Tag: NIH Common Fund

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Request for Information: Screening for High Resolution Cryo-EM

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The NIH Common Fund’s Transformative High Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) program is requesting input from the community in identifying challenges in screening samples for high resolution cryo-EM, an essential step required for data collection at the National Centers for Cryo-EM. We welcome responses from researchers interested in cryo-EM, including those who have not previously worked in the field.

For more details, see the Request for Information (RFI): Screening for High Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy (NOT-RM-21-012). Please respond to the email address in the RFI by February 26.

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Virtual Resources from the National Research Mentoring Network

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As institutions continue to work with virtual learning modalities and in honor of National Mentoring Month, we’d like to share some useful resources from the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). Supported by the NIH Common Fund and managed by NIGMS, the network offers free online mentoring tools and learning resources for individuals ranging from undergraduate students to faculty.

After signing up for an NRMN account through an easy, online process, you can access the network’s mentoring tools and resources, including MyNRMN. The MyNRMN platform allows you to browse and connect with other scientists, and it can match you with a mentor or mentee with similar research interests. Through video chats, instant messaging, and file sharing between mentors and mentees, you can design a mentorship program that fits your needs.  

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ALS2 Funding Opportunity: Fundamental Research in Underlying Causes of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

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We’re pleased to announce our participation in the Accelerating Leading-edge Science in ALS (ALS2) program (NOT-RM-20-019). ALS2 is a $25 million NIH Common Fund initiative to spur innovative research into the basic biology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) through the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award. NIGMS encourages our community of basic scientists working on relevant processes to consider applying for this opportunity.

ALS is a devastating disease with no known cure. The development of effective therapeutics can benefit tremendously from basic ALS research that 1.) tests highly novel concepts, 2.) brings together researchers from different scientific perspectives, and 3.) applies powerful emerging technologies from a variety of disciplines.

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Funding Opportunity: Diversity Program Consortium Dissemination and Translation Awards (DPC DaTA) and Webinar

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UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 590KB] from the DPC DaTA Webinar have been posted.

On behalf of the NIH Common Fund, we’ve just released a new funding opportunity announcement soliciting applications for the Diversity Program Consortium Dissemination and Translation Awards (DPC DaTA) (U01).

This initiative is designed to broaden the DPC’s national impact. It provides an opportunity for institutions not currently part of the DPC to apply for funding to employ the consortium’s experimental methods to understand the effectiveness of biomedical research training, mentoring, or research capacity building interventions.

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Funding Opportunity: Sponsored Programs Administration Development (SPAD) Program and Webinar

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UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 350KB] from the SPAD Webinar have been posted.

We’ve just released a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA) soliciting applications for the Diversity Program Consortium’s Sponsored Programs Administration Development (SPAD) Program (UC2).  

A primary goal of the program is to enhance faculty and student participation in biomedical research and research training programs. These programs include undergraduate research programs, Academic Research Enhancement Awards (R15), and Support of Competitive Research (SC1, SC2, SC3), among others. Funded institutions are expected to develop offices that provide services such as professional development in targeted areas (e.g., enhancing grant-writing skills), pre- and post-award services, and certification-guided training of sponsored program staff and leadership.

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The Diversity Program Consortium – Open Competitions for Phase II

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We are pleased to announce that NIH Leadership has granted clearance for the second, final phase of the Diversity Program Consortium (DPC), a national program that is part of a larger, trans-NIH effort to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce. To accomplish this goal, the DPC takes a scientific approach to evaluating training and mentoring interventions. Two components of the second phase will be open competitions: the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and the DPC Dissemination and Translation Awards (DPC-DaTA). The DPC-DaTA grants will allow sites that are not currently part of the DPC to implement sustainable training, mentoring, or research-capacity building interventions using DPC evaluation methods. NIH intends to release the DPC-DaTA FOAs in 2019.

The NRMN funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) were released on February 16, 2018. They include:

  • The Science of Mentoring and Networking (U01) (RFA-RM-18-004). Applicants may submit proposals for research projects in the following areas: 1) The Science of Mentorship, 2) Professional Networking, or 3) Navigating Critical Career Transition Points. Using randomized control trial approaches, case controls, matched pair designs, or other rigorous designs, applicants will explore their research questions and contribute to building the knowledge base to inform the scientific community about their thematic area.
  • NRMN Coordination Center (U24) (RFA-RM-18-003). One service award will be granted to develop an NRMN Coordinating Center. This Center will build upon and improve the current NRMN Administrative Core and work in conjunction with the Center for Evaluation and Coordination (CEC). It will coordinate trans-NRMN activities, and provide infrastructure and expertise surrounding data collection, storage, de-identification, and reporting.
  • NRMN Resource Center (U24) (RFA-RM-18-002). One service award will be granted for an NRMN Resource Center. This center will be analogous to the current U54 Mentorship and Networking Core and will provide a web-based mentoring tool to facilitate real-time mentor/mentee engagement. It will also oversee management of the NRMN website Link to external web site and serve as a platform for publicly available mentoring resources and tools.

