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Dr. Sally Rockey Named Acting NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research
Within NIH, and within the Extramural Research Community, it is important to remind ourselves of the NIH mission: “science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.” As I assume the role of Acting NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, I would like to affirm my unwavering commitment to this mission.
We are optimistic that the critical work of NIH will continue full steam ahead, due to the unfaltering commitment of our Staff and the Extramural Community to science that improves health worldwide. Some of the most pressing issues we will continue to vigorously address as we move forward are:
- • The continued enhancement of the Peer Review process;
- • The maintenance of robust support for New and Early Stage Investigators; and
- • The development of resolutions regarding the NIH oversight of Financial Conflict of Interest issues at extramural grantee organizations.
Finally, I would like to stress that I am very excited about developing
a dialogue with NIH staff and the Extramural Community. I hope
you will find during my term as Acting Director of OER that I am accessible, and have a good sense of humor and an open mind. I look forward to communicating with you
through the Nexus and other channels as together we find solutions to the
challenges that await us.
- Sally Rockey, Ph.D.
Acting NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research
Dr. Sally Rockey joined the NIH in late January 2005 as the OER Deputy Director. Dr. Rockey’s career has been in extramural and electronic research administration. Prior to arriving at NIH, she was the Chief Information Officer at the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES), U.S. Department of Agriculture. In that role, she provided leadership for and managed all aspects of the agency’s information technology and software applications, spearheading the successful reconstruction of its IT environment.
Prior to the CIO role Dr. Rockey spent sixteen years in various positions in research administration at CSREES, including leading the competitive extramural research arm of the Agency. With a background in research administration, IT and all things extramural, she was a natural match to OER. In her relatively short time at NIH, Dr. Rockey has either lead or closely participated in an extremely broad array of projects: from leading the transition from paper to electronic applications; acting as the NIH Research Integrity Officer; and contributing to nearly every major initiative set forth by the Office of Extramural Communication. There is little doubt that the diversity of roles Dr. Rockey has held will be of great benefit as she helps NIH and OER address their current challenges. |
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NIH Acting Director Testifies on Role of Biomedical Research in the Economic Stimulus
Dr. Kington spoke on “The
Role of Biomedical Research in the Economic Stimulus.” His testimony affirmed
that the NIH mission is dedicated to seeking scientific knowledge to improve
the health of all citizens. He then described how NIH grant-making and contracting
activities support salaries, equipment, and infrastructure in all 50 States
and discussed how the enactment of the FY 2009 Budget would enable NIH to focus
on priority research areas. |
Change in New Investigator Policy Designed to Encourage Early Transition
to Research Independence
An Early Stage Investigator (ESI) is a New Investigator who is within 10 years
of completing a terminal research degree or of completing medical residency
(or the equivalent). ESI applications will be identified and the career stage
of the applicant will be considered at the time of review and award. NIH hopes that by providing a focus on ESIs, we will be able to
directly encourage earlier application for NIH research grant support. Peer
reviewers will be instructed to concentrate more on the proposed method of research
and to expect less preliminary data than might be provided by an established
investigator. In addition, many NIH institutes and centers will give special
consideration to ESI applications; while in some cases, grant periods for
ESIs may be longer. For additional details on this new policy please see NIH
Guide Notice NOT-OD-08-121.
New
Investigators can update degree information in their eRA Commons profile immediately,
and after January 17, 2009, the Commons will be ready to accept residency
completion dates as well. New investigators who do not yet have an eRA Commons
account must work through the sponsored research office or its equivalent
at their institution in order to establish an account and complete a profile.
Investigators who enter degree and residency completion dates will be notified
of their ESI status by e-mail.
- Click here to find out more about updating your personal profile
- Work through your sponsored research office if you need an eRA Commons
account
- After January 17, return to your profile to add your residency completion
date
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Updated Timeline for Implementation of Key Actions in the NIH Peer Review System
Applications submitted to the NIH for grants or cooperative agreements to
support biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit
through the NIH peer review system. In June 2007, NIH initiated a formal, agency-wide
effort to review the NIH peer
review system. After careful deliberation and
consideration of the recommendations resulting from this year-long effort,
an initial implementation timeline for enhancing peer review was announced
earlier this year (NIH
Guide Notice NOT-OD-08-118). Below is the updated timeline
for implementation of key actions in the NIH peer review system.
