Broadening Opportunities for Computational Genomics and Data Science Education NOFO FAQ
On September 1 and September 27, 2023, the National Human Genome Research Institute hosted pre-application webinars about the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) RFA-HG-23-002, for potential applicants. Participation in the webinars was optional and not required to submit an application.
The following questions were answered during those webinars.
When are the submission dates?
Current submission dates are November 8, 2023, and June 10, 2024.
What institutions are eligible?
To be eligible, the applicant institution must be a domestic institution located in the United States and its territories which fulfill all of the three requirements below:
- Has received an average of less than $25 million per year of R01 total cost of NIH support for the past three fiscal years;
- Awards associate, undergraduate or master’s degrees in biomedical sciences; and
- Has a documented historical and current mission to educate students from any of the populations that have been identified as underrepresented in biomedical research as defined by the National Science Foundation (NSF), or has a documented historical record of recruiting, training and/or educating, and graduating underrepresented students as defined by NSF (see above), which has resulted in increasing the institution's contribution to the national pool of graduates from underrepresented backgrounds who pursue biomedical research career.
These may include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, women’s colleges, and community colleges.
What educational level should projects be designed for? Is there a minimum number of courses that needs to be developed?
Applicants may choose to propose the development of undergraduate and/or master’s degree-level classroom content. It is not required to develop content for both levels. There is no minimum number of courses. This is up to the applicant’s discretion.
Is the creation of non-credit courses within scope?
This opportunity is designed to support traditional, semester-long student courses for which they receive credit towards their degree. Applicants interested in proposing non-credit courses should contact the program director to discuss responsiveness.
How should applicants propose to use NIH cloud resources?
NIH cloud resources themselves must be used as a tool. For example, use of platforms such as Galaxy on the AnVIL would be acceptable, but their standalone use would not be appropriate. Integration of NIH cloud resources with other platforms is not a requirement.
Should applicants budget for cloud computing costs?
Yes, estimated cloud costs should be included in the budget. The AnVIL website includes resources to help investigators budget for cloud costs. Additional NIH support to help cover some cloud costs may be available in the future, but this would be worked out during the project period.
Are personnel costs allowable? How much investigator effort is required?
Yes, personnel costs may be requested. NHGRI recognizes the substantial teaching load of many faculty, but it is the applicants’ responsibility to reach agreement with their institution about any potential release from teaching. For this project, a 2.4 Calendar Month minimum level of effort from the PI is required. For Multiple PD/PI applications, the aggregate PI minimum level of effort must be 2.4 Calendar Months. Please see NOT-HG-23-050 for more information.
At this point, my institution does not have HPC or dedicated server space for our students, can budget be allocated to purchase any of these hardware resources?
No, funds from RFA-HG-23-002 are not allowed for computational hardware purchases. The intent of this funding opportunity is to use the cloud as a way to remove institutional biases arising from differences in availability of HPC or on-campus computer resources.
Are any previous results needed to apply?
No. First time applicants are welcome to apply.
Last updated: October 27, 2023