ABOUT THE DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS CONSORTIUM (DiaComp):

The goal of the NIDDK-sponsored Diabetic Complications Consortium (DiaComp) is to advance the study of diabetic complications and promote communication and collaboration between investigators involved in complications research by supporting scientific meetings and funding new research activities.

Conference Support Program

A scientific conference is defined as a symposium, seminar, workshop, or formal conference where individuals assemble to exchange scientific information.

This program supports high-quality scientific conferences that feature sessions or speakers directly relevant to diabetic complications and that promote communication and collaboration between research communities investigating similar pathologic mechanisms in different end organs of complications. Strong proposals will also inform investigative communities that have not traditionally been involved in complications research. A few examples of meritorious proposals might include, but are not limited to:
  1. The organizers are planning a multi-day conference focused on diabetes and propose to add a keynote presentation and several other individual speakers to highlight complications throughout the agenda. They also propose a dedicated poster session and travel awards for junior investigators involved in complications research.
  2. The organizers are planning a two-day conference on basic mitochondrial biology and propose to add a session on the role of mitochondrial (dys)function in diabetic complications. They request support for 3 senior investigators and 2 junior investigators to present their scientific findings and a session chair to lead a panel discussion about research opportunities in complications.
  3. The organizers are planning a day and half long conference on novel imaging modalities as applied to renal disease and propose a dedicated session on the diabetic kidney. They request support for 3 additional speakers and the travel of junior investigators to present oral or poster abstracts.

Conferences do not have to be solely focused on diabetic complications to be eligible for support under this program. Priority will be given to conferences and organizers that have not traditionally supported complications research or communities. All applications should meet a critical need not currently met by societies or industry and provide an excellent training environment for junior investigators.

For instructions on how to submit a Conference Support Funding Program Application to the DiaComp web portal please click the following link: Funding Program Application Submission Basic Training (PDF)

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Applicants may request up to $20,000 per conference per year. Multi-year applications are NOT allowed. The number of awards will depend upon the number, quality, and cost of the applications received. Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs are NOT allowed.

Conferences do not have to be solely focused on diabetic complications to be eligible for support under this program. Priority will be given to conferences and organizers that have not traditionally supported complications research or communities. Provide a narrative justification for each proposed personnel position, including the role of the individual in the conference and the proposed level of effort, and how they will advance the field of diabetic complications. If travel awards for junior investigators are proposed, please describe how many awards are anticipated and how they will be selected. Budget requests should be commensurate with the relative ability of the conference to promote complications. Include information regarding efforts to obtain funding for this conference from other sources.

Allowable Costs: Salary (in proportion to the time or effort spent directly on the complications portion of the conference); rental of necessary equipment; travel and per diem or subsistence allowances; supplies needed for conduct of the conference (only if received for use during the conference); conference services; publication costs; funds to help defray registration costs for some select attendees (for example, women, racial/ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, other individuals who have been traditionally underrepresented in science, graduate students); speakers' fees.

Non-allowable costs: Meals/food and beverages; purchase of equipment; transportation costs exceeding U.S. carrier coach class fares; visas; passports; entertainment; tips; bar charges; personal telephone calls; laundry charges; dues; honoraria or other payments for the purpose of conferring distinction or communicating respect, esteem or admiration; patient care; alterations or renovations; facilities and administrative costs/indirect costs.

Awards will be made as subcontracts from the DiaComp Coordinating and Bioinformatics Unit (CBU) at Augusta University and not directly by the NIH. Requests for conferences held outside of North America are generally not allowed. Funded awards are not allowed to submit a competitive renewal application and unfunded applications are not allowed to revise and resubmit an amended application.

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Each application will receive a primary review by multiple external referees and be given scores for:

  1. Significance of the Conference: Does this scientific conference address an important problem relative to DiaComp's mission? What is the importance of the proposed conference to the diabetic complications community and to the general biomedical community? Is the conference timely for the subject matter to be discussed at the conference? Has this subject matter been addressed by other recent conferences? Does the conference address current, cutting edge research topics?
  2. Scope and Content of the Conference: Is the format and agenda appropriate for achieving the goals of the conference? Are the plans to publish or otherwise disseminate results of the conference appropriate? Does conference bring together investigators that will benefit from cross-talk?? If travel awards for junior investigators are proposed, is the anticipated number of awards appropriate and the selection process adequate?
  3. Organizers and Selected Speakers: Are the organizers well suited for organizing this conference? Are the qualifications of the lead organizer appropriate and is their past performance adequate? Are the key personnel and selected speakers appropriate and well suited for their described roles in the conference?
  4. Applicant Organization: Does the applicant organization have the ability to contribute to the probability of success of the conference? Is there evidence of institutional support?
  5. Environment: How appropriate is the conference site? Do the proposed meetings, exhibits, interactions, etc. take advantage of unique features of the scientific environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements? If the conference is to be held in a foreign country, is there good reason for it to be held at the time and the site proposed? Have the proposed accommodations for people with disabilities been addressed satisfactorily in the application?
  6. Inclusion of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities: How well do the plans for inclusion of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities provide for their appropriate representation in the planning, organization, and implementation of the proposed conference?

