November 21, 2008
News Articles
Opportunities and Resources
Advice Corner
New Funding Opportunities
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News Articles |
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NIH Sets New Targets for New Investigators
NIH and NIAID have firmed their strategy to expand the ranks of new R01 investigators at earlier career stages.
Defining Who Is New
As we said last month in "Early-Stage Investigator: A New Applicant Status," NIH created ESI as a subset of its new investigator status. ESI are applicants who have completed one of the following within the past 10 years, whichever was later:
- A final research degree.
- Discipline-specific training required to become a researcher.
You can request an extension of your ESI status due to special circumstances such as medical concerns, disability, family care responsibilities, or active duty military service. NIH is working on guidelines for the extension process, as announced in the November 21, 2008, Guide notice.
Once you apply for and receive a major NIH grant, you no longer qualify as either an ESI or a new investigator. See the list of grants at Are You "New"?
Targets for NIH and NIAID
Following NIH policy, we will support new PIs at the same success rates as established investigators submitting new applications.
To get there, NIH is targeting 60 percent of new investigator awards to ESIs in FY 2009, increasing to 75 percent in FY 2010. The hope is that the average age of first R01 recipients would drop from 41 to 38.
Once NIAID gets a budget for FY 2009, we hope to set the payline for new and ESI R01 investigators at 2.0 percentile points higher than the regular R01 payline.
We expect to fund even more grants than indicated by the payline to reach our target. NIAID will liberally use other mechanisms such as selective pay and R56-Bridge awards.
Though our targets are mandated by NIH, we are concerned that they could mean fewer new grants for established investigators.
Should You Submit an R01?
More than ever before, that answer could be yes for new investigators. NIH hopes to change the paradigm and encourage new investigators to apply for an R01 instead of an R21.
Even if you have little preliminary data, consider applying for an R01. A higher payline will make it easier to get funded. And we can use an R56-Bridge award to help you get preliminary or other data should your R01 not succeed.
Of course, it's always best to have as much preliminary data as possible when you apply.
While many new investigators have used an R21 or R03 to collect preliminary data, this approach may no longer be the best one. An ESI who gets an R03 or R21 would need to pay attention to the number of years he or she would spend on this award and could lose ESI status if too many years passed after training.
Further, NIAID is examining whether to reduce its use of unsolicited R21s as a mechanism targeted to new investigators.
Get Your Dates in the Commons
Starting in January or February 2009, you will be able to enter your degree and discipline-specific training dates in the Commons personal profile so we can identify ESI status. If you qualify, make sure you do this right away.
Because most FY 2009 applications are already in, we will identify ESIs using application information for this fiscal year. Read more in the November 21, 2008, Guide notice and go to NIH's New Investigators Program.
Easier Access to Encrypted CDs for Reviewers
To reduce the need for reviewers to enter passwords repeatedly, NIH has bundled each grant application's documents on the encrypted CDs used by reviewers.
Reviewers will now enter the password just once for each application. This approach should reduce the need to enter passwords by about a third for all CDs ordered after October 15, 2008.
For more background, read the October 2008 Extramural Nexus article.
NIAID Committee Volunteers: Thank You
We'd like to thank all who volunteered to serve on an NIAID review or advisory committee this past fiscal year. Their generosity helps us identify and fund the best biomedical science.
Visit our updated Thank You Members of NIAID Peer Review Groups and Advisory Committees, which lists everyone who served on an initial peer review committee, Council, or other NIAID advisory committee in FY 2008.
Is your name missing or information not correct? Email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov, and please accept our apologies.
Our thanks also go to those who peer review NIAID applications through CSR. We cannot list you all on the Thank You page, but you can find rosters at CSR's Study Sections.
Interested in serving your scientific community as a peer reviewer? Many people find the experience informative and rewarding. Read How to Volunteer.
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Opportunities and Resources |
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Regional Seminars on Program Funding and Grant Administration
You can learn more about NIH extramural program funding and grants administration at two upcoming seminars in Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Each two-day seminar features presentations along with opportunities for you to ask questions and meet NIH staff.
In addition, you can attend an NIH eRA computer workshop a day before or after the seminar.
Get more information and make reservations using the links in NIH's October 29, 2008, Guide notice.
Supplements for Grants Affected by Hurricane Ike
NIH can supplement your grant if it was affected by Hurricane Ike and your research is still located in Galveston, Texas.
You can request either of the following:
- A one-year extension at the same funding level as the final year of the grant.
- A one-time supplement for $50,000 in direct costs.
These grant activity codes are eligible: R01, R03, R15, R21, R24, R33, R34, R36, R37, R55, R56, DP1, and DP2. Read more in the November 7, 2008, Guide notice.
Reminder: Loan Repayment Program Applications Due
Time is running short if you want to submit a loan repayment program application: they're due by December 1.
NIH Loan Repayment Programs could repay up to $35,000 of your educational debt each year if you're an eligible M.D. or doctoral-level researcher. Use the Five Quick Checks for LRP Eligibility to confirm whether you can qualify.
Read all about it and find more key links in our previous article, "Get Your Education Loans Off Your Back."
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Advice Corner |
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Reader Questions
Johanna Daily, Harvard School of Public Health, asks:
"My program officer suggested that I apply for a supplement.
Should I resubmit the original R01 with revisions?"
You do not resubmit the original R01 application.
Jeanna Banez asks:
"Are bonuses included in the NIH salary cap?"
The answer depends on how your institution typically handles bonuses. If it consistently treats them as part of the base salary, they would be subject to the salary cap. If your institution considers bonuses as fringe benefits, they are part of your indirect costs.
Each calendar year, Congress revises the PI Salary Cap for grantees and
contractors and stipend levels for trainees and fellowships.
Nancy McKinney, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, asks:
"May we use R01 funds to pay tuition for graduate students? If so, may we rebudget?"
Yes, your R01 application may request salary and fringe benefits (such as tuition
remission) for graduate students. Request the tuition remission in the "Other Direct Costs" budget category on the SF 424 form.
And yes, you may rebudget your funds to pay for these fringe benefits. Seek prior approval from your grants management specialist if rebudgeting would change a budget category by more than 25 percent.
A reader asks:
"Where can I find success rates for small grants (R03) supported by NIAID?"
You can find data and retrieve reports using NIH's Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT). By filling out the form, you select variables that filter NIH's existing reports.
Selecting the variables cited above brings up a list of reports, including a quick view at NIAID Research Project Success Rates and the more extensive Success rates by IC, grant mechanism, and activity code (XLS) spreadsheet.
The latter report includes a lot more data than those you searched for, so you'll have to scroll or filter to find your desired data.
We expect NIH to start posting fiscal year 2008 data in the spring of 2009.
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New Funding Opportunities |
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See these and older announcements at NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID. |
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