DEA Extramural Glossary: 'E' Terms

DEA Extramural Glossary

'E' Terms

Early Detection Research Network EDRN: The Early Detection Research Network (EDRN), an initiative of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), brings together dozens of institutions to help accelerate the translation of biomarker information into clinical applications and to evaluate new ways of testing cancer in its earliest stages and for cancer risk.

Early Phase 1: (formerly listed as Phase 0) - A phase of research used to describe exploratory trials conducted before traditional phase 1 trials to investigate how or whether a drug affects the body. They involve very limited human exposure to the drug and have no therapeutic or diagnostic goals (for example, screening studies, microdose studies).
Quoted from the ClinicalTrials.gov Glossary of Common Site Terms.

Early Stage Investigator ESI: An individual who is classified as a New Investigator and is within 10 years of completing his/her terminal research degree or is within 10 years of completing medical residency (or the equivalent) is considered an Early Stage Investigator (ESI).
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Earmark: A requirement by Congress that a Federal Agency spend a specified amount of money for a stated purpose (e.g. to establish a centers program or conduct a clinical trial).
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group: The cooperative group that was formed by the merger of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN).
The ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group is a multidisciplinary, membership-based scientific organization that designs and conducts biomarker-driven cancer research involving adults who have or are at risk of developing cancer. The Group is dedicated to its stated purpose, which is to achieve research advances in all aspects of cancer care and thereby reduce the burden of cancer and improve the quality of life and survival in patients with cancer.

Edison: See: iEdison

electronic Contract Proposal Submission eCPS: The electronic Contract Proposal Submission (eCPS) is one component of NIH's integrated, secure system for the electronic submission, capture, tracking and review of contract proposals. eCPS was developed for the purposes of streamlining our contract proposal submission and review processes, preparing for the eventual elimination of paper submissions, and reducing costs associated with storage of large paper files.

Electronic Council Book ECB: The Electronic Council Book (ECB) is a web-based system that provides a variety of services in support of the second level of review of grant applications by a review group (hereafter referred to as the Advisory Council) at the grantor agency.
For additional information, visit the Electronic Council Book webpage.

electronic Models Information, Communication, and Education (eMice) eMice: The eMICE site is designed to offer electronic Models Information, Communication, and Education primarily on the use of animal models in cancer research. Aspects of the history of animal research, animal husbandry, techniques for breeding and characterizing animal models, and sources of animal models are introduced. Success stories in the form of Research Uses are also described.
As an outreach mechanism for the Mouse Models of Human Cancer Consortium (MMHCC), eMICE aims to connect with a wide range of users, from the general public interested in this topic, to students and scholars interested in animal research, and medical professionals who need to understand more about the cancer research that is underway using animal systems.
For additional information, visit the eMice website.; See Also: Oncology Models Forum

Electronic Research Administration eRA: The Electronic Research Administration (eRA) provides critical IT infrastructure to manage the receipt, processing, review, award and monitoring of over $30 billion in research and non-research grants awarded annually by NIH and other grantor agencies in support of the collective mission of improving human health.

Electronic Research Administration Commons eRA Commons: The Electronic Research Administration (eRA) Commons is an online interface where signing officials, principal investigators, trainees and post-docs at institutions/organizations can access and share administrative information relating to research grants.

Electronic Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process eSNAP: Electronic submission of a Non-Competing continuation progress report, through the eRA Commons, for an award subject to the SNAP (Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process) provisions. Use of eSNAP is mandatory for SNAP awards (see NOT OD-10-093).
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Eligibility Criteria: In clinical trials, requirements that must be met for a person to be included in a trial. These requirements help make sure that participants in a trial are like each other in terms of specific factors such as age, type and stage of cancer, general health, and previous treatment. When all participants meet the same eligibility criteria, it is more likely that results of the study are caused by the intervention being tested and not by other factors or by chance.
Quoted from the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.

Employee Invention Report EIR: An Employee Invention Report (EIR) form is a standardized Public Health Service (PHS) form used to report inventions developed within the NIH Intramural Research Program. The purpose of the EIR is to document the invention by asking inventors for specific information and to evaluate whether or not the government should seek patent protection for such reported invention.
For additional information, see the NIH Technology Transfer Center's The Employee Invention Report (EIR) web page.

Employer Identification Number TIN: Identification of a business to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service; also known as a Federal tax identification number (TIN). The TIN forms the basis for the Entity Identification Number.
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

En Bloc Concurrence: The Congress.gov Glossary defines en bloc as "All together."

Sometimes a committee or congressional chamber will agree to act concurrently on multiple measures (e.g., bills) or matters (e.g., nominations), thereby considering them "en bloc."
Per its charter, the National Cancer Advisory Board may implement procedures for expediting en bloc Board concurrence of Scientific Review Group recommendations. A member or members may be selected by the Executive Secretary or Chair to provide en bloc concurrence on behalf of the Board. Only those applications that do not require individual consideration shall be included in this expedited process. A report of the en bloc recommendations will be presented at each Board meeting.

