January 21, 2009

News Articles

• Can You Get More Time as an ESI?
• All New Investigators -- Not Just ESIs -- Must Update Commons Profiles
• Peer Reviewers: New Payment System Is Ready to Roll
• RCDC Debut -- a Fresh View of NIH Funding
• Citations: It's All in the Numbers
• For P01s: New Review Criteria, Multiple PIs
• New Sketches of CSR Study Sections

Opportunities and Resources

• NIH Podcast Highlights Research Training
• Have Your Say About Improving Core Facilities

Advice Corner

• Reader Question: If I am listed as a key personnel, will it affect my new investigator status?

New Funding Opportunities

• See the list.

	News Articles

Can You Get More Time as an ESI?

As promised, NIH announced when and how to request an extension of the ten-year early-stage investigator period.

When You May Ask for an Extension

In some cases, NIH lets you extend your ESI period for the amount of time that you would have spent on research but could not. Here are examples of valid reasons for an ESI extension:

• Family care. Time away from research because of family care responsibilities such as the birth or adoption of a child or the care of sick or disabled family members.
• Disability or illness. Time lost due to your illness or disability.
• Extended periods of patient care during post-residency clinical training. For M.D.s, time spent on clinical care instead of research.
• Extended periods of additional (non-degree) research training.  For M.D.s and Ph.D.s, time spent receiving formal NIH-relevant instruction. (Note: If you earn another degree after your doctorate, enter its dates in the eRA Commons. Do not request an extension.)
• Active duty military service. Time in active duty military service.
• Clinical loan repayment requirements. Time in clinical practice as a condition of a federal loan repayment program.
• Natural or other disaster. Time your laboratory was shut down or relocating as a result of a catastrophic event.
• Other valid reason. Time you lost for another reason that could have otherwise been spent on research.

NIH expects to refine its allowed reasons, so consider this list as examples rather than the final word. If you feel you may have a valid reason, apply for an exception.

We anticipate more guidance from NIH on the subject as staff gain experience with requests and start seeing the types of reasons people have for submitting an extension.

To further help you out, NIH posted Frequently Asked Questions About the NIH ESI Policy.  Read more details in NIH's December 31, 2008, Guide notice, and send questions to ESINIH@od.nih.gov.

All New Investigators -- Not Just ESIs -- Must Update Commons Profiles

If you are a new investigator, be sure to enter your degree and training completion dates in your eRA Commons profile right away.  

NIH needs this information for all new PIs, not just early-stage investigators.

After you enter your dates into your profile, Commons will determine whether you qualify as a new investigator or ESI. NIH will email you the result, which you may be able to appeal. 

If you already have a Commons account, update your degree information in your profile. If you do not, work with your sponsored research office to create one.

You can see definitions of new PI and ESI on our Are You “New”? page of the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal and at NIH's New and Early Stage Investigator Policies.

Peer Reviewers: New Payment System Is Ready to Roll

It's out with the old and in with the new.

To reimburse you for honoraria and expenses from participating in peer review meetings, NIH is now using the Secure Payee Reimbursement System (SPRS), which you will access through the eRA Commons. SPRS replaces the U.S. Treasury Central Contract Registration (CCR).

You must register with SPRS. Follow the Registration Instructions (MS DOC) at NIH's Peer Review Policies and Practices.

And be sure to read the January 5, 2009, Guide notice for important points to keep in mind, including canceling your CCR account.

The switch should come as no surprise. We gave you a heads up that a new system was in the works in our July 2, 2008, article "Peer Reviewers Can Wave Goodbye to CCR."

RCDC Debut -- a Fresh View of NIH Funding

With NIH's new Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) reporting process, anyone can see where NIH spends its research dollars.

Consistency Across NIH

RCDC's new approach replaces institute formulas that often yielded inconsistent results.

It also changes the results of our reported funding:

• Funding levels are different due to the use of new NIH-wide definitions.
• While RCDC revises the reported levels of funding, it does not affect our funding allocations. Only the numbers reported are changing.
• You cannot equate RCDC reported funding levels to our budget because, for many projects, RCDC adds the same dollars to multiple categories.
  • Categories are not mutually exclusive, so a project may fall under multiple RCDC categories, each showing 100 percent of funding.
  • Total funding derived from RCDC is 4.5 times NIAID's budget level.

NIH is using RCDC to report on 208 of the 215 research categories of congressional and public interest it uses. For the remaining seven, which include AIDS and biodefense, NIH and institutes are manually preparing reports. Learn more about how NIH constructed the RCDC categories at Categorization Process.

