Month: May 2014

A Look at Our AREA Grants

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Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA, R15) grants support small-scale research projects in the biomedical and behavioral sciences conducted by faculty and students at educational institutions that have not been major recipients of NIH research grant funds. Recently, a faculty member at an AREA grant-eligible institution wrote to NIGMS Director Jon Lorsch urging the Institute to support more AREA grants, arguing that these grants not only train students but are also cost-effective. This prompted us to take a close look at our portfolio of R15 grants. I’d like to share what we found. Thanks to Tony Moore and Ching-Yi Shieh for providing data in the figures.

NIGMS receives the largest number of R15 applications of any NIH institute. This is not surprising, since faculty and students at eligible institutions typically focus on basic research using model organisms and systems. Table 1 shows that the number of AREA grants awarded by NIGMS in each of the last 10 fiscal years has varied from a high of 63 in Fiscal Year 2007 to a low of 36 in Fiscal Year 2010 and that total funding for these grants has ranged from $8.9 million to $18.4 million. As shown in the first figure, NIGMS funds more R15s than any other institute, in recent years between 21% and 29% of the NIH total.

 Fiscal Year  Number of  Applications  Number of Awards  Total Funding
 ($ in thousands)
 2004 128 48 $9,867
 2005 142 49 $10,382
 2006 171 50 $10,602
 2007 200 63 $13,387
 2008 167 53 $11,158
 2009 172 42 $8,903
 2010 199 36 $9,766
 2011 313 62 $18,441
 2012 306 56 $17,925
 2013 304 45 $16,035

Table 1. Number of R15 applications received and awarded by NIGMS and the total funding for R15s in Fiscal Years 2004-2013.

Continue reading “A Look at Our AREA Grants”

Attend or Watch Online: Medical Scientist Training Program 50th Anniversary Symposium

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NIGMS Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) 50th anniversary symposiumThis year is the 50th anniversary of the NIGMS Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), which supports research training leading to the combined M.D.-Ph.D. (or other dual) degree. Starting with only three institutions and a handful of supported students, the program has grown to 45 institutions and more than 900 trainees per year.

We’re marking this milestone year with a symposium on Thursday, July 17, from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD. The event will feature remarks by NIH Director Francis Collins and Association of American Medical Colleges President and CEO Darrell Kirch as well as talks by seven current and former MSTP trainees.

Although the symposium is free, we would like participants to register to attend. If you can’t join us in person, you can watch the event live online.

Plans for a scholarly article highlighting the history of the MSTP are under way. If you have comments, anecdotes, historical data, photos or other relevant images, please let us know by writing a note in the comments box on the meeting registration site or by sending me an e-mail message.

Protein Data Bank Passes 100,000-Structure Mark

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Protein Data Bank (PDB) counter showing 100,147 total number of entries.

The latest update brings the total number of PDB entries to 100,147.

The Protein Data Bank (PDB) Link to external web site just passed a major threshold—the release of its 100,000th entry. This free online repository of experimentally determined protein and nucleic acid structures, which NIGMS and other parts of NIH have helped fund since 1978, facilitates atomic-level insight into protein structure and function. PDB is widely used by the scientific community to study basic biological processes like transcription, translation, enzymology, bioenergetics and metabolism and also for more medically oriented investigations into disease mechanisms and drug design.

In addition to scientists, students and educators use the digital resource for their own explorations of protein structure, function and interactions as well as to gain greater knowledge about biology.

Number of structures available in the PDB per year, with selected examples. For details, see http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/73206.php?from=267554.

Approximately 260,000 visitors access PDB each month. Scientists around the world currently deposit about 200 structures per week, which PDB staff review, annotate and augment with links to other relevant biological data. To meet the challenges posed by large structures, complex chemistry and use of multiple experimental methods, the repository recently launched a software tool for structure deposition and annotation Link to external web site.

If you aren’t already a PDB user, I encourage you to check out its resources to see if they could help advance your research.

Watch the May 23 Advisory Council Meeting Live or Later

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Once again, we’re videocasting the open session of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council meeting. The half-day session begins at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, May 23, with opening remarks by NIGMS Director Jon Lorsch.

We’ll also hear talks by NIH Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity Hannah Valantine and Council member Richard Lalonde of Pfizer, Inc.

Other items on the agenda include presentations on our cell repository and our postdoctoral research associate program as well as a concept clearance for data reproducibility training modules.

If you can’t view the meeting live, you can watch it later in the videocast archive.

You’re also welcome to attend the meeting in person and make comments during the public comment period.

