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NIH Seeks Comments on Proposed Alternative to National Children’s Study
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is inviting comments on its proposed plan for the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program and has issued a time-sensitive Request for Information (RFI). Background The ECHO program responds to the NIH’s decision to discontinue the National Children’s Study (NCS) in December 2014, per the recommendations of a working group of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) of NIH (See Update, December 19, 2014). NIH emphasizes that in keeping with the spirit of the NCS, ECHO aims to address the critical goal of understanding the impact of environmental influences on children’s…
21st Century Cures Act Passes the House with Bipartisan Support
On July 10, the House of Representatives passed the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6) by a 344 to 77 vote. In addition to reauthorizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for three years, the bill as passed would provide $9.3 billion in advanced appropriations for fiscal years (FY) 2016-2020 for a new NIH Cures Innovation Fund and $110 million annually for the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulatory modernization activities. (See COSSA’s analysis of the bill here.)
Members of Congress Address NIH Precision Medicine Working Group Workshop on Digital Health Data and Research Cohort Design
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) addressed a special session of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Advisory Council to the Director (ACD) Precision Medicine Initiative Working Group at the Public Workshop, Digital Health Data and Research Cohort Design, on the campus of Vanderbilt University on May 28-29. The workshop is part of series by the ACD Working Group and builds on the April 28-29 workshop held on the NIH campus that focused on the development and implementation of a large national cohort, as well as identification of the unique scientific questions and opportunities of using such…
NIH: Input Sought on Precision Medicine Cohort
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking feedback from the scientific community via a Request for Information (RFI): NIH Precision Medicine Cohort (NOT-OD-15-096) to guide it in creating a longitudinal cohort of one million or more Americans who have volunteered to participate in research as part of the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) (see Update, April 21, 2015). Specifically, the agency is seeking information on characteristics, purpose, or other overall aspects in the development and implementation of a large U.S. precision medicine cohort. As participants in PMI, individuals will be asked to give consent for extensive characterization of…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 7
Featured News House COMPETES Bill Targets Social Science Federal Agency & Administration News NIH Appoints Working Group for Precision Medicine Initiative AHRQ 2014 Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Shows Improved Overall Quality and Access, Lingering Disparities BTS Releases Annual Report Funding Opportunities NIH: Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award Program COSSA Member Spotlight PAA/PRB Briefing Explores the Changing Landscape of Marriage Events Calendar View the archived email.
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 5
Featured News Summaries Available from COSSA Annual Meeting COSSA in Action COSSA Joins Coalitions Requesting Strong FY 2016 Appropriations Congressional News House Funding Panel Discusses NSF Budget, Social Science Funding House Appropriations Funding Panel Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services Discusses NIH Budget Senate HELP Committee Examines ‘U.S. Leadership in Medical Innovation,’ NIH/FDA Budgets House Panel Discusses Department of Education’s FY 2016 Budget Request Federal Agency & Administration News NSF Releases Public Access Plan NIGMS Releases 2015-2020 Strategic Plan White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team Seeks Fellows and Associates Publications & Community Events COSSA/CPR Sponsor “NIH 101” Congressional…
House Panel Discusses Department of Education’s FY 2016 Budget Request
On March 4, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to discuss the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request for the Department of Education. Subcommittee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) opened the hearing by noting the “education of America’s children is critical, not only to prepare them for the workforce, but to strengthen the economic health of our nation as a whole.” Cole noted that he also sits on the House Budget Committee and expressed his hope for a bigger deal between Congress and the Administration…
NIH: Mobilizing Research – A Research Resource to Enhance mHealth
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NBIB), and the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) designed to support the development of Mobilizing Research, a research resource that would allow researchers to more efficiently and rapidly evaluate mobile and wireless (mHealth) technologies. Mobile and wireless health technologies offer the potential to transform and advance research, prevent disease, improve diagnosis, treatment, and…
21st Century Cures Act Discussion Draft Released
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) released a discussion draft of the 21st Century Cures Act on January 27. The draft bill is the culmination of a year of hearings and roundtable discussions held by the Committee. Its release was accompanied by a section-by-section discussion of the document and a one-pager highlighting the legislative ideas. The Committee has repeatedly stated that the draft is a “starting point in the legislative process to spur discussion.” Accordingly, they are seeking public feedback on the proposals. The Committee also cautioned that the “inclusion of a policy in the draft should…
Senators Release Innovation for Healthier Americans Report, Request Feedback
On January 29, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Richard Burr (R-NC), released Innovation for Healthier Americans: Identifying Opportunities for Meaningful Reform to Our Nation’s Medical Product Discovery and Development. The report addresses challenges to getting safe treatments, devices, and cures to patients more quickly and effectively, looking specifically at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
HELP Committee Approves Strengthening Education through Research Act
On January 28, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed the Strengthening Education through Research Act (S. 227). The bill reauthorizes the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA). ESRA authorizes funding for the research activities of the U.S. Department of Education, including the Institute for Education Sciences (IES). The legislation would authorize an appropriation of $612 million for fiscal year (FY) 2016 and $3.2 billion between 2016-2020 to support federal educational research, statistical analysis, and other activities.
