New Investigator Awards

Eligibility Requirements

•  Eligibility and Application FAQs
  • What is expected under the specific headings “Methodological development and innovative strategies” and “Analytical Approach”. Should it be separated as “Methodological development and innovative strategies”: How you are collecting your data. And “Analytical Approach”: how you are analyzing your data?

    Our descriptions were meant to correspond to the ordinary and familiar sections of an NIH Research Plan, (as in the SF 424/PHS 398 description) however we did take the liberty of making the usual headings a bit more conversational in appearance and that may have led to your concerns. Keep in mind also, however, that the New Investigator Award is an “investigator-initiated project” so you would be responsible for defining and defending all aspects of your study to reviewers within the Major Sections. (NACC itself does not review nor take part in the review of these applications, that is the province of the elected Scientific Review Committee.)

    Here are the more familiar section headings of the PHS 398 Research Plan (Specific Aims, Significance, Innovation, Approach) and how they relate to the headings that were included in our announcement.

    • A. Research question/hypothesis and brief rationale (approximately one-half page):

      SPECIFIC AIMS: what research questions/hypotheses will the study address?

    • B. Background (approximately one page):

      SIGNIFICANCE: what is the scientific basis for the AIMS? Why are they important?

    • C. Overall significance of the research (approximately one-half page):

      SIGNIFICANCE: how will the field benefit if the AIMS are achieved?

    • D. Methodological development and innovative strategies (2 pages maximum)

      INNOVATION: what established basis and “innovative clinical, laboratory and/or statistical designs and methods will be brought to bear on completing the AIMS; Are the AIMS themselves innovative?

    • E. Analytic Approach (3 pages maximum):

      APPROACH: What is your experimental/observational design? …rationale for source and selection of participants; magnitude of potential effect, sample size and power…; detailed laboratory and statistical methods. How will you actually “do” each AIM individually and ensure that the result is valid and interpretable?

