Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH ECHO Cooperative Agreements (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) – related Research

The purpose of this NOSI is to encourage eligible ECHO cohort grantees to apply for this administrative supplement aimed at fostering time-sensitive ECHO-wide Cohort science related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ECHO Program’s mission is to enhance the health of children for generations to come. Understanding the effects of a broad array of early environmental exposures on child health and development, including issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, is a priority for the NIH.

Research Objectives: Applications must be within the scope of the parent award, including 1) address the mission of ECHO, 2) contribute to at least one of the ECHO Program’s five key pediatric outcomes: pre-, peri-, and postnatal, upper and lower airway, obesity, neurodevelopment, and positive health, and 3) contribute to ECHO-wide Cohort science; and they must 4) use REDCap Central for data collection, so that populating the ECHO-wide Cohort data platform is timely and automatic.

Applications should consider COVID-19-related scientific questions that require time-sensitive support, including but not limited to

1. Repeat administration of questionnaire items over a relatively short time period, or
2. Time-sensitive collection of samples or of existing results of laboratory assays, or
3. Time-sensitive conduct of laboratory assays

The ECHO Program Office encourages applicants to consider research in three broad areas and encourages addressing health disparities:

1. Impact on ECHO health outcomes of having probable or definite COVID-19 infection, including interactions with other early exposures of interest in ECHO. ECHO Program Office encourages addressing pre-/peri-/postnatal outcomes.
2. Impact on psychosocial, behavioral, economic, health services, or health outcomes of living during the time of the COVID-19.
3. Impact on best practices for implementing the ECHO-wide Cohort data collection protocol during or after the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of research topics include but are not limited to

• Impact on research staff, participants, operations, data completeness, or data quality of pausing cohort operations, and ways to mitigate those impacts.
• Introducing new approaches to informed consent, data or specimen collection, return of results, or other research-related activities.