Some of the NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) participating in the Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) program announcement have indicated that they will only consider BRP applications in specific focus areas. The following text provides a list of BRP application focus areas for these IC's. The list will be updated as necessary to reflect changing IC needs.

Bioengineering Research Partnership Guidelines for the NIBIB

Applicants planning to submit a Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) application to the NIBIB with direct costs of $500,000 or more are reminded that they must seek written agreement from the NIBIB staff at least 6 weeks prior to the application receipt date. Applicants are encouraged to contact the NIBIB staff well in advance of the 6 week deadline to discuss their planned application.

Due to the large number of BRP applications that the NIBIB receives, effective immediately, the NIBIB will only accept new or competing renewal BRP applications with direct costs less than $750,000 unless prior approval has been obtained from a subcommittee of senior staff. NIBIB will consider only applications that are directly relevant to the NIBIB mission (http://www.nibib.nih.gov/publicPage.cfm?pageID=1564#Mission ).
Areas of high programmatic interest include:

Although the NIBIB will continue to accept BRP applications on all three yearly receipt dates referenced in the PAR, the Institute will consider funding only extremely meritorious proposals at the October and January Advisory Council meetings. Final funding decisions for all other meritorious applications will be made after the May Council meeting.

Applicants are also reminded that they must seek written agreement to accept assignment from NIBIB staff at least 6 weeks prior to the submission deadline for any application requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year. This requirement is specified at the following url:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-02-004.html
Applicants are encouraged to contact the NIBIB staff well in advance of the 6 week deadline to discuss their planned application.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE (NINDS)– Potential applicants are advised of the following concerning BRP proposals for the NINDS -

NINDS policy requires that applications proposing clinical trials or other non-exempt human research address safety monitoring and reporting of adverse events (see: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/clinical_trials/dsm.htm). In addition, applications to NINDS that request $1 million or more in direct cost in any year for non-exempt human research must receive prior approval of the National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NANDS) Council before the application will be accepted for review, as described at http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/clinical_trials/large_projects.htm. Any questions regarding these policies should be addressed to the NINDS Clinical Research Liaison well in advance of grant submission.

NATIONAL HEART, LUNG AND BLOOD INSTITUTE (NHLBI) - Potential applicants are advised of the following policy regarding BRP applications for the NHLBI:

NHLBI requires that applications requesting $500,000 or more in direct cost in any year receive prior written approval by the NHLBI before the application will be accepted for review. Letters of request must be received by the NHLBI six weeks prior to the application receipt date. Guidelines for requesting approval can be found at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/funding/policies/500kweb.htm. Effective immediately, the NHLBI will only accept new or competing renewal BRP applications with direct costs equal to or less than $1,000,000 per year. Please note that the NHLBI does not count Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs on consortia against the direct cost caps.

NHLBI will consider only applications that are directly relevant to its mission: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/org/mission.htm. Areas of high programmatic interest include, but are not limited to:

• Imaging technology (NMR, MRI, ultrasound, and other imaging modalities) for specialized heart, lung, blood, and sleep applications
• Imaging agents and probes targeted to the heart, lung, blood, and sleep system
• Hardware and software development for heart, lung, blood and sleep-specific applications e.g., cardiac motion correction, 3D visualization of vascular anatomy, breathing, and blood flow
• Biological substitutes or complex tissue constructs for the treatment of heart, lung, blood and sleep diseases, including congenital defects
• Cell-based treatments guided by natural and compatible synthetic biomaterials
• Medical devices for diagnosing and treating heart, lung, blood and sleep diseases and disorders
• Analysis of data retrieved from implanted devices for the purpose of improving the treatment of heart, lung, blood and sleep diseases, host response, and development of appropriate animal models for testing heart, lung, blood and sleep devices
• Drug delivery agents and systems targeted towards the treatment of heart, lung, blood and sleep disease
• Biosensors to detect, monitor, and control (or adjust) function in the cardiovascular system, includes the design of power sources, and ex vivo sensors for cardiovascular-specific diagnostics
• Assistive technology devices to enhance mobility and improve function in those disabled by heart, lung, blood or sleep-related diseases
• Technologies that systematically measure, screen or quantify cells and molecules and their interactions, for the diagnosis, prevention, treatment or assessment of the heart, lung, blood, or sleep system
• Nanotechnology to improve imaging and biosensors that will be used for exploring cardiovascular and pulmonary problems to advance medicine
• Nanotechnology for delivery of genes or drugs to the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems
• Nanotechnology for engineering tissues for heart, lung, blood, or sleep-specific applications
• Data acquisition and management tools to define, process, query, select and present information to understand the physiological or molecular bases of biological function in normal and pathological states of the heart, lung, blood, or sleep system
• Technologies to remotely diagnose or treat heart, lung, blood, or sleep-related diseases or disorders
• Surgical tools and techniques, including image-guided cardiovascular interventions