To provide relevant information to ASPB members, we will be sharing weekly updates on US Federal Agency responses to COVID-19 and research opportunities. The information below was prepared by Lewis-Burke Associates and curated by Shandrea Stallworth, Early Career Representative on ASPB’s Science Policy Committee. Additional information about ASPB’s response to COVID-19 can be found here.
RESEARCH GUIDELINES
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP) will host a videocast on Tuesday, April 28 from 1:00pm-2:00pm ET to discuss OHRP COVID-19 guidance. The videocast can be viewed here.
US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
On April 16, the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Dr. Scott Angle, and members of his staff held a webinar on FAQs relating to COVID-19. Presenters stressed that NIFA is routinely updating guidance, extending deadlines, and accepting proposals for COVID-19 research. Topics covered in the webinar included no cost-extensions; information on salaries and project activities; allowability of costs due to COVID-19 impact on research; and procurement requirements, among others. Slides from the webinar can be found here.
RESEARCH FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
USDA
NIFA has announced a new opportunity under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational and Applied Sciences RFA: Rapid Response to Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Impacts Across Food and Agricultural Systems. This funding track will support two-year research, extension, and integration projects of up to $1 million to develop and deploy “rapid, reliable, and readily 40 adoptable strategies across the food and agriculture enterprise” that ensure the safety and accessibility of a nutritious food supply. Proposals should be interdisciplinary and focus on one or more of the following priority areas: Health and Security of Livestock; Well-being of Farm, Food Service Providers, and Rural Americans; Economic Security; and Food Safety. Proposals should explicitly highlight how the activities would directly address urgent stakeholder needs relating to COVID-19. Additionally, AFRI encourages proposals from or collaborations with minority serving institutions. The deadline to submit proposals is June 4, 2020. NIFA intends to expedite its evaluation and review processes to ensure projects can begin as soon as possible. More Information on the funding opportunity is available here.