Public Comment Sought for Death Master File Certification Program
On December 30, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register for the establishment of a certification program to “certify” persons to access Death Master File (DMF) information about an individual within three years of that individual’s death. The new program would replace the temporary certification program in place since 2013. The deadline for comments has been extended to March 30. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIH: BD2K Biomedical Science Training Coordination Center
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applications for a coordination center designed to narrow the gap between the availability of biomedical big data and the ability of biomedical scientists to utilize such data accurately, effectively, and efficiently. The funding opportunity announcement, NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Biomedical Science Training Coordination Center (RFA-ES-15-004), responds to increasingly large, diverse, and complex biomedical datasets. These datasets tax conventional methods for sharing, managing, and analyzing data. Researchers’ abilities to capitalize on biomedical big data science-based approaches are limited by poor data accessibility and interoperability, the lack of appropriate tools, and insufficient…
Events Calendar
American Historical Association Annual Meeting, New York, NY, January 2-5, 2015 Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 2-5, 2015 American Economic Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, January 3-5, 2015 Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, January 8-11, 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, Washington, DC, March 9-10, 2015 A list of COSSA member annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA web page. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Gilbert White Lecture Focuses on Reducing Losses from Natural Hazards
The National Academies’ Board on Earth Sciences and Resources held its annual Gilbert F. White Lecture in the Geographical Sciences on December 4. Susan Cutter, Distinguished Carolina Professor at the University of South Carolina (and a past president of COSSA), delivered the lecture, which focused on “Why More Knowledge Is Not Reducing Natural Hazard Losses.” She explained that despite huge increases in our knowledge of the physical processes and social forces that interact during natural disasters, losses from such events have only grown.
NIH: Cancer Institute Releases Series of Funding Announcements
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently released a series of funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) designed to enhance the diversity of the NCI-funded cancer research workforce. The awards support individuals from groups that have been shown to be underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral, social, and clinical sciences. The Institute notes that a major obstacle to developing a stronger national health disparities cancer research effort has been the lack of significant strategic training programs for students and scientists. It further notes, “Greater involvement of students and scientists from underrepresented backgrounds is integral to a successful national cancer research effort involving more underserved…
2015 COSSA Annual Meeting & Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day
Join us for our 2015 Annual Meeting and first-ever Social and Behavioral Sciences Advocacy Day! The meeting will feature presentations from federal agency leaders and other officials and will provide an excellent opportunity to network with others from throughout the social and behavioral science research community. New in 2015 will be the first-ever Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day in which COSSA members will have an opportunity to educate their elected officials about the value of social and behavioral science research and the importance of federal funding.
NIH Seeks Comments on Draft NIH Policy on Dissemination of NIH-Funded Clinical Trial Information
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking comments on its draft policy “to promote broad and responsible dissemination of information on clinical trials funded by the NIH” through registration and submission of summary results information to ClinicalTrials.gov. NIH has a number of policies designed to promote the distribution of research results and guide funding recipients in disseminating their results, including the NIH Data Sharing Policy, the NIH Public Access Policy, the NIH Research Tools Policy, and the NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy. According to the NIH, a recent study found that the results of less than half of NIH-funded…
NSF Releases Report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science
The National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) has released its biennial report, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, which provides statistical details on women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering education and employment. The data in the 2013 Digest, which is released every two years as mandated by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act (Public Law 96-516), are publicly accessible online and organized by the following themes: enrollment, field of degree, employment status, occupation, academic employment, and persons with disabilities. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
National Science Board Launches New STEM Education Resource
On October 28, the National Science Board released a new online resource, STEM Education Resource, where the public can access data on the STEM workforce, including college degrees in STEM fields and jobs in science-related occupations. The interactive tool provides data points, graphics, maps, and other resources to allow users to learn about national trends in STEM, connecting them to the data in the 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators produced by the National Science Board. Check out the tool here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.