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International Research Scientist Development Award (IRSDA) (K01) Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed
K01 Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training
Reissue of PAR-18-539 - International Research Scientist Development Award (IRSDA) (K01) Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed
PAR-21-104
PAR-21-105- International Research Scientist Development Award (IRSDA) (K01) Independent Clinical Trial Required
Assistance Listing Number(s)
93.989, 93.398
The purpose of the International Research Scientist Development Award (IRSDA) is to provide support and protected time (three to five years) to advanced postdoctoral U.S. research scientists and recently-appointed U.S. junior faculty (applicants must be at least two years beyond conferral of doctoral degree) for an intensive, mentored research career development experience in a low- or middle-income country (LMIC), as defined by the World Bank (http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups), including "low-income," "lower-middle-income," and "upper-middle-income" countries) leading to an independently-funded research career focused on global health. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications from postdoctoral research scientists and junior faculty from any health-related discipline who propose career development activities and a research project that is relevant to the health priorities of the LMIC under the mentorship of LMIC and U.S. mentors.
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is designed specifically for applicants proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary study to a clinical trial. Applicants to this FOA are permitted to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor. Applicants proposing a clinical trial or an ancillary study to an ongoing clinical trial as lead investigator should apply to the companion FOA (PAR-21-105).
March 9, 2021; March 9, 2022; March 8 2023 by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on these dates.
March 9, 2021; March 9, 2022; March 8 2023 by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of AIDS and AIDS-related applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on these dates.
July 2021; July 2022; July 2023
October 2021; October 2022; October 2023
It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Career Development (K) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.
The overall goal of the NIH Research Career Development program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) support a variety of mentored and non-mentored career development award programs designed to foster the transition of new investigators to research independence and to support established investigators in achieving specific objectives. Candidates should review the different career development (K) award programs to determine the best program to support their goals. More information about Career programs may be found at the NIH Extramural Training Mechanisms website.
The objective of the NIH Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) is to provide salary and research support for a sustained period of "protected time" (3-5 years) for intensive research career development, under the guidance of an experienced mentor, or sponsor in the biomedical, behavioral or clinical sciences leading to research independence. The expectation is that, through this sustained period of research career development and training, awardees will launch independent research careers and become competitive for new research project grant (e.g., R01) funding.
Opportunities to advance global health research careers are central to building a robust global health workforce, yet it remains a challenge for researchers to establish independent international research careers given the requisite time spent away from their home institutions. Prolonged field experience is critical for global health research and for establishing sustained research partnerships, but gaining this field experience can be difficult for junior faculty, who are balancing administrative and teaching requirements, or for individuals in standard postdoctoral positions. The International Research Scientist Development Award (IRSDA) program addresses this need and fills an important global health career development gap. The IRSDA program provides opportunities to conduct mentored global health research in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings and to foster long-term research collaborations that strengthen global health research.
The objective of the IRSDA program is to prepare qualified advanced postdoctoral research scientists and recently-appointed junior faculty (see Eligible Individuals) for research careers that will have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of LMICs. IRSDA awardees will conduct their research and career development activities under the guidance of experienced U.S.-based and LMIC-based mentors, in any health-related discipline that is relevant to the health priorities of the LMIC.
Awardees must spend a minimum of 50% of the cumulative effort over the project period (all years) physically in-country conducting collaborative research at the LMIC institution. In addition, in each year of the award, the recipient must spend a minimum of three months in the LMIC (see In-country requirement under Eligible Individuals in Section III). Awardees are expected to gain increased capabilities in collaborative research (i.e., team science) skills in low-resource settings, advanced research methodology, analysis and data management, research administrative skills, responsible conduct of research, scientific presentation, and manuscript and grant writing. Through this program, it is expected that awardees will launch independent global health research careers, continue to collaborate with LMIC scientists on research that addresses the health needs of LMICs, and become competitive for new research project grant (e.g., R01) funding in global health.
LMICs are defined by the World Bank classification system (according to Gross National Income (GNI) per capita as "low-income," "lower-middle-income," and "upper-middle-income" (http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups).
Interests of Participating NIH Institutes and Centers
The Fogarty International Center (FIC) is interested in applications from individuals seeking to become independent investigators and global health research leaders in any therapeutic or scientific area of health priority and scientific importance to the LMIC. FIC is dedicated to advancing the mission of the NIH by supporting and facilitating global health research conducted by U.S. and international investigators, building partnerships between health research institutions in the U.S. and abroad, and training the next generation of scientists to address global health needs. FIC supports a diversity of research and research training grants that advance basic to implementation science with a particular focus on LMICs. The IRSDA is responsive to the FIC Strategic Plan to build research capacity through individuals, institutions and networks by building future research leaders in the U.S. and in LMICs.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is interested in applications from individuals committed to an independent career in global cancer research, who propose mentored research projects in topics relevant to the LMIC where the research will be conducted. NCI is interested in applications that include, but not limited to, studies in cancer biology and genetics, cancer epidemiology, research in cancer primary and secondary prevention, clinical and translational research, implementation science and health systems research, health surveillance and cancer informatics research, studies in integrative oncology and cancer survivorship as well as investigations that employ technology (including mHealth and eHealth) to address cancer control. Applications that propose capacity development in research methods across disciplines that might be relevant to LMIC settings including, but not limited to, clinical and translational research, behavioral and social sciences research, patient reported outcomes research, are encouraged. The career development plan should include training in advanced scientific skills, research methodology, data management and analysis, grant and manuscript writing, and research administration skills that are appropriate for the LMIC. The proposed career development and mentoring must be focused on developing independent researchers in the field of cancer in a manner that increases the research capacity at the LMIC institution. Mentors should have a track record of research in cancer.
For applications proposing HIV/AIDS research projects, applicants are encouraged to review the NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priorities, and the NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research for the year they are applying.
Candidates are encouraged to review answers to frequently asked questions about the IRSDA K01 program at IRSDA FAQs, which will be updated on a regular basis.
Individuals who are unable to meet the requirement to spend a minimum of 50% of the cumulative effort over the total project period (all years) and the additional requirement to spend a minimum of three months each year conducting research physically in the LMIC are encouraged to consider other NIH career development awards (see https://researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/career-development), many of which support global health research in LMICs.
Individuals from LMICs (individuals who are not U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals or permanent residents) are not eligible for the IRSDA but may be eligible for the Fogarty Emerging Global Leader Award (K43).
Note: This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is designed specifically for applicants proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary study to a clinical trial. Applicants to this FOA are permitted to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor. Applicants proposing a clinical trial or an ancillary study to an ongoing clinical trial as lead investigator, should apply to the companion FOA (PAR-21-105).
NIH defines a clinical trial as "A research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes." (NOT-OD-15-015).
NIH not only supports trials of safety and efficacy, it also supports mechanistic exploratory studies that meet the definition of a clinical trial and are designed to explore or understand a biological or behavioral process, the pathophysiology of a disease, or the mechanism of action of an intervention. These studies may focus on basic and/or translational discovery research in healthy human subjects and in human subjects who are affected by the pathophysiology of diseases and disorders. By addressing basic questions and concepts in biology, behavior, and pathophysiology, these studies may provide insight into understanding human diseases and disorders along with potential treatments or preventive strategies. NIH also supports biomarker studies that meet the definition of a clinical trial and that may provide information about physiological function, target engagement of novel therapeutics, and/or the impact of therapeutics on treatment response. NIH thus supports studies that meet the definition of clinical trials (as noted above) but do not seek to establish safety, clinical efficacy, effectiveness, clinical management, and/or implementation of preventive, therapeutic, and services interventions.
Grant: A support mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.
Resubmission
The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.
Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials.
Note: Applicants may propose to gain experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor/co-mentor as part of their research career development.
Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?
The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
Award budgets are composed of salary and other program-related expenses, as described below.
The total project period should be a minimum of 3 years and may not exceed 5 years.
Other Award Budget Information
NIH will contribute up to $100,000 per year toward the salary of the career award recipient. Further guidance on budgeting for career development salaries is provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
The total NIH contribution to salary may not exceed the legislatively mandated salary cap. See: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/salcap_summary.htm.
Other Program-Related Expenses
