of pathophysiology, prevention, and

treatment of infectious diseases in women and children, including

childhood asthma, acute respiratory tract infections,

gastrointestinal infections, reproductive tract infections,

malignancies, and HIV/AIDS;

• Reproductive health including socio-behavioral aspects, birth

practices, and evaluation of new contraceptives;

• Traditional systems of medicine and practices that have an

important impact on the health and wellbeing of women, children, and

adolescents;

• Emergency obstetric care for miscarriages and other problems of

pregnancy, including severe preeclampsia, hemorrhage, and embolism;

• Relationship among maternal nutrition, fetal growth/development,

and degenerative diseases in later life; and

• Analysis, consensus building, and policy formulation on public

health benefits of new approaches to improve maternal and child

health.

In addition, since the publication of the last Notice for the MCHDR

program (NOT-HD-03-010) several areas have emerged as high priority.

These include:

• Risk factors for maternal morbidity and mortality in India;

• Risk factors for adverse birth outcomes , including low birth

weight, intrauterine growth retardation, and other

• Risk factors for infant morbidity and mortality.

Application Requirements

Support of the U.S. components of MCHDR projects will be

accomplished using the NIH Small Grant (R03) award mechanism as

described in the Program Announcement for the NIH Small Research

Grant Program (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-

108.html). All applications must be completed using the most current

version of the PHS 398 application form, following instructions

provided in the R03.

Program Announcement.

Applications for R03 grants can be characterized as follows:

• Applicants for an R03 award may request a project period of up to

two years and a budget for direct costs of up to two $25,000 modules

or $50,000 per year;

• Small grant support is for new projects only; competing

continuation applications will not be accepted.

• Small grant support may not be used for thesis or dissertation

research;

• Only one revision of a previously reviewed small grant application

may be submitted;

• The Research Plan (Specific Aims, Background and Significance,

Preliminary Studies, and Research Design and Methods) of an

application for a small grant may not exceed a total of 10 pages;

• A Progress Report is not needed; competing continuation

applications for a small grant will not be accepted; and

• The appendix may include only original, glossy photographs or

color images of gels, micrographs, etc. provided that a photocopy

(may be reduced in size) is also included within the page limits of

the research plan. No publications or other printed material, with

the exception of preprinted questionnaires or surveys may be

included in the appendix.

Examples of the types of projects supported by NICHD through the

small grant (R03) mechanism include:

Pilot or feasibility studies; development of research methodology;

applied research; high risk/high payoff studies; development of new

research technology; small-scale, self-contained projects; and

analysis of existing datasets.

The application should propose a research project involving a

collaborative effort between the U.S. Principal Investigator and an

Indian scientist. Because this is a joint partnership between U.S.

(NICHD) and Indian (ICMR) agencies involving both dollar and rupee

funding decisions, it is essential that:

• Both NIH/NICHD and ICMR receive the identical Research Plan with

all pertinent details and a description of the relative role of the

U.S. and Indian collaborators;

• Justification must be provided for the collaboration and must

include all necessary supporting documents and signed agreements

from respective institutions; and

• U.S. applications must complete the requisite budgetary sections

in the PHS 398 form, and must include a description and

justification of the Indian component of the project.

Application Submission

U.S. applicants must submit applications according to standard

procedures described in the R03 Program Announcement. U.S.

applications must provide the title and number of this Notice on

line 2 of the face page of the application form PHS 398.

The Indian collaborator(s) must submit appropriate materials as

determined by the Indian Secretariat (contact information listed

below).

The deadline for the submission of R03 applications for U.S. funding

is March 1, 2005.

Evaluation Procedures

Small Grant (R03) applications assigned to the Institute are

evaluated for scientific and technical merit by Scientific Review

Groups convened by the NICHD Division of Scientific Review,

according to standard NIH review criteria.

After the initial and independent merit review by both partners, the

JWG will conduct a secondary review, coordinated by the CRHR

Secretariats, which will:

• Consider the results of the respective primary reviews conducted

according to the established institutional review procedures for the

nodal agencies, NICHD and ICMR;

• Determine responsiveness to program areas listed above;

• Assess the strength of the collaboration; and

• Determine relative priorities in the context of current MCHDR

program objectives.

Final funding decisions will be made based on mutual agreement of

both nodal agencies, NICHD and ICMR, and the availability of funds.

MCHDR Secretariats:

U.S. Secretariat MCHDR

J. Raiten, Ph.D.

Office of Prevention Research and International Programs

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

National Institutes of Health

6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 2A01, MSC 7510

Bethesda, MD 20892-7510

Telephone: (301) 435-7568

Email: raitend@...

Indian Secretariat MCHDR

N.C. Saxena

Deputy Director General

Chief, Division of Reproductive Health and Nutrition

Indian Council of Medical Research

Ansari Nagar

New Delhi 110029

Inquiries: For further information, contact:

Raiten, Ph.D.

Office of Prevention Research and International Programs and

Endocrinology, Nutrition and Growth Branch

Center for Research on Mothers and Children

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

National Institutes of Health

6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 2A01, MSC 7510

Bethesda, MD 20892-7510

Telephone:

(301) 435-7568 (direct)

(301) 435-7565 (main office)

(301) 435-0009 (fax)

Email: raitend@...