NIH Nexus – April 2019

April 25, 2019 • NIH Nexus

How Many Researchers? …Revisited…the FY 2018 NIH’s Cumulative Investigator Rate

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Mike Lauer

In March 2018, we showed data suggesting that, despite still being in a state of hyper-competition (as described in this post), the severity may be lessening. The number of unique applicants for NIH research project grants (RPGs) appeared to stabilize after many years of uninterrupted growth. Furthermore, a person-based metric, called the cumulative investigator rate, started to rise in fiscal year (FY) 2015 for RPGs after declines in previous years. Continue reading →

Association Between Receiving an Individual Mentored Career Development (K) Award and Subsequent Research Support

By Mike Lauer

NIH’s career development K awards intend to help early career scientists become independent. These awards afford the recipient protected time for research, publishing, and generating new ideas. As part of ongoing efforts to take a data driven approach to managing NIH programs, my colleagues within the NIH Division of Biomedical Research Workforce (DBRW) in the Office of Extramural Research sought to determine whether K awards might be achieving this goal, and published their findings in Academic Medicine last December. Continue reading →

NIH Annual Snapshot – FY 2018 By the Numbers

By Mike Lauer

We recently released our annual web reports and success rate data with updated numbers for fiscal year 2018. These web products represent annual snapshots of NIH research investments, which are highlighted in this post. Continue reading →

CMS Seeks Input on Interoperability and Patient Access Proposed Rule and RFIs

By Mike Lauer

Medicare and Medicaid claims data are a uniquely valuable, rich source of health information available to the NIH research community for observational and interventional research. On February 11, 2019, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to advance interoperability and patient access to health information. In addition, CMS released two RFIs to obtain feedback on interoperability and health IT adoption in post-acute care settings, and the role of patient matching in interoperability and improved patient care. Continue reading →

New Resources

Get the Latest on an NIH Institute or Center’s Funding Strategies

Interested in the latest funding policies from your favorite NIH Institute or Center (IC)? Find funding strategies for each NIH IC, in addition to NIH fiscal policies and budget overview, on our NIH Funding Strategies page. Use this information as you prepare your application to better understand NIH’s approach to grant funding and stay updated on key budget policies. Continue reading →

The Protocol Template for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Involving Humans Is Here

A new Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Template is now available to guide investigators through the systematic development of a comprehensive clinical protocol. The new template, based on the previously released Phase 2 & 3 Clinical Trial Template, is fully integrated into the NIH’s Clinical e-Protocol Writing Tool, and can be used by behavioral and social science researchers to prepare research protocols for human studies measuring a behavioral or social outcome, or testing a behavioral or social science based intervention. This template may be especially helpful to investigators who are less familiar with the information and the level of detail that is required in a clinical protocol. Continue reading →

New “All About Grants” Podcast on Using RePORT Web Tools Throughout the Grants Process

You probably know the NIH RePORT suite of tools as a useful hub of information where you can find reports, data, and analyses of NIH-funded research and answers to the most commonly asked questions on the NIH budget and extramural research programs. But do you know RePORT can be a helpful tool as you are developing your grant application? Continue reading →

Stay Updated on NIH Systems Changes Impacting Application Submission Through Award

What do a snow sled, a waltz, and an oriole have in common? They’re all mentioned in past eRA Items of Interest, a newsletter that delivers practical advice for using eRA services, and maybe even a smile or a laugh. Stay up to date on eRA Items of Interest and more by subscribing to the eRA-Information-L listserv. Continue reading →

You Ask, We Answer

Looking for Help Developing Your Biosketch?

The biosketch provides an opportunity for each senior/key person listed in an NIH grant application to describe why they are well-suited for their role(s) in the project. If you have never written a biosketch for an NIH grant application or need to brush up and look at a sample or the instructions, continue reading →

Where Should I Address the Inclusion Across the Lifespan Policy in My Application?

Applicants should include a rationale for the age range of study participants and justification for age-based exclusion in the Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children section of the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information Form (Section 2.4). This section will continue to have the heading “Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children” until the next forms update. See the instructions under Inclusion of Children in the application guide for additional information. Continue reading →