CSR Launches Competition for Ideas to Detect Bias and Maximize Fairness in Peer Review

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As part of NIH’s efforts to address racial disparities Link to external web site in grant funding, the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) has just launched two America COMPETES Act Challenges. We hope that the ideas we receive will help us maximize the fairness and vitality of the peer review process, and we encourage you to enter.

One challenge, New Methods to Detect Bias in Peer Review, solicits ideas for strategies to detect possible bias in the NIH peer review process. Submissions can include approaches, strategies, methodologies and/or measures that would be sensitive to detecting bias among reviewers due to gender, race/ethnicity, institutional affiliation, area of science and amount of research experience. We’ll award first place ($10,000) and second place ($5,000) prizes in two categories: best empirically based idea and most creative idea.

The other challenge, Strategies to Strengthen Fairness and Impartiality in Peer Review, seeks ideas for reviewer training methods aimed at enhancing fairness and impartiality in NIH peer review. The submission does not require the full development of training materials. However, ideas should be presented with enough detail to allow assessment of their ability to address fairness and impartiality in review with regard to gender, race/ethnicity, institutional affiliation, area of science and amount of research experience. We’ll give first place ($10,000) and second place ($5,000) prizes for the best overall idea.

The challenges close on June 30, and winners will be announced on September 2. Details on the rules and submission procedures are on the CSR Challenge Web site and at http://www.challenge.gov  Link to external web site.

This contest is just one of many initiatives CSR is working on to evaluate the sources of racial disparities in grant funding in collaboration with the ACD Diversity Working Group Subcommittee on Peer Review.

Wanted: Program Directors to Manage Grants in Developmental and Cellular Processes, Research/Student Research Development Programs

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NIGMS is still looking for two program directors (also known as “health scientist administrators (HSA)/program officers”) to manage research grants and/or student research development program(s).

One position is in our Developmental and Cellular Processes Branch of the Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology. This branch supports research on the genetic and biochemical pathways that cells utilize in development and in normal physiological processes. Candidates should have expertise in the use of state-of-the-art molecular genetics and/or genomics-based approaches to address questions in these scientific areas.

The other position is in the Postdoctoral Training Branch of the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity. This branch supports research training, fellowship and career development programs for postdoctoral scientists. Candidates should have knowledge of and/or experience in understanding, planning and managing research/student research development program(s) at the postdoctoral or early stage investigator career level, including those targeted to groups that are underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral sciences. Candidates with expertise in innovations for teaching in STEM fields as well as research experience in other scientific areas within the NIGMS mission are also encouraged to apply.

For both positions, candidates should have leadership and strong oral and written communication skills. Familiarity with NIH extramural funding as a grant applicant, reviewer or NIH scientific administrator is preferred.

Vacancy announcements typically are open for 5 calendar days. We expect this one to open tomorrow and close at midnight on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. Please see the NIH HSA Web site for position requirements and application procedures. The Applying for Scientific Administration Jobs at NIGMS blog post offers additional background and tips.

Editor’s note: The announcement for candidates with current or former federal employment status is posted at https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/369761700 (no longer available) and closes on May 22. The one for candidates without such status is posted at https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/370019300 (no longer available) and closes on May 24.

Funding Opportunities: NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub; Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phase III; Enabling Resources for Pharmacogenomics; Administrative Supplements for Research on Dietary Supplements

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You may be interested in these recent funding opportunity announcements (FOAs):

NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) Awards (U01)
(RFA-OD-14-005)

Purpose: Facilitate and accelerate the translation of biomedical innovations into commercial products that improve patient care and enhance health
Letter of intent due date: May 26, 2014
Application due date: June 26, 2014
NIH contact: Kurt W. Marek, 301-443-8778

Limited Competition: Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phase III – Transitional Centers (P30)
(PAR-14-178)

Purpose: Transition the core resources and biomedical research activities of Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) into independence and sustainability
Application due dates: June 30, 2014; May 26, 2015; May 26, 2016
NIGMS contact: Rafael Gorospe, 301-435-0832

Enabling Resources for Pharmacogenomics (R24)
(PAR-14-185)

Purpose: Support critical enabling resources that will accelerate new research discoveries and/or the implementation of research discoveries in pharmacogenomics
Letter of intent due date: 30 days prior to the application due date
Application due dates: September 25, 2014; September 25, 2015; September 25, 2016
NIGMS contact: Rochelle Long, 301-594-3827

Administrative Supplements for Research on Dietary Supplements (Admin Supp)
(PAR-14-201)

Purpose: Provide supplemental funding to investigate the role of dietary supplements and/or their ingredients in health maintenance and disease prevention
Application due dates: October 15, 2014; January 15, 2015; April 15, 2015
NIGMS contact: Scott Somers, 301-594-3827