Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative

Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund. This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

Expired RFA-RM-12-008: Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa): H3Africa Biorepository Grants. (UH2/UH3) This notice has expired. Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices.

of Health and Human Services Part 1. Overview Information Participating Organization(s) National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Components of Participating This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is developed as a Common Fund initiative ( http://commonfund. nih.

gov/ ) through the NIH Office of the NIH Director, Office of Strategic Coordination ( http://dpcpsi. nih. gov/osc/ ).

The FOA will be administered by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI/NIH), ( http://genome. gov ) on behalf Funding Opportunity Title Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa): H3Africa Biorepository Grants. (UH2/UH3) UH2 / UH3 Phase Innovation Awards Cooperative Agreement June 27, 2018 - This RFA has been reissued as RFA-RM-18-020 .

October 26, 2012 - See Notice NOT-OD-13-005. Notice of Change in Due Date.

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number Companion Funding Opportunity RFA-RM-12-006 , U54 Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa): Collaborative Centers Cooperative RFA-RM-12-007 , U01 Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Research Projects Cooperative RFA-RM-11-010 , U41 Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa): Bioinformatics Network RFA-RM-12-005 , U01 Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa): Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues (ELSI) Research Program Additional Information on Eligibility .

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s) Funding Opportunity Purpose This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), supported by funds from the NIH Common Fund ( Common Fund ) and participating NIH Institute(s) and Center(s) , invites applications from Institutions in African countries to develop an H3Africa Biorepository in order to provide an international site for the receipt, storage and distribution of samples from H3Africa research projects as well as other African research studies.

The NIH is partnering with the Wellcome Trust to provide support for H3Africa, an initiative to enhance the development of sustainable research capacity in Africa that will use genomics as a part of a cutting-edge approach to promote health and combat disease.

The purpose of this FOA is to call for applications for UH2/UH3 cooperative agreements that will provide funding to develop plans for an H3Africa Biorepository, building upon existing infrastructure.

Applications should include plans for initial two-year UH2 Phase I studies (Phase I) as well as plans for an additional four years of support for implementing a full-scale H3Africa Biorepository (Phase II), beginning in The outcome of the UH2 Phase I studies will be fully developed plans for a full-scale H3Africa Biorepository, with evidence that the challenges enumerated below have been overcome.

Feasibility testing/planning activities should include testing proposed logistical approaches, training, developing collaborations and otherwise assembling or planning for additional infrastructure that will be needed for a full-scale biorepository.

The outcome of the Phase II scale-up period will be a fully operational biorepository that receives, processes, stores, and distributes samples for research in Africa, using state-of-the-art methods in accordance with international standards.

Activities should include completion of infrastructure improvements, full-scale implementation of all study protocols and procedures for quality control/quality assurance, protection of human subjects and data/resource sharing, and collaboration with other H3Africa Open Date (Earliest Submission Date) Letter of Intent Due Date (Extended to October 31, 2012 per NOT-OD-13-005 ), Originally October 29, 2012, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant AIDS Application Due Date(s) (Extended to November 1, 2012 per NOT-OD-13-005 ), Originally October 30, 2012 Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in 424 (R&R) Application Guide , except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV . When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review. Part 1. Overview Information Part 2.

Full Text of the Announcement Section I. Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III.

Eligibility Information Section IV. Application and Submission Section V. Application Review Information Section VI.

Award Administration Information Section VII. Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description Low- and middle-income nations suffer over ninety percent of the world’s burden of premature mortality, as measured in lost years of life.

These countries, constituting three-quarters of the world’s population, now must deal with a triple burden: the persistent cluster of infectious diseases, malnutrition, and a growing incidence of chronic disease and disabilities due to increased life spans and new risk exposures that accompany it.

The NIH has a long-standing commitment to address both communicable and non-communicable diseases around the world through health research and training, and one of NIH’s stated priorities is enhancing efforts in global health.

Genomics and other large-scale biological studies provide cutting-edge approaches to research on the genetic and environmental contributors to health and disease, the understanding of which will lead to unimagined advances in medical science and powerful new ways for improving human health.

To maximize the impact on the health of people globally, advances in the fields of genetics/genomics/environmental studies must be integrated into the research conducted in developing countries, as well as into their medical education and health services. Notably, however, African researchers and populations are substantially underrepresented in genomics and environmental research endeavors.

As documented in a recent review of studies across the world, about 75% of the thousands of genetic studies completed to date were conducted exclusively in populations of European descent and only a fraction of the studies done with non-European populations came from Africa (Rosenberg NA, Huang L, et al. (2010). Nat Rev Genet 11(5):356-366).

