November 27, 2006
News Articles
Opportunities and Resources
Advice Corner
New Initiatives
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News Articles |
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February D-Day for Electronic R01s
In the spirit of bureaucratic nimbleness, NIH gave the February R01 receipt date the thumbs up for both electronic application and the multiple principal investigator option. See the next article for information on the latter.
Goodbye Paper R01s
Our big R01 transition date, February 5, is almost at hand as we gear up for record numbers of electronic applications. NIH is confident the systems can handle the load and meet processing targets of two days for Grants.gov and one day for eRA Commons.
Should there be technical issues, rest assured you will not be penalized.
Be sure to download the Grant Application Guide from the R01 funding opportunity announcement -- as always, do not use a previous version. Read the Parent R01
November 20, 2006, Guide notice for all the details you will need to apply.
After the transition, you will apply electronically for both new and renewal applications. More R01 opportunities will be forthcoming. To learn about them, visit the Guide and our Funding Opportunities and Announcements page, and sign up for  Email Alerts.
AIDS R01s Convert Later
For the upcoming receipt cycle, AIDS applications will still use the paper PHS 398 since the next AIDS receipt date is January 2, which is before the February 5 transition date for other R01s.
Find receipt dates on NIH's Standard Due Dates for Competing Applications table and transition information on the Electronic Submission Timeline.
More Electronic Application News
- NIH is switching to Version 2a-Forms and instructions for the SF 424 R&R.
- This version accommodates the multiple PI option and new appendix instructions (see articles below) as well as other changes marked with purple text.
- Though NIH will not redo existing announcements, all FOAs posted from now on will use the new version. NIH is making analogous changes to the PHS 398.
- If you use a Mac, check out the new information at Options for Macintosh Users.
- If you're new to electronic application, consider watching NIH's training session on December 5; go to the Agenda. You don't need to register to view the video on NIH VideoCasting.
Coming Soon: PI Proliferation
Right on schedule, NIH made the investigator-friendly decision to allow more than one PI for most electronic applications, including R01s.
As other grant types switch to electronic application, you'll be able to have multiple PIs for those as well. Some initiatives that still use paper application will also permit more than one PI, so check each announcement carefully.
For details, read the new November 20, 2006, Guide notice and our previous article, "Get a Feel for Multiple PI Leadership Plans." NIH had told you about its plans in the February 7, 2006, Guide notice.
New Rules for Application Appendices
As of January 3, 2007, NIH will be changing some practices for Appendices for all funding opportunities.
Publications
- If a manuscript or abstract is public, always link to or reference it in the text. Don't include a copy in the Appendix or elsewhere in the application.
- You will be able to submit only three publications, including abstracts, in the Appendix, and they must be either:
- Accepted for publication but not published.
- Published but not on a free, public Web site.
- Relevant to a patent.
- Each project of a multiproject application may include up to three publications.
Images
- For an electronic application, put graphic images of gels, micrographs, and other items in the Research Plan, not the Appendix. Follow the Grant Application Guide for size and resolution information.
- Paper PHS 398 applications may include full-sized glossy photographs in the Appendix and must also have a legible image in the Research Plan. NIH prefers that you send them as PDFs on a CD in lieu of paper.
As has always been true, your Appendix may include questionnaires, data collection instruments, clinical protocols, and informed consent documents.
If you can't submit your materials electronically or convert to PDF, contact your scientific review officer. Read the November 17, 2006,
Guide notice for details.
Would You Like to See Shorter R01s?
It's time to speak up. After hearing from you, NIH will decide whether to reduce the 25-page limit for R01 Research Plans. Many applicants and reviewers feel that such a move would make peer review more effective by focusing reviewers more on ideas and significance and less on experimental details.
Trimmer plans may also help NIH recruit and retain qualified reviewers by lowering the burden on our hundreds of volunteer reviewers -- see our soon-to-be-updated Thank You Members of NIAID Peer Review and Advisory Committees list.
An NIH committee is also actively gathering information from the extramural research community and exploring options.
Please send NIH your opinion of this potential change by January 5, 2007. For details, read the November 9, 2006, Guide notice.
CMS Proposes Rule on Part D Data
A proposed rule would give NIH-funded researchers access to Medicare prescription drug data. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services suggests allowing the use of claims information collected for Medicare Part D for research and other public health purposes.
