Seed Grants for Networking Event in Health Disparities and Chronic Diseases

Description:

UConn’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) offers seed grants for faculty at UConn Storrs, UConn Health, and the regional campuses who are InCHIP Network Members. 

The Institute for Collaboration on Health Intervention and Policy proudly announces this RFA for pilot studies to address health disparities. This award will provide up to $10,000 in funding for a pilot study that aims to address, prevent, or mitigate the impact of health disparities chronic diseases in the United States.

These awards are only available to UConn Faculty who attended InCHIP's Networking Event held on November 13th 2023 around Health Disparities of Chronic Diseases. While we understand team formation will largely take place after the event, the Contact PI for each proposal should have attended the Networking event.

What are Health Disparities?

Health disparities are health outcomes (such as disease morbidity or mortality) that unequally impact specific populations more than others. These outcomes reflect societal inequalities and are often experienced by individuals from groups whose identities have been historically and contemporarily marginalized or minoritized (most commonly associated with racial/ethnic minorities, immigrant/migrant/refugee status, LGBTQI identities, women, and low socioeconomic status). The etiology of health disparities represents a complex interplay of biological, behavioral, environmental, societal, and institutional factors, and thus intervention and prevention require complex, intersectional, and multisectoral approaches.

Health Disparity Populations:

Projects should include a focus on one or more NIH-designated health disparity populations in the United States, which include Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations of any race, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minorities living in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, tribal lands, and the U.S. territories.

Proposal Guidelines:

Use the Application Guide below. Make sure to complete all sections, save the document to your computer, and upload via the application below.

• Format: Proposals must be single-spaced, in Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri font size no smaller than 12-point type, left-aligned with one inch margins. Do not include appendices.Your proposal should be collated and sent as one PDF document including letters of support and biosketches. Proposals that do not conform to guidelines will be returned to the PI.
• Writing Style: Remember that many members of review committees will not have specific expertise in your area and that proposals should be written for a broad academic audience.
• Protection of Human Subjects and Animals: Investigators are expected to receive approval from the IRB for human subjects or from IACUC for animal model studies before beginning their study.

Pilot studies may include any of the following: 

• Projects that focus on chronic disease-related health disparities and the factors that influence them.
• Projects that address disparities experienced by any subpopulations or groups (see list of health disparities populations above as defined by the National Institute of Health)
• Projects with interventions that address issues either downstream (individual level) or upstream (macro/meso/structural level issues such as policies, institutions, healthcare, etc).
• Projects that seek to develop novel measurement/assessment strategies that will advance the field of health disparities research.
• Projects that include formative research that will inform intervention development or adaptation.  
• Projects working towards identifying barriers, facilitators, and mediators are encouraged. 

This award will not fund projects that: 

• Exclusively address disparities based on biological variables such as phenotype. 
• Solely focus on observing or quantifying the extent of a disparity. Projects should aim towards examining underlying processes, making causal inferences, or improving or mitigating the impact of health disparities of chronic diseases.
  
• Focus on health disparities outside of the US. 

These awards are only available to UConn Faculty who attended InCHIP's Networking Event held on November 13th 2023 around Health Disparities of Chronic Diseases. While we understand team formation will largely take place after the event, the Contact PI for each proposal should have attended the Networking event.

• The Principal Investigator (PI) must have an advanced degree (e.g., PhD, MD, PharmD), have an eligible faculty appointment at UConn Storrs, UConn Health, or one of the regional campuses, and be eligible to submit external grants through InCHIP or UConn Health. To view the complete list of faculty eligible to act as a PI, please see this list from the OVPR. 
• Leadership Roles: While research teams can include students, post docs, faculty from other institutions and other external collaborators, our goal is to support interdisciplinary teams led by UConn faculty. For this reason, team leaders should be UConn faculty with continuing appointments who meet the OVPR’s PI criteria (see above).

A Note for Junior Faculty, New Investigators, and Early Career Investigators:

Due to the size of this award and the potential for the success of extramural applications, it is strongly encouraged that teams that include principal investigators who meet the criteria of new investigator or early career investigator should also include a principal investigator who has a track record of receiving external funding.

At the completion of the two-year award, awarded PIs who are new investigators or early career investigators will be strongly encouraged to participate in InCHIP’s Grant Writing Bootcamp or other relevant grant writing training programs as they prepare their proposal for external funding.

It is extremely important for applications to include a plan to pursue external funding following the completion of the pilot study. Prior to submission, applicants should identify potential funding mechanisms and/or funders whose goals, missions, and funding history is in alignment with their project. Please read the instructions in the application guide carefully regarding how the planned pilot project will inform future extramural funding applications. 

We have included below some funders and funding mechanisms that may be relevant to applicants. These mechanisms may also help applicants consider how funders frame and approach health disparities research. It may be especially helpful to consider the approaches of 

National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as they are strong leaders in this field. 

