A Meeting of Scientific Minds: Quantitative and Systems Pharmacology

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Logo for Quantitative and Systems PharmacologyRegistration is now open for our second Quantitative and Systems Pharmacology Workshop, which will be held September 9-10 on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD. The meeting is intended primarily for pharmacologists, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modelers, systems biologists and others working in fields relevant to this emerging discipline.

I first announced plans for the workshop on the Feedback Loop, and your comments both to the post and to the organizing committee helped us develop the agenda. This year’s scientific talks, researcher perspectives, panel discussions and poster presentations will focus on key questions related to the integration of pharmacology and systems biology and how it can aid our understanding of drug actions and drug discovery. Specific questions range from how we articulate a vision for systems pharmacology to what needs to happen to achieve that vision.

The meeting’s co-chairs, Peter Sorger of Harvard Medical School and Sandra Allerheiligen of Merck, Inc., along with the organizing committee have put together an exciting group of confirmed speakers who represent academia, industry and the many disciplines relevant to systems pharmacology. Please note that we are still adding specific talk titles and soliciting poster presentations.

Registration is free, but slots are limited—don’t postpone registering if you want to attend!

New Funding Initiatives at the Interface of Physics and Biology

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NIGMS has joined two other NIH institutes and the National Science Foundation in issuing new funding opportunity announcements at the interface of the life and physical sciences. These new interagency initiatives offer an excellent opportunity for biomedical scientists to partner with colleagues in physics, engineering and computation to conduct innovative research with important health implications.

The first new announcement, Transforming Biomedicine at the Interface of the Life and Physical Sciences, targets translational research. It encourages quantitative scientists to team up with biomedical scientists (and potentially a commercial partner) to propose innovative ways to translate technological advances and basic knowledge into important new or improved clinical applications.

The second announcement, New Biomedical Frontiers at the Interface of the Life and Physical Sciences, targets discovery research. By bridging these scientific disciplines, this program aims to support cutting-edge science that has the potential to open up entirely new avenues for biomedical studies. We strongly encourage applications with multiple PIs who represent the physical, computational or engineering and life or behavioral sciences.

Deadlines to apply for both opportunities are May 18, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

I encourage you to take a look at the announcements and identify the types of projects that the participating organizations are seeking based on their research missions. NIGMS, for example, will consider projects that encompass cell biology, biomolecular modeling, nanotechnology, genetics, developmental biology, pharmacology, physiology or biological chemistry.

If you have any questions about the programs, feel free to e-mail me.

Video from Postdoc Workshop Now Available

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Marion Sewer, University of California, San DiegoAs you may recall from an earlier Feedback Loop message, NIGMS hosted its first workshop to help postdocs successfully transition to independent positions. We just posted videos for all the presentations.

The two-day career development event at NIH brought together 150 postdoctoral fellows from diverse backgrounds to discuss a wide range of topics, including applying and interviewing for jobs; establishing a lab and getting that first grant; and balancing research with teaching, family and other commitments. Meeting attendees also had the opportunity to ask panelists questions about their personal experiences and get other valuable career advice.

So far, we have received a lot of positive feedback from participants and presenters. If you have additional comments, please feel free to post them here or e-mail me.

Blogging for One Year!

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Today marks the 1-year anniversary of our conversion of the NIGMS Feedback Loop from a thrice-yearly electronic newsletter into a blog. The year has passed quickly, but I think successfully.

Our inaugural post, Answering Your Recovery Act Questions, was the first of 16 entries related to the Recovery Act, and many of these led to extensive comments and replies. Throughout this extremely fast-paced period, the blog format served us all well: We provided you information in a timely fashion, and you helped us better understand what questions and concerns we needed to address.

The Feedback Loop has also covered many other topics. These are grouped into over 20 categories for easy browsing or searching. As of today, the site includes 86 posts by 28 NIGMS staff members.

During the last year, many people from the scientific community have told me how much they appreciate receiving information from us about NIGMS and NIH. The Feedback Loop is our major outlet for doing this, and we want make it as useful as possible to you and to us. Please don’t hesitate to comment on posts, e-mail me suggestions or other ideas or submit new post topics to the blog’s editor.

Online Site for Giving Input on Research Training and Career Development Closes Next Week

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Give us your input on the future of NIGMS-sponsored research trainingIn March, I announced the launch of a strategic planning process focused on training and career development. I encourage all stakeholders, including faculty members, postdocs, graduate students, university administrators and government and industry scientists to provide input on this important topic.

One easy way to make your voice heard is through our online form (no longer available). We list several questions that you can respond to anonymously. You don’t have to respond to every question, and you can also make other comments or recommendations.

If you have not yet shared your views, there’s still time—the Web site closes April 21.

Exciting NIGMS Job Opportunity for Exceptional Scientist

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Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) LogoWe’re looking for a program director (“health scientist administrator”) to oversee innovative programs designed to increase the number of biomedical and behavioral scientists from underrepresented groups. In addition to handling research and student development grants within our Division of Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) Special Initiatives Branch, the program director will also manage research grants in one of the following areas:

  • Cell biology, biophysics and structural genomics;
  • Computational/statistical genetics and prokaryotic genetics;
  • Bio-organic/medicinal chemistry, biochemistry with a focus in bioenergetics, redox biochemistry and mechanistic enzymology; or
  • Basic and clinical research in trauma, wound healing or pharmacology.

Please see the vacancy announcement for position requirements and detailed application procedures. The listing closes April 28, 2010.

UPDATE: This vacancy listing has been extended to May 18, 2010.

Save the Date: Commemorating the Life and Accomplishments of Ruth Kirschstein

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Ruth Kirschstein, M.D.Since I first wrote about the death of former NIGMS director Dr. Ruth Kirschstein, plans have progressed for a daylong commemorative event on Monday, May 17, at NIH. The program will include several remembrances as well as scientific presentations and posters by recipients of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award.

I will update you when the final program is available.

Most NIGMS Recovery Act Funds Now Committed

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Recovery Act Logo - Recovery.govAt this point in Fiscal Year 2010, we have committed nearly all of our Recovery Act funds. If you have not yet heard about the status of a supplement request, it’s very unlikely that we’ll be able to fund it.

As Jeremy Berg noted in an earlier post, we set a high priority on getting the funds out quickly, obligating approximately 90% of our allocation by the end of September 2009. We were able to fund about 40%
of the administrative supplement requests we received.

New NIH Director’s Initiative on Scientific Workforce Diversity

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NIH recently announced the NIH Director’s Pathfinder Award to Promote Diversity in the Scientific Workforce, a new program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that NIGMS will manage. The program is designed to foster new ways of thinking about initiatives related to scientific workforce diversity. Awards will empower exceptionally creative scientists to develop highly innovative, and possibly transformative, approaches to this complex challenge.

NIH expects to make approximately five awards, each up to $2 million in total costs over a 3-year period. Awardees must commit a substantial portion (generally 30% or more) of their research effort to the funded activities. Also note that letters of intent—which are encouraged but not required—are due by April 5 and that applications are due by May 4.

If you’d like more information, please e-mail Clif Poodry or call him
at 301-594-3900.

Collaborate to Study Mechanisms of Behavior in Animal Models

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We’ve reissued the Collaborative Research for Molecular and Genomic Studies of Behavior in Animal Models program announcement. Applicants must be new collaborators with complementary expertise in animal behavior and in genetics, molecular biology or genomics.

The first deadlines for new applications or resubmissions are June 7, 2010, and July 6, 2010, respectively. You also can submit an application for any of the subsequent standard NIH R01 application deadlines through May 2013.

Want more information? See the funding opportunity announcement, read my post from December or contact me.