• NIH Announces Changes to Enhance Peer Review (posted June 9, 2008)

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., announced on June 6th at the 96^th Meeting of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) critical changes to enhance and improve the NIH peer review system.

View the related press release: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2008/od-06.htm

More details on these changes are described in a .PDF document distributed at the meeting.  You may view this file at http://www.etsu.edu/research/NIH_Peer_Review_Implementation_June_08.pdf 

More information on the Enhancing NIH Peer Review initiative is available online:  http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/
 

• Policy requires scientists to submit final, peer-reviewed manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to PubMed Central

Overview

The NIH Public Access Policy ensures that the public has access to the published results of NIH funded research. It requires scientists to submit final, peer-reviewed manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/). The Policy requires that these articles be accessible to the public on PubMed Central to help advance science and improve human health.

Specifics

1. The NIH Public Access Policy applies to all peer-reviewed articles that arise, in whole or in part, from direct costs ¹ funded by NIH, or from NIH staff, that are accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008. 

2. Institutions and investigators are responsible for ensuring that any publishing or copyright agreements concerning submitted articles fully comply with this Policy.

3. PubMed Central (PMC) is the NIH digital archive of full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles.  Its content is publicly accessible and integrated with other databases (see: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/).

4. The final, peer-reviewed manuscript includes all graphics and supplemental materials that are associated with the article. 

5. Beginning May 25, 2008, anyone submitting an application, proposal or progress report to the NIH must include the PMC or NIH Manuscript Submission reference number when citing applicable articles that arise from their NIH funded research. This policy includes applications submitted to the NIH for the May 25, 2008 due date and subsequent due dates.

What Investigators Should Do

1. Make sure that any copyright transfer or other publication agreements allow the final peer-reviewed manuscripts to be submitted to NIH in accordance with the Policy.

Some publishers make the final published version of every NIH-funded article publicly available in PubMed Central within 12 months of publication, without author involvement. See http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm for a list of these journals.

For any journal other than one of those in this list, the author must:

1. Inform the journal that the final peer-reviewed manuscript is subject to the Public Access Policy when submitting it for publication.
2. Make sure that any copyright transfer or other publication agreement allows the final peer-reviewed manuscript to be submitted to NIH in accordance with the Policy. For more information, see the FAQ Whose approval do I need to submit my article to PubMed Central? and consult with your Institution.
3. Submit the final peer-reviewed manuscript to NIH, upon acceptance for publication. See the Submission Process for more information.

2. When citing their NIH-funded papers in NIH applications, proposals or progress reports, authors must include the PubMed Central reference number for each article.

For more information on these processes, see http://publicaccess.nih.gov/ and http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm

Important Dates

1. As of April 7, 2008, all final peer-reviewed manuscripts arising from NIH funds must be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication.
    
2. As of May 25, 2008, NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports must include the PubMed Central reference number when citing a paper that falls under the policy and is authored or co-authored by the investigator, or arose from the investigator’s NIH award. This policy includes applications submitted to the NIH for the May 25, 2008 due date and subsequent due dates.

See also  http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-033.html

• PI Commons ID

Some creative applicants are trying to get around the eRA Commons registration requirements by “borrowing” a PI Commons ID from a colleague. This sleight of type may help you pass the system checks, but NIH has equally clever staff in Receipt and Referral that will catch you at the next check point (you know, the point where real people are looking at the application and making decisions). Using the Commons ID of a different individual will result in that individual being listed as the PD/PI for the grant application in the NIH data system and that individual will have access to the review outcome and summary statement.  A PI’s Commons ID should be regarded as their NIH PIN number – it belongs to the Principal Investigator only!

By submitting an application you are certifying that the contents are true, complete and accurate. Please plan ahead and get the necessary accounts in place prior to submission.

• Unique Applications Deserve Unique Names

Did you know that a “New” application must have a different title from any other application with the same PD/PI? NIH has had several cases reported to the help desk where PD/PIs have tried to reuse the title provided in the “Descriptive Title of Applicant’s Project” field (field #11 of the SF424 (R&R) form). Before you call foul, they did significantly change the specific aims of the project. The eRA Commons system did just what it was supposed to do – it replaced the first application submitted with the second. Application titles must be unique…it says so in the Application Guide so it must be true!

