Superfund Hazardous Substance Research and Training Program (P42 Clinical Trial Optional)

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) invites qualified investigators from domestic institutions of higher education to submit an application for a Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center grant. SRP legislation, under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986, allows NIEHS the flexibility to create university-based Centers to conduct scientific research to address the wide array of scientific uncertainties facing the national Superfund program.  The complex problems related to sites impacted by hazardous substances require the expertise of multiple biomedical research (BMR) and environmental science and engineering (ESE) disciplines. Applicants responding to this Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement (NOFO) are expected to design a research Center that integrates BMR (e.g., toxicology, epidemiology, mechanistic studies) with ESE (e.g., remediation, geosciences, ecological sciences). The goal of a NIEHS SRP Center is to improve public health by supporting integrative, multidisciplinary research incorporating the following: responsiveness to mandates; problem-based, solution-oriented research; relevance to SRP and Superfund; innovation; and integration. 

Responsiveness to Mandates: SARA Section 311(a) “Hazardous Substances Research and Training,” authorizes NIEHS to create a basic research and training program for the development of:

1) advanced techniques for the detection, assessment, and evaluation of the effect of hazardous substances on human health;

2) methods to assess the risks to human health presented by hazardous substances;

3) methods and technologies to detect hazardous substances in the environment; and

4) basic biological, chemical, and physical methods to reduce the amount and toxicity of hazardous substances. 

To accomplish these mandates, Centers are expected to assemble interdisciplinary research teams with expertise in BMR as well as ESE to advance scientific knowledge using innovative and integrated approaches. Moreover, the SRP's fourth mandate reinforces the program's problem-solving mission; whereby, the research generated by SRP Centers would lead to strategies to prevent exposure and/or develop intervention strategies to improve public health. Centers are also expected to facilitate transfer of research findings through coordinated data management and analysis; engage communities with prevention/intervention strategies; share findings to broader audiences; and train the future generation of scientists.

Application Instructions

Please submit:

1. A one‐page letter of intent with a description of proposed aims and approach.
2. If the final application requires a diversity statement or statement of broader impacts, please summarize your plans to address the specific requirements on an additional page.
3. CV (not biosketch) of the PI.

to limitedsubs@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Wednesday, June 28, 2023. Proposals are due to the sponsor 10/2/2023, so you will need to have your materials in to the Office of Sponsored Programs by 9/21/2023 if given the go‐ahead by the Limited Submissions review committee.