Stay Tuned for New RFAs

This upcoming fall and winter, HEI will issue three requests for applications (RFAs) soliciting new research. Watch for updates at Funding Opportunities.

 

RFA 16-1: Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award

This award supports creative junior investigators, at assistant professor or equivalent level, with outstanding promise who are interested in studying the health effects of air pollution. RFA 16-1, which will be released in November, will provide funding for a project relevant to HEI's research interests, as outlined in the HEI Strategic Plan for 2015–2020. Interested applicants will be asked to submit a four-page preliminary application (PA) in February 2017, which the HEI Research Committee will review. Investigators with the most promising PAs will be asked to submit a full application in May, which the Research Committee will subsequently evaluate. Prospective applicants should contact HEI to verify their eligibility before applying. For more information about the award program and its history, visit the Rosenblith Award page or contact Annemoon van Erp. 

 

RFA 17-1: Assessing Adverse Health Effects of Exposure to Traffic: Air Pollution, Noise, and Interactions with Socioeconomic Status

Deliberations from an early-May workshop to discuss research questions for new studies on the health effects of exposure to traffic-related pollution are being used to inform the development of this RFA.  

More than 40 leading researchers and sponsors with expertise in various fields attended the workshop, which was held in Denver after the HEI Annual Conference. Given the large and growing literature on the effects of traffic-related air pollution, participants were asked to identify key research questions, the research designs that might best address them, and the major methodologic challenges. Emphasis was placed on how to disentangle the role of other factors, in addition to air pollution, that are associated with traffic exposure. Within this context, workshop participants discussed issues related to study design and health outcomes that may be included, such as assessment of traffic noise, the role of socioeconomic status, and the possible impact of green space.

HEI staff and the Research Committee are currently preparing the RFA, which will be sent to HEI sponsors for their feedback, according to HEI’s procedures, during the fall. HEI plans to issue the RFA in January 2017. Interested applicants will be asked to submit a four-page preliminary application (PA) in March, which the Research Committee will review. Investigators with the most promising PAs will be asked to submit a full application, due in July. 

For further information about RFA 17-1, contact Hanna Boogaard or Maria Costantini.

 

RFA 17-2: Health Effects of Air Pollution 

This RFA provides an application mechanism for investigators whose area of interest falls outside of the topics targeted in other requests for applications from HEI. Of greatest interest is research that is relevant to HEI’s current priorities, as outlined in the HEI Strategic Plan for 2015–2020. HEI plans to issue the RFA in January 2017. Interested applicants will be asked to submit a four-page preliminary application (PA) in May, which the Research Committee will review. Investigators with the most promising PAs will be asked to submit a full application in the fall of 2017. For more information about RFA 17-2, contact Katy Walker.