The paradox of limited genomics research conducted in Africa and the centrality of contemporary African populations for our understanding of human evolution and population genetics has been widely noted.

While there are pockets of research excellence in genetics and environmental studies on the African continent done by African and other scientists, a limited number of individuals have the expertise to engage in this work compared to the overall population size and burden of disease there.

It is the objective of the H3Africa Initiative to enhance the capability of African scientists and research institutions to use genomics and other powerful new approaches to address problems of African health and disease.

Increasing African research capacity by building infrastructure, expanding the genomic proficiency of researchers, and increasing the number of well-trained individuals is essential to promote sustainable efforts to address the challenges to advancing health and combating disease in Africa.

While focused on benefitting the people of Africa, such research may also be relevant to the health of individuals in the U.S. and other countries worldwide, particularly those of African descent.

For example, many scientists believe that different environmental exposures for a population whose genetic architecture evolved in environments with a scarcity of available resources are an underlying contributor to disease in the U.S. H3Africa is a partnership among the National Institutes of Health (NIH, USA), the Wellcome Trust (WT, UK), and the African Society of Human Genetics (AfSHG).

A set of recommendations for H3Africa was developed by a pair of working groups, composed primarily of African scientific experts, who addressed the major scientific, ethical and practical issues in the development of a large-scale genomics research program in Africa. The working groups formulated a detailed proposal (which can be found in a white paper at www. h3africa.

org/whitepaper. cfm ) to address the goal of creating and sustaining a network of African Centers that could carry out training and research based on state-of-the-art genomics approaches.

Through support for infrastructure development, training, and specific research projects, the working group recommendations were designed to catalyze genomics and environmental research concerning human diversity, health, and disease biology of particular relevance and benefit to African populations and societies.

The proposal was discussed at a public meeting held in Cape Town, South Africa in March 2011 and the attendees ratified the white paper’s recommendations. The first set of FOAs soliciting applications for H3Africa was published about one year ago (see Archive Funding Opportunities at https://commonfund. nih.

gov/globalhealth/grants. aspx ), and funding for the program will begin in the summer of 2012. The research program described in this and previous FOAs is a response to the disparities in research capacity noted above and is based, in significant part, on the recommendations of the H3Africa white paper and from discussions at the Cape Town meeting.

The H3Africa Initiative aims to contribute to the establishment of a viable, productive, and eventually sustainable, African research infrastructure to study the genetic and environmental contributors to disease and health.

It aims to do so through a combination of the leveraging of existing capacity, expertise and infrastructure with investment in new research, infrastructure-building and H3Africa has three interrelated, interdependent objectives.

The first is to increase the human resources for conducting cutting-edge genomics-based research in Africa through training and enhanced collaborations with national and international partners, particularly in other countries within Africa, but also in countries outside of the continent.

The second is to support cutting-edge genomics/genetics research that will not only generate important findings and discoveries, but will serve as a vehicle for research training and for the improvement of the research capacity of African laboratories where the research is carried out.

The third is to support the improvement of specific types of infrastructure, i.e., bioinformatics and biorepository capacity, which are needed to do genomics-based and environmental research.

To achieve these objectives, the H3Africa program at NIH will include a research component ( RFA-RM-12-006 and RFA-RM-12-007 ), a bioinformatics network component (to be funded in Summer 2012), a biorepository component (this FOA) and a social issues component ( RFA-RM-12-005 ). All awards under the NIH H3Africa program will be made to African institutions and the majority of the awarded funds must be spent in Africa.

All awardees will participate in the H3Africa Consortium to further enhance the collaborative nature of this initiative. H3Africa is funded, in part, through the NIH Common Fund, which supports cross-cutting programs that are expected to have exceptionally high impact.

All Common Fund initiatives invite investigators to develop bold, innovative, and often risky approaches to address problems that may seem intractable or to seize new opportunities that offer the potential for rapid progress. NIH is taking a two-stage, one-application approach to the development of biorepositories that will meet the H3Africa Research Consortium s sample storage and distribution needs.

The first stage (Phase I) will provide up to two-year UH2 Phase I awards each funded at up to $125,000 total costs per year (depending on the number of awards made).

During the UH2 period, the successful awardees will each: (a) create a plan for the organization and development of a full-scale repository, (b) formulate procedures and equipment needs, (c) train personnel, (d) identify and provide solutions for any logistical problems that can be foreseen and (e) within the limits of the Phase I budget, test and implement as many of the procedures as possible.