• The NIDA Plans to Reissue an RFA for the Genes, Environment, and Development Initiative (GEDI), supporting research investigating the etiology of drug abuse. (posted Sept. 10, 2007)

The reissue will be in the fall of 2007, with review and funding expected by the end of fiscal 2008 (September 2008), to augment the Genes, Environment, and Development Initiative (GEDI).  This initiative will support research investigating interactions among genetic, environmental, and developmental factors in the etiology of drug abuse. 

Prior lines of research have established that genetic, environmental, and developmental factors all contribute to vulnerability to drug experimentation, use, and progression to abuse and dependence and to the transitions among these stages.  Numerous high quality longitudinal and developmental datasets are currently available which provide a wealth of individual-level, familial, and other environmental data on individuals who are at risk for, or are in the course of development, progression, and desistance of, drug abuse.  Studies qualifying for submission under this Request for Applications will be longitudinal in design; cover at least two developmental periods; assess subjects in or through the period of risk for drug abuse; have rich environmental data; include categorical and quantitative measures of both drug abuse and relevant psychiatric or behavioral phenotypes; and will have the ability to collect and share DNA, and to join the NIDA Genetics Consortium http://www.nida.nih.gov/about/organization/Genetics/consortium/index.html. 

Proposals are expected to demonstrate sufficient power to study main effects and interactions, and to include plans and datasets for replication.  Where data are pooled across studies or used for replication, reasonable comparability will need to be shown.  The investigative teams are expected to be interdisciplinary, with the appropriate expertise to address these complex interactions.  Funded research is expected to yield a richer understanding of the true contributions of and interactions among individual, environmental and transitional factors in the etiology of drug abuse and, ultimately, lead to improved preventive and treatment interventions for these complex and costly disorders.  The previously released RFA can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-07-012.html, and includes a link to frequently-asked questions with further details.

This notice was officially published at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DA-07-023.html.

• Research on Interventions for Child Abuse and Neglect (R01) (posted August 22, 2007)

NIH is soliciting research project grant (R01) applications focused on conducting efficacy and effectiveness trials of child abuse and neglect interventions at various levels.  Given the public health need for children and families who experience the negative effects of child abuse and neglect, interventions in which preliminary developmental/exploratory work has already been undertaken, and pilot studies, or in some cases efficacy trials, have demonstrated positive change are strongly encouraged.  (For those interventions that need preliminary research, applicants should consider additional mechanisms, which are used to establish efficacy, including the R21 and R34, as appropriate.) 

Of particular interest is the development of large scale trials designed to target either or both the victims or perpetrators of child abuse and neglect, including preventive interventions. Child abuse and neglect is a complex public health issue likely caused by a myriad of factors, including individual-, family-, and community-level elements.  Thus, a research program focused on understanding and addressing these problems must necessarily draw upon interdisciplinary theories and approaches. 

One of the goals is to bring together multi-disciplinary and translational perspectives encompassing basic biomedical, behavioral and social science research in mental health, physical health, public health and prevention, alcohol and substance abuse, neurology, injury, trauma and child development, to advance our knowledge of child abuse and neglect.  Only projects proposing rigorous scientific research designs will be considered; service demonstrations or other types of service programs are not eligible for funding under this program.

Application Deadline:  February 5, 2008
Earliest Date an application may be submitted:  December 7, 2007

For the full announcement, see:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-07-437.html
 

• Grants.gov Extends Transition Time for Agencies  (June 29, 2007)

Although originally targeting the end of FY2007 to have all agencies transitioned to the new Adobe-based forms, Grants.gov has extended the time provided to agencies to fully transition to the new format into 2008. This is great news for both agencies and applicants. The additional time allows Grants.gov to complete their development and testing of the new forms and provides agencies with greater flexibility in how they approach the transition. Our shared goal is the smoothest transition possible for our applicants.

NIH’s transition to the Adobe forms remains on hold while we wait for Grants.gov to finalize the SF424 (R&R) form set. NIH does not expect to be positioned to post new application packages with the Adobe-based forms this summer. So, just keep using the current Grants.gov forms until we hear otherwise from NIH. They’ll continue to keep us posted on their progress through their electronic submission listservs. Once the transition plans are finalized, formal announcements also will be posted in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts and in the NIH Extramural Nexus.
 