NIH will contribute up to $40,000 per year toward the research development costs of the award recipient, which must be justified and consistent with the stage of development of the candidate and the proportion of time to be spent in research or career development activities. Research development costs include, but are not limited to, supplies, equipment, technical personnel, non-degree related tuition or registration fees for activities related to the proposed career development plan, fees for statistical and computational services, and travel to research sites, research meetings, or training, as detailed in Section IV.
Salary for mentors, secretarial and administrative assistants, etc. is not allowed.
Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities & Administrative [F&A] Costs) are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs.
NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this FOA.
The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. The NIH Policy on Late Submission of Grant Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission.
System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly CCR) – Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.
eRA Commons - Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the eRA Commons registration. Organizations can register with the eRA Commons as they are working through their SAM or Grants.gov registration. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
Grants.gov – Applicants must have an active DUNS number and SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.
The primary mentor at the U.S. institution and the primary LMIC mentor must have eRA Commons accounts. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.
Any candidate with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is invited to work with his/her mentor and 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. Multiple PDs/PIs are not allowed.
Current and former PDs/PIs (including Multiple PDs/PIs) on NIH research project (R01), program project (P01), research training (D43), or center (P50) grants, sub-projects of program project (P01) or center (P50) grants, other major individual career development awards (e.g., K01, K07, K08, K22, K23, K25, K76, K99/R00), or the equivalent to these grants/awards (including non-NIH equivalent grants/awards from other research funding organizations) are not eligible. Current and former PDs/PIs (including Multiple PDs/PIs) of an NIH Small Grant (R03), Exploratory/Developmental Grant (R21), Dissertation Award (R36), or SBIR/STTR (R41, R42, R43, R44) remain eligible. Individuals supported by institutional K awards (K12 or KL2) remain eligible but cannot exceed 6 years of combined institutional K plus individual K01 funding.
Candidates for this award must have a research or health-professional doctoral degree (including PhD, MD, DO, DC, ND, DDS, DMD, DVM, ScD, DNS, PharmD or equivalent doctoral degrees) received at least two years prior to the application deadline and have research experience beyond their doctoral training.
By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card USCIS Form I-551, or other legal verification of such status).
This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct, and each is from a different candidate.
The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time. An individual may not have two or more competing NIH career development applications pending review concurrently. In addition, NIH will not accept:
An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NOT-OD-11-101)
Candidates may submit research project grant (RPG) applications concurrently with the K application. However, any concurrent RPG application may not have substantial scientific and/or budgetary overlap with the career award application. K award recipients are encouraged to obtain funding from NIH or other Federal sources either as a PD/PI on a competing research grant award or cooperative agreement, or as project leader on a competing multi-project award as described in NOT-OD-08-065.
Level of Effort
At the time of award, the candidate must have a "full-time" appointment at the academic institution. Candidates are required to commit a minimum of 75% of full-time professional effort (i.e., a minimum of 9 person-months) to their program of career development. Candidates may engage in other duties as part of the remaining 25% of their full-time professional effort not covered by this award, as long as such duties do not interfere with or detract from the proposed career development program.
Candidates who have VA appointments may not consider part of the VA effort toward satisfying the full time requirement at the applicant institution. Candidates with VA appointments should contact the staff person in the relevant Institute or Center prior to preparing an application to discuss their eligibility.
After the receipt of the award, adjustments to the required level of effort may be made in certain circumstances. See NOT-OD-09-036 for more details.
In-country requirement: Awardees must be able to spend a minimum of 50% of their cumulative effort over the total project period (all years) physically in-country conducting research at the LMIC institution. In addition, in each year of the award, awardees must spend a minimum of three months at the LMIC institution. For example, a candidate with 75% effort on a 5-year IRSDA K01 must spend 22.5 months at the LMIC institution.
Mentor(s)
Before submitting the application, the candidate must identify a primary mentor based at the U.S. applicant institution and a primary mentor based at the collaborating LMIC institution who are accomplished investigators in the research area proposed and have experience in successful development of independent investigators. Together, the two primary mentors will supervise the proposed career development and research experience. The LMIC primary mentor should hold a primary appointment at the collaborating LMIC institution and should not be a U.S. citizen who holds a joint appointment at the LMIC institution. The institutional affiliations of the mentors should be clear from the biosketches, mentor support letters, and institutional letters. The mentors should be active investigators in the area of the proposed research and committed both to the career development of the candidate and direct supervision of the candidate's research. The primary mentors must document the availability of sufficient research support and facilities for the candidate's research. Candidates are encouraged to identify additional co-mentors to form a mentoring team if this is deemed advantageous for providing expert advice in all aspects of the research career development plan. Additional mentors can be from other LMIC or high income countries. The candidate must work with all mentors (primary and co-mentors) in preparing the application.
The mentor(s) or mentoring team must demonstrate appropriate expertise, experience, and ability to guide the applicant in the organization, management and implementation of the proposed research and, if proposed, clinical trial experience.
Institutional Environment
The U.S. and LMIC institutions must have a strong, well-established record of research and career development activities and faculty qualified to serve as mentors in biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research.
Buttons to access the online ASSIST system or to download application forms are available in Part 1 of this FOA. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.
It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Career Development (K) Instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.
All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.
The following additional instruction applies:
Include the applicant institution and all of the collaborating institutions, both U.S. and LMIC, as performance sites.
Other Project Information
SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile Expanded
The following additional instructions apply:
Both the primary US and primary LMIC mentor must insert "Other" or "Other Professional" in the Project Role field, and enter "Mentor" in the Other Project Role Category field.
When listing other individuals with a substantive role in the project, clearly label roles to distinguish "Co-Mentor", "Consultant", "Collaborator", etc.
When listing the applicant's research support in the Biographical Sketch, clarify PD/PI status (direct recipient) of awards.
R&R Budget
Applicants should identify specific expenses such as: (a) non-degree related tuition or registration fees for specific PD/PI career development activities; (b) research expenses such as supplies, equipment and technical personnel; (c) statistical and computational services, including technical personnel and computer time; (d) mentor and grantee communication costs; and (e) PD/PI travel and per diem expenses to field research sites, collaborating institutions, research or networking meetings, or research skills workshops or courses in the appropriate budget form category.
PHS 398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form
The PHS 398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form is comprised of the following sections:
Other Candidate Information
Mentor, Co-Mentor, Consultant, Collaborators
Environment & Institutional
Commitment to the Candidate
Other Research Plan Sections
Candidate Section
All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:
Candidate Information and Goals for Career Development
Candidate's Background
Describe the candidate's commitment to a global health-related research career.
Describe prior training and research experience beyond doctoral training and how it relates to the objectives and long-term global health research career plans of the candidate.
Provide evidence of the candidate's potential to develop into a successful independent global health researcher (such as lead authorship of and/or significant contribution to research publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at international meetings, prior research interests and experience, research fellowships, and letters of reference) without duplicating information in biosketches.
Describe all the candidate's professional responsibilities at the grantee institution and elsewhere and show the relation of these responsibilities to the proposed activities on the career development award.
Career Goals and Objectives?
Describe the candidate's career goals and the specific objectives to reach each goal under this award, indicating linkages to prior experience and current research support.
Explain how the career development award will contribute to career goals, and further the candidate's global health research career.
Candidate's Plan for Career Development/Training Activities During Award Period
Describe a systematic plan: (1) that shows a logical progression from prior research and training experiences to the research and career development activities proposed; (2) that justifies the need for further research career development to become an independent researcher; and (3) utilizes the relevant field, clinical, research and educational resources of the U.S. and LMIC institutions. The candidate and the mentors are jointly responsible for the preparation of the career development plan.
The plan should include a description of the primary mentors, any secondary co-mentors, and any collaborators, contributors or consultants, as appropriate for the research and career development of the candidate.
Provide a detailed description of the career development activities, including plans to obtain the necessary research skills and experience to launch an independent global health research career.
The description of the career development plan should include items such as advanced level courses, seminars, and opportunities for collaboration and interaction with other scientists, especially in the proposed LMIC.
Training in career skills such as grant-writing and making effective scientific presentations, is strongly encouraged.
The career development plan must be tailored to the needs of the individual candidate and the ultimate goal of achieving independence as a researcher.
Describe a career development plan that will maximize use of U.S. and LMIC research institutional environments, including available facilities and resources.
Describe the professional responsibilities/activities including other research projects beyond the minimum required 9 person-months (75% full-time professional effort) commitment to the career award. Explain how these responsibilities/activities will help ensure career progression to achieve independence as an investigator.
For junior faculty, describe how this award will relieve the candidate of current duties so that a greater portion of the candidate's effort (at least 9 person-months, equivalent to 75% full-time professional effort) may be devoted to research and related career development activities.
For postdocs, describe how the award would provide additional research and career development opportunities beyond the standard postdoctoral experience.
