New “All About Grants” Podcast on NIH’s Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies for Awardees

August 8, 2019

Sexual harassment is a serious and long-standing issue within the biomedical research enterprise, and NIH is striving to be part of the solution. On this episode of the “All About Grants” podcast, we sit down with Dr. Jodi Black, Deputy Director for the NIH’s Office of Extramural Research, to discuss what institutions, investigators, and others in the research community should know about NIH’s policies and expectations for assuring a safe and harassment-free work environment.

Where Are the Application Forms?

August 8, 2019

You might be surprised to learn that we don’t have a generic set of forms posted on our website that you can use to submit to any NIH grant opportunity. Each funding opportunity announcement (FOA) includes the specific set of forms needed to apply to that program, so you need to find an FOA in order to access the application forms.

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.

Early Stage Investigator (ESI) Extension Request Process Moving to eRA Commons

August 5, 2019

NIH recognizes that a lot can happen to interrupt the ten-year eligibility window of your Early Stage Investigator (ESI) status, such as family care responsibilities, military service, medical concerns, and more. While you may currently request an extension of that ten-year period by completing an Extension Request Form, the process for requesting an extension of ESI status will soon be moving to the eRA Commons.

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.