Enroll or Enrolled: Enroll or enrolled means a human subject's, or their legally authorized representative's, agreement to participate in a clinical trial following completion of the informed consent process, as required in 21 CFR part 50 and/or 45 CFR part 46, as applicable. For the purposes of this part, potential subjects who are screened for the purpose of determining eligibility for a trial, but do not participate in the trial, are not considered enrolled, unless otherwise specified by the protocol.
Quoted from 42 CFR §11.10.

Enrollment: The number of participants in a clinical study. The "estimated enrollment" is the number of participants that the researchers need for the study. (See also Enrollment data element on ClinicalTrials.gov.)
Quoted from the ClincalTrials.gov Glossary of Common Site Terms.

Enrollment Data: Provides race and ethnicity data for the cumulative number of human subjects enrolled in an NIH-funded clinical research study since the protocol began. This data is provided in competing continuation applications and annual progress reports.
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Enterprise Vocabulary Services EVS: Since 1997, NCI Enterprise Vocabulary Services (EVS) has provided terminology content, tools, and services to accurately code, analyze and share cancer and biomedical research, clinical and public health information.

Entity Identification Number EIN: A three-part coding scheme of 12 characters used in the Program Management System (PMS) to identify organizations and individuals. The first character identifies the recipient as an organization or an individual. The next nine characters are the Employer Identification Number. The last two characters are a suffix to provide distinction between organizational entities that are assigned a single EIN and those that have more than one.
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Environment: The scientific environment and reasonable availability of resources necessary to the research is one of the pertinent factors taken into account when the scientific peer review group assesses the overall impact that the project could have on the research field involved.
One of the Scored Review Criteria, reviewers will consider Environment in the determination of scientific and technical merit, and give it a separate score.
For additional information, see 42 CFR §52h.8 and §2.4.1.3 of the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Environment and Institutional Commitment to the Candidate: The applicant organization must define and document a strong, well-established research and career development program related to the candidate's area of interest, including a high-quality research environment with staff capable of productive collaboration with the candidate.
One of the scored review criteria for Research Career Development ("K") Awards.
For additional information, see §12.4.1.3 of the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered by EEOC laws (20 employees in age discrimination cases). Most labor unions and employment agencies are also covered.
The laws apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits.

Equipment: Tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-Federal entity for financial statement purposes, or $5,000.
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

eReviewer Support Site eRSS: The eReviewer Support Site (eRSS) is an online interface where NIH staff and reviewers can access, share and submit administrative information during the review of contract proposals.; See Also: electronic Contract Proposal Submission

Error: During the process of submitting a grant application electronically, applicants may receive a notification of errors from the eRA Commons. Errors are critical problems with the application such as significant inaccuracies, inconsistencies or omissions.
Errors stop the application from processing and must be corrected by the submission deadline in order for the application to move forward in the submission process.
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Essentially Equivalent Work

Work that is substantially the same research, which is proposed for funding in more than one contract proposal or grant application submitted to the same Federal agency or submitted to two or more different Federal agencies for review and funding consideration;
work where a specific research objective and the research design for accomplishing the objective are the same or closely related to another proposal or award, regardless of the funding source.

Quoted from the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Policy Directive.

See Also: Overlap of Support ; Scientific Overlap

Established Investigator Award in Cancer Prevention and Control K05: For the support of a research scientist qualified to pursue independent research which would extend the research program of the sponsoring institution, or to direct an essential part of this research program.
For additional information, visit the NCI Grant Activity Codes/Mechanisms webpage.

Ethnic and Racial Definitions

The following are the ethnic and racial definitions for the minimum standard categories (1997 OMB Directive 15).

Ethnic Categories:

Hispanic or Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The term "Spanish origin" can also be used in addition to "Hispanic or Latino."

Not Hispanic or Latino

Racial Categories:

American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North, Central, or South America, and who maintains tribal affiliations or community attachment.

Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. (Note: Individuals from the Philippine Islands have been recorded as Pacific Islanders in previous data collection strategies.)

Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Terms such as "Haitian" or "Negro" can be used in addition to "Black or African American."

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

Quoted from NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-01-053.

Ethnic/Racial Subpopulations: In addition to OMB ethnic and racial categories, each ethnic/racial group contains subpopulations that are delimited by geographic origins, national origins, and/or cultural differences. It is recognized that there are different ways of defining and reporting racial and ethnic subpopulation data. The subpopulation to which an individual is assigned depends on self–reporting of specific origins and/or cultural heritage. Attention to subpopulations also applies to individuals who self–identify with more than one race. These ethnic/racial combinations may have biomedical, behavioral, and/or socio-cultural implications related to the scientific question under study.
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Euthanasia: Euthanasia is derived from the Greek terms eu meaning good and thanatos meaning death. The term is usually used to describe ending the life of an individual animal in a way that minimizes or eliminates pain and distress. A good death is tantamount to the humane termination of an animal's life.
Excerpted from the Introduction of the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2013 Edition.

