Novartis – Now Accepting Faculty Grant Applications

In the July 20, 2021 announcement, the Novartis US Foundation, TMCF and the presidents of 25 participating HBCUs stated:

In the current era, there are strong indications that health disparities affecting minority groups are endemic in the US. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, Black/African Americans have a lower life expectancy, a higher mortality rate from cancer, a dramatically greater likelihood of diseases such as asthma, and significantly increased rates of infant mortality.¹ Some of these health disparities are further exacerbated by minorities’ increased exposure to negative environmental factors such as air pollution, excessive heat, and poorer water quality.² The COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrated long-standing, systemic racial inequities in health as measured by disproportionate rates of hospitalization and death in minority groups.³

The COVID-19 pandemic has also revealed a reluctance among minority patients to participate in clinical trials and associated vaccine hesitancy. The exclusion from the research and development ecosystem, which existed and extends beyond the pandemic, is both the result of, and results in mistrust and a delayed uptake of life-saving innovative medicines and effective care models, further exacerbating racial disparities in care and outcomes.

Looking ahead, we envision a country that embraces equity in health for all. We believe that the next generation of researchers in health, science, and technology will have a particularly essential role to play. Furthermore, we believe there is urgency to empower these future leaders with the education and technology needed to bring full visibility to the breadth and nature of health disparities in the US and to design and implement enduring solutions.

To achieve a paradigm shift in education and health equity, it will take the concerted action of diverse stakeholders across public and private sectors. Inspired by the opportunity to bring to bear synergistic expertise and resources across disciplines, Novartis is convening this initial group of stakeholders to collaborate with the aim of generating robust data to find solutions that address systemic disparities in education and health outcomes to create greater diversity, equity and inclusion across the research and development ecosystem.

A guiding principle to our approach is to co-create programs under the direction of Black/African American community members and other minority groups. We also recognize that achieving sustained changes in health equity at population scale is a long-term endeavor that will take a sustained and multifaceted effort to realize.

¹US Dept. of Health and HumanServices: https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov accessed June 2021
²Hsu, A., Sheriff, G., Chakraborty, T. et al. Disproportionate exposure to urban heat island intensity across major US cities. Nat Commun 12, 2721 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22799-5
³https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/racial-ethnic-disparities/disparities-deaths.html

As part of this revolutionary agreement, TMCF will award ten grants of $25,000 each annually for nine years to HBCU faculty employed at one of the participating schools. Successful grant applications funded through this program, as described in the Beacon of Hope announcement, will focus on:

Research to substantiate key drivers of health disparities for African-Americans in their lived experience. Such research may include, but is not limited to health care assumptions, diagnosis, treatment, clinical experience, environmental risk, attitudes toward African-Americans, health insurance coverage, access to the internet, information, underlying conditions, and factors that exacerbate health inequities. The purpose of this research is to quantify and identify solutions, which will inform areas for change, and impact Policy and funding at local, State, and Federal levels that will lead to greater health equity for African-Americans.

Grant proposals should be no more than ten (10) pages, and include the following elements:

1. Project Title
2. Project Summary (350 words)
3. Project Narrative, no more than six (6) pages, single spaced, 1” margins, 12-point font. The Project Narrative should include:
   1. Description of Need for Research/ Rationale, including how the proposed research fits into the above research parameters
   2. Proposed Research, including a question or hypothesis
   3. Description of how the research fulfills the scope of the RFP
   4. Research methodology
   5. Key research personnel, including description of past research experience
   6. Proposed dissemination process for research results
4. Budget Narrative (included in 10-page limit)
5. Project Timeline (not included in 10-page limit)
6. Project Budget (not included in 10-page limit)

Reporting Requirements:

All faculty whose proposals are accepted will be required to sign a grant agreement that outlines scope of research, budget, timeline, milestones, deliverables (reports), and payment schedule.

Scoring Rubric
The following scoring rubric will be used to review and assess
submitted HBCU faculty grant proposals:

*Topic must be within the scope of the RFP in order to be scored

Successful grant awardees will receive two funding disbursements. The first disbursement will be upon receipt of finalized award agreement and invoice. The second disbursement will be upon receipt of final research report sharing research findings.