EnVision CF: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology Program POLICIES AND GUIDELINES March 21, 2016 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 6931 Arlington Road, Suite 200 Bethesda, MD 20814 Grants and Contracts Office (301) 841-2614 grants@cff.org
I. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to cure cystic fibrosis and to provide all people with the disease the opportunity to lead full, productive lives by funding research and drug development, promoting individualized treatment, and ensuring access to high-quality, specialized care. The CFF recognizes the growing demand for physicians trained to address the unique endocrinologic needs of CF patients and the need for a greater endocrine focus in the clinical research enterprise. To expand the availability of CFendocrinology experts, the CFF announces the EnVision CF: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology Program. Accordingly, the CFF releases this RFA for training awards to physicians interested in developing expertise in the endocrinologic care of patients with CF. All awards are subject to the regulations, policies and objectives of CFF concerning this form of support and are contingent upon availability of funds. All awards are subject to the regulations, policies and objectives of CFF governing this form of support and are contingent upon the availability of funds. II. ELIGIBILITY Applicants must be physicians trained in Internal Medicine or Pediatrics with subspecialty certification in endocrinology. They must be an assistant professor at a University associated with a CF center, and be within 6 years of completion of post-graduate training at program onset. Faculty further out from fellowship who are committed to a career focus change to include CF endocrinology will also be considered. No more than one applicant each will be considered from a pediatric or an internal medicine program from the same institution. All North American CF applicants will be considered. Endocrinologic care of CF patients must be coordinated through a CFF-accredited Care Center. A letter of support from the CF Care Center Director AND a letter from the Chief of Endocrinology must be included; the application will not be considered without these. The award is for approximately 20% protected time for 3 years. Applicants must spend at least 10% time in CF clinical activities including CF endocrine clinic and other activities to increase their clinical understanding of this population (such as general CF clinic, CF inpatient rounds and CF team conferences). An additional 10% time may be used in clinical CF endocrinology care or to pursue CF scholarly activities. Scholarly projects are encouraged but not mandated. Emerging Leaders will be matched in clusters of 3 with a national expert mentor. They must be available to attend monthly webinars, a kick-off meeting on Sept 21, 2016 in Bethesda, 2 face-to-face program meetings per year (the NACFC in the fall starting October 2016 and a meeting at their mentor s institution in the spring). The Division Chief letter of support must explicitly state availability for these activities. Up to 15 applicants will be accepted. Selection criteria include 1) the candidate s interest in CF (preference will be given to those who can show previous engagement with CF patients /projects), 2) the commitment of the CF Center Director to integrate the candidate into the CF clinic/program, and 3) the Division Chief s commitment to support and protect the time of the Emerging Leader in CF endocrinology. In addition, consideration will be given to distribution by adult/pediatrics specialties, geographic distribution, and area of academic interest across the spectrum of CF endocrine disease. III. SUBMISSION INFORMATION APPLICATION DEADLINE: MAY 16, 2016 at 5:00pm (Eastern) Online submission at ProposalCENTRAL: https://proposalcentral.altum.com/ CFF reviews applications electronically, and only the documents submitted online will be reviewed. The Face Page (system-generated upon submission of the application) must be signed and emailed to grants@cff.org by the same deadline. Late applications will not be accepted. CFF EnVision CF: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology Program Guidelines 2
General Timeline Application Deadline.May 16, 2016 Review by CF Foundation..early July 2016 Applicant Notified..mid July 2016 Award Letters Issued end of July 2016 Start Date....September 1, 2016 EnVision Meeting in Bethesda, MD September 21, 2016 NACFC, Orlando Florida, 2016 October 27-29, 2016 IV. REQUIREMENTS Training and endocrinologic care of CF patients must be coordinated through one of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-accredited Care Centers or Affiliate programs. A letter of support from the CF Care Center Director or Affiliate Director AND a letter from the Division Chief of Endocrinology must be included. The CF Care Center Director or Affiliate Director s letter must affirm that the applicant will be integrated into the CF Center Care Program. The Division Chief s letter must affirm a commitment