Portland VA Medical Center

Career Development Program

Career Development Program Overview
Laboratory and Clinical Sciences Program Requirements
Rehabilitation and Health Sciences Program Requirements

Career Development Program Overview

VA Career Development applications are submitted to one of the 4 major branches of VA Research. Basic science applications are submitted to Biomedical Laboratory Research & Development (*note BLR&D and CSR&D are no longer accepting any LOIs for entry level award, CDA-1). Clinical research is submitted to Clinical Science Research & Development. Applications involving rehabilitation or health services are submitted to Rehabilitation Research & Development and Health Services Research & Development, respectively. Links to Letter of Intent (LOI) and application instructions are found below.

Each service offers the *Career Development Award level 1 (CDA-1), the Career Development Award level 2 (CDA-2), the Career Development Transition Award (CDTA) and the Career Development Enhancement Award (CDEA). There are specific eligibility requirements for each.

*NOTE: The CDA-1 award is a mechanism to provide salary support for very junior investigators who propose research on their mentor’s funded programs. No research support is provided, but the Letter of Intent and the Application should clearly describe the strong research integration between the applicant and the mentor(s). We encourage any applicant considering the CDA-1 to contact our office regarding the research plan to determine whether there would be a sufficient enthusiasm prior to submitting an LOI (Letter of Intent).

Visit the VA Career Development Program homepage (VA web site) to view the Research Career Development Handbook, Letter of Intent instructions, specific eligibility requirements, Career Development application instructions, forms and other informational documents.

 

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Laboratory and Clinical Sciences Program Information

 

Letter of Intent (LOI):

An approved Letter of Intent (LOI) must be obtained prior to submission of a Career Development grant application.

Please follow the LOI instructions on the VA Career Development Program homepage (VA web site).

Note the Local Research Service Deadlines for LOIs:

Completed BLR&D and CSR&D LOIs are due in the Research Service Office by June 5 or December 5.

Information for Completing a Career Development Application:

The PVAMC Research Service office will assist with obtaining the Director’s letter, ACOS support letter and R&D Committee letter. We will also prepare the table of contents and submit the grant application.

Career Development Program Handbook (VA web site)

Career Development Instructions (VA web site)

Career Development Forms

VACO Addresses for BLR&D and CSR&D Letters of Support (24KB, MSWord)
Note: All support letters should be given to the Research Service office and addressed to the appropriate VACO service to which you are submitting.

For the Application Checklist, contact Richard Lightfoot (contact information below)

 

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Rehabilitation and Health Sciences Program Information

 

Letter of Intent (LOI):

An approved Letter of Intent (LOI) must be obtained prior to submission of a Career Development grant application.

Please follow the LOI instructions on the VA Career Development Program homepage (VA web site).

Note the Local Research Service Deadlines for LOIs:

Completed RR&D and HSR&D LOIs are due in the Research Service Office by April 8 or October 8.

Information for Completing a Career Development Application:

The PVAMC Research Service office will assist with obtaining the Director’s letter, ACOS support letter and R&D Committee letter. We will also prepare the table of contents and submit the grant application.

Career Development Program Handbook (VA web site, PDF)

Career Development Instructions (VA web site)

For the RR&D / HSR&D Submission Calendar, contact Richard Lightfoot (contact information below)

Career Development Forms
VACO Addresses for RR&D and HSR&D Letters of Support (24KB, MSWord)
Note: All support letters should be given to the Research Service office and addressed to the appropriate VACO service to which you are submitting.

For the Application Checklist, please contact Richard Lightfoot (contact information below)

 

For assistance with the Research Career Development Award Program at the Portland VA Medical Center, contact: Richard Lightfoot x57813 Research & Development Service

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R&D Site Map

Career Scientist Program

1. Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development (BLR&D)/Clinical Science Research and Development (CSR&D) Career Scientist

VHA Handbook 1202.04 (VA Web Site, PDF)

2. Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Career Scientist

VA HSR&D Web Site

3. Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Career Scientist

VA RR&D Web Site

If you have questions regarding the Career Scientist Program, contact: Richard Lightfoot Research & Development Service Building 101 / Room 502 503-220-8262 x57813 richard.lightfoot@va.gov

R&D Site Map

Merit Review Program

BLR&D/CSR&D (Biomedical Laboratory/Clinical Science Research & Development)
HSR&D (Health Services Research & Development)
RR&D (Rehabilitation Research & Development)

The VA Medical Research Service's primary grant funding mechanism is called the Merit Review. Merit Review funds both M.D. and Ph.D. investigators who have been approved for submission by VA Central Office. Merit Review awards are generally funded for 3 or 4 years and fund up to $150,000/year, not including money for Ph.D. PI salary and equipment.

