Final Report on Reducing Administrative Burdens Associated with Research Involving Laboratory Animals

September 25, 2019

We are pleased to announce that last month the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published their final report on Reducing Administrative Burden for Researchers: Animal Care and Use in Research (NOT-OD-19-136). This report, called for in the 21st Century Cures Act, is the culmination of more than two years of diligent work to address inconsistent and overlapping policies governing oversight of research involving animals, while ensuring research findings remain credible and research institutions safeguard animal welfare.

Thoughts on How Institutions Can Promote a Culture of Research Integrity

August 15, 2019

On May 22, I had the privilege of participating in a terrific national conference that focused on what institutions can do to foster a culture of research integrity. I was also given the opportunity to present my thoughts on promoting research integrity, something I have written about before. My talk dealt with approaches institutions may take to foster a culture of research integrity, and I wanted to share it here as a resource for others.

Linking ORCID Identifiers to eRA Profiles to Streamline Application Processes and to Enhance Tracking of Career Outcomes

August 5, 2019

Enter once, reuse often. That’s the mantra of Open Researcher and Contributor Identification (ORCID), a non-profit organization that promotes the use of its unique digital identifier to connect researchers with their science contributions over time and across changes of name, location and institutional affiliation. With this in mind, in fiscal year 2020, NIH will begin requiring individuals supported by training, fellowship, career development, and other research education awards to have an ORCID iD linked to their personal electronic Research Administration (eRA) account.

Continuing to Work with the Community on Registration and Results Reporting for Basic Experimental Studies involving Humans

July 24, 2019

Basic research involving humans that seeks to understand the fundamental aspects of phenomena also may meet the NIH-definition of a clinical trial. We refer to these studies as BESH – Basic Experimental Studies involving Humans (see our previous blog). Since this type of research meets the NIH definition However, some researchers have faced challenges in fitting these studies into the data fields for submission in ClinicalTrials.gov. The NIH has determined that more time is needed to address these challenges. Today, NIH published a Guide Notice (NOT-OD-19-126) announcing the extension of delayed enforcement of registering and results reporting of BESH on ClinicalTrials.gov through September 24, 2021.

Achieving Gender Equity at Conferences

July 22, 2019

Inviting women to speak at conferences matters for many reasons – it’s a matter of fairness; it gives eminently qualified women a level playing field; it is just the right thing to do. In essence, it’s about changing the fundamental culture of the biomedical research enterprise to allow full participation from people of all backgrounds. In that vein, I’d like to remind you that if you are applying for an R13 conference grant from NIH, please be sure to read the requirements in the Funding Opportunity Announcement, where meeting diversity is a long-standing expectation.

Clarifying Long-Standing NIH Policies on Disclosing Other Support

July 11, 2019

Who funds your current research? Make sure to let NIH know. It is required. Institutions and investigators must disclose all forms of what is termed “other support” when applying for and receiving NIH grants. Other support includes all resources, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value, available in direct support of an individual’s research endeavors.

How to Notify NIH about a Concern that Sexual Harassment is Affecting an NIH-Funded Activity at a Grantee Institution

June 14, 2019

As part of our continued efforts, we are pleased to announce a new webform that allows for anybody in the biomedical research community to share information related to a potential case of sexual harassment directly and, if desired, anonymously, to NIH. The establishment of this webform, in tandem with other actions, is taken as part of our continuing commitment to address the underlying culture that enables sexual harassment to take place.

Outcomes for NIH Loan Repayment Program Awardees: A Preliminary Look

May 21, 2019

Repaying educational debt is one thing, but what other benefits might these programs provide? To answer this question, my colleagues compared individuals that applied for and received an LRP with those who applied but did not receive an LRP award between fiscal years (FYs) 2003-2009. Their history of productivity was followed through FY 2017. More specifically, we assessed pulled information on grant submissions, awards, and publications in a sample that was equalized to control for baseline differences.