Environmental Health Sciences Pilot Grants 

ELIGIBILITY: 

• HERCULES pilot awards are open to all investigators at Emory and the Emory-Georgia Tech Department of Biomedical Engineering who are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators on NIH R-level grant applications. Faculty in other departments at Georgia Tech are eligible to apply if their proposal includes collaboration with an Emory faculty member. 

• HERCULES Pilot PIs funded in the previous two pilot cycles are not eligible to apply.  

• Only one application per PI may be submitted. 

• Applications must be focused on the role of the environment in human health and disease and aligned with the mission of NIEHS.  

 GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH PROJECTS: 

• Applications for community-engaged research projects designed to address local environmental health concerns are encouraged. 

• Applicants planning a community-engaged pilot project are required to consult with the CEC prior to applying.  

• Community members/partners are expected to participate meaningfully in the development of the research questions and research design, as well as study implementation (e.g., data collection), with resources shared (e.g., compensating partner’s time).  

• Community-engaged projects should carefully consider the scope of the project, including time and budget for project and partnership coordination.  

• Community partners and researchers are encouraged to sign a memorandum of understanding. A template can be provided by the CEC. 

 LETTER OF INTENT:  

The letter should include a descriptive title of the proposed research, overall aim/hypothesis of proposed research, names of key personnel, and any anticipated use of HERCULES Facility Cores (Environmental Health Data Sciences, Targeted Analysis, Metabolomics, or Clinical/Population Research Services). Letters should not exceed one page. To be submitted via MS Forms. The link will be made available here during the submission period. If you are submitting from outside of Emory and do not have a sponsored account (Emory email address), please send your LOI directly to Hillary.Barton@emory.edu. 

CORE MEETINGS  

Applicants proposing to utilize HERCULES Core services are required to meet with the appropriate Core lead prior to development of their final application. Meeting times, location and zoom link TBD. All cores will host one meeting with the exception of the CEC. Please reach out to Erin Lebow- Skelly and Melanie Pearson to schedule a 30 minute meeting within the timeframes listed below. If you are unable to attend the scheduled meetings, please reach out directly to the Core leads listed below.  

 HUMAN SUBJECTS REQUIREMENTS:  

Awardees must supply the following IRB information, if relevant, to the HERCULES Center Administrator for approval prior to release of funds: study team CITI certification, University IRB approval/exemption letter, Human Subjects Statement, and PHS Inclusion Form.  

ANIMAL STUDIES:

Investigators interested in proposing the use of animals in their pilot application must take careful consideration of the latest NIH initiative to prioritize human based research technologies and reduce use of animals in NIH-funded research. NIH is moving to reduce funding for animal studies and increase funding for human-based approaches. Please be aware of these changes as you consider your application for HERCULES pilot funding. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-prioritize-human-based-research-technologies

FOREIGN COMPONENT: 

Projects proposing work in a foreign location or with foreign partners are not prohibited but do require additional approvals and are often not feasible within the one-year timeframe of the award. Investigators interested in proposing a foreign component in their pilot application must take careful consideration of updates to the NIH policy on foreign subawards. NIH has made changes to increase their ability to track spending on foreign collaborations. Please be aware of these changes as you consider your application for HERCULES pilot funding. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-104.html

Please consult with Hillary Barton, Center Administrator, if you are considering a project with a foreign component.  

“Foreign component” is defined as significant scientific activity that was performed outside of the United States, either by the grantee or by a researcher employed by a foreign organization, whether or not grant funds were expended. The following grant-related activities are significant and must be reported: 

• involvement of human subjects or research with live vertebrate animals 

• extensive foreign travel by awardee project staff to collect data, or conduct surveys or sampling activities 

• any awardee activity that may have an impact on U.S. foreign policy 

Examples of other award-related activities that may be significant are: 

• collaborations with investigators at a foreign site anticipated to result in co-authorship 

• use of facilities or instrumentation at a foreign site 

• receipt of financial support or resources from a foreign entity 

AWARDEE REQUIREMENTS: 

• Pilot awardees are expected to lead to R-level NIH funding, preferably with NIEHS. Awardees are required to keep the HERCULES Center Administrator informed of any funding related to the pilot project.  

• Any resultant publications must cite funding from HERCULES (NIH grant P30 ES019776) and, if applicable, CHARTER (NIEHS 1P2CES033430-01) or the Winship Cancer Institute Specific Award (NCI P30 CA138292). Awardees must follow NIH guidelines for depositing the manuscript in PubMed Central. An electronic copy of all publications should be provided to the HERCULES Center Administrator.  

• Awardees automatically become members of the HERCULES Center and must agree to participate in HERCULES activities (Retreats, Seminars, Workshops, Stakeholder and External Advisory Board Meetings). As HERCULES Members, awardees are also invited to take advantage of HERCULES resources, including assistance in grant preparation and career development activities. 

• Awardees are expected to read and uphold the HERCULES Anti-Racism Commitment.   

• Any project meeting the NIH definition of Foreign Component must be approved by NIH before work can begin. 

• With guidance from HERCULES personnel, each awardee is required to draft a plain language summary of the proposed research and its EH relevance for the HERCULES website. These summaries should also describe how the project fits within the NIEHS Translational Research Framework, including a description of the experimental setting of the research (e.g., in vivo, in vitro, populations, policy) and how the proposed research will help bridge the work towards impact on individuals, communities, and populations.  

• Awardees must provide a Data Sharing Plan, where applicable.  
• A midpoint project report is due in December and a final project update by April. Additional follow-up reports and a presentation of pilot results may also be required.