Describe how the candidate plans to fulfill the requirement that he/she spend at least 50% of cumulative effort over the total project period (all years) physically in-country conducting research at the LMIC site AND in each year of the grant, the candidate will meet the requirement to spend a minimum of three months in the LMIC. A timeline outlining time in country is strongly recommended.
Applicants are encouraged to describe plans for outreach and dissemination of research findings both in the LMIC and in the U.S.
Research Plan Section
Applicants may propose research in any global health related discipline.
A sound global health research project that addresses an area of scientific importance to the LMIC and is consistent with the candidate's level of research development and objectives of his/her career development plan must be provided.
The research description should demonstrate the quality of the candidate's research capabilities thus far, and the proposed research question, design and methodology should be novel, scientifically significant and creative in approach.
Applicants should provide a detailed explanation of the relevance of the proposed research to the health priorities of the LMIC.
The application must also describe the relationship between the mentors' research and the candidate's proposed research plan. Although the research strategy may be related to the research activities of the mentors, it should not be a duplication of the mentors' research.
If applicable, candidates should describe how the proposed research is related to ongoing NIH and U.S. government supported research initiatives in the LMIC.
Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research
All applications must include a plan to fulfill NIH requirements for instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). See SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for instructions.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to include courses and activities offered at the LMIC site, if applicable, to get a perspective of the issues involved in RCR where they will be engaged in research.
Mentor, Co-Mentor, Consultant, Collaborators Section
Plans and Statements of Mentor and Co-mentor(s)
Statements from the primary U.S. mentor at the applicant institution, the primary LMIC mentor, as well as any co-mentors, are expected to provide 1) an assessment of the candidate's qualifications and potential for an independent global health research career; 2) information on the mentor's research qualifications and previous experience as a research supervisor; 3) a plan that describes the nature of the supervision and mentoring that will occur during the proposed award period; 4) a plan for career progression for the candidate to move from the mentored stage of his/her career to independent research investigator status during the project period of the award; and 5) a plan for monitoring and evaluating the candidate's research, publications, and progression towards independence.
Together, the mentors should provide evidence of sufficient independent research support to cover the costs of the proposed research project in excess of the allowable costs of this award.
Each mentor statement should describe the research support, if any, that will be available to support the proposed candidate research project.
Where feasible, women, individuals from diverse racial and ethnic groups, and individuals with disabilities should be involved as mentors to serve as role models.
The primary U.S. Mentor statement should include a statement that the candidate will commit at least 9 person-months (75% of full-time professional effort) to the career development program and related career development activities.
Mentor statements should include a statement that the candidate will meet the time-in-country requirement (50% of requested effort over the entire award period).
Mentor statements should clearly describe how they will coordinate mentoring of the candidate with other proposed mentors, both primary and secondary co-mentors.
Mentor statements should describe the mechanism(s) and frequency of communication with the candidate, including the frequency of face-to-face meetings.
Both primary mentors (U.S. and LMIC) must agree to provide annual evaluations of the candidate's progress as required in the annual progress report.
If the applicant is proposing to gain experience in a clinical trial as part of his or her research career development, the mentor or a member of the mentoring team must include a statement to document leadership of the clinical trial, and appropriate expertise to guide the applicant in any proposed clinical trials research experience.
Letters of Support from Collaborators, Contributors and Consultants
Signed statements must be provided by all additional collaborators and/or consultants confirming their participation in the project and describing their specific roles. Collaborators and consultants generally do not need to provide their biographical sketches unless also listed as senior/key personnel. However, information should be provided clearly documenting the appropriate expertise in the proposed areas of consulting/collaboration. Collaborators/consultants are generally not directly involved in the development of the career of the candidate as an independent researcher.
The LMIC Institutional Commitment letter should also be included in this section, following page limit requirements for this section. It should provide a statement of commitment to the candidate's development into a productive, independent researcher and provide assurances that appropriate time and support for the proposed mentor(s) and/or other staff consistent with the career development plan will be provided.
All letters should be combined and submitted as a single PDF.
Environmental and Institutional Commitment to the Candidate
Description of Institutional Environment
Both the applicant U.S. institution and the LMIC institution must provide descriptions of the scientific environment, resources, and facilities that will be available to the candidate.
The U.S. and LMIC institutions must document strong, well-established research and career development programs related to the candidate's area of interest, and key faculty members and other investigators capable of productive collaboration with the candidate.
Institutional Commitment to the Candidate's Research Career Development
Both the applicant U.S. institution and the LMIC institution must provide statements of commitment to the candidate's development into a productive, independent global health investigator and to meeting the requirements of this award. It should be clear that the institutional commitment to the candidate is not contingent upon receipt of this career development award.
The applicant U.S. institution must provide assurance that the candidate will be able to devote a minimum of 9 person-months (75% of full-time professional effort) to the development of their research program. The remaining effort should be devoted to activities related to the development of the candidate's career as an independent scientist, e.g. clinic responsibilities, teaching and administration, and/or additional research activities.
The U.S. institution should provide assurance that the candidate will be able to spend at least 50% of the cumulative effort over the project period at the LMIC site, conducting research and career development activities.
Provide assurance that the candidate will have appropriate office and laboratory space, equipment, and other resources and facilities (including access to clinical and/or other research populations) to carry out the proposed research plan.
Provide assurance that appropriate time and support will be available for any proposed mentor(s) and/or other staff consistent with the career development plan.
The LMIC Institutional Commitment letter should be submitted via "Letters of Support from Collaborators, Contributors, and Consultants", following page limit requirements. The U.S. Institutional Commitment letter should be submitted here.
Limited items are allowed in the Appendix. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide; any instructions provided here are in addition to the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide instructions.
When involving NIH-defined human subjects research, clinical research, and/or clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:
For FOAs that do not allow independent clinical trials, do not complete Section 4 – Protocol Synopsis information or Section 5 - Other Clinical Trial-related Attachments.
Candidates must carefully follow the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, including the time period for when reference letters will be accepted. Applications lacking the appropriate required reference letters will not be reviewed. This is a separate process from submitting an application electronically. Reference letters are submitted directly through the eRA Commons Submit Referee Information link and not through Grants.gov.
See Part 1. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov
Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies) using ASSIST or other electronic submission systems. Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH's electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time. If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Policy on Late Application Submission.
All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Guidelines for Applicants Experiencing System Issues. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.
Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review, NIH. Applications that are incomplete or non-compliant will not be reviewed.
Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy. Any instructions provided here are in addition to the instructions in the policy.
Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.
For this particular announcement, note the following:
Reviewers should evaluate the candidate's potential for developing an independent research program that will make important contributions to the field, taking into consideration the years of research experience and the likely value of the proposed research career development as a vehicle for developing a successful, independent research program.
Reviewers should provide their assessment of the likelihood that the proposed career development and research plan will enhance the candidate's potential for a productive, independent scientific research career in a health-related field, taking into consideration the criteria below in determining the overall impact score.
Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact.
Does the candidate have the potential to develop as an independent and productive global health researcher addressing scientifically significant topics that reflect the health priorities of the LMIC?
Are the candidate's prior training and research experience appropriate for this award?
Is the candidate's academic, clinical (if relevant), and research record of high quality?
Is there evidence of the candidate's commitment to meeting the program objectives to become an independent investigator in global health research?
Do the reference letters address the above review criteria, and do they provide evidence that the candidate has a high potential for becoming an independent global health investigator
Does the candidate justify the need for three to five years of mentored research experience in order to become an independent scientist?
Career Development Plan
What is the likelihood that the plan will contribute substantially to the scientific development of the candidate and lead to scientific independence?
Are the content, scope, phasing, and duration of the career development plan appropriate when considered in the context of prior training/research experience and the stated training and research objectives for achieving research independence?
Are there adequate plans for mentors to monitor and evaluate the candidate's research and career development progress?
Does the career development plan demonstrate a clear commitment to a global health research career in LMIC settings?
Is the amount of time proposed at the LMIC site appropriate for the candidate's research and career development goals?
If proposed, will the mentored clinical trial experience contribute to the applicant's research career development?
Is the prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project rigorous?
Has the candidate included plans to address weaknesses in the rigor of prior research that serves as the key support of the proposed project?
Does the information in the literature or knowledge of biological mechanisms or preliminary data provide adequate rigor in prior research to support the proposed project? If not, has the candidate included plans to address weaknesses in rigor of prior research?
Has the candidate presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed?