Two components of the DPC for the second phase will be limited competitions. The Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) (U54) (NOT-RM-18-005) will allow meritorious sites to complete their BUILD experiments. Review will include a focus on site-specific and consortium-wide experiments, and emphasize sustainability and dissemination. The Center for Evaluation and Coordination (CEC) (U54) (NOT-RM-18-006) will allow for uninterrupted data collection. The review will focus on the current center’s strengths and weaknesses, allowing for improvements and course corrections. Sustainability and dissemination will be emphasized.

Contact for questions? Mercedes Rubio for NRMN inquiries, Anissa Brown for BUILD inquiries, Michael Sesma for CEC inquiries, and Alison Gammie for DPC-DaTA inquiries.

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Funding Opportunity to Develop Cryo-EM Online Instructional Materials

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In addition to the currently active funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for national cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) centers, NIH has issued an FOA for research education program grants for cryo-EM curriculum development. Both FOAs are part of a new NIH/Office of Strategic Coordination Common Fund program being led by NIGMS and the National Eye Institute (NEI).

The research education grants will support investigator-driven development and dissemination of online educational materials, such as video-based tutorials, novel self-paced learning approaches and computer-based educational tools, to instruct biomedical researchers in the application of cryo-EM techniques, theory and analysis. Techniques include cryo-EM single particle analysis and cryo-electron tomography. Applications are due by July 25, 2017, with optional letters of intent due one month earlier.

If you have questions about the research education grants announcement, please email NEI’s Houmam Araj or call him at 301-451-2020. Please also help us get the word out by letting your community know of this opportunity.

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CBB Division Director Catherine Lewis Retires

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Dr. Catherine D. Lewis

Catherine D. Lewis, director of the NIGMS Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics (CBB), retired in January after more than 30 years of service at the NIH. Throughout her career, Cathy was widely recognized for her scientific foresight and leadership, including the early recognition of important emerging research opportunities in molecular biology, biophysics and microscopy. Her tireless work behind the scenes ensured that these transformational new research approaches were seamlessly integrated into the NIH portfolio and able to grow rapidly.

Cathy earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry from Princeton University and joined NIH in 1983 as a staff fellow at NIDDK in the lab of Gary Felsenfeld, where she studied chromatin structure and the regulation of beta-globin gene expression during development.

Her career at NIGMS started in 1989, when Cathy moved to the Institute as a program director in the Genetics Division—led at the time by Judith Greenberg. She managed grants on cell nuclear structure and function and was instrumental in the development of programs focused on epigenetic regulation. Eight years later, Cathy became CBB’s Biophysics Branch chief. In that role, she at one point managed nearly 400 grants, some of which led to breakthroughs such as the structure of the ribosome. She also initiated NIGMS programs focused on new single-molecule methods and nanotechnology. In 2006, Cathy took over as director of CBB. During this period, she oversaw changes in the direction of the NIGMS Protein Structure Initiative, promoted advances in high-resolution optical microscopy and cellular imaging, and led efforts to support atomic resolution cryo-electron microscopy, including a new Common Fund initiative.

During her tenure at NIH, Cathy received two NIH Director’s Awards, for her work on trans-NIH initiatives and her leadership on science education in elementary schools.

Cathy’s door was always open to all, and her advice was constantly sought by colleagues, not only in her own division, but widely across NIGMS and NIH.

Most importantly, Cathy maintained warm professional and personal relationships with those around her, while getting things done and influencing others. “Leading a division that worked well and where people respected each other and got along is something that I’m happy to have been involved in,” she says.

Working in the CBB division was fun, because she helped make it so. She will be missed.

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Funding Opportunity for National Cryo-EM Centers

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NIGMS and the National Eye Institute (NEI) are leading a new NIH Common Fund program: Transformative High Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy. This initiative will establish national service centers to increase research capacity for molecular structure determination by high resolution cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The centers will provide access to state-of-the-art equipment, technical support and cross-training for the production and analysis of high resolution cryo-EM data. An open application process will offer equal-opportunity access to researchers nationwide.

The NIH Common Fund recently issued a funding opportunity announcement for these national centers. The application deadline is June 30, 2017, with optional letters of intent due by May 30. For more information about the cryo-EM centers announcement, please email me. Please also help us get the word out by letting your community know of this opportunity.

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Notes from the Diversity Program Consortium Annual Meeting

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DPC Annual Meeting Program CoverAfter attending the Diversity Program Consortium (DPC) Link to external website annual meeting in mid-October and learning about the progress the consortium has made and its future plans, we’re feeling energized as we begin the third year of this grant. The DPC, supported by the NIH Common Fund and managed by NIGMS, is a cooperative agreement focused on finding the best ways to improve research training and mentoring in the biomedical sciences and on engaging a more diverse field of individuals in biomedical research careers. The consortium includes three interconnected programs: Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD), the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and the Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC).

The annual meeting brought together over 100 representatives from NIH and each grantee site to discuss DPC achievements, challenges and opportunities. The agenda, organized by the CEC, included two full days of presentations and breakout sessions.

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