January 2009 Receipt Dates
(FY2010 funding) |
- Early Stage Investigator and New Investigator Policy
(NOT-OD-09-013)
- New NIH Policy on Resubmission (Amended) Applications
(NOT-OD-09-003) |
May 2009 Review Meetings
(FY2010 funding) |
-9-Point Scoring System
-Formatted Reviewer Critiques
-Scoring of Individual Review Criteria
-Enhanced Review Criteria
-Cluster New Investigator Applications During Review |
January 2010 Receipt Dates
(FY2011 funding) |
-Shorter applications for R01s and Other Mechanisms
- Restructured Applications to Align with Review Criteria |
Questions should be directed to EnhancingPeerReview@mail.nih.gov. For more information on NIH’s Enhancing Peer Review effort visit http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/. |
Prepare Now for the Switch From PureEdge to Adobe
In September 2008, the NIH
Extramural Nexus announced the upcoming arrival
of new Adobe-based application forms for electronic submissions. The article
alerted readers that most electronic submissions to NIH on or after January
1, 2009, must use the new Adobe-based forms (see the full Adobe
transition timeline for more dates and details). As the winter holidays rapidly approach,
we realize that our January transition date is right around the corner. Consequently
the time to prepare for the switch from PureEdge to Adobe is NOW!
Adobe-based application packages will become available
after the first week of December 2008. Applicants should download the new application from the
FOA for which they are applying after December 5, 2008.
We remind you that the new Adobe-based forms require very specific software.
To ensure a smooth transition, everyone who will work on an application must
download Adobe Reader version 8.1.3 or later – available at no cost from Grants.gov – and use it to open and complete their application(s). Non-compatible versions
of Adobe Reader will prevent successful submission to Grants.gov; make sure
to install compatible software before you begin your application!
Detailed information about the transition and additional resources can be
found at the following links:
NIH initially intended to accommodate multiple form changes in conjunction
with January’s move to Adobe; however, a delay in receiving the revised forms
has prompted us to modify our schedule. (For a list of planned form changes,
see Guide
Notice # NOT-OD-08-073). This means that applicants will need
to return to their respective FOAs in April to download the latest version
of the Adobe-based application forms for receipt dates of May 2009 and beyond.
Remember: Although the software has changed, the electronic submission process
has NOT. The new Adobe forms will have the same look and feel as PureEdge
forms, and the overall process of finding opportunities, preparing forms
and submitting applications will remain the same. |
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FCOI Tutorial Now Includes Certificate Capability
OER has recently added the
capability for users to print a certificate of completion of the Financial
Conflict of Interest Tutorial; so if you have already taken it, revisit it
to print our your certificate. If you have not yet taken the tutorial, do
so as soon as possible!
The tutorial, developed to help ensure that research
is carried out without bias and with the highest standards of integrity, is
designed for use by institutional officials responsible for managing NIH-funded
grants, cooperative agreements, and/or contracts and for individuals who are
responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting of NIH-supported research.
We hope this tutorial proves to be a useful educational tool and, although
not a requirement, NIH strongly encourages all NIH-funded investigators to
take it.
Even if you have already taken the tutorial, you may want to revisit
it, refresh your memory, and print your certificate of completion. The tutorial
may be accessed on the Office of Extramural Research Conflict of Interest
Page at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/coi/index.htm. For more information
on this important topic, consult the Frequently
Asked Questions document on
the OER Web site or contact FCOICompliance@mail.nih.gov. |
2009 NIH Regional Seminars Announced: Atlanta and Las Vegas
Make plans today for attending one of the 2009
NIH Regional Seminars on Program Funding and Grants Administration. Over 25 HHS and NIH policy, grants management,
review and program staff members will be on hand to provide a broad array
of expertise and insight related to federal regulations and policies, and provide
the fundamentals of the grants process, peer review, NIH initiatives, and
more. In addition, optional NIH Electronic Research Administration (eRA) hands-on
computer workshops for Principal Investigators and administrators are offered
in conjunction with the seminar, providing attendees with hands-on experience
in how to interact electronically with NIH. Anyone interested in the NIH grants
process should consider attending, including sponsored project office and
departmental administrators, PIs, graduate students, etc.
April 16-17, 2009
– Atlanta, GA - (Registration is open.) eRA computer workshops will be offered
on Wednesday, April 15, 2009. This seminar is co-hosted by Georgia State University
and Georgia Institute of Technology.
June 25-26, 2009 – Las
Vegas - (On-Line
Registration will be available in mid-December.) eRA computer workshops will
be offered on Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Co-ambassadors for this event are
the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Nevada, Reno.
