Applications Invited for US-India Collaborative Environmental Health Research Program

India US call for joint R&D Proposals in Environmental Health Research Program (Clinical Trials Optional)

About the Organization:

Department of Science & Technology (DST) was established with the objective of promoting new areas of Science & Technology and to play the role of a nodal department for organizing, coordinating and promoting S&T activities in the country. The Department of Science & Technology plays a pivotal role in promotion of science & technology in the country. The department has wide ranging activities ranging from promoting high end basic research and development of cutting edge technologies on one hand to service the technological requirements of the common man through development of appropriate skills and technologies on the other.

Purpose:

The purpose of the United States (U.S.)-India Program for Environmental Health Collaborative Research is to stimulate and promote collaborative basic, translational, and clinical research between U.S.-based researchers and Indian researchers and to gain a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of environmental insults on children and adults across all organ systems (e.g. pulmonary, cardiovascular, cancer, and neurological disorders).

The NIEHS and ICMR are interested in supporting collaborative research and research training through joint U.S.-India partnerships that address or seek to understand how exposures to toxic environmental insults alter biologic processes and are linked to disease initiation, progression, or morbidity. In addition, both agencies are interested in research that leads to the development of prevention and intervention strategies to reduce environmentally induced diseases. To promote these collaborative efforts from the outset, the partnering U.S. and Indian investigators must work jointly to submit identical applications to NIH and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), respectively.

Research Objectives

This FOA is intended to support collaborative research and research training through joint U.S.-India partnerships that address or seek to promote understanding how exposures to toxic environmental insults, specifically air pollution and its component chemicals (or the mixture of chemicals and other exposures that combined are considered air pollution), alter biologic processes and are linked to disease initiation, progression, or morbidity.

Applications may include collaborative research projects aimed at addressing the following areas of research relevant to the mission of the NIEHS including, but not limited to:

• Ambient air pollution from different sources and their multi-organ system health effects assessed from fundamental, epidemiological, or clinical research settings
• Epidemiological or clinical studies on children or adults as well as relevant animal models to understand impact of PM2.5 on pulmonary, cardiovascular, cancer, and neurological systems
• Impact of ambient air pollutants on preexisting disease conditions such as asthma, COPD, cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes, obesity, and neurological disorders
• Development, validation and use of multiple modalities for improved exposure assessment at the community, population and personal level
• Multi-city epidemiological studies in highly polluted communities including panel studies in children and adults
• Physicochemical characterization of ambient particulates (PM10, PM2.5) from diverse cities and communities representing geographical regions and associated health outcomes
• Molecular and biochemical studies in relevant animal models to predict cardiopulmonary, vascular, and developmental effects
• Early life exposures to air pollutants and their biological consequences including genetic and disease susceptibility
• Exposures before and during pregnancy and the effects on mothers and offspring
• Validation of new technology for improving air pollution monitoring
• Interventions to reduce national, regional and community-wide exposures to geographic areas
• Interventions in vulnerable populations that reduce the personal level of exposure to air pollution and mitigate the health effects

Funding

• Application budgets are limited to $200,000 in direct costs per year. Budget costs must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Organizations

• Public/ State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
• Private Institutions of Higher Education
• Small Businesses
• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)

Eligible Individuals

• Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/ PI(s)) is invited to work with his/ her organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.
• For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
• The contact PD/PI must be from a U.S. Institution and the application must name the Indian scientist as the other PD/PI.

Deadline: September 15, 2020.

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