Archive for June 2012


“Did Council Fund My Grant?”

This is a question we’re often asked shortly after the NIGMS Advisory Council meets in January, May and September. The short answer is: No. Here’s why. As described in a previous post, our Council provides a second level of peer review of applications assigned to NIGMS. It is not a second study section. Instead, the [...]

Filed under: Meetings/Events, Peer Review
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/25/did-council-fund-my-grant/

Funding Opportunities: Conferences and Scientific Meetings, NIGMS/NSF Biological and Mathematical Sciences Initiative

You may be interested in the following funding opportunity announcements: NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings (Parent R13/U13) (PAR-12-212) Purpose: Support high-quality conferences that are relevant to the public health and scientific mission of the participating NIH institutes and centers, including NIGMS Application due dates: Standard dates apply NIGMS contact: Ann Hagan, 301-594-3910 Notice [...]

Filed under: Funding Opportunities
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/25/funding-opportunities-conferences-and-scientific-meetings-nigmsnsf-biological-and-mathematical-sciences-initiative/

Wanted: Informatics Program Director

We’re recruiting for a program director (also known as a “health scientist administrator/program officer”) to manage research grants and other types of awards in the Division of Biomedical Technology, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Candidates should have research experience in more than one of the following areas: computational biology, computer science, informatics, genomics data, data analytics, [...]

Filed under: Job Announcements
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/22/wanted-informatics-program-director/

Acknowledging Our Support

NIH recently modified the funding acknowledgement language in the notice of award to read: Each publication, press release, or other document about research supported by an NIH award must include an acknowledgment of NIH award support and a disclaimer such as “Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical [...]

Filed under: NIH, Research Administration
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/22/acknowledging-our-support/

Workforce Development and Diversity Recommendations to NIH Resonate with NIGMS Training Strategic Plan

Last week, the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) of NIH released two reports that are very relevant to the NIGMS missions of supporting research training and promoting a diverse biomedical workforce. The reports, produced by working groups with impressive membership rosters, have many elements in common with our training strategic plan. For example, the [...]

Filed under: Director’s Messages, NIH, Workforce Development and Diversity
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/19/workforce-development-and-diversity-recommendations-to-nih-resonate-with-nigms-training-strategic-plan-2/

Wanted: Program Director, Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology

We have a job opening for a program director (also known as a “health scientist administrator/program officer”) to manage research grants and other types of awards in the Developmental and Cellular Processes Branch of our Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology. The branch supports studies spanning the spectrum from the genetic basis of development and [...]

Filed under: Job Announcements
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/15/wanted-program-director-division-of-genetics-and-developmental-biology-2/

NIH Pilot of the $1.5 Million Special Review

There has been considerable discussion on Sally Rockey’s Rock Talk blog and elsewhere about NIH’s pilot advisory council review of applications from investigators who have received more than $1.5 million in NIH research project grant support. As you may know, NIGMS has a longstanding policy of advisory council review of well-funded laboratories, but it differs [...]

Filed under: NIH, Research Administration
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/07/nih-pilot-of-the-1-5-million-special-review/

Comment on Proposed Changes to the NIH Biosketch

The NIH Biographical Sketch is a standardized format used to present professional information in grant applications. It includes sections for a personal statement, positions and honors, selected peer-reviewed publications, and a list of current and prior research support. To explore whether the format could be modified to better present an individual’s scientific abilities and accomplishments, [...]

Filed under: NIH, Research Administration
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/07/comment-on-proposed-changes-to-the-nih-biosketch/

Apply for New Fellows Program to Reinvent Undergraduate Biology Education

A national effort called PULSE (Partnership for Undergraduate Life Science Education)  is under way to transform undergraduate biology education at the departmental level. Along with the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, we will select 40 “Vision and Change Leadership Fellows” to devise prototypic solutions that facilitate the systemic changes outlined in Vision [...]

Filed under: Workforce Development and Diversity
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/06/apply-for-new-fellows-program-to-reinvent-undergraduate-biology-education/

Continuing Our Commitment to Research Project Grants

Last September, I posted our funding allocation for research project grants (RPGs) in Fiscal Year 2012. I noted our strong commitment to RPGs—the vast majority of which are investigator-initiated R01 grants—and showed that we expected to spend 67% of our budget on them. I want to update you on our Fiscal Year 2012 budget, which [...]

Filed under: Director’s Messages, Funding Trends
Permalink: https://loop.nigms.nih.gov/index.php/2012/06/04/continuing-our-commitment-to-research-project-grants/