Send your comments by December 18, 2006. Read more in the October 18, 2006, Federal Register notice and the October 13, 2006, press release.
Comment on FDA Public Hearing
On December 18, FDA will hold a public hearing on its preparation for electronic submission of regulatory information and creation of an electronic platform. Comments are due by December 12. Read more in the November 16, 2006, press release.
No Need to Change Lab Animal Standards
After reviewing responses to NIH's recent request for information, a working group of 12 PHS scientists found no need to update the performance standards of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Some people did suggest ways to make the guide more user-friendly. For more information, read the Report on the Review of Responses to and Recommendations concerning Request for Information:
Standards for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the November 9, 2006, Guide notice.
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Opportunities and Resources |
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Find Foundations to Support Your Research
You asked for it: a list of grant funding organizations outside NIH whose areas of science mesh with NIAID's.
With Javascript enabled, you can filter our Foundations and Other Funding Sources List by category using the pull down boxes. You can also search the page using the Control-F key combination in most browsers.
To create the list, we searched the Web using keywords such as immunology, infectious disease, and training and career awards; we excluded foundations that appeared to be purely local. We also read through the Community of Science's Funding Opportunities Sponsors list, picking the most relevant of the more than 12,000 sponsors listed.
With so many funding sources to pick from, deciding what to put in and leave out was a challenge. We would appreciate your comments and suggestions -- please email us at deaweb@niaid.nih.gov.
Merck to Extend Vaccine Training Centers in Africa
Merck & Co. is establishing new training centers to expand its Merck Vaccine Network – Africa. Created in 2002, the project educates African vaccine program managers in vaccine management and immunization services in support of the GAVI Alliance.
Academic institutions that have successfully competed for funded projects in the U.S., E.U., and elsewhere are invited to apply for up to $200,000 a year and up to $800,000 for four years of funding. They will collaborate with eligible academic institutions in Africa to develop the programs. For more information, read the request for applications.
Building on the success of the first sites in Kenya and Mali, the Merck Company Foundation will fund another one or two centers through its new RFA. Visit Merck Vaccine Network – Africa for more information on the program.
Brazil's Young Scientist Program
If you're under age 35, you may want to apply for funding to attend the Young Scientist Forum on May 21 to 25, 2007, in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Winners will receive:
- Up to $1,000 for travel.
- Free accommodation.
- Free registration.
- An invitation to present your work.
Undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral trainees, and other young researchers are encouraged to apply. Selection is based on scientific merit, and scientists of any nationality and from all fields of biochemistry and molecular biology are eligible. The deadline is December 21, 2006.
The Young Scientist Forum will take place during a joint meeting of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Brazilian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
For more information, call
Alicia J. Kowaltowski, coordinator of the Young Scientist Forum, at +55 11 3815-5798 or
email sbbq@iq.usp.br.
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Advice Corner |
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Reader Question: When Are eSNAPs Due?
A reader asks:
"The Commons Status screen says my eSNAP is due 60 days before my grant's budget start date. But aren't eSNAPs due 45 days before that date? Isn't the screen wrong?"
You're right; eSNAPs -- electronic streamlined noncompeting award process, a.k.a., progress reports -- are due 45 days before your grant's budget start date. Paper progress reports are due 60 days ahead of that date.
In this case, you shouldn't go by the date shown on the Status screen. Find the correct due date in the eSNAP section; then check under your grant number.
If you spot a discrepancy like this, report it to the eRA Commons Help Desk so they can look into the problem and make sure your eSNAP's correct due date is in the system.
Read more about eSNAPs in the eSNAP (Electronic Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process) SOP.
Resubmissions: What to Do After Two Attempts?
Grant budgets and paylines are diminishing, and your application just misses the payline -- again. As you may know, you can only revise it twice before you must submit a new application.
Applicants grapple with how much to revamp their research so NIH considers a submission to be a new application.
In its November 13, 2006, Guide notice, NIH defines a new application as "substantially different in content and scope with more significant differences than normally encountered in a resubmitted application." That means major changes to all parts of the Research Plan, including the questions asked, outcomes examined, or both.
Because of the tight budget situation, NIH is exploring whether to allow investigators to submit a third revision. This is still under discussion, however, and for now you must follow the existing policy. We understand your frustration and will keep you posted if any changes take place.
Read more of our advice in Part 11b. Not Funded, Reapply in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
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New Initiatives |
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