Has the candidate presented adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or human subjects?
Are the proposed research question, design, and methodology of significant scientific and technical merit?
Is the research plan relevant to the candidate's independent research career objectives?
Is the research plan appropriate to the candidate's stage of research development and as a vehicle for developing the research skills described in the career development plan?
Does the research plan address an area of health priority and scientific importance to the LMIC?
If proposed, will the mentored clinical trial experience contribute to the research project?
Mentors, Co-Mentor(s), Consultant(s), Collaborator(s)
Are the primary U.S. mentor's and the primary LMIC mentor's research qualifications in the area of the proposed research appropriate?
Do the primary mentors and any co-mentors adequately address the candidate's potential and his/her strengths and areas needing improvement?
Is there adequate description of the quality and extent of the primary U.S. mentor's and the primary LMIC mentor's proposed role in providing guidance and advice to the candidate?
Are the mentor's descriptions of the elements of the research career development activities, including formal course work, adequate?
Is there evidence of the mentors', consultant's, and/or collaborator's previous experience in fostering the development of independent researchers in the LMIC proposed?
Is there evidence of previous research productivity and peer-reviewed support?
Is active/pending support relevant to the candidate's proposed research project appropriate and adequate?
Are there adequate plans for monitoring and evaluating the career development awardee's progress toward independence?
If a Mentoring Team is proposed, are the qualifications of the members, the quality of the planned roles for advice, and scheduled meeting frequency of the Mentoring Team with the candidate adequate?
If the applicant is proposing to gain experience in a clinical trial as part of his or her research career development, is there evidence of the appropriate expertise, experience, and ability on the part of the mentor(s) to guide the applicant during participation in the clinical trial?
Environment & Institutional Commitment to the Candidate
Is there clear commitment of the applicant U.S. institution to ensure that a minimum of 9 person-months (75% of the candidate's full-time professional effort) will be devoted directly to the research and career development activities described in the application, with the remaining percent effort being devoted to an appropriate balance of research, teaching, administrative, and clinical responsibilities?
Is there clear commitment of the applicant U.S. institution to ensure that the candidate will be able to spend the required time at the LMIC site (a minimum of 50% of the cumulative effort over the project (all years) and a minimum of 3 months each year)?
Are the institutional commitments (U.S. and LMIC) to the career development of the candidate and for the mentors appropriately strong?
Are the research facilities, resources and training opportunities at the U.S. and LMIC institutions, including faculty capable of productive collaboration with the candidate adequate and appropriate?
Is the environment for scientific and professional development of the candidate of high quality?
Is there assurance that the institution intends the candidate to be an integral part of its research program as an independent investigator?
When the proposed project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults) to determine if it is justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research.
Vertebrate Animals
The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following criteria: (1) description of proposed procedures involving animals, including species, strains, ages, sex, and total number to be used; (2) justifications for the use of animals versus alternative models and for the appropriateness of the species proposed; (3) interventions to minimize discomfort, distress, pain and injury; and (4) justification for euthanasia method if NOT consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals. Reviewers will assess the use of chimpanzees as they would any other application proposing the use of vertebrate animals. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.
Biohazards
Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.
For Resubmissions, the committee will evaluate the application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the project.
Resource Sharing Plans
Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: (1) Data Sharing Plan; (2) Sharing Model Organisms; and (3) Genomic Data Sharing Plan (GDS).
All applications for support under this FOA must include a plan to fulfill NIH requirements for instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). Taking into account the level of experience of the applicant, including any prior instruction or participation in RCR as appropriate for the applicant's career stage, the reviewers will evaluate the adequacy of the proposed RCR training in relation to the following five required components: 1) Format - the required format of instruction, i.e., face-to-face lectures, coursework, and/or real-time discussion groups (a plan with only on-line instruction is not acceptable); 2) Subject Matter - the breadth of subject matter, e.g., conflict of interest, authorship, data management, human subjects and animal use, laboratory safety, research misconduct, research ethics; 3) Faculty Participation - the role of the mentor(s) and other faculty involvement in the fellow's instruction; 4) Duration of Instruction - the number of contact hours of instruction (at least eight contact hours are required); and 5) Frequency of Instruction –instruction must occur during each career stage and at least once every four years. Plans and past record will be rated as ACCEPTABLE or UNACCEPTABLE, and the summary statement will provide the consensus of the review committee. See also: NOT-OD-10-019.
Select Agent Research
Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).
Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources:
For projects involving key biological and/or chemical resources, reviewers will comment on the brief plans proposed for identifying and ensuring the validity of those resources.
Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.
Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s), in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.
As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.
Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the appropriate national Advisory Council or Board.
Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities
Geographic balance considerations.
Relevance to the interests of co-funding organizations.
Potential to contribute to other NIH- and U.S. government-supported research initiatives in LMICs.
Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's business official.
Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to terms and conditions found on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website. This includes any recent legislation and policy applicable to awards that is highlighted on this website.
All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Recipients, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants. More specifically, for K Awards, visit the Research Career Development ("K") Awardees section of the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
HHS recognizes that research projects are often limited in scope for many reasons that are nondiscriminatory, such as the principal investigator's scientific interest, funding limitations, recruitment requirements, and other considerations. Thus, criteria in research protocols that target or exclude certain populations are warranted where nondiscriminatory justifications establish that such criteria are appropriate with respect to the health or safety of the subjects, the scientific study design, or the purpose of the research. For additional guidance regarding how the provisions apply to NIH grant programs, please contact the Scientific/Research Contact that is identified in Section VII under Agency Contacts of this FOA.
HHS funded health and education programs must be administered in an environment free of sexual harassment. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/sex-discrimination/index.html; https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/shguide.html; and https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/upload/fs-sex.pdf. For information about NIH's commitment to supporting a safe and respectful work environment, who to contact with questions or concerns, and what NIH's expectations are for institutions and the individuals supported on NIH-funded awards, please see https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/harassment.htm.
Recipients of FFA must also administer their programs in compliance with applicable federal religious nondiscrimination laws and applicable federal conscience protection and associated anti-discrimination laws. Collectively, these laws prohibit exclusion, adverse treatment, coercion, or other discrimination against persons or entities on the basis of their consciences, religious beliefs, or moral convictions. Please see https://www.hhs.gov/conscience/conscience-protections/index.html and https://www.hhs.gov/conscience/religious-freedom/index.html.
In accordance with the statutory provisions contained in Section 872 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110-417), NIH awards will be subject to theFederal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) requirements. FAPIIS requires Federal award making officials to review and consider information about an applicant in the designated integrity and performance system (currently FAPIIS) prior to making an award. An applicant, at its option, may review information in the designated integrity and performance systems accessible through FAPIIS and comment on any information about itself that a Federal agency previously entered and is currently in FAPIIS. The Federal awarding agency will consider any comments by the applicant, in addition to other information in FAPIIS, in making a judgement about the applicant's integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards when completing the review of risk posed by applicants as described in 45 CFR Part 75.205 "Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants." This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships.
When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The Supplemental Instructions for Individual Career Development (K) RPPRs must be followed. The Mentor's Report must include an annual evaluation statement of the candidate's progress.
A final RPPR, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.
In carrying out its stewardship of human resource-related programs, the NIH may request information essential to an assessment of the effectiveness of this program from databases and from participants themselves. Participants may be contacted after the completion of this award for periodic updates on various aspects of their employment history, publications, support from research grants or contracts, honors and awards, professional activities, and other information helpful in evaluating the impact of the program.
Because of the difference in individual Institute and Center (IC) program requirements for this FOA, prospective applications MUST consult the Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements, and Staff Contacts, to make sure that their application is responsive to the requirements of one of the participating NIH ICs. Prior consultation with NIH staff is strongly encouraged.
eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten on-time submission, and post-submission issues)
General Grants Information (Questions regarding application processes and NIH grant resources)
Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov (preferred method of contact)
Christine Jessup, PhD
Email: Christine.Jessup@nih.gov
Sudha Sivaram, DrPH, MPH
Email: sivarams@mail.nih.gov
Seetha Bhagavan, PhD
Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
Email: bhagavas@csr.nih.gov
Mollie Shea
Email: Mollie.Shea@.nih.gov
Dawn M Mitchum
Email: dm437a@nih.gov
Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Please note that the NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of programs to attract and retain promising early-stage investigators in research careers by helping them to repay their student loans. Recipients of career development awards are encouraged to consider applying for an extramural LRP award.
Awards are made under the authorization of Sections 301, 307, and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241, 284, and 287(b)) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.


