“The Blue Sheet” Vol. 36, no. 17

alternative treatment on any major health condition (e.g., cancer, AIDS, hypertension) is encouraged, although any health
issue or disease could be the subject of research, if a sound rationale is provided.
For funded applications, the first part of the project will be to develop/finalize the terms of collaboration and, when applicable, to obtain proper approval for the use of human subjects. This part of the project should be completed within approximately three months. To facilitate this important aspect of the grant activity, the DAM may convene two meetings of all
grantees; the first shortly after funding and a second meeting approximately three months later. These meetings, likely to
take place in Bethesda, Md. will be designed to provide a setting conducive to furthering collaborations and to provide
information regarding the NIH grant process.
The acquisition of preliminary data should begin as soon as appropriate collaborations are in place. In instances where
collaborations are already in place at the time of funding, the acquisition of data should begin immediately after funding.
As indicated above, one of the major purposes of this RFA is to foster collaborations between practitioners of alternative
medicine and individuals familiar with conventional research methodologies. The requirement for collaboration between
alternative medical practitioners and conventional investigators is three-fold: (1) to ensure that experience in research
design and statistics, access to patient populations of special interest, and methods of documentation are included in each
funded proposal; (2) conversely, to ensure that appropriate expertise in alternative medicine will be available so that
research protocols are compatible with the paradigm to be tested (e.g., appropriate choice of treatment or controls, in the
context of homeopathy, acupuncture); and (3) to provide a basis for scientific collaboration and better understanding of
issues involved in the practice of alternative medicine, as well as conventional biomedical research.
Alternative medical practitioners must provide credible preliminary evidence (e.g., proof of prior collaboration or detailed letter
of intent to collaborate) from experienced investigators indicating their willingness to participate in the preliminary studies.
Conversely, institution-based (e.g., university) investigators must provide similar evidence of collaborations with non-universitybased alternative health care providers/scientists with training and experience relevant to aspects of the research proposal.
It is expected that such arrangements will not merely be pro forma, but rather will be genuine collaborations in which
alternative medical practitioners will have significant role in the development of the protocols, the conduct of the studies, and
will be given the opportunity for receiving significant exposure to, and experience in, sound research methodologies.
Review criteria for this RFA will be: relevance to alternative medicine; scientific and technical merit - proper justification of
endpoints, appropriateness of the experimental approach and methodology to test the paradigm to be evaluated (e.g.,
individualization of treatment, statistical methods allowing for potentially inherent experimental variability); medical significance
and originality of proposed research; qualifications and clinical/research experience of the principal investigator and staff,
particularly, but not exclusively, in the area of the proposed research; documented intent to develop collaboration(s) that will
provide the range of expertise needed for a successful study (proof of collaboration or detailed letter of intent to collaborate);
availability of sound literature documentation or the availability of preliminary data justifying the proposed model to be studied;
availability of the resources necessary to perform the research; appropriateness of the proposed budget.
The anticipated date of award is Sept. 30, 1993. Funding decisions will be based on scientific merit as determined by peer
review and relevance to the OAM program. Among projects of essentially equivalent merit and program relevance, preference
will be given to those applicants who have not received previous research funding from the NIH. Only highly-rated applications
that represent new and unique activities not currently supported by the NIH will be funded. Awards will be made by the Natl.
Center for Research Resources (NCRR), with post-award administration jointly by staff of the DAM and the NCRR.
For further information contact: Daniel Eskinazi, NIH, Bldg. 31, Rm. B1-C35, Bethesda, MD 20892, phone: [phone].
Letter of Intent Receipt Date: April 30, 1993. Application Receipt Date: June 8, 1993.
ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
BAA-NIH-NIAID-DAIT-BAA-93-26 Acquisition of Data for Establishing & Improving Strategies for Transplantation
of Bone Marrow
P.T. 34; K.W. 0745065, 1002004, 1002008, 0710125

The Basic Immunology and the Genetics & Transplantation Branches of the Div. of Allergy, Immunology & Transplantation
(DAIT), Natl. Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID), promote and support research leading to a better under
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