to protect the applicant s time for program activities, as well as describe the total protected time of the applicant. Please see list below for summarized requirements. The applicant must explicitly agree to the following: 1. CF-CFRD/endo joint clinic, starting at ½ day at least twice a month, increasing as practice builds; attending other clinical CF activities on non-clinic weekly half days 2. Attend the kick-off meeting plus 2 face-to-face meetings per year: 3. Kick-off meeting Sept 21, 2016 in Bethesda 4. Fall meeting: NACFC annually (1st one, October 27-29, 2016 in Orlando) 5. Spring meeting: at faculty mentor s locale in clusters of 3 mentees 6. Attendance at 8/10 monthly webinars/year (2nd Friday, 7am Pacific, 9am central, 10am EST) 7. Lead 2 journal club webinars over 3 years 8. Monthly Skype or conference calls with assigned national faculty mentor 9. If a scholarly track is chosen, 1 abstract presented at NACFC and 1 first author paper submitted over the 3 years. V. BUDGET Up to $43,000 per year may be requested for salary support (including fringe) and for travel to the EnVision meeting on September 21, 2016 in Bethesda, MD and the annual North American CF Conference, October 27-29 in Orlando, FL https://www.nacfconference.org/about.html. Indirect costs of 8% are allowed. Payments are made quarterly to the sponsoring institution and not to the individual grantee. Payments are subject to various contingencies, such as signed assurances, progress reports, and financial reports. VI. REVIEW AND AWARD The EnVision Application Review Committee will evaluate all applications and make recommendations to CFF and the Board of Trustees for final approval and funding. CFF considers the availability of funds, the priority score awarded each application, and the committee recommendations when determining awards. The following are among the chief causes for assigning low priority scores to applications during review: Insufficient information or documentation Inadequate/no documentation of the necessary skills/training Failure to meet all of the criteria described in the policies and guidelines statement Failure to describe career goals related to a long-term commitment to CF care/research. CFF EnVision CF: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology Program Guidelines 3
VII. APPLICATION COMPONENTS Font: Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11 font. Standard Margins. Each section should be numbered individually. Once all documents are uploaded to Proposal Central, the system will compile them into one PDF file in the correct sequence. A. Face Page The Face Page is populated automatically with data entered (applicant s name, institution, title of application, etc.) in the online application. After you hit the Validate button for your completed application, you will be able to download the face page. The Face Page must be signed by the Principal Investigator and Authorized Institutional Official. Scan and email the signed Face Page to grants@cff.org by the deadline. No hardcopy is required. B. Budget Details Personnel Salary support and fringe benefits for the applicant. Travel Awardees are required to attend the EnVision meeting in Bethesda on September 21, 2016 and the annual North American CF Conference (NACFC) October 27-29 in Orlando, FL. Up to $3,000 per year may be requested for related travel costs. Total - $43,000 (Direct Costs), plus 8% Indirect Costs. C. NIH Biographical Sketch and Other Support The applicant s biographical sketch must be attached. Clearly identify the results of past CFF support (if any) such as subsequent funding from other sources, journal articles, and invited presentations. List publications and mark in bold those related to CF. You may use an NIH Biosketch. List all other support. The NIH Other Support Form may be used. D. Applicant Personal Statement Provide a brief description (not exceeding 1 page) of previous clinical and scholarly training and a summary of future career plans. This section should note previous and anticipated clinical activities in general, and in particular, those related to CF such as special training or clinics. The statement should include: Area(s) of focus in endocrinology and endocrine interest in CF Current clinical obligations, opportunity to see CF patients clinically,and involvement with the CF Center and how you see clinical care of CF patients fitting in Current scholarly activities and how you see CF endocrinology fitting in Career goals related to a long-term commitment to CF research and care The applicant must explicitly agree to the following: 1. CF-CFRD/endo joint clinic, starting at ½ day at least twice a month, increasing as practice builds; attending other clinical CF activities on non-clinic weekly half days 2. Attend the kick-off meeting plus 2 face-to-face meetings per year: 3. Kick-off meeting Sept 21, 2016 in Bethesda 4. Fall meeting: NACFC annually (1st one, October 27-29, 2016 in Orlando) 5. Spring meeting: at faculty mentor s locale in clusters of 3 mentees 6. Attendance at 8/10 monthly webinars/year (2nd Friday, 7am Pacific, 9am central, 10am EST) CFF EnVision CF: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology Program Guidelines 4
