Search Results: AI
Anti-Science COMPETES Bill Heads to House Floor
On April 23, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee passed along party lines (19 Republicans to 16 Democrats) the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806). According to Committee Chairman and sponsor of the legislation Lamar Smith (R-TX), H.R. 1806 is a “pro-science and fiscally responsible bill.” It prioritizes basic research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), while keeping funding levels within Congressionally-set discretionary spending limits. For NSF, the bill would increase funding for the Biological Sciences (BIO), Engineering (ENG), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and Computer…
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.
NIH: Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award Program
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is inviting applications to stimulate innovative collaborative research in the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium. Because translating biomedical discoveries into clinical applications is essential to improving health and at the same time a complex process with high costs and substantial failure rates, the CTSA hubs are designed to promote advances in translational research and training at participating medical research institutions. NCATS recently released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA), Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award Program (PAR-15-172), to enable collaboration among…
Events Calendar
Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 21-25, 2015 Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, San Antonio, TX, April 22-25, 2015 Population Association of America Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, April 30-May 2, 2015 American Association for Public Opinion Research Annual Conference, Hollywood, FL, May 14-17, 2015 Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, May 28-31, 2015 OBSSR 20th Anniversary Celebration, Bethesda, MD, June 23-25, 2015 A list of COSSA members’ annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA website. COSSA members who have an upcoming event they would like to see listed in…
NIH Appoints Working Group for Precision Medicine Initiative
In March, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins appointed a team of individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director (ACD) Working Group on the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI). The Working Group is expected to host public meetings to seek public input into the development of President Obama’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative. This group will help the NIH define “what can be learned from a study of this scale and scope, what issues will need to be addressed and considered as part of the study design, and what success would look like five and ten…
House COMPETES Bill Targets Social Science
On April 15, House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith introduced the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806). This is legislation to reauthorize the National Science Foundation (NSF). The bill is scheduled for a markup by the full House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on Wednesday, April 22. While there are some noticeable changes from the bill that the scientific community rallied against last year (known as the FIRST Act), the new bill, authored by Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, continues to challenge the value of social and behavioral science research and restricts NSF’s ability to drive its own research agenda. COSSA strongly opposes…
AHRQ 2014 Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Shows Improved Overall Quality and Access, Lingering Disparities
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released its congressionally mandated report to Congress on the status of health care quality and disparities in the U.S. In past years, this information has been released as two separate reports (the National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report). For 2014, AHRQ has chosen to combine the two into the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR). The agency believes that combining the reports “highlights the importance of examining quality and disparities together to gain a complete picture of health care.” The 2014 report is shorter and more…
BTS Releases Annual Report
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has released its 2013 Transportation Statistics Annual Report (TSAR), which provides detailed information on the U.S. “transportation system, the system’s performance, its contributions to the economy, and its effects on people and the environment.” The congressionally mandated report provides detailed information and identifies data gaps on the extent of the U.S. transportation system, its physical condition, how it moves people and goods, its performance, transportation economics, transportation safety, the energy and environment, and the state of transportation statistics. The scope of the report is large: the U.S. transportation system is valued at $7.7 trillion…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 6
Featured News COSSA Remembers Janet Norwood COSSA in Action COSSA and Partners Encourage Strong FY 2016 Appropriations Congressional News Members of Congress Call for Increased FY 2016 Funding for NSF, International Education House Subcommittee Discusses CDC Budget; Director Questioned on Gun Violence, HIV/AIDS Research Federal Agency & Administration News Nominations Sought for USPSTF Members White House Releases Antibiotic Resistance Action Plan National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Strategic Visioning Initiative Seeks Scientific Community’s Input RFI: Proposed Funding Priorities for Neuroscience Research, Input on High Impact and Cross-Cutting Opportunities RFI: Optimizing Funding Policies and Other Strategies to Improve the Impact and…
Members of Congress Call for Increased FY 2016 Funding for NSF, International Education
In a March 24 letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, 136 members of the House of Representatives called for $7.724 billion in funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) for fiscal year (FY) 2016, a funding level COSSA supports. The letter, which was organized by Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) and David McKinley (R-WV), states, “As our competitors across the globe invest in developing modern and inventive labor forces, our country will fall short if we fail to invest in research now. We must commit to strengthening our research capacities and prepare future generations to…
Nominations Sought for USPSTF Members
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is inviting nominations for individuals to serve on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The USPSTF is an independent body of experts that makes evidence-based recommendations about the effectiveness of clinical preventive services and health promotion. Qualified nominees will have demonstrated expertise in the following areas: (1) critical evaluation of peer-reviewed research; (2) clinical prevention, health promotion, and primary health care; and (3) implementation of evidence based recommendations in clinical practice. In addition, expertise in the following areas is also desirable: Behavioral medicine Public health Health equity and the reduction of…
White House Releases Antibiotic Resistance Action Plan
On March 27, the White House released the National Action Plan for Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. The Action Plan outlines “federal activities over the next five years to enhance domestic and international capacity to prevent and contain outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infections; maintain the efficacy of current and new antibiotics; and develop and deploy next-generation diagnostics, antibiotics, vaccines, and other therapeutics.” The plan is consistent with an initiative in the President’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2016 that would allocate $1.2 billion to combatting antibiotic-resistance (see COSSA’s analysis). Back to this issue’s table of contents.
