Executive Branch News
NIA Director Expresses Appreciation for NIH and NIA FY 2016 Budgets
National Institute on Aging (NIA) director Richard Hodes acknowledged âexciting newsâ reflected in the FY 2016 budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and specifically for NIA in a January 6 blog post. Noting the $2 billion (6.6 percent) increase for the NIH for FY 2016, Hodes underscored that the increase provided a boost of approximately 33 percent for NIA, including the $350 million in funding allocated for research on Alzheimerâs disease (see COSSAâs omnibus analysis). Notwithstanding the resources dedicated to Alzheimerâs research, NIAâs FY 2016 budget provides a 4.2 percent increase to the institute, âthe largest increase to…
NIH Discusses the Science of Self-Management
In 2015, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) and the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Opportunity Network (OppNet) jointly convened a panel of ten experts to âdiscuss basic psychosocial mechanism and processes involved with self-managementâ of disease and other related conditions. The science of self-management has grown exponentially over the last several decades. During this time, the NIH has provided support for clinical- and community-based interventions and programs related to the management of acute and chronic illnesses, including asthma, arthritis, diabetes, heart failure, and HIV/AIDS. In particular, the National Institute of…
Documenting Endangered Languages Webinar â January 19
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will hold a free webinar in January 19 to provide details on the joint NSF/NEH Documenting Endangered Languages (DEL) program. The webinar is intended for researchers who are considering submitting a proposal to the program; the next deadline for DEL proposals is September 15, 2016. Registration is required for participation. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
BTS Releases 2016 Pocket Guide to Transportation
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has published its 19th annual Pocket Guide to Transportation. The 2016 Pocket Guide provides quick reference information on the transportation system and covers topics such as infrastructure, moving people and goods, performance, economy, safety, and environment. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
President Obama Proclaims January 2016 National Mentoring Month
On December 31, President Obama issued a proclamation declaring January 2016 âNational Mentoring Monthâ to honor âall those who continuously strive to provide young people with the resources and support they need and deserve.â The proclamation announced the Administrationâs recommitment to âbuilding a society in which all mentors and mentees can thrive in mutual learning relationships.â To read the entire proclamation, go here. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Albert Bandura to be Awarded National Medal of Science
In December, President Obama announced the recipients of the 2013 and 2014 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nationâs highest honors for discoveries and advancements in science and technology. Among the 2014 recipients is Albert Bandura of Stanford University, who will receive the National Medal of Science in Behavioral and Social Science. Bandura is a social cognitive psychologist, known best for the âBobo doll experiments,â and whose work pioneered âsocial learning theory,â which stresses observation, imitation and modeling as central components of learning. Bandura and the other honorees will be receive their medals at…
NIH Strategic Plan, PMI Cohort, HIV/AIDS, and Big Data Discussed at NIH Advisory Committee Meeting
The December 10-11 meeting of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) included an update on the progress of several high-profile initiatives NIH is developing, including the Congressionally-mandated NIH-Wide Strategic Plan, the Presidentâs proposed Precision Medicine Cohort Program, assessment of the NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priorities, and the NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2k) program.
NSF Defends Research Targeted in GOP Waste Reports
Two reports released in recent weeks by Republican policy makers point to hundreds of federally-funded activities they deem to be wasteful and unworthy of taxpayer support. Included in the reports are peer-reviewed research projects supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). Sen. James Lankfordâs (R-OK) Federal Fumbles claims to identify â100 ways the government dropped the ball,â poking fun at six NSF grants and two NIH grants, among dozens of other projects. A second report was released just last week by Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Wastebook: The Farce Awakens. Flakeâs report is said to…
NIH Launches Next Phase of ECHO/Childrenâs Study Follow-On
On December 7, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins announced the next funding phase of the agencyâs Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, which includes seven new funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). ECHO is designed to comport with the goals of the National Childrenâs Study (NCS) (see Update, November 3, 2015) and is being implemented via a series of funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). It is expected that the ECHO program will be supported by and build on recent awards NIH made in September (see Update, September 4, 2015). A nationwide search is underway for an ECHO program manager. In the…
BEA Releases State-Level Consumer Spending Data
For the first time, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will begin regularly releasing official statistics detailing consumer spending by state. The data will include total consumer spending in each state, breakouts of consumer spending in specific categories and sectors, and per-capita consumer spending from 1997 through 2014. BEA began releasing prototype estimates in 2014; previously, only national consumer-spending data was available. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Deadline for Comments on Common Rule NPRM Extended
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced that it will extend the period for public comment on the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (otherwise known as the Common Rule) by 30 days. The new deadline is January 6, 2016. A summary of the major changes to the regulations proposed in the NPRM is available here. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
