Funding Opportunities for Research Enhancement at Educational Institutions

The Academic Research Enhancement Award

The Coleopterists Society Research Enhancement Award supports graduate students with funding for their research on beetles. Unlike R01s, these are not training grants.

The goal is to support meritorious research, strengthen the research environment at the applicant institution, and expose undergraduate students to research. A letter of support from your major professor, department/program unit and college is required.

Eligibility

The Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program stimulates research at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate training for a significant number of the Nation’s research scientists but have not been major recipients of NIH support. The program funds small-scale meritorious research projects, enhances the research environment at eligible institutions, and exposes students to research.

GW has been notified that it does not meet the eligibility requirements for either AREA or REAP due to its relatively low NIH funding level. As a result, the Office of Sponsored Programs will not submit an application to these programs.

Eligible applicants include public and state controlled institutions of higher education that award baccalaureate degrees, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-serving Institutions. Institutions must have a higher undergraduate student enrollment than graduate student enrollment.

Investigators must have a primary appointment at the applicant institution, and the application must describe appropriate plans for recruiting undergraduate students to participate in the research project. In addition, the principal investigator and collaborators must have a minimum 25% release time for mentoring undergraduate students.

Goals

This program supports research in educational institutions that primarily award baccalaureate degrees in the biomedical or behavioral sciences. This FOA is designed to stimulate research at these institutions by exposing undergraduate students to meritorious, cutting-edge research and strengthening the research environment of their institution.

Applicants should include a description of their past and/or current research experience in the personal statement. They should also describe plans to involve undergraduate students in their proposed research. In addition, PD(s)/PI(s) should include in the personal statement any peer-reviewed publications or other research products that involved the involvement of undergraduate and/or graduate students.

A significant portion of the PD(s)/PI(s) time should be dedicated to conducting the research, as stated in the proposal. PD(s)/PI(s) must have sufficient institutional support to allow them to conduct this work, including appropriate release time from teaching. This includes a letter of support from the Provost or similar official with broad institutional responsibility.

Criteria

The application must describe how the project will address the FOA’s three goals: support meritorious research, strengthen the research environment at non-research intensive institutions, and expose students to research. In addition, the application must describe how the project will provide opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in hands-on, rigorous research, and how the results of the project are expected to stimulate interest in biomedical research by undergraduates.

In addition to a description of the research, the application should also include a current NIH-style biosketch for each investigator (not to exceed four pages for each). A list of currently funded research projects and percent effort commitment for each investigator is required.

The application should also demonstrate the appropriateness of the proposed project for execution primarily by undergraduates and include a detailed plan to recruit well-qualified undergraduate students. It is strongly encouraged that applicants include letters from the Departments/Centers that will be involved in the research and/or matching funds.

Review process

PROSPER Fast Track awards support small amounts of funds quickly to allow faculty to gather critical data that will enhance a sponsored project application. Typically, these are applications for seed or pilot funding that will help attract future external support. These are considered “off cycle” applications and require justification to be approved by the Associate Dean for Research.

OVPR Sponsored Projects review:

The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for overall management of the scientific, technical, financial, compliance, and administrative aspects of the sponsored project in accordance with sponsor regulations, university policy, and the Faculty Handbook and OVPR Sponsored Projects Handbook. The PI is also accountable for ensuring that the project is conducted in accordance with ethical standards as well as applicable state and federal laws. To ensure compliance, all PIs must submit a completed OVPR Sponsored Projects Form to OVPR prior to sponsor deadlines. This form is available from the OVPR Website and is also distributed in hard copy.

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Standardizing Endpoint Definitions in Aortic Valve Therapy

Aortic Valve Academic Research Consortium 3 (VARC-3)

Several years ago, the VARC consensus manuscript defined clinical endpoints for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) trials. This update, VARC-3, incorporates new definitions and expands old ones to include a sub-category for access-related complications that are not directly vascular in nature.

These standardized definitions will help to facilitate head-to-head comparisons of TAVI devices or surgery in high-risk patients. They will also improve outcomes reporting in ongoing registries and studies.