The objective of the Phase I stage will be for the awardees to plan for and demonstrate their ability to fulfill the goal of implementing a full-scale biorepository in Phase II. In the second stage (Phase II), the NIH plans to continue support to scale up two or three of the awards period . The Phase II stage will be funded at an increased level of up to $2 million total costs in FY15 and up to $1.

7 million total costs per year in FY16-18, depending on the number of awards funded. In Stage II, the awardees will implement the plans they developed during Phase I to implement a full-scale biorepository.

It is expected that each of the biorepositories will be operating at full scale by no later than the end of the second year of Phase To meet the proposed schedule and to determine whether the questions of feasibility and capability have been adequately addressed, NIH will conduct an administrative review during the second year of the UH2 Phase I study period.

Substantial progress will need to be demonstrated in order to be considered for scale-up to a Phase II award at the time of the administrative review that will be conducted by the H3Africa staff and NIH Advisory Councils, according to standard NIH processes for administrative reviews.

The decisions about continued support for Phase II will be based on the accomplishments and progress made in Phase I, and the quality of the updated plans for fully implementing an international repository, which were developed in Phase I and incorporated into the year 2 progress report.

Beyond attaining or exceeding the awardee’s stated milestones for the Phase I period, the successful Phase II continuations will be those that are judged to have produced data to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing and sustaining a biorepository at their site, have the most insight into and experience overcoming the challenges of sustaining a biorepository in Africa and have demonstrated a working relationship with the other H3 Africa Biorepository(ies) and H3Africa consortium projects.

While this FOA indicates that the UH2 Phase study will be followed by a UH3 Phase II scale-up after an administrative review, applicants should understand that the Phase II scale-up will occur only if the administrative review recommends that the Phase I effort has been successful and that the Phase II scale-up can proceed with relative confidence of success.

The administrative review recommendations must be endorsed by an appropriate NIH Council before the Common Fund will release funds for the Phase The purpose of this FOA is to solicit combined applications for the UH2 Phase I study and the UH3 Phase II scaled-up biorepository.

Phase I Study: The objectives of the H3Africa Biorepository initial two-year UH2 Phase I study are to develop a plan that will lay the foundation for establishing a biorepository to serve initially the H3Africa Consortium (see http://www. h3africa.

org/ ) and to demonstrate the applicant’s ability to accomplish the activities that will be necessary for providing a full-scale H3Africa Biorepository in the UH3 Phase The grant application should include a description of the following for UH2 Phase I: the vision for the full-scale (Phase II) biorepository, in terms of the services that will be provided and the infrastructure and capabilities that will be necessary to provide them, that the applicant will be working how the applicant plans to utilize and improve the existing infrastructure at the institution, in terms of facilities, equipment, software, personnel, and scientific networking, as well as institutional and national commitment to the biorepository; how the expertise for development of sample receipt, handling, storage and distribution to the investigators within the H3Africa Consortium the problems and obstacles that are anticipated in order to meet the challenge of serving as a biorepository to multiple investigators from multiple institutions in multiple African nations within the H3Africa Consortium, and how the applicant will create or take advantage of forward-looking solutions to solve those problems and overcome those obstacles; the plan during the Phase I period to test or demonstrate the validity of the proposed approaches, e.g., receipt and distribution of samples the training in biorepository management and sciences to meet the needs of the full-scale H3Africa Biorepository, and subsequently enhance the expertise of African scientists in the field of genomics and/or laboratory Phase II Scale-up: For Phase II, the grant application should address how the implementation of the biorepository will build on the plan and data generated during Phase I; and how the services of the biorepository may eventually be expanded (although not necessarily within the six-year period of this award; see Sustainability section) beyond the H3Africa investigators to investigators elsewhere in Africa and abroad.

This FOA calls for applications to propose a two-stage plan for an H3Africa Biorepository, including a two-year UH2 Phase I study to develop a plan that will lay the foundation of an H3Africa Biorepository, and a Phase II plan to implement a scaled-up biorepository that will serve the needs of the H3Africa Consortium. (see http://www. h3africa.

org/ ).

The objectives of the Phase I and II H3Africa Biorepository application should describe: the plan for the full-scale biorepository that the applicant will how the applicant plans to utilize and improve the existing the development of expert services for staffing the repository; solutions to anticipated problems and obstacles in order to build efforts during the UH2 study phase to test or demonstrate the validity of the proposed approaches; staff training in biorepository management and science to meet the needs of biorepository.

In the UH3 stage of the award, the successful project(s) will apply the proposed credible biorepository plan, approaches and tools from the UH2 Phase I to the UH3 Phase II scale up.