The Supreme court in Kampala has set 18th of April as the date for the release of the age limit ruling, almost a month after the 2 months deadline passed.
The appeal is challenging the removal of the age limit (75years) on the presidency which would have barred President Museveni from seeking re-election in 2021. Mr Museveni now aged 74 will be above 75 in 2021.
In a notice sent out to all the petitioners this afternoon, the ruling will be given at exactly 10: 00 AM.
"If no appearance is made by yourself, your pleader or your by someone by law authorized to act on your behalf, the judgement will be delivered on your behalf," reads the final part of the statement.
Last month,the Supreme Court registrar Vincent Emmy Mugabo who also is the spokesperson of the Judiciary, said the justices had already met and compared notes and the verdict would be out any time.


text:
Q: ggplot: overlay two plots Is it possible to overlay two plots with gridExtra (or other package)?
I want to rescale one plot and overlay it to a second one (specifying rescaling and coordinates)
require(ggplot2)
require(gridExtra)

df <- data.frame(value=rnorm(10), date=1:10)

p1 <- ggplot(data.frame(df), aes(value,date)) + geom_line()
p2 <- ggplot(data.frame(df), aes(value,date)) + geom_point()

to obtain something like this

A: Look at gtable package in combination with gridExtra. You can specify size and coordinates of plot as you like.
require(gtable)

p1 <- ggplotGrob(p1)
p2 <- ggplotGrob(p2)

gt <- gtable(widths = unit(c(1, 2), "null"), heights = unit(c(.2, 1, 1), "null"))
gt <- gtable_add_grob(gt, p2, t = 1, b = 3, l = 1, r = 2)
gt <- gtable_add_grob(gt, p1, t = 2, l = 2)
grid.draw(gt)