An Overall Score will be based on the NIH Scoring System for Research Applications. Scores will range from 1 to 9, where a score of 1-3 indicates an application addressing a problem of high importance/interest in the field and may have some or no weaknesses. A score of 4-6 may be addressing a problem of high importance in the field, but weaknesses in the criteria bring down the overall impact to medium. A score of 7-9 may be addressing a problem of moderate/high importance in the field, but weaknesses in the criteria bring down the overall impact to low. A score of 9 indicates an application with serious and substantive weaknesses with very few strengths. A score of 5 is considered an average score. The entire scale (1-9) should always be considered. Please note that the Overall Score is NOT an average of the other scores. Reviewers will strongly consider the goal of the program to broadly advance the study of diabetic complications and promote communication and collaboration between research communities investigating similar pathologic mechanisms in different end organs of diabetic complications. The DiaComp External Evaluation Committee (EEC) will provide a secondary review of all applications. Priority will be given to conferences and organizers that have not traditionally supported complications research or communities. All applications should meet a critical need not currently met by societies or industry and provide an excellent training environment for junior investigators. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed. No additional materials may be submitted after the receipt date. Scientists from the applicant institution are in conflict and excluded from review. Written comments will be provided for all reviewed applications. Final funding decisions will be made by the NIH. All decisions are final and appeals will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this solicitation. Funded awards are not allowed to submit a competitive renewal application and unfunded applications are not allowed to revise and resubmit an amended application. Multi-year funding requests are not allowed.

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January 2, 2018 Solicitation for Pilot and Feasibility Program is posted on DiaComp website, MMPC and other related websites, and notification of the postings is sent to all US academic and research institutions

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The application is the standard PHS 398 form including face, abstract, detailed budget, biosketches (up to 5 pages each), and research plan (or "Conference Plan"). The "Conference Plan" (Sections A-D are limited to 5 pages) should include the following sections:

  1. Specific Aims,
  2. Background and Significance,
  3. Preliminary Studies,
  4. Research Design and Methods,
  5. Literature Cited

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct. All applications must be submitted via the DiaComp website (PDF format only please).

In the "Conference Plan" section of the application (uploaded as the Research Strategy attachment), describe the objectives, specific program, and logistical arrangements for the conference. Describe the format and list the agenda and speakers, including the principal topics to be covered, problems to be addressed, and developments or contributions the conference might stimulate. All applicants must:

  1. Provide a detailed justification for the conference, including the scientific need, timeliness, and usefulness of the conference to the diabetic complications community.
  2. Provide specific examples of how individual sessions or speakers will advance the study of diabetic complications amongst the broader audience. If travel awards for junior investigators are proposed, please describe how many awards are anticipated and how they will be selected.
  3. Estimate the expected size and composition of the audience. Describe how the conference will foster communication and collaboration between investigative communities already involved in complications research and/or inform investigative communities that have not traditionally been involved in complications research about exciting new opportunities in the field.

Describe the composition and role of the organizing committee, and provide the names and credentials of key participants (i.e. speakers, presenters, session moderators) in the conference, including the basis for their selection and documentation of their agreement to participate. Describe plans for publicizing the conference to all interested participants and for publishing the proceedings (with the latter plan not being required). Identify related conferences held on the subject during the past 3 years and how the proposed conference is similar to and/or different from these, and why it is still necessary and useful. Conferences do not have to be solely focused on diabetic complications to be eligible for support under this program. Priority will be given to conferences and organizers that have not traditionally supported complications research or communities. All applications should meet a critical need not currently met by societies or industry and provide an excellent training environment for junior investigators. Funded awards are not allowed to submit a competitive renewal application and unfunded applications are not allowed to revise and resubmit an amended application. Multi-year funding requests are not allowed.

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Higher Education Institutions
  • Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
  • Private Institutions of Higher Education
    The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply
    for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:
    • Hispanic-serving Institutions
    • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
    • Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
    • Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
    • Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education
  • Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
  • Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
For-Profit Organizations
  • Small Businesses
  • For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)
Governments
  • State Governments
  • County Governments
  • City or Township Governments
  • Special District Governments
  • Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
  • Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)
  • Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
  • U.S. Territory or Possession
Other
  • Independent School Districts
  • Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
  • Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
  • Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
  • Regional Organizations

Domestic institutions or organizations, including established scientific or professional societies, are eligible to apply for conference support. Foreign institutions are NOT eligible to apply for conference support. Both domestic and international conferences may be supported; however, an international conference can be supported only through the U.S. representative organization of an established international scientific or professional society. Requests for conferences held outside of North America are generally not allowed. An individual is not eligible to receive a grant in support of a conference.

Foreign Institutions

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are NOT eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are NOT eligible to apply.

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A summary is due two months following the completion of the Conference.

Financial acknowledgment of award: Please acknowledge support using funds from the Diabetic Complications Consortium (DiaComp) using the following text: 'Financial support for this Conference provided by the NIDDK Diabetic Complications Consortium (RRID:SCR_001415, www.diacomp.org), grants DK076169 and DK115255'.

Presentations and slides: Please use the PowerPoint slides found in the zip file here - https://www.diacomp.org/images/diacomp-logos.zip - to indicate that DiaComp is a funding source for your conference and to inform your attendees about current DiaComp Funding Opportunities.

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Richard McIndoe, Ph.D. (Coordinator)
Coordinating and Bioinformatics Unit
Augusta University
Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine
1120 15th Street, CA4124
Augusta, GA 30912-4810
Phone: 706-721-3542
Fax: 706-721-3688

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