The HHEAR Program provides health researchers access to laboratory and data analysis services, to add assessment of environmental exposures to their research or to expand their assessments. Are you eligible for HHEAR Services? Check the eligibility criteria below to find out. If you have additional questions about eligibility, contact HHEARHelp@Westat.com.
Eligibility
You may be eligible to access HHEAR services if you meet the following criteria:
1. You have an ongoing or completed epidemiological or clinical study (parent study) with human biological and/or environmental samples linked to health outcome data, and:
- You want to add environmental exposure data to your parent study or need more extensive analysis of exposures to support a scientific hypothesis related to health outcomes.
- Although your parent study may be ongoing, you have collected all the data and biological and environmental samples that you will provide to HHEAR for the proposed project prior to submitting your Final Application.
2. You meet at least one of the following funding criteria:
- Your ongoing or completed parent study is/was funded at least in part by NIEHS extramural funds. In addition, NIEHS will consider support for studies with significant NIEHS engagement that are administered by other NIH Institutes such as the Environmental Health Disparities Centers (administered by NIMHD), the GEOHealth Centers (administered by FIC), and the ABCD study (administered by NIDA) as well as others. Applicants are encouraged to inquire about potential eligibility before submitting an application. Eligible studies supported by NIEHS may request all HHEAR services including targeted and untargeted analysis of biological and environmental samples.
- Your parent study is/was funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program. Studies funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program are eligible for targeted and untargeted analysis of biological and environmental samples.
- Your parent study is currently funded at least in part by NHLBI extramural funds. Studies funded by NHLBI extramural funds are eligible for targeted and untargeted analysis of only biological samples.
- Your parent study is currently funded by NCI extramural funds and has more than one year of funding remaining at the time you submit the HHEAR Initial Application. Studies funded by NCI extramural funds are eligible for only targeted analysis of biological samples.
- Your study is an ECHO-wide cohort analysis proposal that has been approved through the ECHO Publications Program, or an ECHO Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund proposal approved through the ECHO OIF Program. Studies funded by ECHO are eligible for targeted and untargeted analysis of only biological samples.
- ECHO-wide and OIF supported projects are managed through the ECHO program and don't require an additional application for HHEAR services. ECHO cohorts may be eligible for cohort specific analyses through NIEHS, NHLBI, or NCI support through a HHEAR application.
- Email echocc-publications@dm.duke.edu for more information on the ECHO Publications Program. Email echocc-oif@duke.edu for more information on the ECHO OIF Program.
3. You are eligible to apply for an NIH grant at your home institution, and you have the authority to commit to documentation such as the Material Transfer Agreement, Data Submission Agreement, and Data Sharing Plan.
4. You agree to share your experimental design details and supporting data, including phenotypic data at the individual level, needed to achieve the aim(s) of your proposal.
If you believe you are eligible for HHEAR services, please go to How to Apply for information on submitting an application.