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Biomedical Laboratory/Clinical Science Research & Development (BLR&D/CSR&D) Program Information

Applications for BLR&D and CSR&D Merit Review awards are submitted annually on March 8 and September 8, and funding begins approximately six months later on October 1st and April 1st, respectively. The research office has put in place local deadlines to assure that all components are complete and in place prior to submission, and the calendar included below should be followed.

Please note that VA Central Office has instituted a just-in-time review procedure for proposals including animal and human studies, resulting in the PI submitting the paperwork for obtaining Safety Subcommittee, IACUC and IRB approval after the proposal is submitted to VA Central Office. However, specific points need to be addressed in the original application with regard to animal and human studies when applicable. These points are noted in the instructions.

A PI interested in submitting a BLR&D or CSR&D Merit Review should complete the Merit Review Submission Questionnaire (46KB, MSWord) and submit it to the Research Service office.

Letter of Intent (LOI)
An approved Letter of Intent (LOI) must be obtained prior to submission of a CS&D Merit Review grant application that proposes a clinical trial. For instructions, please refer to the CSR&D LOI Guidance document (53KB, MSWord) . Please submit the LOI to the Research Service Office by the deadline stated in the Local Submission Calendar (30KB, MSWord). The LOI documents should be emailed to pvamc-merit@va.gov.

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For more information on Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development funding, see the national VA BLR&D home page. (VA Web Site)

For more information on Clinical Science Research and Development funding, see the national VA CSR&D home page. (VA Web Site)

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Calendar (30KB, MSWord)

Proposed Project Questionnaire (342KB, MSWord)

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Instructions for BLR&D, CSR&D Merit Review Proposal

Submissions are made electronically via grants.gov, followed by processing and review using NIH’s eRA Commons/IMPACII systems. Please contact Danielle Beaudry for application instructions.

Questions
Please direct all inquiries to Danielle Beaudry at extension 57524 or by email at pvamc-merit@va.gov.

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Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Program Information

For more information, see the national VA HSR&D home page. (VA Web Site).

What is Health Services Research? (VA Web Site)

A PI interested in submitting an HSR&D Merit Review application should complete the HSR&D, RR&D Merit Review Submission Questionnaire (46KB, MSWord) and submit it to the Research Service Office.

Local Submission Calendar (30KB, MSWord)
All R&D Services Submission Calendar (VA Web Site)

Intent to Submit (ITS)
HSR&D requires notification of an investigator’s intent to submit a proposal for merit review. The ITS is submitted online through the ART program, which is a VA HSR&D reporting tool that gathers, tracks, and organizes data from all HSR&D Centers. The Research Service Staff will submit the ITS information for you through this website.

Please fill out the Intent to Submit List of Information Needed (41KB, MSWord) form electronically and return it to the Research Service Office by the deadline indicated in the Local Submission Calendar (30KB, MSWord). The ITS List of Information Needed documents should be emailed to pvamc-merit@va.gov.

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Instructions for HSR&D Merit Review Proposal

Submissions are made electronically via grants.gov, followed by processing and review using NIH’s eRA Commons/IMPACII systems. Please contact Danielle Beaudry for application instructions.

Questions
Please direct all inquiries to Danielle Beaudry at extension 57524 or by email at pvamc-merit@va.gov.

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Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Program Information

For more information, see the national VA RR&D home page. (VA Web Site).

A PI interested in submitting an RR&D Merit Review application should complete the HSR&D, RR&D Merit Review Submission Questionnaire (46KB, MSWord) and submit it to the Research Service Office.

Local Submission Calendar (30KB, MSWord)
All R&D Services Submission Calendar (VA Web Site)

Letter of Intent (LOI)
An approved Letter of Intent (LOI) must be obtained prior to submission of a RR&D Merit Review grant application. For instructions, please refer to Appendix A of the Handbook (listed below). Please submit the LOI to the Research Service Office by the deadline stated in the Local Submission Calendar (30KB, MSWord). The LOI documents should be emailed to pvamc-merit@va.gov.

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Instructions for RR&D Merit Review Proposal

Submissions are made electronically via grants.gov, followed by processing and review using NIH’s eRA Commons/IMPACII systems. Please contact Danielle Beaudry for application instructions.

Questions
Please direct all inquiries to Danielle Beaudry at extension 57524 or by email at pvamc-merit@va.gov.

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R&D Site Map

Grant Management

VA research grants to the Portland VA Medical Center (PVAMC) are administered by the PVAMC R&D Service. PVAMC researchers may contact John Zoller, x57895, for any budget or account issues with their grants.

For research grants administered by the Portland VA Research Foundation (PVARF), PVAMC researchers should contact Shelley Cobb, x54659.

See P.I. Services for additional information on training, hiring, etc.

Need to make amendments/changes to protocols for the IRB?

R&D Site Map