EPA: Cooperative Training Partnership in Aquatic Toxicology and Ecology Research

Donor Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

State: All States

County: All Counties

U.S. Territories: U.S. Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 01/12/2023

Size of the Grant: $3,500,000

Grant Duration: 5 years

Details:

The goal of the Research Training Program is to increase the effectiveness and number of future environmental scientists and technicians by allowing trainees to collaborate with EPA-ORD scientists while conducting projects in a fully operational federal research laboratory. The overall goal is to train the next generation of environmental scientists and engineers to further the Agency’s mission to manage chemical risks and protect America’s water. The training projects will be conducted at EPA’s facilities in Duluth, Minnesota.

The Cooperative Training Partnership in Aquatic Toxicology and Ecology Research RFA provides opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral trainees to collaborate with and be mentored by EPA scientists at GLTED in Duluth, Minnesota. The ultimate goal is to produce environmental scientists and technicians who not only have relevant classroom experience, but who also have research field and laboratory experience.

Research topics/themes for training opportunities will be identified, collaboratively, by the recipient and GLTED, and will reflect GLTED’s Branch missions as well as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative focus areas:

• Systems Toxicology Branch (STB) conducts research in pathway-based approaches to predicting toxic effects of chemicals in ecological receptors. Areas of emphasis include adverse outcome pathway development and quantification, extrapolation across chemicals, species and biological levels of organization and development of quantitative structure activity models.
• Translational Toxicology Branch (TTB) conducts research using models for determining chemical effects in ecological receptors, and interpreting those effects within the context of ecological risk assessment and other regulatory applications. Areas of emphasis include dosimetry prediction and modeling, bioavailability, bioaccumulation, development of toxicity test methods, synthesis of toxicity test results, and population level effects of chemicals.
• Ecosystem Services Branch (ESB) conducts research quantifying the outputs of freshwater ecosystems and how they contribute to human well-being and social welfare. Areas of emphasis include developing ecological, biophysical and socioeconomic indicators of ecosystem services, creating models for translating ecosystem structure and function into services and thence to human benefits, and developing methods to quantify tradeoffs among services resulting from management actions including environmental remediation and restoration.
• Watersheds and Water Resources Branch (WWRB) conducts research that links the ecological sustainability of receiving waters to watershed integrity. WWRB uses a systems approach to understanding the impacts of anthropogenic stressors on diverse water body types at multiple spatial scales. Areas of emphasis include conceptual foundations, modeling frameworks, assessment and monitoring methods, biological response functions, and operational tools needed to manage ecosystems, forecast outcomes management decisions, and sustain public benefits from water resources and watersheds.
• Molecular Indicators Brach (MIB) uses bioinformatic and molecular biology approaches to reduce uncertainty in assessing the ecological risk posed by single chemicals, chemical mixtures, and sources of chemical exposure. MIB research characterizes responses in test species and in vitro systems across different levels of biological organization, from the intracellular level to the whole organism focused on the complexity of real-world exposures.

Funding Information

It is anticipated that a total of approximately $3,500,000 will be awarded under this announcement, depending on the availability of funds, quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. The EPA anticipates funding one award under this RFA. Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $3,500,000, including direct and indirect costs, will not be considered.

Project Period

The total project period requested in an application submitted for this RFA may not exceed five years.

Criteria

• This solicitation is available to U.S. States, territories and possessions, Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments of the U.S., and the District of Columbia; public and private universities and colleges, public and private nonprofit institutions, hospitals, and laboratories located in the U.S. and its territories or possessions; State and local government departments; and foreign entities. Profit-making firms and individuals are not eligible to receive assistance agreements from the EPA under this program.
• Consistent with the definition of Nonprofit organization at 2 CFR § 200.1, the term nonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest and is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. The term includes tax-exempt nonprofit neighborhood and labor organizations. Note that 2 CFR § 200.1 specifically excludes Institutions of Higher Education from the definition of non-profit organization because they are separately defined in the regulation. While not considered to be a nonprofit organization(s) as defined by 2 CFR § 200.1, public or nonprofit Institutions of Higher Education are, nevertheless, eligible to submit applications under this RFA. Hospitals operated by state, tribal, or local governments or that meet the definition of nonprofit at 2 CFR § 200.1 are also eligible to apply as nonprofits or as instrumentalities of the unit of government depending on the applicable law. For-profit colleges, universities, trade schools, and hospitals are ineligible.
• Nonprofit organizations that are not exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code must submit other forms of documentation of nonprofit status; such as certificates of incorporation as nonprofit under state or tribal law. Nonprofit organizations exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that lobby are not eligible for EPA funding as provided in the Lobbying Disclosure Act, 2 U.S.C. 1611.
• National laboratories funded by Federal Agencies (Federally-Funded Research and Development Centers, “FFRDCs”) may not apply. FFRDC employees may cooperate or collaborate with eligible applicants within the limits imposed by applicable legislation and regulations. They may participate in planning, conducting, and analyzing the research directed by the applicant, but may not direct projects on behalf of the applicant organization. An award recipient may provide funds through its assistance agreement from the EPA to an FFRDC for research personnel, supplies, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the research.
• Federal Agencies may not apply. Federal employees are not eligible to serve in a principal leadership role on an assistance agreement. Federal employees may not receive salaries or augment their Agency’s appropriations through awards made under this program unless authorized by law to receive such funding.
• The applicant institution may enter into an agreement with a Federal Agency to purchase or utilize unique supplies or services unavailable in the private sector to the extent authorized by law. Examples are purchase of satellite data, chemical reference standards, analyses, or use of instrumentation or other facilities not available elsewhere. A written justification for federal involvement must be included in the application. In addition, an appropriate form of assurance that documents the commitment, such as a letter of intent from the Federal Agency involved, should be included.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.