NIOSH, Five NIH Partners Seek Applications forResearch in Eight Nora-Related Areas

Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 260-8519
March 24, 1999

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with five institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is seeking applications for approximately $7.5 million in grant funds in eight of the priority areas for research under the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). The funding furthers the support of NIOSH and partner Institutes in NIH for key research under NORA to prevent and reduce serious, costly work-related injuries and illnesses.

Joining with NIOSH to fund new research under the Request for Applications (RFA) are the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

"We are pleased to team with our NIH partners for this new announcement of research grant funds, which builds upon our historic collaboration with NIH last year for funding new grants under NORA," said NIOSH Director Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H. "Based on that success in 1998, we expect that the current Request for Applications will stimulate many more grant proposals of high quality this year and further affirm NORA's critical role for advancing new research to prevent job-related injuries and illnesses."

The Request for Applications (RFA) invites proposals for research related to:

Intervention effectiveness research: evaluation of safety and health interventions to protect workers from job-related injuries and illnesses. Proposals can be in any industry sector, but NIOSH will give special consideration to projects in agriculture, construction, the service industry (especially health care), and mining.

Fertility and pregnancy abnormalities associated with occupational exposures.

Occupational hearing loss: prevention and intervention, including noise control.

Methodologies for assessing exposures to hazardous biological, chemical, and physical agents, including assessment of complex mixtures.

Methodologies for injury and illness surveillance in the workplace.

The aging workforce as a special population at risk of job-related injuries and illnesses.

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Issues in the organization of work relating to demanding work schedules, sleep disorders, and/or the risk of occupational illness and injury.

Potential grant applicants are requested to submit for receipt by April 19, 1999, a letter expressing intent to apply for a grant. Applications on Form PHS-398 should be submitted for receipt by June 10, 1999. The text of the RFA (No. OH-99-002) is available on the World Wide Web at www.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OH-99-002.html and from the NIOSH Research Grants Program, 1600 Clifton Road N.E., Building 1, Room 3053, MS D-30, Atlanta, Ga. 30333; tel. (404) 639-3343, fax (404) 639-4616. Application kits are available from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Informational Resources, NIH, 6701 Rockledge Dr., MSC 7910, Bethesda, Md. 20892-7910; tel. (301) 435-0714; e-mail grantsinfo@nih.gov, and on the World Wide Web at www.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm.

In 1998, NIOSH joined with NHLBI, NIA, NIEHS, and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disorders (NIAMS) to award grants in NORA-related areas. NIOSH has awarded 37 grants related to the 1998 NORA RFA. The partner NIH Institutes in the 1998 NORA-related RFA have awarded 10 grants under that announcement.

NORA, which was developed by NIOSH with extensive input and outside review by more than 500 diverse organizations and individuals, provides a national blueprint for research in 21 priority areas that will do the most to prevent and reduce job-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths over the coming decade.

For further information on NORA and on NIOSH research, contact the NIOSH toll-free information number, 1-800-35-NIOSH(1-800-356-4674) or visit the NIOSH home page on the World Wide Web at www.cdc.gov/niosh.