April 19, 2006
News Articles
Opportunities and Resources
Advice Corner
New Initiatives
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News Articles |
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Attention Applicants -- These Changes Affect You!
Whether you're using a paper or electronic application, new rules apply. On April 7, NIH issued fiveGuide notices with overlapping information. Here's our simplified version.
All applications
- No PI signatures. You no longer need a PI signature on applications, progress reports, or prior approval requests. Instead, your institution will ask you to sign an assurance before each submission. Read the Guide notice for details.
Paper applications
- Person months. From now on, you will use person months, not percent effort. This change brings the PHS 398 and PHS 2590 in sync with the SF 424. See our Person Months Calculation Example.
- Other changes, PHS 398 -- Guide notice:
- Including publications as appendix material (see next article).
- Implementing multiple PIs.
- Revised requirements for Select Agent Research, including
new Research Plan section.
- Eliminating biographical sketch subsection limits.
- List of changes to each PHS 398 page (under the heading "Removal of all Instructions and Data Requirements Specifically for Programs Transitioned to the SF 424").
- Other changes, PHS 2590 -- Guide notice:
- Implementing multiple PIs.
- Revised requirements for select agent research.
- Eliminating biographical sketch subsection limits, followed by a list of changes to each PHS 2590 page.
Electronic applications
For the SF 424 and PHS 398, the new changes take effect May 10, for the PHS 2590 progress report, June 1. Until then, use the old forms and instructions -- NIH Forms and Applications tells you which version to use.
Publications in Appendices -- New Clarifications
If this topic looks familiar, it is -- we wrote about in our last issue. But in the March 28, 2006, Guide notice, NIH tweaked its previous announcement on how to submit publications in appendices. Here are the key points; changes to the previous notice are in bold italics:
- Link if you can -- as long as the grant type allows publications in the appendix.
- Publications in press -- for both paper and electronic applications, link to a publicly available journal article or NIH PubMed Central identification number.
- Publications without an online journal link -- for electronic applications, submit the entire article as a PDF attachment. If using a paper PHS 398, include a printed copy.
- Manuscripts accepted for publication -- same as above.
For both paper and electronic applications, check the NIH Guide announcement to see if the grant type allows publications in the appendix. As always, never include manuscripts not accepted for publication.
We wrote about this previously in our March 23 article, "New Electronic Application Deadline, Rules for Appendices."
IACUCs Dial In
Typically institutional animal care and use committees hold face-to-face meetings for a full committee review. Now NIH also gives a thumbs up to long-distance meetings.
NIH's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare now permits meetings by telephone or video conferencing if they comply with certain criteria. Read the details in the March 24, 2006, Guide notice.
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Opportunities and Resources |
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Looking for Genomics Resources for HIV/AIDS Research?
NIAID offers a wealth of free resources for HIV/AIDS research. Whether you need genetic sequences, proteomes, or reagents, you can tap into free genomics resources for AIDS and related research.
- NIH AIDS Reagent Program -- ships reagents for HIV and other pathogens to scientists all over the world; many of its more than 6,300 reagents are unique. Go to the Reagent Program.
Reagents in development include:
- Unique, overlapping peptide sets for HIV-1 and SIV.
- Sexually acquired HIV-1 of various subtypes from early-stage transmission.
- Standard panels of HIVs, SIVs, and SHIVs for vaccine neutralization studies.
- Macaque-specific monoclonal antibodies to CD4, CD8, and NK cells and perforin.
- HIV Databases -- The HIV Databases portal links to the HIV Sequence Database, Drug Resistance Database, Molecular Immunology, and Vaccine Trials Database.
These sites provide data on genetic sequences, immunological epitopes, drug resistance-associated mutations, and vaccine studies using SIV and HIV in nonhuman primates as well as data analysis tools.
NIAID has many more scientific resources to offer in AIDS, immunology, microbiology, transplantation, bioinformatics, and other topics. Find them at Resources for Researchers.
Our Opportunities List Gets Even Friendlier
We've updated the format and added more links to the NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID page:
- Consolidated the three old tables into one, so you can sort all entries by date or other column header.
- For opportunities that have switched to electronic application, added links to the Guide announcement and electronic application package.
- Added a link to the NIAID "Statement of Interest," where applicable. See the next article for an explanation.
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Advice Corner |
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When Do I Use an NIH Parent Versus an NIAID Announcement?
When you apply electronically, it's important to know which application package to use. To apply in your area of interest, keep the following in mind:
- Every grant mechanism, e.g., R01, R03, will have an NIH funding opportunity announcement (FOA).
- One NIH-wide FOA for each mechanism.
- Called a "parent" announcement (though there are no "children" or other relatives).
- Allows an applicant to submit an investigator-initiated application, apply in a scientific area of interest to an institute, or both.
- Not all institutes participate -- check the FOA to see which do.
- Institutes may also issue FOAs.
New NIAID approach to program announcements
For existing and future program announcements, NIAID plans to:
NIAID statement of interest
Each NIH-wide FOA has a statement of interest that lets you know the areas of science in which we wish to receive applications. As an example, see the NIAID R21 statement of interest, a subsection of NIH R21 Parent Program Announcement Contacts and Special Interests.
We've linked to this statement under each parent FOA on our NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID. The list also lets you know whether to use an NIH-wide or an NIAID announcement.
You can also find a link to the statement of interest in the NIH Guide announcement. However you get there, check the statement when ready to apply to make sure it's the current one.
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New Initiatives |
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