Year: 2012

A Roadmap for Glycoscience

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The National Research Council of the National Academies has released a report titled Transforming Glycoscience: A Roadmap for the Future. The report was sponsored by several NIH institutes, including NIGMS, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. It was prepared by the Committee on Assessing the Importance and Impact of Glycomics and Glycosciences, chaired by David Walt of Tufts University.

The committee was charged to “articulate a unified vision for the field on glycoscience and glycomics” and to “develop a roadmap with concrete research goals to significantly advance [them].”

Their major recommendations are that NIH, NSF, DOE and other relevant stakeholders place a high priority on the development of:

  • Transformative methods for the facile synthesis of carbohydrates and glycoconjuates;
  • Transformative tools for the detection, imaging, separation and high-resolution structure determination of carbohydrate structures and mixtures; and
  • Transformative capabilities for perturbing carbohydrate and glycoconjugate structure, recognition, metabolism and biosynthesis.

The report also supports the development of:

  • Robust, validated informatics tools to enable accurate carbohydrate and glycoconjugate structural prediction, computational modeling and data mining. This capability will broaden access of glycoscience data to the entire scientific community.
  • A long-term-funded, stable, integrated, centralized database that includes mammalian, plant and microbial carbohydrates and glycoconjugates and has links to other databases. The deposition of new structures using a reporting standard should be required.
  • Integration of the glycosciences into the science curriculum.

While NIGMS has a long history of investment in the glycosciences, including funding for the Consortium for Functional Glycomics glue grant and the development of methods and tools required for a full glycomics effort, the report sets an ambitious pace that would require a broad, multidisciplinary, multi-agency effort. It’s possible that the report may help guide the development of future NIH initiatives in the areas identified.

Gerald Hart, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a member of the committee that prepared the report, will brief the NIGMS Advisory Council of its findings at its September meeting. NAS staff involved in developing the report will also be in attendance to respond to questions.

Update on NIH Special Council Review Policy

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NIH has announced a new policy whereby applications from investigators who receive more than $1 million in direct research support from active NIH grants will receive additional scrutiny by NIH institute and center (IC) advisory councils. This is a threshold, not a cap: Investigators may still receive additional grant awards if the ICs determine such awards will further their missions.

A few notes: The policy replaces a piloted one that set the threshold at $1.5 million total costs. NIGMS will continue its current practice that sets the threshold for special scrutiny of well-funded investigators at $750,000 or more in direct costs for all research support, regardless of the source.

Below is a chart that outlines some of the differences between the NIH and NIGMS policies. For more discussion on this topic, see comments to my earlier post.

NIH

NIGMS

Funding source

NIH only

NIH and non-NIH

Threshold

$1M direct costs on existing grants

$750K direct costs including the pending application

Exclusions

RFAs, P01s, some multi-PI awards

Resource awards

NIH Common Fund Extracellular RNA Communication Funding Opportunities

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exRNA LogoThe NIH Common Fund has established a new program on extracellular RNA (exRNA) communication. The program seeks to discover fundamental biological principles of the mechanisms of exRNA generation, secretion and transport; to identify and develop a catalog of exRNA found in normal human body fluids; and to investigate the potential for using exRNAs in the clinic as therapeutic molecules or as disease biomarkers.

NIH recently issued the following funding opportunity announcements focused on these goals:

Extracellular RNA Biogenesis, Biodistribution, Uptake, and Effector Function (U19)
(RFA-RM-12-012)

Purpose: Stimulate multidisciplinary research projects to determine the principles that guide the selection of regulatory RNA molecules for extracellular transport, determine the function of these exRNAs, and focus on the role of exRNA communication in human health and disease
Letter of intent due date: October 12, 2012
Application due date: November 13, 2012
NIH contact: T. Kevin Howcroft, 301-496-7815

Reference Profiles of Human Extracellular RNA (U01)
(RFA-RM-12-011)

Purpose: Develop reference profiles for noncoding regulatory exRNAs from healthy human blood and other body fluid samples
Letter of intent due date: October 12, 2012
Application due date: November 13, 2012
NIH contact: Pothur R. Srinivas, 301-402-3712

