New Portal to Human Subjects Protections Information

May 31, 2016

A new web portal provides regulatory guidance and links to human subjects protection information, but also contains a number of tools and guides to help investigators and institutions meet federal and HHS/NIH standards for human subjects research protections.

How Many Researchers?

May 31, 2016

Last year, Kimble et al. published the findings of a workshop held at the University of Wisconsin on proposed strategies to rescue biomedical research in the US. The workshop organizers brought to together a number of stakeholders, who concluded that the research community faces two chief problems: “Too many researchers vying for too few dollars; too many postdocs competing for too few faculty positions.” These conclusions raises at least two questions: How many scientists, or more specifically how many principal investigators, does NIH fund? And how many scientists (more specifically aspiring principal investigators) want to receive NIH funding? Today I’d like to discuss two ways to examine these questions, by looking at the number of principal investigators awarded funding, not just on a yearly basis, but also in a way that captures a broader view of NIH-supported scientists over a window of time. ….

Grant Renewal Success Rates: Then and Now

May 26, 2016

In one of my earlier blog posts, I described an analysis looking at whether attempts at renewal are successful. We looked at data from fiscal years 2013-2015, and found that renewal applications have higher success rates than new applications, and that this pattern is true for both new and experienced investigators. In response to your comments and queries, we wanted to follow up on the analysis with some historical data that looks are whether success rates of competing renewals decreased disproportionately compared to new grant applications’ success rates. ….

OER Welcomes Jodi Black

May 26, 2016

Dr. Jodi Black will be joining the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) as its deputy director. Dr. Black is currently the acting director of the NIH National Health Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Division of Extramural Research Activities. ….

2016 NIH Regional Seminars:  One Done…One to Go!

May 26, 2016

Did you miss out on attending the NIH Regional Seminar in Baltimore, Maryland in May? No worries…we have good news! You still have one more chance this year to participate in this unique opportunity to learn more about the NIH process and hear the latest policies directly from over 60 NIH & HHS experts….

How New US Overtime Provisions Will Affect Postdoctoral Researchers

May 18, 2016

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the law that contains overtime pay provisions for employees across the United States, entitling all US workers to overtime pay unless they are exempted because they are paid on fixed, preset salaries; are engaged in executive, administrative, or professional duties; and are paid at least $23,660 per year. Today, a historic change to this act has occurred – under the new rule, the overtime pay threshold will be increased to $47,476, effective December 1, 2016. ….