• eSubmission Application Viewing Window & Federal Holidays

NIH has reevaluated its policy of including Federal holidays in the two weekday window provided to applicants to view their assembled application prior to it moving forward for review and funding consideration. Effective immediately (thus including July 4, 2007), Federal holidays will be excluded from the two weekday application viewing window.  See NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Announce Change in Electronic Submission Process – Federal Holidays Excluded from Application Viewing Window for additional information.
 

• The May 2007 NIH Public Bulletin is online  (May 11, 2007)

Read about the latest public events, activities, and health information resources from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the May 2007 issue of the NIH Public Bulletin. Here’s your opportunity to:

• Find out what happened at the spring meeting of the NIH Director’s Council of Public Representatives.
• Learn about the newly appointed NCRR and NIDDK Directors.
• Participate in a teleconference about cancer clinical trials.
• Read the summary of a research workshop on children with hearing loss.
• Discover a new lecture series on the frontiers of environmental sciences.
• Find out how you can join in Healthy Vision Month and other activities in May.
• Take an online diabetes risk test.
• Check out a new monthly podcast series on women’s health issues.

View the latest issue of the NIH Public Bulletin at:  http://getinvolved.nih.gov/newsbulletins/default.asp?issue=May2007. 

For prior issues, visit http://getinvolved.nih.gov and click on "All Issues".

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• NIH:  Delegation of PI Status Access to Assistant for Electronic Application Review (May 11, 2007)

PIs can now delegate the ability to view the status of electronically submitted applications to any commons-registered individual with an ASST role.  This new menu choice is found in Admin menu by selecting Account/Delegate Status. Once in the Delegate Status screen, users will see a list of all individuals registered with the ASST role and can “Delegate” and “Remove” delegation for those individuals.  For detailed instructions on how to delegate this authority see eRA Commons Release Notes Version 2.9.2.2.

Once this delegation has been granted, the ASST will be able to view and access the list of applications associated with the PI.  Individuals can have this authority delegated to them by more than one PI. The view these delegated individuals will have is equivalent to that of a signing official (SO View) and does not include access to confidential information; e.g., summary statements and priority scores.

To anyone that shared their account login information (you know who you are), please use the delegate authority option and change your passwords immediately. Good security practices benefit everyone!

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• NIH Announces Changes to eRA Commons (May 11, 2007)

NIH Announces Changes to eRA Commons, Particularly the Electronic Streamlined Non-competing Award Process (eSNAP) Function (see NOT-OD-07-064).  The notice covers changes to institutional profile assurances/certifications, changes to eSNAP functionality and other Commons updates. You can find out about assurances and certifications in Part III: Policies, Assurances, Definitions of the NIH Grants.gov Application Guide SF424 (R&R).

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• NIH:  Issue and Resolution with NoA letter (May 11, 2007)

Due to a problem with eNotifications after the deployment of the new Notice of Award (NoA), about 500 NoA emails were not sent to grantees during the week of April 16th.  The grantee eNotification problem was fixed and all of the missing NoA eNotifications from the week of April 16th were sent out on May 9th.  NIH is also aware of a problem with the NoAs not appearing in the correct format in eRA Commons, and is working on a resolution and hopes to correct the problem soon.  

For more information about the new NoA, please refer to the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Notice Number NOT-OD-07-060.

Questions regarding this NoA issue should be directed to the eRA Commons Help Desk:

Web: http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/eRA/ (Preferred method of contact)
Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552
Phone: 301-402-7469
TTY: 301-451-5939
Hours: Mon-Fri, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time

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• New NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide  (May 1, 2007)

The National Science Foundation has recently published a new NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 07-140).  This document comprises two previously standalone NSF policy documents, the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) and the Grant Policy Manual (GPM), combining them into a single electronic policy framework.  The new NSF Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (NSF 07-140) will be effective for proposals submitted on or after June 1, 2007.  This document supersedes all prior versions of the GPG and GPM and can be accessed at:  http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07140.

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• National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the revision of the NoA lettter (May 1, 2007)