Description Study of the United States Institutes are intensive academic programs whose purpose is to provide foreign university faculty, secondary educators, and other scholars the opportunity to deepen their understanding of American society, culture, and institutions. The ultimate goal is to strengthen curricula and to improve the quality of teaching about the United States in academic institutions abroad.

OVPRED Letter

Study of the United States Institutes are intensive academic programs whose purpose is to provide foreign university faculty, secondary educators, and other scholars the opportunity to deepen their understanding of American society, culture, and institutions. The ultimate goal is to strengthen curricula and to improve the quality of teaching about the United States in academic institutions abroad.

OVPRED Letter

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), working in part with funds contributed by the John A. Hartford Foundation (http://www.jhartfound.org/ and The American Federation for Aging Research (http://afar.org/), are pursuing this initiative to sustain and promote the research careers of clinically trained individuals who are pursuing research careers in aging. The numbers of physicians and other clinically trained individuals who are committing to and sustaining independent research careers in the biomedical sciences remain inadequate to address the opportunities for translational research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and groundbreaking basic research being generated by advances in genetics, biomedical engineering, and other life sciences. Within the field of aging research the small numbers of individuals receiving training in geriatrics, and the smaller numbers pursuing research on aging remain inadequate to address the burgeoning needs of the rapidly growing older population. These needs require a substantial investment in current and future faculty who will devote their careers to advancing knowledge of effective prevention and management of illness and disabilities, and to inspire successive generations to do the same.

OVPRED Letter

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences invites applications that will (1) determine which physical or chemical characteristic of an engineered nanomaterial (ENM), or cluster of characteristics, is integral to ENM-molecular interactions in a cellular process or organ system and (2) relate these findings to potential health effects. NIEHS recognizes that three types of activities need to converge to accomplish this research agenda. The first activity should focus on a detailed understanding of how physical and chemical characteristics of ENMs influence their molecular interactions at the cellular level, while the second activity should determine how the physical and chemical characteristics critical to that interaction are associated with any observed physiological or pathobiological events. The third activity will capitalize on these multidisciplinary efforts through integration of biochemical, molecular, and physiological mechanisms to expand traditional hazard identification and health risk assessment. An extraordinary level of synergy, integration, and potential for advancement of ENM hazard identification and risk assessment is expected.

OVPRED Letter

The Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program seeks to increase the number of qualified students entering the fields of information assurance and computer security and to increase the capacity of the United States higher education enterprise to produce professionals in these fields to meet the need of our increasingly technological society. The SFS program is composed of two tracks: • The Scholarship Track, which provides funding to colleges and universities to award scholarships to students in the information assurance and computer security fields, and • The Capacity Building Track, which provides funds to colleges and universities to improve the quality and increase the production of information assurance and computer security professionals.

OVPRED Letter

The Department of Agriculture is designated as the lead Federal Agency for higher education in the food and agricultural sciences. In this context, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has specific responsibility to initiate and support projects to strengthen higher education teaching programs in the food and agricultural sciences. The HSI Education Grants Program encourages innovative teaching enhancement projects with the potential for regional or national impact to serve as models for other institutions. While research and extension activities may be included in a funded HSI Education Grants Program project, the primary focus must be to improve teaching within a degree-granting program. The HSI Education Grants Program seeks to attain the following two Program Goals:  To increase the number of underrepresented graduates with an associate or a baccalaureate (or higher) degree in the food, agricultural, and natural resource sciences, and  To increase the quality of postsecondary instruction within these disciplines.

OVPRED Letter

National Leadership Grants support projects that have the potential to elevate museum, archival, and library practice within the context of national strategic initiatives. The Institute seeks to advance the ability of museums, archives, and libraries to preserve culture, heritage, and knowledge; contribute to building 21st century technology infrastructure and information technology services; and support the education of the next generation with 21st century knowledge and skills while creating a world-class workforce.

OVPRED Letter

The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences. Based on institutional nominations, the program provides discretionary funding to faculty at an early stage in their careers. Criteria for selection include an independent body of scholarship attained within the first five years of their appointment as independent researchers, and a demonstrated commitment to education, signaling the promise of continuing outstanding contributions to both research and teaching.

OVPRED Letter

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announces SAMHSA’s Knowledge Dissemination Conference Grants program (also referred to as SAMHSA Conference Grants). The purpose of the Conference Grant program is to disseminate knowledge about practices within the mental health services and substance abuse prevention and treatment fields and to integrate that knowledge into real-world practice as effectively and efficiently as possible.

OVPRED Letter