BC Environmental and Occupational Health Research Network

HEI has issued a Request for Qualifications and Proposals (RFQP) for Quality Assurance (QA) oversight. The goal of this RFQP is to solicit a statement of qualifications and a proposal for QA oversight from qualified contractors interesting in providing quality assurance services for three controlled ozone exposure studies.
Letter of intent deadline: November 8

The goal of this RFQ is to solicit a statement of qualifications from experienced biostatisticians interested in developing an analysis plan, managing data, and analyzing data collected in a multicenter controlled ozone exposure study in human volunteers. The center will be working with the scientists funded under RFA 10-1, Cardiovascular effects of exposure to low levels of ozone in the presence and absence of other pollutants. Although the studies are being conducted in three separate centers, they will have a common protocol and all data will be combined for the statistical analyses.

The purpose of this award is to bring new, creative investigators into active research on the health effects of air pollution. It provides three years of funding for a small project relevant to HEI’s research interests to a new investigator with outstanding promise at the Assistant Professor or equivalent level.

While HEI believes that an understanding of its research priorities is important for applicants to the preliminary application process, and would like in most cases to fund studies that are responsive to those priorities, an important goal of this preliminary application process is to provide a means for investigators to suggest new areas of research. Thus, applications will be considered not only on issues raised in the discussion above and in HEI’s strategic plan, but also on other issues related to improving the understanding and assessment of the health risks of exposure to motor vehicle emissions and secondary pollutants derived from them, and the whole air pollution mixture to which they contribute.

Two types of studies are sought to evaluate cardiovascular and respiratory effects in healthy human volunteers, aged 55 and above. In Phase 1, volunteers will be exposed to ozone alone, at concentrations between 60 and 100 ppb, in a controlled laboratory setting. In Phase 2, volunteers will be exposed to real-world ambient air pollution at sites with ozone concentrations comparable to those used in Phase 1.

Request for Statements of Information and Qualification (RFIQ) seeks to identify scientific teams interested in conducting epidemiologic studies of long-term exposure to air pollution and chronic cardiovascular and respiratory disease in Asia. The Institute intends to fund a limited number of such studies, conditional on the quality of potential research projects and availability of funds. The objective of this RFIQ is to assess the feasibility of such studies as an initial step in the funding process.

RFA 09-2 seeks proposals on the health effects of air pollution in representative Asian cities with respect to 1) adverse reproductive outcomes, including low birth weight, pre-term birth, and birth defects, and/or 2) acute lower respiratory infection in children and other children’s health outcomes. As much as $400,000 will be available for studies funded under RFA 09-2. HEI expects to fund up to 3 studies, of up to roughly 2 years’ duration, at $150,000 to $200,000 per year. HEI’s International Scientific Oversight Committee (ISOC) may consider slightly higher budgets from particularly responsive proposals. Opportunities for cost-sharing / provision of matching funds are actively encouraged.

RFA 09-1 seeks proposals for the development of innovative statistical methods for the characterization of air pollutant mixtures and/or the study of the health effects of air pollution mixtures. As much as $750,000 will be available for studies funded under RFA 09-1. HEI expects to fund up to 3 studies at $100,000 to $150,000 per year.