• Background
• Appointment of Staff Scientists
• Associate Scientist
• Periodic Review of Staff Scientists in Title 42 Appointments
• Promotion Criteria for Staff Scientists in GS Appointments
  • GS 13
  • GS 14
  • GS 15
• Staff Scientist Appointment (Including Facility Head) Check Sheet
• Promotion of Staff Scientist in GS Appointment Check Sheet
• Memo for Appointment of Staff Scientist
• Flow Chart for Approval Of Intramural Professional Designation

A Staff Scientist is an NIH employee now appointed to a time-limited, renewable position. [NOTE: Extremely rare exceptions for appointment of a Staff Scientist to a permanent GS position for recruitment or retention purposes must be approved by the DDIR.] A Staff Scientist usually has a doctoral degree and is selected by the IC to support the long-term research of a Principal Investigator with outstanding Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) reviews. Staff Scientists do not receive independent resources, although they often work independently and have sophisticated skills and knowledge essential to the work of the laboratory. A subset of Staff Scientists includes Facility Heads, who independently manage a substantial core facility, e.g., a sequencing laboratory or an NMR facility, that provides central support for more than one Principal Investigator. Staff Scientists should be capable of independently designing experiments, but do not have responsibilities for initiating new research programs.

Most Staff Scientist appointments are made in Title 42. With regard to guidance concerning the possible use of permanent appointments for Staff Scientists, there are three situations in which use of a permanent mechanism (General Schedule Civil Service or Commissioned Corps) might be necessary or appropriate, based on the needs of the Institute. (1) For recruitment of Staff Scientists from outside the NIH: After an appropriate search has occurred, using the same process currently used to identify tenure-track candidates, the Scientific Director could request to the Deputy Director for Intramural Research that a permanent mechanism be used for the recruitment, based on the long-term necessity of the program/project, the likelihood that the candidate's skills will be relevant for the foreseeable future, and the difficulty in recruiting the candidate to the NIH using Title 42 at an appropriate salary. (2) For retention of Staff Scientists already at the NIH: In exceptional circumstances, based on a long track record at NIH of high quality research or clinical support, productivity, and adaptation to changing programs, projects, and technologies, a Staff Scientist could be given a permanent appointment. This would require review by an Institute Promotion Committee, followed by the request of the Scientific Director, through the IC Director, to the Deputy Director for Intramural Research for approval. (3) For scientists already at the NIH in a permanent GS12 position: Appointment to a Staff Scientist position would be in a Title 42 position: and special consideration would be needed for appointment to a permanent GS13 position.

A Staff Scientist (Clinical) is an NIH employee appointed to a time-limited, renewable position. [Note: Extremely rare exceptions for appointment of a Staff Scientist (Clinical) to a permanent GS position for recruitment or retention purposes must be approved by the Associate Director for Clinical Research, NIH]. A Staff Scientist (Clinical) usually has a non-M.D., non-D.O. or non-D.D.S. doctoral degree (or consonant experience) and is selected by the IC to support clinical care functions, most commonly in one of the patient care services in the Clinical Center. The appointment is to a Laboratory, Branch or Clinical Center Department that has been reviewed by the Medical Executive Committee and the ADCR (in the Clinical Center this review is part of the Operational Review process). This review should support inclusion of the resources for support of the Staff Scientist (Clinical) who is being recruited. Staff Scientists (Clinical) do not receive independent resources, although they often work independently and have sophisticated skills and knowledge essential to the work of the Laboratory, Branch or Department.

For further discussion, see the SD Minutes, 2.04.98.2

Appointments are made by the ICs under Title 42 at salaries in Pay Band II (minimum salary should be equivalent to GS13-step 1 level), determined according to the criteria outlined in the Title 42 Pay Model; depending upon the salary level and other pay components proposed, review and approval by the IC Title 42 Standing Committee and the NIH Compensation Committee (NCC) may be required (see Title 42 Pay Model for more details) for review and approval. Special review panels are available to review computer scientists and epidemiologists, if requested by the IC.

Exceptions to this delegation, that apply to both Staff Scientists and Staff Scientists (Clinical), include:

a. appointment of more than one Staff Scientist per Senior Investigator

The request memo signed by the Scientific Director must specify the name of the current Staff Scientist under the Senior Investigator and explain how the duties of the candidate will differ from the duties of the current Staff Scientist. Note that two different projects are not sufficient justification to request a second Staff Scientist.

b. appointment of Staff Scientists as permanent GS employees

c. appointment of Staff Scientists to work under the supervision of a tenure-track Investigator, and

d. appointment of Staff Scientists without a doctoral degree.

Appointment procedures are outlined in Flow Chart for Approval of Intramural Professional Designation, Clinical Credentials, and Salary.

 Generally, Staff Scientists are not reviewed by the BSC. Reviews of a Staff Scientist's work are conducted at least every 4 years by an IC Promotion Committee, in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Title 42 Pay Model. A CV and bibliography, a letter of evaluation from the supervisor, and two letters of evaluation from collaborators or other scientists in a position to review the Staff Scientist's work should be provided. Performance is measured against the following elements: interactions with other scientists, scientific productivity, other achievements, and evidence of being up-to-date scientifically and technically as outlined by the employee and confirmed in letters of reference. Measures of performance include collaborations, awards, presented lectures, course work, mentoring/teaching, participation in Special Interest Groups, etc. Functions of this review are to look at continuation/placement of the Staff Scientist, possible salary adjustment, and to enable the SD to report to the BSC on allocation of these personnel resources. The quality of the Senior Investigator's laboratory is reviewed by the BSC, including the resources for support of Staff Scientists who are assigned to the Senior Investigator. Presentation of IC reviews of Staff Scientists to BSCs are at the discretion of the SD or at the request of the BSC.

GS-13

This may be either the first appointment after completing a training position or a promotion from a GS-12 position. This appointment will be based on the expectation that the individual will be able to function as a Staff Scientist with minimal supervision and, in addition, has the ability to work effectively with others, including trainees, technicians, colleagues, and supervisors. It is also expected that such individuals will promote their supervisor's research program by independently informing themselves of new approaches, technological or otherwise, and by being knowledgeable about scientific resources (both human and material) at the NIH and elsewhere.

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GS-14

In general, for promotion to the GS-14 level, the individual is expected to have developed a substantial record of achievement at the GS-13 level or its equivalent, and to have played a major support role within a quality research program. The individual will have made major contributions to peer-reviewed publications as evidenced by co-authorship on a reasonable number of publications in journals generally acknowledged to be of high quality, and exhibited other evidence of being held in high regard by peers, such as being consulted by others at the NIH or elsewhere for advice and/or assistance. The expertise of the Staff Scientist and evidence of high regard by peers should be documented by at least three letters of reference. Outstanding grasp of subject material should be evidenced in a seminar presented to the IC Promotion Committee. Given these criteria, promotion of Staff Scientists to GS-14 will be infrequent.

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GS-15

Promotion to the GS-15 level shall reflect exceptional achievement or other contributions that significantly promote the mission of the individual's own IC and/or other ICs. Such individuals will be expected to have exceeded considerably the criteria for GS-14, including evidence of an extraordinary grasp of subject material in the presentation of a seminar to the IC Promotion Committee. As distinguished from a GS-14, the GS-15 may be required to supervise doctoral-level or senior staff if the laboratory or the facility in which they work is large. Further, the individual must have developed a record of high achievement for a substantial number of years, documented by at least five letters from referees who are not recent collaborators, including at least three letters from outside the IC; and/or the individual must have made significant methodological or other contributions to the scientific literature. Given these criteria, promotion of Staff Scientists to GS-15 will be rare.