7. Lead 2 journal club webinars over 3 years 8. Monthly Skype or conference calls with assigned national faculty mentor 9. If a scholarly track is chosen, 1 abstract presented at NACFC and 1 first author paper submitted over the 3 years. E. Letters of Reference/Support a. From the CF Center Director A letter of support from the CF Care Center must be submitted. The Emerging Leader is expected to spend at least 10% time in CF clinical activities. The letter of support from the CF Center Director must document the structure of the CF endocrinology clinic (for example, embedded within the CF clinic or separate but on the same floor), how CFRD education and carbohydrate counting instruction will be handled in clinic, and how the Emerging Leader will be integrated into the team on non-clinic days. Participation in local CF Center teaching activities, care conferences, quality improvement activities, and any other mentoring activities should be included. b. From the Division Chief The Division Chief s letter must affirm a commitment to protect the applicant s time for program activities including monthly webinars, twice yearly national meetings, at least 10% time for clinical activities, and up to 10% time for scholarly activities (20% in total). The letter must describe the total protected time of the applicant including how many half-days of clinic per week are expected outside of the CF activities, and how many weeks on service per year the applicant is expected to serve. This program provides mentorship and protected time for scholarly activities but not funding for those activities. Please describe internal sources of funding for scholarly activities, if available. c. Other Letters of Support Letters of reference are encouraged but optional from individuals who are familiar with the applicant s prior work record, interests, and abilities related to CF. Complete Section 6, Letters of Reference early. Enter the names and email addresses of the CF Center Director and Division Chief, and other letter writers, if applicable. A system-generated email will request each to submit a letter of support/reference online and provide instructions. All letters must be uploaded at Proposal Central by each of those individuals, preferably a week before the deadline. These letters must be uploaded prior to submitting the application. VIII. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES DEADLINE: MAY 16, 2016 by 5:00pm (Eastern) Applications must be submitted online at ProposalCENTRAL: https://proposalcentral.altum.com/ Email the signed Face Page to grants@cff.org by the same date. Register at Proposal Central if you have not already done so. If you have registered already, and cannot remember your password, click on the Forgot Password button. Funding opportunities, including this, are listed on the opening screen, but you must be logged in first to see the APPLY NOW button appear next to the program name. Click on that button to begin. Instructions and templates are provided for review/download in related sections of the application. CFF EnVision CF: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology Program Guidelines 5
If you need tech support, please use the contact information that is repeated on each screen. You may stop at any point, each time remembering to SAVE your entries, and continue/revise until you have actually hit the SUBMIT button. When you log in again to continue, click on the blue tab, Manage Proposals, and then the Edit button next to your application s title. If you wish to designate access to another registered individual, such as an assistant, do so in Section 3, Enable Other Users to Access This Proposal. Enter the full name and email address and in the Permissions column, then use the pulldown menu to select the type of access you wish to give. An application will be considered incomplete if it fails to comply with instructions, or if the submitted material is insufficient to permit adequate review. CFF reviews applications electronically, and only documents submitted online at Proposal Central will be reviewed. Late applications will not be accepted, and the deadline will not be waived. Upon validating your application, follow the prompts to print the system-generated face page. Please hit the SUBMIT key to complete the application process. Sign, scan and email the Face Page to grants@cff.org by the deadline date. You will receive an email from Proposal Central, not CFF, to confirm that your application has been successfully uploaded. This email will be your only acknowledgment. If you do not receive it, please contact ProposalCENTRAL to assist you to make sure the application is properly submitted. For technical support: Proposal CENTRAL at pcsupport@altum.com or 800-875-2562 on weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) For program/content information: CFF Grants & Contracts at grants@cff.org or 301-841-2614 CFF EnVision CF: Emerging Leaders in CF Endocrinology Program Guidelines 6