DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH &.

HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service

National Institutes of Health

April 20, 2011
r;:y. Bethesda, Maryland 20892
k ~©~D~_~ www.nih.gov
Jeremy Beckham
PETA
501 Front Street
~ IIAPR 22 2011
Norfolk, Virginia 23510 \
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Re: FOI Case No. 38290 \ ..---_.
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Dear Mr. Beckham:

This is our final response to your two Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) requests dated
November 24, 2010, addressed to Reaya Reuss, FOIA Coordinator, National Institute of
Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health. Your
requests were referred to this office because of our responsibilities under the FOIA. You
requested information pertaining to grants RO IDC007177 and RO lDC002840 awarded to
Tom Yin, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison; and grant ROIDC003693 awarded to
Luis Populin, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Specifically, you asked for (1) the most
recent full grant applications, (2) all progress reports in the year(s) since the most recent
full grant applications, (3) any correspondence related to animal welfare issues, and (4)
any "Record of Call" forms which document telephone calls between NIDCD and the
grantees and any other part related to the aforementioned grants. You amended your
request to exclude the locations of laboratories, names/addresses of individuals working
on the grants, and biosketches of collaborating scientists. The records have been redacted
of this information.

A search ofNIDCD files produced 231 pages of records responsive to items 1 and 2 of
yourrequest. Enclosed are grants 2-ROlDC007l77/06-07 (79 pages),
2-ROlDC02840/06-1O (85 pages), and 5-ROlDC003693-06 Revised (67 pages). It is
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) policy to expunge EIN numbers,
social security numbers, bitth dates, percentage of effort, pending support, source of
private support, references to unpublished articles, agency login password, reviewers
comments and the principal investigator's response to those comments, and any
patentable or proprietary material wherever they appear throughout the grant material.
This information has been removed from the enclosed records.

Requesters who ask for grant applications usually want to receive only material that will
help in understanding the process that led to the awards, or to improve their own methods
of drafting grant applications. Requesters usually do not want material that applicants
believe would harm them if released. We have found that the spirit of the FOIA can be
enhanced through a spirit of cooperation among requesters of materials and those who
submitted the materials.

In this instance, we asked the grantee for advice concerning patent rights and other
confidential commercial or financial information and the material that we are furnishing
reflects that advice. If you feel that materials have been omitted that should have been

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made available to you, please write to me and I will consult with the NIH Freedom of
Information Officer.

Regarding Items 3 and 4 of your request NIDCD searched its files and no responsive
records were located. While we believe that an adequate search of appropriate files was
conducted for the records you requested, you have the right to appeal this determination
that no records exist which would be responsive to part of your request. Should you wish
to do so, you must send your appeal within 30 days of receipt of this letter to the Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (Media), DHHS, Suite 920, 7700 Wisconsin
Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20857, following the procedures outlined in Subpart C of
the DHHS ForA Regulation available on our website:
httpllwww.nih.gov/icdlodlfoialefoia.htm and http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/foia/cfr45.htm.
Please mark both the envelope and the appeal letter "FOIA Appeal."

In certain circumstances provisions of the FOIA and DHHS FOIA Regulations allow us
to recover part of the cost of responding to your request. Because the cost is below the
$25.00 minimum, there is no charge for the enclosed materials.

Sincerely,

(J~r\n~ A< lUI'U1' L

Connie A. Wivel
Senior FOIA Specialist
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
Office of the Director
Bldg. 31, Rm. 5B35
Phone: 301-496-5633
FAX: 301-402-4541

Enclosures: Grant - 2-ROlDC0284006106-10 (85 pages)

Grant - 5-ROlDC007177 (79 pages)
Grant - 5-ROlDC003693-06 (67 pages)

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