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text:
Make Your Picks, Choose Wisely
Aidan Brami, Financial Specialist
With the March Madness tournament approaching, bracket fever will start to take over sports network airways. Constant talk, predictions and upset possibilities will be discussed, and almost all of it will be incorrect. Even though a quality bracket is hard to create, it is hard to deny that it is loads of fun.
Last year, Villanova won the championship in the final seconds with a buzzer beater against North Carolina. The final score of that game was 77-74, that game came down to the wire and will surely leave this years fans wanting.
AP statistics teacher Mark Bradley has incorporated the NCAA tournament into his class. For the past eight years, Bradley has had a competition where the boys and girls of each class fill out a bracket.
"After the tournament is over, we conduct significance tests on the results, comparing the accuracy of our picks to those of previous years' students. We also determine if females are equally adept as males at choosing their brackets," Bradley said.
The NCAA bracket committee released its pre ranking for the bracket Feb. 11, with the official bracket being released March 12. In the pre-rankings, the number-one seeds are Villanova, Gonzaga, Kansas and Baylor.
When picking your bracket, take into account these important statistics:
Number-one seeds win just above 60 percent of all NCAA tournaments, so having your favorite team win the tournament as a nine seed is highly unlikely. However, only an average of 1.8 number 1 seeds make the final four. This means a chalk bracket, where the highest seed wins every game, will not work out either.
Bradley said he considers himself to be an above average "bracketeer." "Unless you know the teams in a match-up very well, pay attention to the seeds and don't pick too many upsets. Do not be ashamed to pick your favorite team to lose if the odds are against them," Bradley said.
Junior Ian Mendoza participated in Bradley's bracket challenge last year.
"I was very excited when we started the bracket challenge, I picked almost all the games right after the first two days of the tournament. After that, it went downhill, but I thought it was a fun relevant topic to the class," Mendoza said.
This year, I predict the UCLA Bruins will reign as national champions. The team has outstanding ball movement, great shooters and two outstanding players; Freshman point guard Lonzo Ball and freshman forward T.J. Leaf both have the talent to bring them a national championship
The most important part of picking your bracket is to enjoy yourself, so do not let anyone tell you how to change your bracket. Trust your gut and the best "bracketeer" will be revealed!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home Brandon Ingram Lakers News: Luke Walton Softens Stance On Minutes Restriction For Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma In Rising Stars Challenge
Lakers News: Luke Walton Softens Stance On Minutes Restriction For Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma In Rising Stars Challenge
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Players Only: Preview Of Kobe Bryant And Shaquille O'Neal Interview On TNT
With All-Star Weekend finally upon us, the Los Angeles Lakers can get some much-needed rest as they don't play again until Feb. 23. For Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, however, that isn't quite the case.
Ingram, Kuzma, and Lonzo Ball were all selected to take part in the Rising Stars Challenge. Ball won't play because of injury, but Ingram and Kuzma will suit up, which will be their third game in three nights.
Because of that, Lakers head coach Luke Walton said that he wanted both of his players to log limited minutes in the showcase event.
After the Lakers' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves however, Walton softened his stance somewhat, leaving it up to the players themselves, via Spectrum SportsNet:
"Ultimately, I'll leave it up to them. My recommendation is that they don't play big minutes. But if they want to, that's their decision as long as they're cleared from the medical staff."
Kuzma in particular, made it pretty clear that he wanted no parts of any type of minutes restrictions for the Rising Stars Challenge. He even tweeted out that he plans on gunning for the MVP Award on Friday night.
With Larry Nance Jr. being moved at the trade deadline, Ingram and Kuzma are the only representatives for the Lakers during All-Star Weekend, so a good performance in the Rising Stars Challenge would be a nice feather in the cap for the organization.
Walton's concerns about minutes are understandable as the last thing he wants is two of his most important players being overworked. On the plus side however, is the fact that there will still be plenty of time for them to rest up and be ready for the Lakers' next contest, and the rest of the season.
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In case you missed out on our previous article on Small World Cafe (SWC), here is a little recap! This Saturday SWC at Silver Arc Mall hosted a Super chef contest for kids wherein these little chefs got the opportunity to create their very own SWC signature thin crust pizza and get judged by the in house chefs too!
The moment we stepped into SWC we were transported straight to the 'Mini Italia'. With the Italian theme decor adorning the venue, from the cutest pizza shape buntings on the ceiling to adorable photo props, the place instantly elevated our spirits and left us looking forward to many more surprises. Each kid was provided with a complimentary chef's hat and an apron, a pizza base and a huge variety of toppings to decorate their creations with, all as per their own whims and fancies! While the pizzas were sent for baking, the raring kids were entertained by the wonderful anchor Astha Sethi, who had lined up an array of fun activities for the participating kids!
The friends and family were served rounds of complimentary cappuccinos to make the wait for their kids masterpiece creations even more delectable.
It's all in the details! SWC surely kept no stone unturned from creating a perfect ambience for all the visitors to making sure that not only were the most ingenious kids awarded for their creativity but each participant was recognized for their efforts! Kudos to the SWC team for hosting such a charming event!
Stay tuned dear readers as this is just a start! There are many more events coming up to bring more laughs, happiness and joy to the city and The Hush Hush Diary is all set to keep you well informed about them all!
Here are some pictures from the event….Enjoy!


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Q: More general than semidefinite program? I was TAing my convex optimization class and explaining that Linear Programs are a special case of Second Order Cone Programs, which are themselves special cases of Semidefinite Programs.  My question is, is there any well-established class of optimization problems that is more general than semidefinite programs?  Conic optimization problems would be an example of this, but I'm hoping for something a little more algebraic, if it exists.

A: If you like, you might look at cones of sums of squares of polynomials (cones of PSD matrices are the same thing as cones of sums of squares of linear polynomials). This is the starting point of the modern technique of solving optimisation problems on semi-algebraic sets, due to J.Lasserre and others.
More generally, you might look at cones of nonnegative polynomials, and this opens up the whole Hilbert 17th problem business.

A: There is the concept of hyperbolic programming, introduced in the 90's by Osman Güler:

*

*O. Güler, Hyperbolic Polynomials and Interior Point Methods for Convex Programming, Math. Oper. Res. 22 (1997) 350-377.

See also

*

*H.H. Bauschke, O. Güler, A.S. Lewis, H.S. Sendov, Hyperbolic Polynomials and Convex Analysis, Canad. J. Math. 53 (2001) 470-488;

*J. Renegar, Hyperbolic Programs, and their Derivative Relaxations, Found. Comput. Math. 6 (2005) 59–79.

It is based on the concept of hyperbolicity cone introduced by Lars Gårding in the 50's in the context of the theory of hyperbolic partial differential equations.
We say that an homogeneous polynomial $P:\mathbb{R}^n\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ is hyperbolic with respect to $\tau\in\mathbb{R}^n$ if $P(\tau)\neq 0$ and the roots of the one-variable polynomial $P_{\xi,\tau}(\lambda)\doteq P(\xi-\lambda\tau)$ are all real for all $\xi\in\mathbb{R}^n$. We then define the hyperbolicity cone $C(P,\tau)$ of $P$ with respect to $\tau$ as
$$
C(P,\tau)=\{\xi\in\mathbb{R}^n\ |\ \text{the roots of }P_{\xi,\tau}\text{ are all positive}\}\ .
$$
It was shown by Gårding that $C(P,\tau)$ is an open, convex cone which is the connected component of $\{\xi\ |\ P(\xi)\neq 0\}$ to which $\tau$ belongs. Moreover, the closure of $C(P,\tau)$ has the form
$$
\overline{C(P,\tau)}=\{\xi\in\mathbb{R}^n\ |\ \text{the roots of }P_{\xi,\tau}\text{ are all nonnegative}\}\ .
$$
Hyperbolic programming is then simply conic programming when the feasibility cone is (the closure of) an hyperbolicity cone of some hyperbolic polynomial $P$. Checking if $\xi\in\mathbb{R}^n$ belongs to $C(P,\tau)$ (resp. $\overline{C(P,\tau)}$) amounts to checking if the coefficients of the monic one-variable polynomial $P(\tau)^{-1}P_{\xi,\tau}=P_{\tau,\tau}(0)^{-1}P_{\xi,\tau}$ are all positive (resp. nonnegative).
Hyperbolic programming generalizes semidefinite programming in the following sense: if $\gamma_1,\ldots,\gamma_n$ are $N\times N$ symmetric matrices and we set $\gamma(\xi)=\sum^n_{j=1}\xi_j\gamma_j$, $\xi\in\mathbb{R}^n$, then $P(\xi)=\det\gamma(\xi)$ is an hyperbolic polynomial with respect to any $\tau\in\mathbb{R}^n$ such that $\gamma(\tau)$ is positive definite. In that case,
$$
C(P,\tau)=\{\xi\in\mathbb{R}^n\ |\ \gamma(\xi)\text{ is positive definite}\}
$$
and
$$
\overline{C(P,\tau)}=\{\xi\in\mathbb{R}^n\ |\ \gamma(\xi)\text{ is positive semidefinite}\}\ .
$$
It is not known whether this is a strict generalization of semidefinite programming, though - it is in fact conjectured that any hyperbolicity cone can be represented as a cone of positive definite matrices for a suitable choice of $N$. Since this was originally conjectured (in a stronger form) by Peter Lax in the 50's for $n=3$, this (still open) conjecture became known as the generalized Lax conjecture. Lax's original claim was proven by A.S. Lewis, P.A. Parrilo and M.V. Ramana (The Lax Conjecture is True, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 133 (2005) 2495-2499) building on work by J.W. Helton and V. Vinnikov (Linear Matrix Inequality Representation of Sets, Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 60 (2007) 654-674).


