November 29, 2016
As you’re preparing your application for due dates on or after January 25, 2017, be sure to consult the recently updated NIH application guide, which reflects two important changes in our submission guidelines.
As announced earlier this year, you may only include certain materials as an appendix to your application. The only materials that will be accepted in the appendix section are: ….
November 28, 2016
Earlier this year we reported on the unique numbers of research project grant (RPG) awardees and applicants each year since the end of the NIH doubling, in 2003. We described how the number of unique RPG awardees has remained relatively constant, while the number of applicants (as assessed over 5-year windows) has steadily and markedly increased.
A number of readers asked us about the prior NIH-supported research training and career development of these investigators. Among RPG awardees, what proportion had received prior fellowship, training, or career development (F, T, or K) awards? And perhaps of greater interest, among unsuccessful, unfunded applicants, what proportion had received prior fellowship, training or career awards?
To answer these questions, we start with a quick recap. ….
November 28, 2016
NIH (including help desks) will be closed Monday, December 26, 2016 (Monday is the legal federal holiday for Christmas Day, as Christmas Day falls on a Sunday in 2016). If a grant application due date falls on a federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.
November 23, 2016
We’d like to call your attention to a recently released NIH Guide notice that provides awardees with additional guidance related to the increases in postdoctoral NRSA stipends for postdoctoral researchers with 0,1 and 2 years of experience that go into effect December 1, 2016. As you may recall from earlier blog posts, under the Department of Labor’s revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as of December 1, 2016, US salaried, full-time professional workers will be entitled to overtime pay if they are paid below the new FLSA defined threshold. As described in an op-ed by NIH Director Francis Collins and Department of Labor Director Thomas Perez, “Fair Pay for Postdocs: Why We Support New Federal Overtime Rules,” NIH will increase postdoctoral NRSA stipends to start at levels above the new FLSA threshold, recognizing the contributions that postdoctoral researchers make to the NIH mission and that postdoctoral research activities – like most biomedical research careers – often exceed forty hours a week and do not neatly fall into hourly shifts. …..
November 22, 2016
With the exception of grant programs that have an effort requirement, or where terms and conditions prohibit such reductions, NIH will not require prior approval for the reduction in effort for Senior/Key personnel named in the Notice of Award (NoA) during a no-cost extension. However, consistent with the NIH Grants Policy Statement Chapter 8.1.1.3, recipients are reminded that for active NIH awards, the PD/PI and other Senior/key personnel named in the NoA must devote a measurable level of effort.
November 22, 2016
Yes, the PD/PI and other Senior/key personnel named in the notice of award must devote a measurable level of effort to the project. If the level of effort is reduced by 25 percent or more from what was approved in the initial competing year award, prior approval from NIH would be required. (See NIH Grants Policy Statement Chapter 8.1.2.6). With the exception of grant programs that have an effort requirement, or where terms and conditions prohibit such reductions, NIH does not require prior approval for the reduction in effort for Senior/key personnel named in the notice of award during a no-cost extension.
November 15, 2016
Promoting a diverse and robust scientific workforce is critical to advancing scientific discovery and research in support of human health, so NIH has developed a new portal to information on supporting diversity in NIH-funded research. This NIH website has four main areas of focus: Background on NIH initiatives in support of scientific workforce diversity; Resources for scientific leadership & faculty members to …..
November 9, 2016
Are you a trainee looking for a mentor? Are you a scientist looking to foster careers in research? A new tool supported by NIH can help you build mentoring relationships and further the scientific enterprise through these connections. The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) is an NIH program developed in ….
November 4, 2016
As described on our grants page, the R21 activity code “is intended to encourage exploratory/developmental research by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of project development.” NIH seeks applications for “exploratory, novel studies that break new ground,” for “high-risk, high-reward studies,” and for projects that are distinct from those that would be funded by the traditional R01. R21 grants are short duration (project period for up to 2 years) and lower in budget than most R01s (combined budget over two years cannot exceed $275,000 in direct costs). NIH institutes and centers (ICs) approach the R21 mechanism in variable ways: 18 ICs accept investigator-initiated R21 applications in response to the parent R21 funding opportunity, while 7 ICs only accept R21 applications in response to specific funding opportunity announcements. As mentioned in a 2015 Rock Talk blog, we at NIH are interested in trends in R01s in comparison to other research project grants, so today I’d like to continue and expand on looking at R01 and R21 trends across NIH’s extramural research program. ….
October 31, 2016
eRA is strengthening the security of its modules on November 30 by moving to the ‘https only’ secure connection for websites, as mandated for all federal agencies. With the implementation of this security protocol, older internet browsers may not work, and you may need to update your browser to access any eRA module, including eRA Commons, ASSIST, IAR and iEdison. ….
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