Clinical Utility of Extracellular RNA for Biomarker Development (UH2/UH3)
(RFA-RM-12-013)

Purpose: Identify and quantify exRNA-based biomarkers derived from human body fluids in order to diagnose and monitor disease progression and response to therapy
Letter of intent due date: October 12, 2012
Application due date: November 13, 2012
NIH contact: Danilo A. Tagle, 301-594-8064

Clinical Utility of Extracellular RNA for Therapy Development (UH2/UH3)
(RFA-RM-12-014)

Purpose: Develop novel therapies and delivery techniques that demonstrate the potential clinical utility of exRNAs as therapeutic agents
Letter of intent due date: October 12, 2012
Application due date: November 13, 2012
NIH contact: Danilo A. Tagle, 301-594-8064

Data Management and Resource Repository (DMRR) on Extracellular RNA (U54)
(RFA-RM-12-010)

Purpose: Integrate the efforts of all of the funded components of the Common Fund exRNA communication program and serve as a community-wide resource for exRNA standards, protocols and data
Letter of intent due date: October 12, 2012
Application due date: November 13, 2012
NIH contact: John Satterlee, 301-435-1020

NIGMS’ Alexandra Ainsztein is a member of the NIH working group for this program and can answer questions about it by e-mail or phone (301-594-0828).

NIH Director’s Pioneer and New Innovator Awards

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You may be interested in these recent funding opportunity announcements from the NIH Common Fund:

2013 NIH Director’s Pioneer Award Program (DP1)
(RFA-RM-12-015)

Purpose: Support exceptionally creative individual scientists who propose pioneering, and possibly transforming, approaches to major challenges that have the potential for unusually high impact on a broad area of biomedical or behavioral research
Application due date: October 9, 2012
NIH contact: Ravi Basavappa, 301-594-8190

2013 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Program (DP2)
(RFA-RM-12-016)

Purpose: Support exceptionally creative early stage investigators who propose bold and highly innovative new research approaches that have the potential for major impact on broad, important problems in biomedical and behavioral research
Application due date: October 17, 2012
NIH contact: Ravi Basavappa, 301-594-8190

Search for NIGMS Director Resumes

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The search for the next director of NIGMS has officially restarted. If you want to play a leading role in shaping the future of biomedical research, see the just-issued vacancy announcement for details on how to apply. If you know of others who might be interested in this position, please share this information with them.

The NIGMS director is the Institute’s “chief visionary,” setting goals, priorities and policies. He or she oversees a budget of $2.4 billion, which funds basic research in cell biology, biophysics, genetics, developmental biology, pharmacology, physiology, biological chemistry, biomedical technology, bioinformatics, computational biology, and selected behavioral and clinical areas. NIGMS also supports a significant amount of research training and has programs designed to develop and increase the diversity of the biomedical and behavioral research workforce.

To learn more about the Institute’s values and goals, see its strategic plan and its strategic plan for training.

Former NIGMS directors have had distinguished records of research, leadership, management and outreach/communication.

The search committee, which I co-chair with National Human Genome Research Institute Director Eric Green, will begin reviewing applications in the early fall.

Instrument Development, Institutional Research and Academic Career Development, Xenopus Analysis

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You may be interested in these recent funding opportunity announcements:

Instrument Development for Biomedical Applications (R21)
(RFA-GM-13-010)

Purpose: Solicit innovative applications for the development of new or improved instrumentation for biomedical research
Application due date: October 30, 2012
NIGMS contact: Fred Friedman, 301-435-0775

Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA) (K12)
(PAR-12-245)

Purpose: Develop a diverse group of highly trained biomedical and behavioral scientists through support of a traditional mentored postdoctoral research experience at a research-intensive institution combined with an opportunity to develop academic skills, including teaching, through workshops and mentored teaching assignments at a partner institution
Application due date: September 24, 2012
NIGMS contact: Shiva Singh, 301-594-3900

Genetic and Genomic Analysis of Xenopus (R01)
(PAR-12-250)

Purpose: Exploit and enhance the power of Xenopus as a vertebrate model for biomedical research
Letter of intent due date: 30 days before application due date
Application due dates: October 1, 2012; September 30, 2013; September 30, 2014
NIGMS contact: Susan Haynes, 301-594-0943

NIGMS to House New, Trans-NIH Office of Emergency Care Research

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Many NIH components, including NIGMS, support research and training relevant to care in the emergency medical setting. To facilitate and coordinate its activities in this area, NIH has created an Office of Emergency Care Research (OECR) that is housed in NIGMS.