These
seminars provide an opportunity for participants to gain a better perspective
of NIH policies and programs, network with their peers, obtain helpful NIH
contacts, and to return to their offices and/or labs with inside information
into obtaining and managing NIH awards. Since these seminars are only provided
twice a year, they traditionally reach capacity prior to
the event—so please register early. We look forward to sharing the 2009
seminars with you. For more information, visit the NIH Office of Extramural
Research Regional Seminar Web site at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/seminars.htm. |
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2008: A Year of New E-Tools for Grants Processing
In fiscal year 2008, eRA registered 3.7 million logins to its eRA Commons system from 171,000 users around the world.
In that period, the NIH Electronic Research Administration (eRA) unveiled an extensive number of high impact business process changes to benefit the
extramural user community and internal NIH staff, including:
- Allowing grantees to electronically report identification
of Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI), which will help grantee institutions
analyze and track FCOI reports (October 2008). See previous Nexus article: NIH
Encourages Use of New Electronic Process for Reporting Financial Conflicts
of Interest
- Providing a decision tool to aid in the assignment
of grant applications (October 2008): eRA, in partnership with the Center for Scientific Review
(CSR), launched a pilot to provide a decision tool to aid in the assignment
of grant applications to CSR Integrated Review Groups. The Automated
Workflow Referral System suggests CSR review committees that might
be a good match for a particular application.
- Processing of electronic training
grant appointments through xTrain (June 2008): xTrain is an electronic tool
for processing training grants appointments, also known as National Research
Service Award institutional research training grants, that support predoctoral
and postdoctoral research training.
- Securing grant application information (May 2008): Implemented password protection and encryption of the compact
disks containing grant application information given to reviewers.
- Permitting
multiple simultaneous active applications until time of award (January 2008):
Allowed more than one active grant application to be in the eRA system,
thereby allowing both the original and the amended application to be in
play for funding consideration
- Introducing electronic reporting of reviewers’
conflict of interest (December 2007): Introduced electronic Conflict of
Interest forms for reviewers to indicate whether they have a conflict with
the grant applications they are reviewing.
- Moving NIH a step closer to
paperless grant files (October 2007): Introduced the ability for review,
receipt & referral and grants management
staff to upload supplemental material to the grant folder.
In fiscal year 2009 eRA will accommodate electronic submission of Career Development
Awards (Ks), Fellowships (Fs) and Training (Ts) grant program applications;
implement Peer Review changes and more! Look to a future Nexus for details. |
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Notable OER Staff Changes
- Lisa Evans, Esq., has joined the NIH Office of Extramural Research as
the agency’s first Scientific Workforce Diversity Specialist. For the past
six years, Ms. Evans served as the Senior Advisor for Policy at the National
Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Ms. Evans is an experienced
litigator who worked in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice
for six years, and was a Pro Se Law Clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Second Circuit in New York City. Ms. Evans earned her B.A. from
Amherst College and her J.D. from Columbia University.
- Della Hann, Ph.D., will be joining the Office of Extramural Research to
serve as Interim Deputy Director. Dr. Hann brings over 17 years of NIH experience,
first serving as a program officer and most recently as Director, Office
of Science Policy, Planning and Communication in the National Institute
of Mental Health.
- Ann Hardy, Ph.D., has been appointed Extramural Human Research Protection
Officer in the Office of Extramural Programs (OEP), Office of Extramural
Research (OER). Dr. Hardy will provide leadership on the overall administration
of human subject protection issues related to NIH extramural research and
will advise senior OER and NIH leaders on relevant human subject policy
issues. Prior to joining OER, Dr. Hardy served as a Scientific Review Officer
in NIH’s Center for Scientific Review for 7 years, in the Health of the
Population Integrated Review Group (HOP IRG) where she established the Biostatistical
Methods and Research Design study section. She also served for 3 years
as the Deputy Chief of the HOP IRG. Before coming to NIH, Dr. Hardy spent
17 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention working in the
HIV/AIDS Program and at the National Center for Health Statistics.
- Mr. Pete Morton has been appointed as the Acting Director for the OER Office
of Research Information Systems. He previously served as the Acting Program Manager of
eRA. Mr. Morton’s new position adds the responsibilities of the ORIS Division
of Information Systems (DIS) and the ORIS Security Office. Before arriving
at NIH, Mr. Morton completed his Master’s Degree in Theoretical Solid State
Physics. He joined NIH as a health physicist in the Clinical Center and,
after several years, moved to the Center for Information Technology (CIT). At CIT for 30 years, Mr. Morton managed the development of the original Electronic Council Book and the QVR systems.
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