Evaluators: Any individuals, including Government employees, who participate in scientific or technical reviews of contract and subcontract proposals, or active projects under NIH awards, and who assign scores or ratings, or make funding recommendations. This includes members of SRGs and SSPs or any participants performing these evaluation functions. During their involvement in the evaluation process, evaluators are considered critical participants in the acquisition. As such, the applicable Standards of Conduct, Procurement Integrity, and Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure of Information bind them.
Quoted from NIH Policy Manual Chapter 6315-1.

Exceptions: Applications funded outside an established payline or where no payline exists.

Exceptions Funding: Money not spent as rapidly or to the extent originally budgeted that can be reassigned to other areas.

Exceptions Meeting: Meeting at which proposed exceptions funding is considered.

Exceptions Process: Process by which potential exceptions are identified, evaluated, and approved for funding.

Exclusion Criteria: Medical and/or social characteristics that prevent a subject from being allowed to participate in a clinical study, as outlined in the study protocol.
Quoted from the NCI Thesaurus .

Executive Branch

The executive branch of our Government is in charge of making sure that the laws of the United States are obeyed. The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch. The President gets help from the Vice President, department heads (called Cabinet members), and heads of independent agencies. Here are some of the things those people do:

The President leads the country and commands the military.
The Vice President becomes President if the President can no longer do the job and is also President of the Senate.
Department heads advise the President on issues and help carry out decisions made by the Government.
Independent Agencies also help carry out decisions made by the Government or provide special services.

Quoted from Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government, a service of the Government Publishing Office (GPO).

Executive Secretary: Executive Secretary is a term used at NIH to denote the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) role.; See: Designated Federal Officer

Expanded Authorities EA: Operating authorities provided in Federal Administrative Regulations (e.g., A-110) to recipients that waive the requirement for prior approval for specified actions. NIH extended expanded authorities to all NIH awards except for the provision to automatically carry over unobligated balances thus these authorities have become the NIH Standard Terms of Award. Therefore, the term Expanded Authorities is no longer used at NIH (see NIH Grants Policy Statement: 8 Administrative Requirements 8.1 Changes in Project and Budget 8.1.1 NIH Standard Terms of Award).
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.; See: NIH Standard Terms of Award

Expenditures: See: Outlays or Expenditures

Experimental Group: The group in a clinical research study that receives the drug, vaccine, or other intervention being tested. Interventions may also include medical procedures (such as radiation therapy and surgery), medical devices, behavior changes (such as diet and exercise), education programs, and counseling. Also called intervention group and investigational group.
Quoted from the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.; See Also: Control Group

Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network ETCTN: The NCI Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network conducts early-stage trials of targeted therapies and combinations of therapies and is an important venue for identifying promising new treatments to test in late-stage trials funded by NCI and the private sector.

Expiration Date: In context of awarded grant:
The date signifying the end of the current project period, after which the grantee is not authorized to obligate grant funds.
In context of funding opportunity announcement key dates:
The day after the last submission due date for the announcement. As of the Expiration Date, the announcement is no longer active and applications will not be accepted unless either the late policy or system issue policy apply.
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Exploratory Grants P20: To support planning for new programs, expansion or modification of existing resources, and feasibility studies to explore various approaches to the development of interdisciplinary programs that offer potential solutions to problems of special significance to the mission of the NIH. These exploratory studies may lead to specialized or comprehensive centers.
For additional information, visit the NCI Grant Activity Codes/Mechanisms webpage.

Exploratory Grants - Cooperative Agreements U56: To support planning for new programs, expansion or modification of existing resources, and feasibility studies to explore various approaches to the development of interdisciplinary programs that offer potential solutions to problems of special significance to the mission of the NIH. These exploratory studies may lead to specialized or comprehensive centers. Substantial Federal programmatic staff involvement is intended to assist investigators during performance of the research activities, as defined in the terms and conditions of award.
For additional information, visit the NCI Grant Activity Codes/Mechanisms webpage.

Exploratory/Development Grants R21: To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.)
For additional information, visit the NCI Grant Activity Codes/Mechanisms webpage.

Exploratory/Development Research: Research studies in the early and conceptual stages of development. Exploratory studies may differ substantially from current thinking or practice and may not yet be supported by substantial preliminary data.
Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Exploratory/Developmental Grants Phase II R33: To provide a second phase for support of innovative exploratory and developmental research activities initiated under the R21 mechanism. Although only R21 awardees are generally eligible to apply for R33 support, specific program initiatives may establish eligibility criteria under which applications could be accepted from applicants who demonstrate program competency equivalent to that expected under R33.
For additional information, visit the NCI Grant Activity Codes/Mechanisms webpage.

Extension

Initiate a one-time extension of the period of performance by up to 12 months unless one or more of the conditions outlined in paragraphs (d)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section apply. For one-time extensions, the recipient must notify the HHS awarding agency in writing with the supporting reasons and revised period of performance at least 10 calendar days before the end of the period of performance specified in the Federal award. This one-time extension may not be exercised merely for the purpose of using unobligated balances. Extensions require explicit prior HHS awarding agency approval when:

(i) The terms and conditions of the Federal award prohibit the extension.
(ii) The extension requires additional Federal funds.
(iii) The extension involves any change in the approved objectives or scope of the project.

Quoted from 45 CFR §75.308(d)(2).