NIH Issues Notice Clarifying its Health Economics Research Priorities
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a Guide Notice on November 25, to âclarify NIH policy related to funding health economics research,â in an effort to delineate NIHâs âpriority areas of health economics research as well as reach aims that generally fall outside of the NIH mission.â The notice is part of an ongoing issue that dates back to 2012 Congressional language in the Fiscal Year 2013 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill that bans the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from supporting economics research. Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) responded to the language, along with 82…
NIH Issues Funding Opportunity to Support the PMI Cohort Program Direct Volunteer Pilot Studies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking proposals for pilot studies and âthe needed information technology support for the development of the Direct Volunteer component of the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program.â The agency plans to build a ânational research cohort of one million or more volunteers who are engaged as partners in a longitudinal, long-term effort to identify the molecular, environmental and behavioral factors that contribute to diverse diseases, to facilitate the development and testing of novel therapies and prevention approaches, and to pioneer mHealth [mobile health] strategies for improving the efficacy of health care.â To that…
NIH Seeks Input for Alzheimerâs Disease-Related Dementia 2016 Plan
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) within the National Institutes of Health recently released a time-sensitive requestâfor-information (RFI) (NOT-NS-15-045) seeking the input of the scientific and broader community regarding the âmost important needs and promising opportunities for researchâ on Alzheimerâs Disease-Related Dementia (ADRD). The information received will be used to update the National Plan to Address Alzheimerâs Disease, which is congressionally mandated to be updated annually (see Update, August 10, 2015). Additionally, the RFI announces a March 29-30, 2016 ADRD 2016 Summit sponsored by NINDS…
NIDA Announces New Challenge: âAddiction Research: Thereâs an App for thatâ
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a new Challenge/Prize Competition, “Addiction Research: There’s an App for that.” The objective for the challenge is to âpromote the development of innovative mobile applications (apps) for future addiction studies.â According to the notice, three prizes may be awarded: $50,000 (first place); $30,000 (second place); and $20,000 (third place). The NIDA Challenge is enabled by the DHHS IDEA Lab program. Challenge partners include U.S. General Services Administration; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Sage Bionetworks;…
NCATS Issues RFI for Input into Strategic Plan
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking the scientific communityâs input into the development of its five-year strategic plan. This is NCATSâ first strategic plan since its creation in the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-482). Accordingly, NCATS has issued a request for information (RFI), âSoliciting Input for the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Strategic Planning Processâ (NOT-TR-16-002). NCATS âfocuses on what is common across diseases and the translational processâ emphasizing âinnovation and deliverables, relying on the power of data and new technologies to…
OBSSR Hosts Seminar on Video Games and Neuroscience
Neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley, University of California, San Francisco, discussed his research and what he described as âthe new frontiersâ in video games and neuroscience. The November 5 presentation was part of the NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Seminar Series, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). Gazzaley noted that humans have longed been consumed with achieving high-level performance, particularly when it comes to physical fitness. However, when it comes to the human brain and improving âthose core functions that are really fundamental to what makes us humansâhigher order cognitive ability, perception,…
NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Seeks Input on 2016-2020 Strategic Plan
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) has issued a request for information (RFI) (NOT-OD-16-018) seeking the broad input of the scientific community and the public, including academia, industry, health care professionals, patient advocates and advocacy organizations, scientific and/or professional organizations, and other federal agencies regarding the scientific priorities that should be considered as it begins its strategic planning process to update the Officeâs 2007 strategic plan for FY 2016 â FY 2020. OBSSR is congressionally mandated to âcoordinate research conducted or supported by the agencies of the NIH; and identify projects of…
NIH Announces Plans for ECHO Program
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued a notice, Announcement of NIH Plans for the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program (NOT-OD-16-015), detailing the agencyâs plans for program, also known as the National Childrenâs Study (NCS) alternative (see Update, July 17, 2015). The agency reports that it intends to âsupport multiple synergistic, longitudinal studies using extant maternal/pediatric cohorts that represent a broad range of environmental exposures,â including behavioral and social exposures. According to the notice, âall longitudinal studies will collect a standardized, targeted set of data (Core Elements), such as demographics, normative development, patient/person reported outcomes (PRO),…
HHS Seeks Comments on New Objectives Proposed For Healthy People 2020
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking comments on the proposed new objectives for Healthy People 2020. The Department intends to use the comments to âshape the framework, objectives, and targetsâ of the initiative. Comments are being sought in the areas of family planning; preparedness; social determinants of health; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health. Additionally, the Department invites suggestions of âadditional objectives for consideration that address critical public health issues within the existing 42 topic areas of Healthy People 2020.â Comments will be accepted through November 13, 2015. More information is available here. Back to…