Working Together to Protect the Integrity of NIH-funded Research
By Mike Lauer
When research findings are made up from thin air, misrepresented in some way, or blatantly and without credit copied from others, we risk eroding the public’s trust, damaging institutional reputation, harming careers, incurring skepticism, misleading future research, and, arguably most importantly, hurting patients. NIH takes research misconduct seriously. We are being proactive.
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Understanding Age in the NIH Portfolio: Implementation of the NIH Inclusion Across the Lifespan Policy
By Dawn Corbett and Michael Lauer
Last December, NIH announced a revision to its Inclusion of Children Policy to expand the policy to individuals of all ages. The revised policy, now called the Inclusion Across the Lifespan policy, requires individuals of all ages (including children and older adults) be included in clinical research studies unless there are scientific or ethical reasons to exclude them.
A recent Viewpoint Essay published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), co-authored by Drs. Marie Bernard (National Institute on Aging), Janine Clayton (NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health), and Michael Lauer, highlights the need for such a policy. The essay summarizes efforts by NIH to implement 21st Century Cures requirements to publish data on the age of research participants, to convene a workshop on age grouping and exclusions, and to make a determination on whether to revise inclusion guidelines on age.
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What Contributes to the Success of Early Career Scientists? – A NIAID Look
By Mike Lauer
At NIH, we are heavily invested in our workforce and in understanding the barriers they face. What characteristics do they share? How do they compete in the current hypercompetitive environment? When do they stop applying to NIH (drop out), even after receiving their first award? Staff from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) delve into these questions in a paper published recently in PLOS ONE , whose findings I’d like to highlight today. Here, Drs. Patricia Haggerty and Matthew Fenton looked at factors that may contribute to the success of early-career investigators and if these factors affect all junior researchers equally. Continue reading →
Protecting Participants, Empowering Researchers: Providing Access to Genomic Summary Results
Guest post by Carrie Wolinetz and Eric Green
Today, we are updating the way we manage data related to the NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy to again allow unrestricted access to genomic summary results for most of the studies we support in order to advance health or further research purposes. These summary results are importantly distinct from other genomic research data, most notably in that they do not include individual-level information. Instead, these results come from analyzing pooled genomic data from multiple individuals together to generate a statistical result for the entire dataset. Such information can be a powerful tool for helping researchers determine which genomic variants potentially contribute to a disease or disorder. Continue reading →
Top Stories
Revised NIH Grants Policy Statement for Fiscal Year 2019
NIH has released a revised Grants Policy Statement that applies to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2018. This revised version does not introduce new policies, but it does incorporate all policy changes or updates made throughout the previous year and includes significant enhancements to improve the user interface, navigation, and search. Continue reading →
Legislative Mandates for Fiscal Year 2019
NIH issued a notice detailing statutory provisions that limit or condition the use of funds on NIH grant, cooperative agreement, and contract awards for FY 2019. Continue reading →
New Application Requirements for Institutional Training Grants:
Letter of Institutional Commitment to Harassment and Discrimination Protections
NIH takes the issue of sexual harassment and discrimination very seriously. As such, beginning with applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2019, institutional training grant applications (T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TL4) must include a letter that describes the institutional commitment to ensuring that proper policies, procedures, and oversight are in place to prevent discriminatory harassment and other discriminatory practices. Continue reading →
Spring Into Action and Register for the 2019 NIH Regional Seminar in Baltimore Today!
Each year, the NIH Regional Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration continues to draw participants from all over the globe. If you are new to working with NIH grants and would like the opportunity to learn more directly from NIH & HHS experts, then make plans now to participate in the next NIH Regional Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration, Spring 2019 in Baltimore, MD. Continue reading →
Resources
New “All About Grants” Podcast on Preparing for Private Investment
Wondering how to knock that investor pitch out of the park? In this next installment of the “All About Grants” podcast series, small business innovators will get a front row seat to hear how to prepare for private investment. Dr. Ethel Ruben, NIH’s Entrepreneur-In-Residence, steps up to the plate and shares insights on who these investors are, how they decide on what innovations to invest in the biomedical commercial space, and some valuable tips and tricks to improve the accuracy of your investor pitch. Continue reading →
Multi-project Application Resources
Submitting a multi-project application for the January 25 standard due date? If so, you’ll want to check out these handy resources. Continue reading →
Decoding NIH Grant Numbers
Have you ever wondered what each part of an NIH grant number means? Decode that string of letters and numbers with this helpful cheat sheet. Continue reading →