RFI: Proposed Funding Priorities for Neuroscience Research, Input on High Impact and Cross-Cutting Opportunities
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is seeking input from the scientific community on how the Blueprint might best accelerate discovery in neuroscience research. Specifically, the request for information (RFI), Proposed Funding Priorities for Neuroscience Research, Input on High Impact and Cross-Cutting Opportunities (NOT-NS-15-020), is seeking suggestions regarding how future Blueprint investments can have a broad impact on neuroscience and serve the interests of the 15 participating NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices that support research on the nervous system.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Strategic Visioning Initiative Seeks Scientific Community’s Input
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking the scientific community’s input in its Strategic Visioning Initiative. To help determine NHLBI’s future direction, the Institute is seeking the community’s participation in an “ongoing process that will inform its priority setting, decision making, and resource allocation.” The purpose of the Initiative is to develop the Institute’s priorities for the next decade. In the video launching the initiative, NHLBI director Gary H. Gibbons explained that he is asking the NHLBI community to help identify the most compelling questions and critical challenges that the…
New AAAS Study Investigates the Social Responsibilities of Scientists
The notion that scientists have a responsibility to society that goes beyond their responsibilities to the profession is long-standing. While there is a growing literature concerning the issues encapsulated by the phrase “social responsibility of scientists,” a review of that literature reveals many and sometimes competing views. What is more, to date there has been no empirical basis on which to define the content and scope of such social responsibilities. It is within this context that the AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition, of which COSSA is a member, and the AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program decided…
Events Calendar
Southwestern Social Science Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, April 8-11, 2015 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 16-20, 2015 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, April 16-19, 2015 Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 21-25, 2015 Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, San Antonio, TX, April 22-25, 2015 Population Association of America Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, April 30-May 2, 2015 American Association for Public Opinion Research Annual Conference, Hollywood, FL, May 14-17, 2015 Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, May 28-31, 2015 A list of COSSA…
Let Out Your Inner Behavioral & Social Scientist – OBSSR Issues Call for Videos
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2015. The celebration includes a call to social and behavioral scientists to submit videos that showcase their research. The best videos will be featured at the OBSSR 20th Anniversary Research Symposium on June 25, at the NIH William H. Natcher Conference Center and on the OBSSR’s website throughout 2015. A letter of intent to submit a video is required by April 15, 2015. The deadline for submission is May 15, 2015.
NIMH Releases Strategic Plan for Research
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently released its Strategic Plan for Research which will guide the Institute’s research priorities over the next five years, from basic science of the brain and behavior, to public health impact. This plan updates the objectives of the 2008 strategic plan. Its aim is to balance the need for long-term investments in basic research with urgent medical health needs.
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…
NSF Releases Public Access Plan
On March 18, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released a framework for increasing public access to federally-funded scientific research results made possible through NSF support. The plan aligns with a 2013 memorandum issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which called on each federal agency to develop public access plans. The NSF plan calls for “versions of record” or final manuscripts accepted to peer-reviewed journals to be deposited into a publicly accessible repository (designated by NSF) and be available for download free of charge within 12 months of initial publication. The guidance will apply to new awards in 2016….