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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).

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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

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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.

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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

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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/.

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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

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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.

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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

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“Did Council Fund My Grant?”

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Update: Revised content in this post is available on the NIGMS webpage, Council’s Role in the Funding Process.

This is a question we’re often asked shortly after the NIGMS Advisory Council meets in January, May and September. The short answer is: No. Here’s why.

As described in a previous post, our Council provides a second level of peer review of applications assigned to NIGMS. It is not a second study section. Instead, the Council provides oversight to ensure that the initial review for scientific and technical merit conducted by the study section was fair and in compliance with policy.

Each Council member is assigned a set of applications from the most recent round of study sections. He or she reads the summary statements for these applications and considers whether:

  • There was appropriate expertise to review the application.
  • The summary statement comments are substantive, appropriate and consistent with the priority score.
  • The budget is suitable for the proposed work.
  • The project addresses NIGMS programmatic needs.

Most applications pass through this second level of review without specific comment. However, Council members occasionally identify an application that they wish to bring to the attention of program staff. This is usually due to a situation in which the numerical score is better or worse than appears to be justified by the written critique. Applications identified by Council are briefly discussed in a closed session along with applications that regularly receive additional scrutiny, such as program project grants, appeals, applications from foreign institutions, MERIT awards and applications from well-funded investigators.

During each meeting, Council members review more than 1,000 applications. While they do not discuss the vast majority of them, they must vote whether to concur with the study section recommendations. For most applications, this is done en bloc.

Like study sections members, Council members give expert advice about the merit of an application, but they do not make funding decisions. Deliberations about which applications to fund occur at post-Council “paylist” meetings in which groups of NIGMS program staff discuss individual applications. The scientific reviews weigh heavily in the funding decision process, but the staff also consider programmatic priorities, research portfolio balance and other factors.

Once funding decisions have been made, it takes at least 2 to 3 weeks for a paylist to be generated and approved. At that point your program director will be able to tell you whether your application will be funded and if so, what the budget and term will be. If you have questions about the status of your application, your program director is the best source of information.

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Funding Opportunities: Conferences and Scientific Meetings, NIGMS/NSF Biological and Mathematical Sciences Initiative

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You may be interested in the following funding opportunity announcements:

NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (Parent R13/U13)
(PAR-12-212)

Purpose: Support high-quality conferences that are relevant to the public health and scientific mission of the participating NIH institutes and centers, including NIGMS
Application due dates: Standard dates apply
NIGMS contact: Ann Hagan, 301-594-3910

Notice of Intent to Participate in the Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences
(NOT-GM-12-111)

Purpose: Support research in mathematics and statistics related to mathematical biology research
Application due date: September 17, 2012
NIGMS contacts:
Paul Brazhnik, 301-451-6446
Janna Wehrle, 301-594-0828
Amy Swain, 301-451-6446