See an RCDC Report

In January, NIH added the new Estimates of Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories. You can use it to get official data for any of the 215 research areas covered by RCDC.

On that page, you can find FY 2008 data for all NIH projects -- grants, contracts, interagency agreements, and intramural research. For FY 2007, you can compare funding data using RCDC and the former reporting method only. NIH did not go back to recalculate previous funding levels using the new definitions.

NIH's old public search tool, CRISP, has become part of the Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT) site, although for now the CRISP query looks the same. This spring, RePORT Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) will replace CRISP, and RCDC terms will replace CRISP search terms. Also expect new features such as better search options and links to publications and patents.

Citations: It's All in the Numbers

In case citations have flown under your radar, we want to put them back in your "cite" line.

Be sure to include the full grant (or contract) number when you cite our support of your research.

When your NIAID-funded work is published in a journal, you must cite our support. But even if you do, data queries do not credit NIH with the support unless you include the number. For a grant, it must include "AI" for NIAID.

Accurate reporting is key to making a case to Congress that the money it gives us is well spent, which helps preserve the flow of funds to grantees. You may want to check the galleys to make sure your number is correct and complete. For a suggested format and other details, see Should I cite NIH when I publish?

On another note, you also need to include a PubMed Central identification number to comply with NIH's public access policy, as you do in your applications and progress reports.

Read our Public Access of Publications SOP for more information, including what to do if a PMC ID is not ready.

For P01s: New Review Criteria, Multiple PIs

If you are applying for a program project grant, check out NIAID's revised review criteria at Review Criteria for Cores and Review Criteria for the Overall Application in our Instructions for Preparing a Multiproject Grant Application.

Also new: you can have multiple PIs for P01s that are investigator-initiated or funded through any funding opportunity announcements that allow the approach. Keep in mind that many opportunities don't give you this option, so read the Guide announcement carefully.

Don't forget to read our Advice for Multiproject Grants, which has input from NIAID peer reviewers so you know exactly what they look for when they review your application.

New Sketches of CSR Study Sections

NIH's Center for Scientific Review has updated the descriptions of its chartered study sections making it easier for you to figure out which one might best review your application.

Find out why you should request a study section and institute and how to do it at Consider Requesting an Institute and Study Section.

The new descriptions are more user-friendly, transparent, and reflective of the applications reviewed by each study section.

CSR expects to update these descriptions at least once a year. Find them online at Descriptions of Integrated Review Groups, Study Sections, and Small Business Activities of CSR.

	Opportunities and Resources

NIH Podcast Highlights Research Training

Learn how NIAID can help you jump start your life as a scientific investigator by participating in a training or career grant. Training Grant in Food Allergy Research: The Sweet Taste of Success (MP3) features an investigator who conducted key research in food allergies while undergoing training supported by NIAID.

This special feature is about two-thirds of the way through the podcast linked above. Find this and other podcasts on NIH Research Radio Podcasts.

NIAID supports many types of fellowships, career awards, and training grants. For more information, go to our Training and Career portal.

Have Your Say About Improving Core Facilities

You can give NIH your ideas about how to improve core research facilities -- centralized resources that let you access instruments, technologies, services, and experts -- funded by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) or NIH institutes.

Email ncrrcorerfi@mail.nih.gov to send your advice by February 20, 2009. NCRR also plans to conduct a public meeting in July on the topic. Read more in the January 6, 2009, Guide notice.

	Advice Corner

Reader Question

"If I am listed as a key personnel on an NIH grant, will it affect my new investigator status?" -- Brian Murphy, University of California, Davis

No. Being one of the key personnel on an NIH grant has no effect on your new investigator status. Technically a PI is one of the key personnel, but we're assuming you're not. As long as you are not the PI and never have been one, you can qualify as a new investigator.

	New Funding Opportunities

• RFA-AI-08-066, Resources to Assist Investigations in Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases
• RFP-NIAID-DAIDS-NIHAI2008050, Clinical Research Auditing
• PAR-09-068, NIAID Research Scholar Development Award
• RFA-DK-08-011, Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet: Clinical Centers
• PA-09-043, Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award
• PA-09-042, Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award
• PA-09-040, Mentored Research Scientist Development Award
• PA-09-039, Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award
• PA-09-038, Independent Scientist Award
• PA-09-037, Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research
• PA-09-036, NIH Pathway to Independence (PI) Award

See these and older announcements at NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID.