Executive Branch News
NIH Recognizes Sexual and Gender Minorities as a Health Disparity Population
On October 6, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Director Eliseo Pérez-Stable announced the “formal designation of sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) as a health disparity population” for the purposes of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research. The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-525) gives the directors of NIMHD and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) authority to define health disparity populations. The designation follows recommendations of a 2011 Institute of Medicine (IOM) (now the National Academy of Medicine) Committee tasked with assessing the current state of…
National Institute of Mental Health Releases Update of Strategic Research Priorities
On October 12, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released updates to its Strategic Research Priorities, which provides guidance to potential grant applicants, NIMH grantees, and NIMH staff “for the design and implementation of future research.” The priorities address the four strategic areas outlined in NIMH’s 2015 Strategic Plan for Research. The recently released Strategic Research Priorities highlight the use of common data elements, the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project, the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, and NIMH’s experimental therapeutics approach. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIA Alzheimer’s Disease Research: ‘A Wealth of New Opportunities’
In a recent National Institute on Aging (NIA) blog, Inside NIA: A Blog for Researchers, Director Richard Hodes highlighted the latest concept clearances approved by NIA’s advisory committee. Hodes also announced that the Institute expects to release a record number of new funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) over the next several months. He emphasized that the FOAs that are developed from the concept proposals will involve “every NIA division” and, in “a number of cases, two or more divisions will co-sponsor an FOA.” Hodes encourages researchers to examine the list of concepts and begin to think about submitting a grant proposal….
NIH to Develop First NIH-Wide Nutrition Strategic Plan
On October 11, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Nutrition Research Task Force (NRTF) announced that the agency will develop a strategic plan for nutrition research for the next decade. . The strategic plan, to be developed over the next two years, is expected to “emphasize cross-cutting, innovative opportunities to accelerate nutrition research across a wide range of areas, from basic science to experimental design to training.” In addition to soliciting feedback from the public and the scientific community, NRTF will appoint a senior leadership group to guide the plan’s implementation. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NCHS Seeks Comments on Redesign of National Health Interview Survey
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking comments on the redesign of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to be fielded in 2018. NHIS, which has been in the field continuously since 1957, is the “principal source of information on the health of the civilian noninstitutionalized population” of the U.S. According to the Federal Register notice, “the redesign process presents an opportunity to (1) ensure the survey is capturing the current health and health care needs of individuals in the United States and producing data of the highest-possible quality;…
OMB Seeks Comments on Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity
On September 30, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a Federal Register Notice soliciting comments regarding “Review and Possible Limited Revision of OMB’s Statistical Policy Directive on Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.” These standards were last revised in 1997. The Notice observes that since the revisions were implemented, “much has been learned about how these standards have improved the quality of Federal information collected and presented on race and ethnicity.” Accordingly, the Notice identifies areas that may “benefit from further refinement” (see the Notice for full details). Specifically, OMB is seeking…
GAO: Agencies Involved in the Indirect Cost Rate-Setting Process Need to Improve Controls
A September 7 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, NIH Biomedical Research: Agencies Involved in the Indirect Cost Rate-Setting Process Need to Improve Controls (GAO-16-616), includes 12 recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Service’s Cost Allocation Services, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Financial Advisory Services, and the Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research. According to GAO, the recommendations are designed to improve controls over the agency’s indirect cost rate process. GAO was asked to “review the internal controls for overseeing the validity of indirect cost rates for NIH’s research organization.” The study was initiated by…
NIH Launches ECHO Program
On September 21, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the launch of the seven-year Environmental Influences on Children Health Outcomes (ECHO) program designed to “investigate how exposure to a range of environmental factors in early development–from conception through early childhood–influences the health of children and adolescents.” The agency planned to allocate $157 million in funding in fiscal year (FY) 2016 for ECHO. Presenting at the September 21 National Advisory Child Health and Human Development (NACHHD) Council, ECHO Director Matthew Gillman outlined the goals of the study. Gillman noted that the aims for ECHO are consistent with the agency’s goals for the…
NIGMS/NRMN Announces New Web-Based Platform for Mentoring; Highlights Special Journal Issue on Broadening Participation
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced the launch of MyNRMN, part of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). NIGMS manages NRMN for the NIH’s Common Fund Diversity Program Consortium, which in addition to the NRMN includes the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) initiative and the Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC). In a recent NIGMS Feedback Loop blog post announcing MyNRMN, NIGMS staff explained that the new web-based platform is intended to help researchers and students connect professionally and is “designed for scientists at every level.” Additionally, it can be…
NIGMS Director Updates Council on Second Phase of MIRA Pilot
During the September 16 meeting of the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Director Jon Lorsch provided an update on the second phase of a two-part pilot program for funding research supported by the Institute. The goal of the Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award (MIRA) for New and Early Stage Investigators (R35) pilot is to “increase the efficiency and efficacy of NIGMS funding.” Lorsch defined new investigators as individuals who have not had a major NIH grant, and early stage investigators (ESI) as individuals within 10 years of their terminal degree, research, or medical…
NSF Releases Open Government Plan 4.0
Earlier this month, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released the latest iteration of its transparency plan, Open Government Plan 4.0. NSF’s original plan, (version 1.0) was developed in 2010 in response to a 2009 White House directive calling for federal agencies to “implement the principles of transparency, participation and collaboration” across their activities and functions. This newest report, issued last week, reflects updates that have been made to federal guidelines pertaining to open government practices. The plan covers a variety of topics, including specific NSF transparency initiatives, the use of social media for communicating with the public, Freedom of Information…
Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Seeks Input
The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, established by a law passed in March 2016, is charged with producing a report that identifies how the government can enhance its use of data and evidence to improve federal programs and policies, to be delivered to the President and Congress within 15 months of the Commission’s formation. As it begins its work, the Commission is seeking input on existing strategies and practices for generating and incorporating data and evidence into policymaking as well as potential challenges it may encounter. The Commission has requested comments on 19 questions across three broad categories: (1) overarching questions,…
Department of Education Seeks Nominations for National Assessment Governing Board
The Department of Education seeks candidates for four open seats on its National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). The Board sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a nationally representative measure of U.S. students’ knowledge and abilities in core academic subjects. NAEP is broadly recognized as the gold standard in testing. NAGB is composed of 26 members consisting of “governors, state legislators, chief state school officers, a local school superintendent, local and state school board members, principals, classroom teachers, curriculum and testing experts, a business representative, a representative of nonpublic schools, and members of the general public, including…
White House SBS Team Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
On September 15, the White House’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST) celebrated its one-year anniversary. SBST, a group of behavioral scientists within the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), is chaired by the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). It also includes the participation of federal agencies, departments, and White House offices. The 2016 Social and Behavioral Sciences Team Annual Report cites the progress made by the team in implementing President Obama’s Executive Order 13707, “Using Behavioral Science Insights to Better Serve the American People” (see Update, September 22, 2015). The 2016 report…
NIH Department of Bioethics Fellowship Opportunities Available for Fall 2017
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Department of Bioethics is accepting applications for its fall 2017 fellowship program. The two-year post-doctoral and pre-doctoral fellows engage in the activities and “intellectual life” of the Department, as well as study “ethical issues related to conduct of research, clinical practice, genetics, and health policy.” In addition to having access to educational opportunities at NIH, fellows also have opportunities to participate in weekly bioethics seminars, case conferences, ethics consultations, and IRB deliberations. The application deadline for the post-doctoral fellowship is December 31, 2016 and January 15, 2017 for the pre-doctoral fellowship. To view the…
Request for Information Solicits Input on International Trends in Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently released a request for information (RFI) (NOT-HL-16-440) seeking input for an October 2018 conference that will address “international trends in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.” The conference will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the landmark “Conference on the Declining Mortality from Coronary Heart Disease” (CHD). That conference brought together experts from epidemiology, clinical research, cardiology, and public health. Similarly, NHLBI would like to bring experts “in a broad range of fields to consider from a global perspective where we are in terms of understanding the…
Nursing Institute Releases New Strategic Plan
On September 15, the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a new strategic plan, “Advancing Science, Improving Lives: A Vision for Nursing Science.” The new strategic plan was informed by NINR’s Innovative Question (IQ) initiative, which “sought to explore unanswered questions, promote results-oriented research, and guide the science over the next five to 10 years.” Four areas of scientific focus are highlighted in the plan: symptom science, wellness, self-management, and end of life and palliative care. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
DOD Seeks Candidates for Associate Director for Social Science Research
The Department of Defense (DOD) Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research is seeking candidates to fill the position of Associate Director of Social Science Research. This position includes direction of the Minerva Research Initiative. The Minerva Initiative was launched in 2008 as a university-based social science research program. The position will be filled through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act process, so applicants must be the employee of state, local, federal, or tribal government; an institution of higher education; or another eligible nonprofit, and agree to serve a set term in the position. Demonstrated experience with large program…
NSF Seeks Input into Next Strategic Plan
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is in the beginning stages of updating its strategic plan, which it does every four years. Its current strategic plan, Investing in Science, Engineering, and Education for the Nation’s Future, was released in 2014 and runs through 2018. As an initial step, NSF is soliciting comment on the “Vision, Core Values, Strategic Goals, and Strategic Objectives” included in the current plan (2014-2018). Public input can be provided on the NSF website by September 27. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIH Center for Scientific Review Seeks Director for Division of AIDS, Behavioral, and Population Sciences
The National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is seeking a Director for its Division of AIDS, Behavioral, and Population Sciences (DABP). The Director of DABP is a member of CSR’s senior management, advises the Director of CSR and other NIH officials on scientific issues relevant to the Division and its mission, and represents CSR within and outside of NIH. DABP’s director will “provide scientific leadership for the Division, which handles reviews covering the broad fields of AIDS and AIDS related research, biobehavioral and behavioral processes, epidemiology and population sciences, healthcare delivery and methodologies, and risk, prevention…