NIH issued guidance for NIH Fiscal Operations for FY 2021 including the following policies:

• FY 2021 Funding Levels: Non-competing continuation awards made in FY 2021 will generally be issued at the commitment level indicated on the Notice of Award.
• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA): NIH will increase NRSA stipends by approximately two percent for predocs and two percent for postdocs.
• Next Generation Researchers Initiative Policy: NIH will prioritize meritorious R01-equivalent applications from Early Stage Investor (ESI) PD/PIs.
• Salary Limits: Salary limit is set at $199,300.

For additional guidance and details, see NOT-OD-21-058.

Although the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Defense Appropriations Bill has been signed into law, the FY21 appropriation for the Department of Defense Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research Program (OPORP) is contingent upon the outcome of a pending rescissions request. The OPORP is providing the information in this pre-announcement to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY21 funding opportunities. This pre-announcement should not be construed as an obligation by the Government.

The FY21 Defense Appropriations Act is anticipated to provide funding to the Department of Defense OPORP to support supports research that evaluates orthoses and/or prostheses using patient-centric outcomes relevant to Service Members and military beneficiaries, Veterans, and other individuals with limb loss and/or limb impairment. As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency J9, Research and Development Directorate manages the Defense Health Program (DHP) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation. The managing agent for the anticipated Program Announcements/Funding Opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC). 

Subject to the FY21 Congressional appropriation for OPORP funding, FY21 OPORP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms will be posted on the Grants.gov website. Pre-application and application deadlines will be available when the Program Announcements are released. 

The vision of the OPORP is to ensure the highest possible quality of life for our injured Service members, Veterans, and beneficiaries through the advancement of knowledge in orthotics- and prosthetics-related practice. The OPORP supports research on outcomes-based best practices through analysis of prosthetic and/or orthotic device options that are currently available, and not on the development of new devices or the improvement of an existing technology. Projects involving spinal orthoses, pediatric populations, or analysis of short-term use devices will not be considered for the FY21 OPORP.

Applications submitted to the FY21 OPORP must address one or more of the following focus areas: 

• Orthoses or Prostheses Form: Optimize patient outcomes through the analysis and characterization of variables related to the form of currently available clinical options such as device size, shape, material, and/or configurations. 
• Orthoses or Prostheses Fit: Optimize patient outcomes related to the human-device interface through the analysis of variables in currently available clinical options that facilitate fit-related metrics such as comfort, limb health, and/or usability.
• Orthoses or Prostheses Control: Optimize patient outcomes through the analysis of variables related to currently available device mechanisms such as device control, sensors, and passive or active response.
• Orthoses or Prostheses Function: Optimize patient outcomes by analyzing device-inclusive care protocols and interventions to inform best practices such as evaluation and prescription, timing of interventions, community functioning, and multidisciplinary approaches to clinical care in order to understand short- and long-term outcomes with respect to activities of daily living and other real-world activities.

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) at https://eBRAP.org prior to the pre-application deadline. All applications must conform to the final Program Announcements and General Application Instructions that will be available for electronic downloading from the Grants.gov website. The application package containing the required forms for each award mechanism will also be found on Grants.gov. A listing of all CDMRP and other USAMRDC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420. 

Submission deadlines are not available until the Program Announcements are released. For email notification when Program Announcements are released, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under “Email Subscriptions” on the eBRAP homepage at https://eBRAP.org. For more information about the OPORP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.army.mil).

For more information, please visit the Department of Defense page.

     The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation announces the Thursday, April 8, deadline for the 2021 Dreyfus Program for Machine Learning in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering. The program provides funding for innovative projects in any area of Machine Learning (ML) consistent with the Foundation’s broad objective to advance the chemical sciences and engineering. The Foundation anticipates these projects will contribute fundamental chemical insight and innovation in the field.
  

     The Foundation encourages proposals to significantly stimulate and accelerate the development of the use of ML and other related aspects of data science to the chemical sciences and engineering. Below are some examples of areas this program may support:

• molecular synthesis, including mechanisms, techniques, and applications
• theory, computation, physical properties of molecules or materials
• rates and mechanisms of new chemical processes
• new or improved materials and materials applications
• postdoctoral support for collaborations that combine chemical science research with ML expertise
• collaborative sabbaticals, extended visits, and meetings
• education, e.g., new courses, seminar series, MOOCs, …
• public libraries of chemistry and chemical engineering data for use in ML

     Note that proposals are not restricted to the areas described above. Additional details are available at the Foundation website

Do you need some guidance on preparing a K Award application for the NIH? Dr. Kay Lund, Director of Division of Biomedical Research Workforce, gives some great tips in a 25-minute YouTube video, “Writing an Effective ‘K’ Application,” originally presented at the Fall 2020 NIH Virtual Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration.

” It is designed for junior investigators and those who assist in the preparation of the scientific portions of an application.

The video covers points including:

• Currently active K award funding opportunity announcements & where to find them
• A breakdown of the different K awards
• Planning tips
• Application requirements
• Review criteria

You will also learn how to avoid the most common mistakes in writing K applications, as well as some typical misconceptions about the review process.

For more information, please visit the NIH page.

We are pleased to announce that the new NIH COVID-19 website launched last week. The site provides a central location for trusted, up-to-date, accurate information about NIH research and our strategic role in COVID-19 research. The site complements information made available on our COVID-19: Information for NIH Applicants and Recipients of NIH Funding webpage.

The new site includes information about key programs such as the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines public-private partnership and the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics initiative to develop state-of-the-science diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Users are also able to search information on funded research by state, institution, Congressional district, and more.

To support ongoing efforts to direct the public to critical information on COVID-19, the website also includes links to information on:

• Vaccines, treatments, and testing
• Clinical trials and how to participate
• How to donate plasma

For more information, please visit the NIH page.