Understanding Lead-time for NIH Staff Participation in Scientific Meetings

December 16, 2013

Attending scientific meetings and research conferences is an important way for NIH extramural scientists to stay connected with their communities and keep up with scientific advances. …. when academic and professional societies want NIH representation we have to balance our abilities to send people out with what the budget will allow. One thing that helps in this regard, particularly when we have additional layers of approval on travel, is to plan early. So, when thinking about inviting an NIH staff member to speak at a conference or other event, it’s important to understand our timelines. ….

Chimpanzees in Biomedical Research

June 26, 2013

Today NIH made an important announcement about the use of chimpanzees in biomedical and behavioral research. After accepting the findings of an extensive Institute of Medicine (IOM) study commissioned by NIH, and reviewing the implementation recommendations from the Council of Councils and public feedback, NIH leadership has decided to significantly reduce the use of chimpanzees in the biomedical research it supports, and expects to designate the majority of NIH-owned chimpanzees for retirement.

Seek and Ye Shall Find (But Maybe We Can Help…)

May 28, 2013

From time to time on the blog, I’ve discussed the various tools available to you for finding research of interest on RePORT, our comprehensive resource on NIH-funded research. Today, I’d like to highlight a search feature that has been available on RePORTER for some time but may not be widely known.

NIH Funds and Lobbying Activities

May 24, 2013

NIH-funded awards are subject to a prohibition on using federal funds for lobbying activities… While these prohibitions have been in place for a long time, we are taking this opportunity to raise the visibility of the topic particularly since we had some changes last year and are often asked about what is and isn’t allowed under the prohibition. ….

Join Me at the NIH Regional Seminar in Baltimore

April 19, 2013

Those of you new to Rock Talk and working with NIH – or maybe just in need of a brush up on NIH funding and related topics – might want to join me in Baltimore (home of this year’s Superbowl champions – go Ravens!) for the NIH Regional Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration. ….

Additional Support for Sandy-affected Grantees

April 15, 2013

It’s been a little over six months since Hurricane Sandy, and many NIH grantees are still experiencing the effects of this major disaster. About a month after the storm I traveled to NYU, once with members of my staff, and again with NIH director Francis Collins to survey the damage. As Francis described on his blog, the amount of damage we saw was truly devastating. ….