Example Funding Mechanisms:

• Interventions to expand cancer screening and preventive services to ADVANCE health in populations that experience health disparities
• Patient-Clinician Relationship: Improving Health Outcomes in Populations that Experience Health Care Disparities
• (NOSI): Addressing the Etiology of Health Disparities and Health Advantages Among Immigrant Populations
• NOSI: Health Disparities and Alzheimer's Disease
• (NOSI): Research Addressing Eye and Vision Health Equity/Health Disparities
• NOSI: NIDCD Health Disparities and Inequities Research
• Basic Research in Cancer Health Disparities
• Health and Health Care Disparities Among Persons Living with Disabilities
• (NOSI): Disparities Affecting Healthcare Utilization and Health Outcomes Among Childhood Cancer Survivors
• Interventions on Health and Healthcare Disparities on Non-Communicable and Chronic Diseases in Latin America: Improving Health Outcomes Across the Hemisphere
• Health Care Models for Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions from Populations that Experience Health Disparities: Advancing Health Care towards Health Equity
• Understanding the Impact of Healthcare System and Clinician Factors on Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
• (NOSI): Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Initiative in Reducing and Eliminating Health Disparities with a focus on addressing diverse representation in research on Down syndrome
• Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment or Prevention (SBIRT/P) for alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) use and misuse in adult populations that experience health disparities
• Interventions to Address HIV-Related Comorbidities among Highly Affected Populations Experiencing Health Disparities
• (NOSI): Interventions to promote mental well-being in populations that experience health disparities through social, cultural, and environmental connectedness
• Comprehensive Care for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus from Populations with Health Disparities
• (NOSI): Preventive Interventions to Address Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Populations that Experience Health Disparities
• (NOSI): Biologic Factors Underlying Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Health Disparities
• (NOSI): Research to Address Vaccine Uptake and Implementation among Populations Experiencing Health Disparities
• Evidence for Action: Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity
• Coordinating Center to Support Multi-Sectoral Preventive Interventions that Address Social Determinants of Health in Populations that Experience Health Disparities

• Innovation: Is this a new research area, project, or collaboration? Priority is placed on new ideas for projects that involve cross-department and/or cross-college (interdisciplinary) connections among UConn faculty.
• Significance: Does the proposed project make a significant difference to science and/or human health? What problem does the proposed study solve? Or what gap in knowledge does it fill?
• Are the goals of the project clear and in alignment with the planned activities? Proposals should have a well-articulated plan of activities that include appropriate literature review, clear objectives, and a detailed methodology.
• Team composition and experience: Teams should ideally be comprised of investigators who range in discipline, seniority, and experience. If there is a junior investigator leading the team, teams should also include experienced investigators in leadership roles to help support the planned activities and future extramural funding applications. We strongly encourage multidisciplinary and cross-campus collaborations.
• Does the team have a timeline and plan for achieving their goals? Proposals must include a specific product (e.g., external grant proposal) and a timeline for its attainment.
• To what extent is the proposal aligned with the mission of InCHIP?
• Relevance to the Networking Event Theme: This mechanism was developed to help incentivize cross disciplinary and cross-campus collaborations among UConn Faculty that emerge from the 11/13 networking event in the space of health disparities and chronic diseases.
• Does the proposal provide evidence for access to the population of interest? For example, building partnerships with community organizations, clinics, or hospitals can demonstrate points of access. Likewise, for studies using secondary data analysis having a description of how the team will gain access to the data is vital.

InCHIP invites Seed Grant proposals with budgets up to $10,000. Seed Grants are awarded for up to two years after award.

Allowable Costs

• Personnel who are essential for conducting the research project, such as graduate research assistants and student labor.
• Individuals who are not on the regular state payroll (i.e., consultants and other off-campus assistance) may be hired to perform special research-related tasks as needed.
• Resources that require fee-for-services within UConn.
• Participant incentives for recruitment or study participation.
• Out-of-state travel that is necessary to conduct the research.
• Equipment necessary for conducting the research (“equipment” is defined as an article of tangible, non-expendable personal property that costs $5,000 or more).
• Project supplies, including drugs and services.
• Other specifically authorized expenses essential for carrying out the project.

Not-Allowable Costs:

• The salary of any Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, or other faculty member who has an appointment at UConn Storrs, UConn Health, or any of the UConn campuses. This includes Connecticut Children’s faculty with joint appointments.
• Living expenses.
• Laptops or desktop computers, unless used exclusively for the project and not for any other activities.
• Service/maintenance contracts on equipment.
• Laboratory renovations or other infrastructure renovations.
• Institutional and/or individual memberships in professional organizations.
• Travel to professional meetings to present the results of the research, or any conference attendance.
• Indirect costs, including clerical and administrative personnel salaries.
• Costs associated with the publication of results of the research, such as the purchase of reprints.
• Investigator training costs, including tuition.

The awarded PIs are responsible for obtaining all required approvals for the research from their relevant IRB(s). Please visit the UConn IRB website for more information on IRB approval for research conducted at the UConn Storrs Campus, the five regional campuses, the School of Law and the School of Social Work. For more information on IRB approval for research conducted at UConn Health, please visit the UConn Health IRB website.

Awardees will be required to submit a brief progress report after 6 months, a final report at the conclusion of the project or award period, and periodic check-ins over the following 5 years to track external grant applications/awards stemming from the seed grant. Changes to the project’s objectives, PIs, and budget will require prior approval from InCHIP staff.

Detailed awardee instructions/requirements will be distributed to seed grant winners when they are notified of the award decisions. All awardee requirements described above are subject to change in accordance with updated institutional procedures (e.g., routing requirements).