IN
THIS ISSUE . . .
February 20, 2007
Director's Message
Advisory Council Concept Clearances
Funding Opportunity
NIGMS-Sponsored Events
Research Administration Notes
Resources
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
is one of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. By supporting
basic biomedical research and training nationwide, NIGMS
lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis,
treatment, and prevention.
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alerting researchers to NIGMS funding
opportunities, trends, and plans. We encourage your
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and feedback on Institute activities.
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Director's Message
The past few months have been very busy in terms of NIH-related
Congressional activities. I would like to use my Director’s
message to bring you up to date in this area, report to
you about the electronic submission of R01 applications,
and give you and your colleagues breaking news about a
program directed toward new investigators that NIH is
developing. Finally, I want to tell you about an opportunity
to give us input during the next month as part of our
strategic planning process.
NIH Authorization and Appropriation Status
As you may recall from your high school government class,
Executive Branch activities must be authorized by Congress
if they are not authorized in the Constitution. Many of
the authorizations for NIH stem from the 1944 Public Health
Service Act and expansions to this act made in the 1940s.
Prior to this year, the last comprehensive reauthorization
of NIH was the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993.
A new NIH authorization, the NIH
Reform Act of 2006, was signed by the President on
January 15, 2007. This act represents a significant endorsement
of biomedical research and the NIH role in supporting
it. The act includes a number of provisions, and NIH is
now in the process of developing plans to implement
them. One provision establishes a Division of Program
Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives in the
Office of the NIH Director, in part to house the Common
Fund, which is the new term for the fund that supports
the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Another provision
authorizes appropriations for NIH of $30,331,309,000 for
Fiscal Year 2007, $32,831,309,000 for Fiscal Year 2008,
and “such sums as may be necessary” for Fiscal
Year 2009. Authorization levels can be thought of as targets
for consideration in the appropriation process.
Appropriation is the annual provision of funding authority
to government agencies. In the absence of an appropriation
bill, agencies typically operate under a continuing resolution,
often at the same funding level as in the previous fiscal
year. This was the case in Fiscal Year 2007 until recently,
when the House and Senate passed a joint resolution appropriating
funds for the remainder of the fiscal year. The resolution
provides about $620 million more for NIH than was expected
based on the continuing resolution. This represents an
increase of 2.2% over Fiscal Year 2006. While the resolution
appropriates some funds directly to the Common Fund, it
is important to note that Common Fund activities have
been supported by NIH institutes and centers, meaning
that most of the new funds effectively flow back to the
institutes and centers. The result for NIGMS is a 1.2%
increase over the previously anticipated level. The resolution
also includes substantial increases for the National Science
Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
and the Office of Science in the Department of Energy.
These increases in the context of a highly constrained
budget environment are another strong endorsement of the
role of science in maintaining the competitiveness of
the Nation and the importance of supporting productive
research programs and new investigators. We project that
the additional funds, together with other steps that NIH
has taken, will enable NIGMS to award 100 or more competing
research grants than we had anticipated based on the President’s
budget for Fiscal Year 2007.
While this process was unfolding, the President released
his budget for Fiscal Year 2008 in early February. This
budget calls for an increase of 1.5% for NIH over the
Fiscal Year 2007 President’s budget. Compared to
the increased amount appropriated for NIH by Congress
for Fiscal Year 2007, the proposed Fiscal Year 2008 budget
is approximately 1.3% less.
The release of the President’s budget is the first
step in the Fiscal Year 2008 appropriation process. The
next step is hearings before the House and Senate appropriations
subcommittees at which NIH Director Elias Zerhouni and
the institute and center directors will present the budget
and answer questions about NIH activities and plans.
Electronic Submission
For the February 5, 2007, receipt date for the electronic
submission of R01 applications, NIH received and processed
more than 4,000 individual submissions. Among the applications,
70 percent were successfully submitted on the first attempt
and 94 percent were successfully submitted on the second
attempt. I welcome your candid comments about your own
experiences and suggestions about how to improve this
process. This is still a work in progress and I will pass
your comments along to appropriate NIH staff.