The criteria that will be used to determine which of the Phase I projects will be continued into Phase II will Successful achievement of the defined milestones for the Phase I Potential for meeting the goals of the initiative to establish a large-scale H3Africa Biorepository Concrete and encouraging results and accomplishments of the feasibility activities in Phase I The availability of funds H3Africa program priorities and balance The H3Africa Biorepository application must clearly describe the objectives and plans for both the two-year Phase I (supported by the UH2 mechanism, 12 page Research Strategy) and the four-year biorepository scale-up Phase II (supported by the continuation UH3 mechanism, 12 page Research Section II.

Award Information Application Types Allowed Glossary and the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards The NIH Common Fund intends to commit for the UH2 (Phase I) period an estimated total of $400,000 over two years for 1 to 2 UH2 grants.

For the UH3 (Phase II), up to $16 million total costs for four years beyond the UH2 Phase I phase will be available to support up to three full-scale biorepositories. Funding per year will vary depending upon the number of biorepositories funded. .

Up to $125,000 total costs per year for the first two years, is allowed for Phase I. If only one Phase I grant is awarded, the award will be adjusted. For the Phase II period the budget is limited to $2 million total costs in FY15 and $1.

7 million total costs in FY16-18. The Phase II budget years total. As in the Phase I grant, the amount per award per year will be adjusted depending on the number of Phase II applications awarded.

A six year budget that includes both phase I and phase II is required for the The maximum period of funding for the entire UH/UH3 application is six years. described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA. Entities (Foreign Institutions).

Specifically: African institutions are eligible for the awards: Controlled Institutions of Higher Education Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement , are allowed.

Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award.

Applicants must have a valid Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of the following Central Contractor Registration (CCR) must maintain an active registration, to be renewed at least annually All Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) must also work with their institutional officials to register with the eRA Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated with the eRA Commons account of the applicant organization.

All registrations must be completed by the application due date. Applicant organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration process at least 4-6 weeks prior to the application due date.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s)) Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support.

Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PD(s)/PI(s), visit the Multiple Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF 424 (R&R) This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement . 3.

Additional Information on Eligibility Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct. NIH will not accept any application in response to this FOA that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial peer review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application.

Resubmission applications may be submitted, according to the NIH Policy on Resubmission Applications from the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide. Section IV. Application and Submission Information Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.

gov . 2. Content and Form of Application Submission It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in (R&R) Application Guide , except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise.

Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced.

Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for For information on Application Submission and Receipt, visit Frequently Asked Questions Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and By the date listed in Part 1.

Overview Information , prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information: Descriptive title of proposed research Name, address, and telephone number of the PD(s)/PI(s) Names of other key personnel Participating institutions Number and title of this funding opportunity The letter of intent should be sent to: Louise Wideroff, Ph. D.

, MSPH Institute on Drug Abuse ( NIDA ) National Institutes of Health 6001 Executive Boulevard, MSC 9555 FedEx/UPS/Other Courier Delivery Address: 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 4271, MSC 9555 Research Institute ( NHGRI ) National Institutes of Health 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 4076, MSC 9305 FedEx/UPS/Other Courier Delivery Address: 5635 Fishers Lane, Suite 4076, MSC 9305 Required and Optional Components The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, mandatory and optional.

Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for submission of applications for this FOA.

Follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide to ensure you complete all appropriate optional All page limitations described in the SF424 Application Page Limits must be followed, with the following exceptions or additional The Research Strategy for the UH2 (Phase I) is limited to 12 The Research Strategy for the UH3 (Phase II) is limited to 12 PHS 398 Research Plan Component All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions: The H3Africa Biorepository UH2/UH3 application must be submitted as a single application and should be clearly organized into two phases: (UH2 (Phase I) and UH3 (Phase II)).

To clearly distinguish between the two phases, applicants should specify separate UH2 and UH3 research strategies in the Research Plan of the PHS 398, which allows up to 12 separate pages for each phase. In preparing the application, investigators should consider the fact that applications will be assigned a single impact/priority score for both UH2 and UH3 phases.

Thus, clarity and completeness of the application with regard to specific goals and the feasibility of milestones are critical. Milestones should be sufficiently scientifically rigorous to be valid for assessing progress in the UH2 phase, and will reflect the scientific judgment and experience of the applicant.

398 Research Plan : For applications submitted for this FOA, the following should be included: Introduction (resubmissions only): The Research Plan must include an introduction to the Application for resubmitted applications only. The introduction is an opportunity for the PI who has revised and is resubmitting an application to address the comments from the initial review of the previous application. It is limited to one page.