Although OECR will not fund grants, it will serve as a focal point for basic, clinical and translational emergency care research and training across NIH. The office’s activities will include:

  • Coordinating funding opportunities that involve multiple NIH institutes and centers.
  • Working closely with the NIH Emergency Care Research Working Group, which includes representatives from many NIH institutes and centers.
  • Organizing scientific meetings to identify new research and training opportunities in emergency settings.
  • Catalyzing the development of new funding opportunities.
  • Informing investigators about funding opportunities in their areas of interest.
  • Fostering career development for trainees in emergency care research.
  • Representing NIH in government-wide efforts to improve the nation’s emergency care system.

OECR’s creation is a culmination of more than 5 years of discussions between NIH and the emergency medicine community. The initial impetus for these conversations was three Institute of Medicine reports on emergency care in 2006.

While a search is being conducted for a permanent director, OECR is being led on an acting basis by Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Assisting him is Alice M. Mascette, M.D., senior clinical science advisor in the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

You can learn more about OECR at http://www.nigms.nih.gov/About/Overview/OECR/.

Funding Opportunities: Research Interventions that Promote Biomedical and Behavioral Careers; Early Independence Awards

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You may be interested in these recent funding opportunity announcements:

Research to Understand and Inform Interventions that Promote the Research Careers of Students in Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences (R01)
(RFA-GM-13-009)

Purpose: Support research to test assumptions and hypotheses on social and behavioral factors that might inform and guide potential interventions to increase student interest, motivation and preparedness for biomedical and behavioral research careers; NIGMS has a particular interest in interventions designed to increase the number of students from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research who enter careers in these disciplines
Letter of intent due date: September 24, 2012
Application due date: October 24, 2012
NIGMS contact: Clifton Poodry, 301-594-3900

NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards (DP5)
(RFA RM-12-018)

Purpose: Support exceptional investigators who wish to pursue independent research directly after completion of a terminal doctoral/research degree or clinical residency, thereby forgoing the traditional postdoctoral training period
Letter of intent due date: December 30, 2012
Application due date: January 30, 2013
NIH contact: Ravi Basavappa, 301-435-7204
NOTE: Institutions may submit up to two applications; the NIH Common Fund, which sponsors this program, is hosting a portal to facilitate the “matching” process between institutions and candidates

Wanted: TWD Division Deputy Director

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We’re looking for an outstanding scientist and leader to be the deputy director of our Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity (TWD).

This division supports programs that foster research training and the development of a strong and diverse biomedical and behavioral research workforce. It funds research training, career development, diversity and capacity-building activities through a variety of programs at the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, faculty and institutional levels.

The deputy director’s responsibilities include:

  • Advising and assisting the division director in reviewing, planning and evaluating the division’s operations and assessing its progress.
  • Providing scientific and administrative management of the division as well as scientific direction of the staff.
  • Representing the division at meetings with other NIH components, agencies, foundations and scientific organizations.
  • Recommending the funding of specific applications and resolving funding-related issues.

In addition to the deputy director’s management role, he or she also serves as a program director responsible for a portfolio of research or research training grants in one of the areas of the TWD Division.

This listing closes on July 25, 2012. See the vacancy announcement for a detailed description of the job requirements and application procedures, and please share this information with any others who might be interested.

UPDATE: This vacancy listing has been extended to July 30, 2012.

NIH Director’s Transformative Research Awards

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You may be interested in this funding opportunity announcement from the NIH Common Fund:

NIH Director’s Transformative Research Awards (R01)
(RFA-RM-12-017)

Purpose: Support groundbreaking, exceptionally innovative, original and/or unconventional research with the potential for major impact in a broad area of biomedical or behavioral science
Letter of intent due date: August 21, 2012
Application due date: September 21, 2012
NIH contact: Ravi Basavappa, 301-435-7204