NIH Director’s New Innovator
Award
To provide another opportunity for new investigators
to get their independent careers off to the best start
possible, Dr. Zerhouni is launching the NIH
Director’s New Innovator Award. This grant program
will support new investigators who propose highly innovative
research projects with the potential for exceptionally
great impact on biomedical or behavioral science.
New investigators who have not yet obtained a traditional
NIH R01 grant are eligible to apply. In addition, applicants
must hold an independent research position at a domestic
institution and be within 10 years of their terminal degree
(1997 or later for the 2007 award cycle).
The proposed research may be in any scientific area relevant
to the NIH mission. The project description in the grant
application will be briefer than that required for R01s
and will emphasize the significance of the research, what
makes the approach exceptionally innovative, how the applicant
will address challenges and risks, and the applicant’s
qualifications for the grant. The review criteria will
emphasize the importance of the scientific problem, the
potential impact of the project, the novelty and innovativeness
of the approach, and evidence of the applicant’s
potential for innovative and creative research. Applicants
are allowed, but not required, to present preliminary
data relevant to the project. Letters of reference will
not be accepted.
NIH anticipates making approximately 14 to 16 awards
in September 2007. Each grant will be for 5 years and
up to $300,000 per year in direct costs plus applicable facilities
and administrative costs.
Details about the NIH Director’s New Innovator
Award, including the application process and deadline,
will be presented in a request for applications in the
NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts in mid-March.
Please let appropriate colleagues know about this upcoming
funding opportunity and feel free to contact me with any
questions about this new program.
NIGMS Strategic Planning
NIGMS is embarking on a strategic planning process to
guide the Institute’s decision-making over the next
5 years. Through this process, we hope to identify emerging
research areas and technologies as well as articulate
approaches for effectively encouraging highly innovative
research, balancing support for training programs between
existing and new areas, promoting diversity in the biomedical
workforce, and enhancing our communications with the scientific
community and the public.
This strategic plan is not a call for change for change’s
sake. Rather, we view it as an opportunity to critically
examine the approaches we have utilized over the years
so that we can be sure we are in the best position to
capitalize on the many significant advances that are impacting
basic research.
A key part of the strategic planning process is getting
the broadest possible input from the scientific community.
To that end, we have established a Web
site for input that will be open until March 20. I
urge you to provide comments at this site. Please also
tell your colleagues, graduate students, postdoctoral
fellows, and other interested parties about this opportunity,
as it is not necessary to be an NIGMS grant recipient
to submit comments.
As always, I welcome your questions or comments.
Jeremy M. Berg
Director
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
bergj@mail.nih.gov
Advisory Council Concept Clearances
Proposed new NIGMS research and training programs are made
public at the open session of National Advisory General
Medical Sciences Council meetings. Council approval of new
initiatives (and major changes to existing initiatives)
is called "concept clearance." Concept clearance
authorizes NIGMS staff to develop plans, publish announcements
in the NIH
Guide for Grants and Contracts, and fund grants.
During the initiative planning stages that follow concept
clearance, NIGMS welcomes comments and suggestions from
the community.
At its January 2007 meeting, the Council discussed the
concept clearances summarized below. For additional details,
see the Council
minutes or contact the identified NIGMS staff members.
Collaborative Studies on Systems Biology
of Complex Phenotypes
The Council approved an initiative to foster collaboration
across the fields of genetics and systems biology to study
the mechanisms that determine complex phenotypes in human
and animal systems. The R01 projects will require the
active participation of both a geneticist and a systems
biologist. The request for applications is expected to
be published in April. For more information, contact program
directors Richard Anderson at andersri@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-0943, or Matthew Portnoy at mportnoy@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-0943.
Exceptionally Innovative Research Award
The Council gave concept clearance for the solicitation
of R01 applications proposing research that tests novel,
potentially paradigm-shifting hypotheses or uses exceptionally
innovative approaches to solve difficult problems. The
possible outcome of such work should have an unusually
high impact on the scientific community. The request for
applications is expected to be published in May. Address
inquiries to program directors Laurie Tompkins at tompkinl@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-0943, or Ravi Basavappa at basavapr@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-0828.