New applications should not include an introduction. For more information, see specific instructions Specific Aims : Applicants should address the scientific questions to be answered, what specifically will be done during the proposed funding periods, and how the proposed research is relevant to the mission of a participating NIH IC. Specific aims should be scientifically appropriate for the relevant phases of the project.

1 page is allowed for the Research Strategy : For Phase I (first 12 pages), the Research Strategy Section should describe in detail how the applicant will use the initial two-year feasibility period to lay the foundation for a fully functional, scaled-up biorepository in the most useful, forward-looking way possible.

For Phase II (second 12 pages), the Research Strategy Section must include description of how the biorepository will be further developed in Phase II based on the Phase I plan and feasibility data generated during Phase I. The Research Strategy for the UH2 and UH3 should be broken down in to Significance, Innovation and Approach. The description of these three elements of the Research Strategy will differ in the UH2 and the UH3.

Applicants should pay attention to how the information requested below applies to the pilot project (UH2) vs. the scaled up project (UH3). Significance: This section should describe why building an international biorepository in Africa is important for improving African health. It can also note how the benefits will extend to improved health outcomes elsewhere in the world, particularly in the US.

The PD/PI should discuss the barriers to success in both phases of the project, how this study will address the problems and what new improvements in African genomic research, health care, therapies or technical capabilities might be expected if the biorepository is successful.

Innovation: This section of the Research Strategy should address what innovative solutions are being proposed to meet the special challenges of establishing an international biorepository in Africa.

Describe what novel concepts, approaches and technologies will be employed to meet the challenges of successfully establishing an African biorepository capable of receiving samples from other African nations and preparing and sending samples to other nations, both on the African continent and beyond.

Importantly, the applicant should describe how success in this project will improve the African biorepository service in general and promote the field of genomics in Africa.

Approach: This section of the research should describe the overall strategy and methodologies that will be used to accomplish the specific For Phase I, the application should describe in detail how the applicant will use the initial two-year feasibility period to lay the foundation for a fully functional, scaled-up biorepository in the most useful, forward-looking way possible.

For Phase II, the application must describe how the biorepository will be further developed based on the Phase I plan and feasibility data generated during Phase I. In each section of the application, the following topics must be addressed for both phases.

It is important to note that this list is not exhaustive, and applicants should identify and address any other topics that they think should be included in the UH2 Phase I study process, particularly potential barriers, in addition to those identified below, that they believe need to be addressed in order to establish a successful, sustainable biorepository in Africa.

Note: Helpful information about best practices for biorepositories can be found at http://www. isber. org/bp/index.

cfm , and a set of industry standards that will help repository applicants evaluate their adherence to the best practices can be found here . Infrastructure : The types of information that should be addressed include the plans for building on the institution’s existing infrastructure to establish adequate: Biorepository capacity.

The H3Africa Biorepository(ies) that will be supported in Phase II are intended to meet the needs of the entire H3Africa Consortium, i.e. the research projects supported by both the NIH and Wellcome Trust partners, as well as any other partners that may join the Consortium during the project period.

It is expected that the Phase II biorepository(ies) will deal with as many as 100,000 samples per year including blood and DNA in liquid, frozen or dry form.

The applicant must provide a plan for how the biorepository will ramp up its abilities to receive, store and distribute samples during Phase II, based on the success of demonstrating this Biorepository infrastructure, including the following: details, including size, ventilation, access, ambient temperature, and keeping the space free of outside dust, dirt, and living organisms; including heating, air conditioning, water purification systems and any other specialized electrical or mechanical services required; set-up, including voltage, surge-protection, and back-up requirements; pesticide use, if applicable; and software.

The description of existing institutional infrastructure must be provided in the Resources section of the grant application; for storage, maintenance, quality control, and distribution of samples based upon the informed consent and policy of the H3Africa Consortium, which will be developed by the entire H3Africa Consortium; including but not limited to, mechanical and nitrogen vapor freezers, liquid nitrogen tanks, laminar flow hoods, incubators, and specialized equipment needed to isolate or aliquot DNA; including up-to-date, appropriate software maintenance and service of equipment plans to ensure continued biorepository function at all times.

Infrastructure Improvement: As described, the Phase I UH2 portion of the application should focus on the plan to improve the institution’s existing biorepository capability to the level needed to meet the needs of the H3Africa Consortium.

The Phase II part of the application should provide additional information as to how that plan will be put into practice to make additional improvements to the infrastructure so that within the first two years of Phase II, the repository