Be the best that you can be at your profession. Our hotel receptionist training courses can help you get there. Learn all the latest tips and tricks of the trade and become more efficient with our hotel receptionist training. Be tech savvy and quick on your feet with guidance from your tutors who are also experts in the industry. All our programs are accredited so they will be recognised and will help you either carry on further studies or obtain employment.
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You could take a professional hotel receptionist course with us online and get a job anywhere in the world. The hospitality business is vital to be a part of since it is and will always stay prevalent in a lot of parts of the world. Don't look elsewhere if you are looking for accredited hotel receptionist courses from home. Our online study programs make learning easy and convenient. Our courses are not bound by time or locations; you could take up a course from wherever you are. Be a part of our community today and get on board with e-learning.
What benefits does this course have?
On average, the wage of a hotel receptionist in the UK is £7.4 per hour. You could take up a hotel receptionist course online and secure yourself a job. One of the many benefits of getting into the hospitality industry is that you can progress as you gain more and more experience. The industry is very active and prevalent in many parts of the world which means you can take a hotel receptionist training online and use it wherever you live. If you have any further questions about the courses or you want to know more about e-learning, we're always here to guide you through.


text:
Three storylines to watch: Pitt at Central Florida | TribLIVE.com
Three storylines to watch: Pitt at Central Florida
Jerry Dipaola
Fri., September 28, 2018 6:21 p.m. | Friday, September 28, 2018 6:21 p.m.
The world is watching, and you get the feeling Pitt senses it.
For the second time in five weeks — and two weeks before it happens again when Pitt plays at No. 8 Notre Dame — the Panthers are playing a game Saturday in Orlando, Fla., that has national importance.
Central Florida is ranked No. 13, carries the nation's longest winning streak (16) and considers itself a contender for the College Football Playoff. Too many people don't believe that, so the Knights' margin for error doesn't even exist. They probably want to spew some of that frustration all over Pitt, their only Power 5 opponent, and bolster their argument for inclusion in the CFP.
What would a Pitt victory mean, and how can Pitt even expect to win? Here are three storylines to follow during the game:
1. Pitt's season is at stake
No, this isn't a must-win for the Panthers (2-2, 1-1 ACC). It's a nonconference game that will be forgotten if Pitt recovers to contend for the ACC Coastal championship.
But we're talking reputation, perception and momentum.
Despite big victories against No. 2-ranked teams Clemson and Miami the past two years, Pitt doesn't have a national image. Why not? Maybe because it has defeated only four Power 5 schools in the past two seasons (16 games).
Central Florida (3-0, 1-0 in the American Athletic) isn't Power 5, but it's close enough for a Pitt victory to send shockwaves across the nation and give the Panthers confidence to tackle tougher games later this season.
"Great football team, talented, confident, fast in all spots," coach Pat Narduzzi said. "It's going to be a challenge for our kids to find out where we are when it comes to playing top-25 teams."
Just as important, Pitt doesn't want a repeat of last year's 5-7 season.
"Being in this position and seeing how last year went, you have flashbacks for stuff that happened last year," senior linebacker Elijah Zeise said. "The big challenge for all of us is to get that out our minds, taking everything one step at a time to make sure we don't have another year like last year."
2. Corral that quarterback
Central Florida's McKenzie Milton is a Heisman Trophy candidate who can run as well as he can pass. He can polish his resume with a big victory and lots of stats against Pitt's struggling defense.
That's what everyone is expecting. Central Florida is a 13½-point favorite. Historically, Pitt has had trouble containing mobile quarterbacks because it never had enough speed on defense. But after three classes of his own, the expectation was Narduzzi would have recruited well enough to give him a comfort level against up-tempo offenses.
"You're never comfortable," he said. "It just brings another dimension to the football game (to worry about)."
Asked if his defense is better-suited than it's ever been to handle a speed-based offense, Narduzzi didn't say yes and didn't say no. He only said, "That would be disrespecting Ejuan Price and some of the other good players we've had on this team (in the past)."
3. Go to ground, control tempo
The best way for Pitt to win is to keep the ball out of Milton's hands, stop him on third down and control the clock with its running game.
But is the defense good enough? In four games, Pitt has allowed too many yards (396.3 per game) to keep punting the ball back to Milton.
The solution is to lean on running backs Qadree Ollison, Darrin Hall, A.J Davis and Mychale Sallahuddin (at least three of those four), take some pressure off sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett and shorten the game.
Narduzzi was asked how he can defend Central Florida, which scored 150 points in three games, if it had few answers for North Carolina, which scored 38 with an offense that was averaging only 18.
" Are they (Central Florida) much better? I don't know. I think North Carolina's pretty good."
Thursday, Miami beat North Carolina, 47-10.
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry at [email protected] or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
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Are you curious about the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation and how its scholarship program works?
The public is invited to the Grand Haven Women's Club meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 16, to learn more.
Foundation President Holly Johnson will give a presentation at the noon meeting at First Presbyterian Church, 508 Franklin Ave. in Grand Haven. All are welcome, including men. Light refreshments will be served and there is no charge to attend.
Johnson will present an overview of the organization, which has been recognized as one of the top performing community foundations in the nation in terms of gifts per capita. Beth Larsen, director of grants and nonprofit services, will talk about the grant-making process and a new funding initiative to support the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.
They also will talk about the Women's Club scholarship fund and other scholarship opportunities.
Johnson has been president of the Grand Haven foundation for three years, but she's been involved in it for the past eight years. She has a deep knowledge of our community as well as the broader community foundation field. She has a master's degree in nonprofit leadership.
The Grand Haven Women's Club has a long history of awarding scholarships to deserving local students. According to club history, "On March 2, 1956, the club decided to aid a deserving young woman who wanted to go to college" and established a Student Aid Committee. The club voted to help Shirley Stocklin for four years at Alma College, "providing her grades remained satisfactory." The club's current fund at the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation was established in 2001 and provides scholarships for non-traditional area women.
Founded in 1891, the Grand Haven Women's Club is dedicated to enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service. With an emphasis on "women helping women," the club assists a variety of local charities including the MammAide Program to help make mammograms available at the North Ottawa Community Health System.