Funding Opportunity
NIH Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00)
NIH has reissued the program announcement for these awards
to highly promising postdoctoral scientists who are transitioning
to becoming independent researchers. The awards offer
up to 2 years of mentored support followed by up to 3
years of additional support contingent on securing an
independent research position. For more information, see
PA-07-297.
For institute- or center-specific information, including
areas of emphasis and staff contacts, visit the accompanying
Web
site. NIGMS announced
its first awardees in November 2006.
NIGMS-Sponsored Events
Protein Structure Initiative
“Bottlenecks” Workshop
The annual workshop will be held on March 19-20, 2007,
on the NIH Bethesda campus. Participants will discuss
technical barriers to the high-throughput determination
of protein structures. Space is limited and advance registration
is required. For details, visit the workshop’s Web
site or contact NIGMS program director Charles Edmonds
at edmondsc@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-0828.
Structures of AIDS-Related Systems and Application to
Drug Design
The 21st annual meeting of the “Groups Studying
the Structures of AIDS-Related Systems and Their Application
to Drug Design” will be held June 28-29, 2007, on
the NIH Bethesda campus. The meeting offers a forum for
investigators supported by the NIGMS program projects
in AIDS-related structural biology and drug design, as
well as others, to present their findings. Advance registration
is strongly encouraged. Contact Pamela Handon at pamelah@blseamon.com
or 301-577-0244 (ext. 25) about meeting logistics and
NIGMS program director Ravi Basavappa at basavapr@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-0828 about the scientific program.
Systems Biology Centers Annual Meeting
NIGMS and the National Cancer Institute are sponsoring
the annual meeting of the National Centers for Systems
Biology on June 12-13, 2007, in Boston, MA. A meeting
Web site has not yet been posted. Address any questions
to NIGMS program director Jerry Li at lij@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-0828.
Research Administration Notes
Electronic Grant Application
Reminder
Please note that renewal, revised, or resubmitted R01s
due on March 5 have an additional required field of “Federal
Identifier”; this is the NIH institute/center and
grant number (e.g., GM12345). Assistance
with the submission process is available.
Future changes include the conversion of existing forms
to Adobe Acrobat® and the transition of training and
career mechanisms (F, K, and T series) to electronic submission.
Changes to SCORE Program
The SCORE (Support of Competitive Research) program,
designed to increase the research competitiveness of investigators
at minority-serving institutions and the research capabilities
of these institutions, has been revised (see NOT-GM-07-100).
Separate funding opportunities now exist for individual,
investigator-initiated research awards and for a stand-alone,
institutional award. Applicants are strongly advised to
review the SCORE program
announcements and the frequently asked questions
before applying. For more information, contact NIGMS program
director Hinda Zlotnik at zlotnikh@nigms.nih.gov
or 301-594-3900.
Resources
Congressional Budget Justification for
Fiscal Year 2008
NIH components annually prepare documents that support
the President’s budget request to Congress. These
reports, in conjunction with testimony from NIH and component
leaders, are the foundation for the appropriations process.
The current NIGMS
Congressional budget justification is now available.
Fiscal Year 2006 Funding Trends
As mentioned in the November
2006 issue of the Feedback Loop, we have
prepared NIGMS funding trends data for Fiscal Year 2006
and have posted
the figures.
Working Group on Women in Biomedical
Careers
NIH Director Elias Zerhouni has created and is co-chairing
a working group to examine the barriers facing women scientists
and to develop innovative strategies that can be implemented
to promote the advancement of women throughout the research
community. Details will be posted on the NIH Office of
Research on Women’s Health Web
site.
NIGMS Feedback Loop Wants Your Feedback
NIGMS has produced the Feedback Loop for 2 years.
Do you find it useful and informative? How could it be
improved? Please e-mail your comments and suggestions
to editor Jim Deatherage at deatherj@nigms.nih.gov.
You can read previous issues in the archive.
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