  • We have an investigator who will submit a two-year project for the Traditional Track; would you please confirm we should combine all costs for both years to list on the PHS 398 Initial Budget Period form in one year?
    Yes, you should combine all costs. No need to break out costs by year on Budget Justification. Please submit just one detailed budget form for both years.
  • Could you confirm whether I should list the sponsor for this application as University of Washington, NIA, or NACC?
    The Sponsor is the University of Washington.
  • Should we use our ADRC’s full federally negotiated F&A rate on our budget?
    Yes, please use the F&A rate that you would use if you were applying directly to the NIH.
  • I was wondering if letters of support (besides the ADRC head letter) are allowed and/or encouraged for this award?
    Along with the required letter from your ADRC Director, you can include letter(s) from your Mentor(s). You can also include a letter if it shows approved access to specific data or lab materials or imaging etc. that might not be paid for by the New Investigator Award and would support your ability to do the study. Letters supporting your academic achievements or character references, while nice, are not necessary for the New Investigator Award.
  • If I use less space than is recommended for one of the components (e.g., 2 pages for the analytical approach), can I allocate the additional space (1 page) to another component? In other words, do I have 7 pages to lay out my research plan or should I adhere to the page limits outlined in the instructions (so if I use 2 out of 3 pages for my analytical approach, my research plan will only be 6 pages)?
    Yes, provided you stay within the 7-page limit you can add your additional component.
  • Do I have to keep the methodological development and analytical approach components separate or can they be integrated (e.g., methodological development for Aim 1, analytical approach for Aim 1; methodological development for Aim 2, analytical approach for Aim 2)?
    Yes, you can integrate the methodological development and analytical approach for each Aim as long as they are addressed in your research plan.
  • Will you confirm the IDC rate applicants should use on New Investigator Award budgets? Is it the federal negotiated rate for our institution or does this award fall under a lower IDC category?
    New Investigator Award proposals should use the federally negotiated IDC rate of their ADRC.
  • I am an assistant Professor, appointed 3 years ago but an mPI of a R01 grant (not a corresponding PI), would this exclude me from applying to this award?
    Yes, being an mPI on an existing R01 will exclude you from the NACC award competition.
  • My position is classified as a "Research Associate" and is consistent with that of a mentored, postdoctoral training position that additionally meets my capacity to function as a research clinician (DPT/PhD) at our institution that is necessary for my clinical translational research project in ADRD. Does my position meet the eligibility criteria to apply for this award?
    Yes, the intent of the New Investigator Awards is to provide funding for early career and new investigators who have not received an R01 or similar type funding, and who are not classified as Senior Investigators.
  • I am a postdoctoral researcher at an ADRC. Do researchers with a temporary visa status (F1- OPT) eligible to apply for the New Investigator Awards?
    At the time of application, you must have a visa status that shows that you will be eligible to remain in the United States through the latest possible end date of the award, 06/01/2024.
  • If the investigator from our subaward institution is interested in applying, does this mean they will need to apply through the Prime institution that has the ADRC award?
    Yes, the ADRC Director must provide a letter acknowledging that the applicant is actually “affiliated with” (i.e., a known participating researcher/clinician with the ADRC). The applicant does not have to be a formally listed “co-investigator” on the ADRC grant per se but acknowledged by the Director as a researcher/clinician in the studies supported by the infrastructure of the ADRC. The funds will be dispersed through the ADRC institution’s subcontract with NACC.
  • Are investigators from Exploratory ADRCs eligible to apply?
    Yes
  • I am a cardiologist working closely with an ADRC and I am interested in knowing if I am eligible for this RFA by the NACC New Investigator Awards?
    If your research your application proves you are “engaging in research related to Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases” and you are connected closely with research at an ADRC, you are eligible to apply. Please include a Letter of Acknowledgement from your ADRC Director with your application.
  • Is there a limit to the number of applications a single center can submit?
    No, we do not have a limit on the number of applications an ADRC can submit.
  • Our ADRC is a non-academic institute, so our investigator’s titles do not follow the academic ranking system (e.g faculty ranks). If an applicant has a position that is equivalent to that of an assistant professor, are they eligible to apply? And do we need to include any documentation confirming such equivalency?
    Yes, if your positions are equivalent, you are eligible to apply for the New Investigator Awards. Please include a 1-2 sentence note about the equivalency in your final application.
  • My project focuses on the cellular and molecular investigations of a new treatment approach for Alzheimer’s Disease using cell lines and transgenic animal models. Since my proposal will not involve human subjects or data analysis, I would like to know whether my study qualifies for the NACC New Investigator Award?
    Yes, your project would qualify for the New Investigator Award, as there is no strict “requirement” that basic science/animal model applications would be excluded from New Investigator Award applications. (There is also NO requirement to use NACC data, per se)
  • I am wondering whether investigators outside my organization can be consultants. Do they need to be affiliated with ADRC?
    There is no specific restriction on consultants. However, the consultants must also be “acceptable” to ADRC Director as consistent with the project; and perhaps more importantly that the Investigator themselves is primarily involved and “doing” the study as well as benefiting from the educational experience of completing a project.
  • Does the NACC new investigator award accept multiple PIs in the application?
    The intent is that there would be only a single PI, since the purpose is to provide essentially “pre-K” or pre R01 support for a single individual. While we have not specifically tested that premise with a vote of the Steering Committee at this point, we would expect that we would at least say that single PI is “strongly preferred.”
  • Does the NACC new investigator award accept data collection in the project?
    Data collection may always occur within the project, such that it is related to the research question which the subject of the application. Applications with only the goal of “collecting data” would be regarded as non-responsive or simply low impact.
  • Are New Investigator Awards independent from other sources of funding?
    You can apply for a New Investigator Award even if you have received funding from another award or other funding source(s).
  • Does NACC honor the NIH 12-month extension within the 5 year-of-rank eligibility for parental leave or other qualified reason for absence?
    Yes, the NIH 12-month extension applies to the New Investigator Award funding as well.
  • I was looking for information on the allowable indirect cost of the New Investigator Award. Could you please clarify if there are any restrictions regarding indirect costs?

    The restrictions for indirect costs the New Investigator Awards:

    • Award Funding Amount: The maximum total funding for each project will be $135,000, which is inclusive of any indirect costs.
    • If the project is awarded funding by the Steering Committee, NACC will distribute the award to the Center Director as part of the Center's annual NACC sub-award.
    • The Director will be responsible for redistributing the funds internally (via an appropriate internal accounting mechanism) to the New Investigator and for tracking these project costs independently of expenditures associated with other NACC projects in the same funding cycle.

    Since The New Investigator Award is a supplement to the Center's NACC sub-award, the indirect cost rate is the same as your ADRC's rate. Please refer to your Center's NACC sub-award for details.

  If your question is not addressed in the FAQ, please contact us at info@naccdata.org