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Capturing the reward side of currency exposure: Lessons from Japan
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt end to the U.S. interlude of interest rate normalisation. Meanwhile the European Central Bank and several European countries have continued to battle zero or negative interest rates. With rates likely to remain very low there may be lessons for institutional investors from their Japanese counterparts.
The policy rate in Japan first hit zero in 1999. In more than two decades since, Japanese savers and pension funds have been wrestling with zero rates on bank deposits and other cash investments. It is therefore no coincidence that investors in Japan have been intrigued by foreign exchange investments for a long time, with the archetypal housewife Mrs. Watanabe reported to be speculating in currencies with high interest rates.
Are there any lessons for American/ investors from the Japanese experience?
The first is that low interest rates can stay low for longer than most observers expect. Arguably, the three other major currency areas (the U.S., the eurozone and the UK) have already been in a Japanese interest rate environment for the last decade, barring the 2016-2018 normalisation. Japan's zero rate policy and quantitative easing has not caused a debt crisis and failed to generate any meaningful inflation. The stability in short-term rates and long-term bond yields may be attributed to the nation's demographics - which many advanced economies have in common with Japan - where an ageing population and a growing number of elderly savers prefers safe investments, helping to keep interest rates low.
To compensate for this low yield environment, many Japanese pension funds ventured into international stocks and bonds, hoping to diversify and capitalize on faster GDP (gross domestic product) growth elsewhere. While the case for international diversification is compelling, in our view, investors need to think about how to deal with the associated currency risk.
Source: Refinitiv Datastream, January 21, 2021
Often, the currency exposure from an investment is not an intentional choice expected to yield returns but the by-product of a decision to diversify internationally. Consider a U.S. pension fund which wants to invest in non-U.S. bonds. By allocating to the Bloomberg Global Aggregate excluding U.S. dollar index today¹, the pension fund implicitly holds a long position in a currency basket of 40% euro, 23% Japanese yen, 12% Chinese Renminbi, 9% pound sterling and the remainder in other currencies. Is that currency bet a conscious choice? Probably not.
Currency management is an frequently-overlooked aspect of multi-asset portfolio management. What is often not appreciated is that currency can present very attractive return characteristics, with little to no correlation to traditional asset classes. For this reason, investors can potentially add value by incorporating a currency overlay designed to deliver additional return and lower total portfolio risk. Because currency management is done using forward contracts and does not require upfront funding like traditional asset classes, the existing asset allocation can mostly be kept in place (with some additional capacity to raise cash when needed as forward contracts mature).
Why do return opportunities exist in FX markets?
We believe return opportunities exist in currency markets because a large group of participants are not motivated by profit and their need to transact is quite price-insensitive in the short term. Very diverse groups of individuals and institutions take part in the global foreign exchange markets: Corporations, commercial banks, equity and bond investors, currency managers, central banks and tourists. Participants can be broadly divided into three groups:
Liquidity seekers and hedgers - These are a broad group of global corporations and investors who systematically convert their foreign currency revenues or exposures into their home currencies. Central banks are also active participants as they hedge to manage capital and currency flows. In addition, companies involved in international mergers and acquisitions and tourists exchange currencies without a profit motive from their foreign exchange transaction.
Profit seekers - Currency managers, global bond managers, hedge fund managers and commodities trading advisors (CTAs) are active participants, with profit-seeking objectives.
Dealers - Commercial banks provide liquidity and facilitate trading activities by acting as intermediaries.
Despite the high average daily turnover in foreign exchange markets, the majority of the market's trading volume is estimated to be hedging activity related to corporate treasuries and asset management portfolios. Therefore, the smaller group of profit seekers can take advantage of the return opportunities in the market.
The second lesson we can learn from Japan is how some institutional investors manage currency exposure to convert unrewarded risk into a source of return. The process conceptually involves two steps: (1) hedging the foreign currency exposure from international investments back to base currency and thereby eliminating the incidental foreign exchange risks; and (2) tilting the currency exposure towards factors that we believe are rewarded with positive expected returns. In practice, the transactions from both steps can be netted and executed in one go.
Capturing currency factors
The third lesson from Japan has been its more pronounced use of systematic currency factor strategies to capture additional returns. A number of characteristics can be used to describe the economic aspects of a currency, such as its interest rate, the cost of a basket of goods in that currency or its returns in the recent past. If these characteristics of different currencies can be grouped together, we can consider these economic aspects as currency factors.
There is ample academic evidence&spu2; showing that currency factors can offer meaningful, persistent and relatively uncorrelated return sources. Russell Investments believes that carry, value and trend are the three currency factors that are best placed to generate these positive returns at moderate volatility over long periods:
Carry captures the tendency of higher-interest-rate currencies to generate higher returns than lower-interest-rate currencies, as a compensation for higher risk.
Value takes advantage of the tendency of currencies to mean-revert to a level of long-term economic equilibrium, such as purchasing power parity (PPP).
Trend exploits the propensity of currency returns to persist over short-to-medium-term horizons, so that past returns have some predictive power for future returns.
The carry, value and trend factor strategies are regularly applied to universes of developed-market currencies (DM), for example, the G10 currencies³.
While each of the currency factors, in isolation, has experienced periods of negative returns, these falls do not often occur at the same time across the three factors. As such, we believe there is a diversification advantage to investors in accessing a strategy that blends different currency factors.
Is now the right time?
During periods when bond yields rise and the yield curve steepens, the blend of currency factors can counterbalance negative returns in fixed income portfolios. While central banks may keep short-term rates very low, if the global economic recovery continues and long-term bond yields rise further, a currency factor strategy can be a good return source and diversifier to fixed income portfolios.
The Japanese experience with persistently low interest rates continues to this day and can offer valuable lessons for investors in other regions. Currency exposures from international investments are often not the outcome of an intentional investment decision and should be managed more deliberately. Hedging the incidental currency risk back to base currency can reduce risk. The potential gain in risk budget can be used to tilt currency exposures towards rewarded factors and enhance returns. Ultimately, we believe a factor-based approach offers a cost-effective way to access risk premia in currency markets.
¹ Source: Bloomberg, as of March 31, 2021.
² See for example Kröncke, Tim-Alexander, Felix Schindler und Andreas Schrimpf (2014), International Diversification Benefits with Foreign Exchange Investment Styles, Review of Finance 18 (5), 1847-1883.
³These are the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, euro, UK pound sterling, Japanese yen, New Zealand dollar, Norwegian krone, Swedish krona, and U.S. dollar


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Gabriel Vargas Jr. Identified as Shooting Victim in Montebello
The Coroner's Office today identified a 19-year-old
man who was gunned down in the  courtyard of an apartment complex in
Montebello.
The shooting victim was identified as East Los Angeles resident Gabriel
Vargas Jr., said Coroner's Lt. Fred Corral.
Vargas was with a group of acquaintances at about noon on Friday in the
600 block of Via Altamira, when a male suspect approached on foot and fired
several shots, according to Montebello police.
Officers responding to a shots-fired call found Vargas suffering from
multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect fled in an unknown direction, and a detailed description was
not immediately available.
Investigators do not believe Vargas was a random target, according to a
Montebello police lieutenant. No motive was being ruled out, including the
possibility that the shooting was gang-related, he said.
Anyone with information about the killing was urged to call Montebello
police investigators at (323) 887-1313.


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Ashana Finesse
NovemberNov 24, 1995
NovemberNov 24, 1995 (age 23)
Web Star Born in Trinidad And Tobago#12
Instagram star and recording artist who garnered attention after the release of her song "Pull Me Closer" aired on Red 96.7. As an influencer and model, her photos have earned her over 750,000 followers on her ashana_01 account.
She has been a recording artist since the age of 14; however, it took her a while to discover the type of music she wanted to focus on.
She has been featured in several press outlets for her modeling work, including on In Flex We Trust.
She was born and raised in Trinidad.
She was featured in International Rapper YG's music video "Pop It, Shake It" featuring DJ Mustard, which was shot in her home country Trinidad.
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