Deadlines:

White Paper: Friday, March 9, 2012
Committee Decision: Friday, March 30, 2012 (anticipated)
NIH SCORE Deadline: Wednesday, May 25, 2012

Program Synopsis

SCORE is a developmental program that seeks to increase the research competitiveness of investigators at minority-serving institutions with 50 percent or more enrollments of students from groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research, and to increase the research capabilities of these institutions. To better achieve these objectives, the SCORE Program offers separate funding opportunities for individual investigator-initiated research awards: Research Advancement (SC1), Pilot Projects (SC2) and Research Continuance (SC3). Research proposed under any of the investigator-initiated SCORE award mechanisms must fall within the scope of the NIH mission. NIH has three annual submission dates for SCORE proposals: Jan. 25, May 25 and Sept. 25.
SCORE Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) and FAQs:

• Research Advancement (SC1) – http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-026.html
• Pilot Project (SC2) – http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-027.html
• Research Continuance (SC3) – http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-028.html
• FAQs – http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Training/MBRS/SCOREUpdateFAQ.htm

Eligibility Information

Institution: Eligible minority-serving institutions (MSIs) may submit/hold a maximum of 25 individual investigator-initiated SCORE awards (SC1, SC2, SC3 and S06 subawards). Applications submitted/awarded in excess of this cap will be withdrawn. We expect that up to 3 PIs will be selected to submit proposals to NIH on the May 25, 2012 deadline.

PI: The following FAQs explain which faculty members are eligible to apply for SCORE awards (taken from http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Research/FeaturedPrograms/Minority/MBRS/SCOREUpdateFAQ.htm)
Q. At a SCORE-eligible institution, which faculty members are eligible to apply for SCORE SC research awards?
A. Only full-time individuals on regular faculty appointments may apply for SCORE SC awards if they are seeking to develop their research competitiveness and eventually transition to non-SCORE support. Research instructors, research assistant professors, research scientists, postdoctoral fellows, etc., are not eligible to apply for SCORE individual awards, as well as individuals who are considered to be fully developed as demonstrated by their record of publications and external support (see next question). In addition, PIs who currently have support from a K or any other career development award are ineligible to apply for SCORE as well as PIs who are receiving developmental support of over $75,000 per year from major institutional awards such as RCMI, INBRE, COBRE, RIMI and other Center or Program Project grants. PIs receiving equal or less than $75,000 per year of support from other federal grants may only apply for or receive SC3 awards.

Q. Which investigators are considered to be fully developed for the purposes of the SCORE developmental program?
A. The following investigators (PIs) are considered to be fully developed and are NOT eligible to apply for any of the SCORE individual awards:

• Faculty who have had a track record of significant non-SCORE external support (i.e., more than one funding cycle of NIH, NSF or other Federal or non-Federal support);
• Faculty who have current R01 or equivalent NIH support, NSF support or other significant Federal support or foundation grants;
• Retired or emeritus professors;
• Endowed or distinguished professors;
• Faculty who are productive PIs or co-investigators (co-PIs) of major program projects (e.g. P01, P20, U54, G12, RCMI, INBRE, COBRE, etc.); and
• Faculty who have received grants based on their distinguished research accomplishments or special research recognition awards (e.g. PECASE awardees).

Please note that PIs who have had one 5- or 4-year cycle of R01, R21 or NSF CAREER (not PECASE) support may apply for only one cycle of SC1 support.

CCNY Review Procedure and Priorities

Because CCNY may submit a limited number of SCORE proposals, priority will be given to faculty who are considered to be “Early Stage Investigators” (ESIs), as defined by the NIH. ESIs are New Investigators who are within 10 years of completing their terminal research degree or within 10 years of completing their medical residency at the time they apply for R01 grants. A New Investigator is one who has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award ( http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm#definition).
An anonymous committee consisting of CCNY faculty and staff will review your white paper and make recommendations to the Provost’s office for final decisions. You will receive the reviewers’ comments and rankings, but the reviewers will not be identified. If you are selected during this white paper competition but decide not to submit a proposal to NIH, you will not be eligible to compete in the competition for the next NIH deadline (May 2012). PIs selected to submit SC2 proposals will attend a proposal preparation workshop and will provide a draft proposal for review before submission.

White Paper Format

White Papers are limited to a total of 3 pages and must be written in size 11 font or larger with a margin of at least 0.75 inches all around. The only additional attachments allowed are prior reviews from NIH.
The following sections must be included in the white paper:

1. Project Details (1 page)
   1. Title: concise and descriptive.
   2. Principal Investigator: name the PI (note that co-PIs are not allowed on SCORE proposals).
   3. Type of Proposal: will your proposal will be an SC1, SC2 or SC3?
   4. NIH Institute(s): list specific institute(s) (in addition to NIGMS) may be interested in your proposal?
   5. PI Eligibility: state why you believe you are eligible for the particular type of SCORE proposal you plan to submit (SC1, SC2 or SC3). Be sure that you have thoroughly reviewed NIH’s eligibility guidelines (see above). It is essential that all PIs confirm their eligibility before submitting a SCORE proposal to NIH. Therefore, white papers that do not include this statement will NOT be reviewed.
   6. Previous proposals/awards: list all previous awards received from NIH, NSF or other Federal Agencies. If you submitted a previous SCORE proposal that was not funded, indicate the date submitted and the score you received.
   7. PI Status: indicate the year you were hired as a CCNY professor and whether you are tenured. Also indicate whether you are a “New” or “Early Stage” Investigator as defined by NIH (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/).
   8. Estimated Budget: indicate the estimated annual budget, as well as the total request from NIH.
   9. Collaborators and Consultants: list any collaborators or consultants with whom you plan to work, indicating the specific role of each (e.g., mentor).
2. Project Overview (1 page only)
1. Provide an overview of your project, including any information that you feel will help your proposal stand out during the NIH review.
2. Summarize your developmental objectives, including a plan and timeline to achieve them.
3. For resubmissions only, summarize the substantial additions, deletions and changes that have been made to improve the proposal.
3. Specific Aims (1 page only) – provide a standard one-page Specific Aims summary of your proposal.

Please email White Papers to Associate Provost Larry Bank (lbank2@ccny.cuny.edu), and cc Laura Bartovics (lbartovics@ccny.cuny.edu).