Endpoint definitions

VARC-3 defines and standardizes endpoint definitions that should be used across clinical trials, registries and other studies to facilitate comparative evaluation of aortic valve therapy and better translation of results into patient benefit. The manuscript also recommends additional measures that are important to consider when assessing patient outcomes.

A number of new and modified definitions are introduced, with a focus on improving the scientific rigour and consistency of endpoint measurements. The use of the term ‘bioprosthetic valve failure’ (BVF) has been adopted as it is considered more appropriate than a purely mechanical definition of heart valve disease and more reflective of the long-term consequences of bioprosthetic valves.

Rates of a new permanent pacemaker requirement have been included in the composite time-related endpoint to reflect the increasing evidence that a new left bundle branch block (LBBB) following TAVR is associated with a poor long-term prognosis and to acknowledge that a stented versus stentless aortic valve may impact this outcome. Creatinine levels should be measured at baseline and within 48 h post-procedure and then regularly up to 48 hours before discharge.

Acute kidney injury

Minor access site vascular complications, such as wound infection or damage to the renal vein or superior vena cava, are common and can negatively impact clinical outcomes. In a recent propensity score-matched study, patients with these complications experienced inferior short- and long-term clinical results compared with those without them, regardless of valve type or model.

Acute kidney injury is a significant and independent risk factor for poor outcomes after TAVR. VARC-3 recommends that creatinine levels be measured at baseline and within 48 h postprocedure, with serial measurements every 12 months or sooner for monitoring purposes.

VARC-3 also revised the definition of clinically significant valve thrombosis, requiring either (1) evidence of a symptom- or sign-based thromboembolic event (stroke, TIA, retinal occlusion) OR (2) imaging confirmation of both a thrombus and hemodynamic deterioration stage 3 or worse. This is a notable improvement over the previously used vague definition, which was considered by many to be inadequate. The document also includes recommendations for defining various stages of bioprosthetic leaflet thrombosis and dysfunction, as well as coronary obstruction.

Heart failure-related hospitalizations

Heart failure is a major cause of hospitalizations and is associated with adverse outcomes. Hospitalizations and re-hospitalizations represent a significant burden to patients, third-party payers, and health care systems. Hospitalizations related to heart failure have been identified as a strong predictor of both early and long-term mortality (64-66).

This study used a national clinical database to evaluate heart failure-related hospitalizations following SAVR or TAVR using a novel approach that distinguished visits from those due to other reasons (eg, uncontrolled hypertension). The authors found that blacks had higher rates of heart failure-related hospitalizations than whites owing to their epidemiology and natural history of the disease.

VARC-3 has updated the definition of vascular complications to reflect a more comprehensive evaluation of complication events. Clinically significant prosthetic valve thrombosis requires either (i) evidence of clinical sequelae, such as ischemic stroke, TIA, or retinal occlusion, AND imaging evidence of both a thrombus and haemodynamic valve deterioration stage 2 or 3, OR (ii) no clinical sequelae but with imaging evidence of a thrombus on CT or trans-oesophageal echocardiogram and a new or worsening stenosis or regurgitation on routine interval imaging studies.

Coronary obstruction

As the aortic valve repair and replacement industry continues to evolve and adopt new therapies, it is important that research is conducted using appropriate endpoint definitions to ensure scientific rigour and consistency. In addition to defining specific levels of bioprosthetic valve leaflet thrombosis (HALT), VARC-3 also aims to standardize the definition of coronary obstruction+, a significant and severe complication that is associated with poor prognosis in patients with severe aortic stenosis and is commonly observed during transcatheter aortic valve procedures.

Specifically, the definition of coronary obstruction+ will include any injury involving the aortic annulus, left ventricle outflow tract, ventricular septum, aortic root, left or right atrium, mitral valve apparatus, tricuspid valve apparatus, or coronary sinus; any procedure-related pericardial effusion; and any new inter-cardiac cavity communication resulting in a significant shunt (e.g. VSD) (100-102). In addition, a new category of access site complications has been defined to capture and classify injuries involving structures adjacent to the vascular access point – these are not considered to be directly vascular in nature.

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