NIH
NIH-Supported Dissemination and Implementation Research Training Institute Seeks Applications
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is supporting a training institute designed to provide participants with a “thorough grounding in conducting D&I [dissemination and implementation] research in health across all areas of health and health care.” The Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH) is open to investigators at any career stage interested in conducting D&I research. The training will be conducted both online and a during two-day in-person training session in Bethesda, MD, from August 14 through December 1,…
House Appropriations Subcommittee Holds Oversight Hearing on Advances in Biomedical Research
On May 17, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) held an oversight hearing to discuss the advances in biomedical research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH Director Francis Collins was accompanied by Institute directors Anthony Fauci (Allergy and Infectious Diseases), Gary Gibbons (Heart, Lung, and Blood), Joshua Gordon (Mental Health), Doug Lowy (Cancer), and Nora Volkow (Drug Abuse). Welcoming the agency before the Subcommittee, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) noted that “investment in NIH has been the key driver in making the United States the world leader of biomedical research…
NIH Announces Major Policy Shift: Agency to Impose Cap on R01s Held by Grantees
On May 2, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins announced that the agency would be initiating a new approach to grant funding designed to “optimize stewardship of tax payers’ dollars.” Essentially, the new policy would limit the number of investigator-initiated (R01) grants held by grantees to three. According to NIH, this change would affect approximately 6 percent of current investigators but would free up resources to support nearly 1,600 additional grants. Announcing the policy change, Collins stressed that the new policy would ensure that the funds given by NIH “are producing the best results from our remarkable scientific…
OBSSR Holds 10th Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honors; Mark Hayward Delivers 2017 Lecture
On April 25, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) hosted its 10th annual celebration honoring Matilda White Riley’s influence in social and behavioral sciences conducted and supported by the NIH. In 2016, OBSSR renamed the celebration Real Life, Labs, Research: Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honors. The ceremony honors a “who’s who of behavioral and social science research,” noted current OBSSR director Bill Riley (no relation). Mark Hayward, Professor of Sociology, Centennial Commission Professor in the Liberal Arts, and director of the Population Health Initiative at the University of Texas…
NIH Office of AIDS Research Issues RFI on FY 2019 Trans-NIH Research Plan
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research (OAR) has issued a request for information (RFI) (NOT-OD-17-053) seeking input from the scientific community on the development of the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Trans-NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research. OAR is statutorily required to develop an annual Trans-NIH Plan that serves as the framework for its trans-NIH HIV/AIDS research budget. As previously reported, in August 2015 NIH released a Notice, NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priorities and Guidelines for Determining AIDS Funding (NOT-OD-15-137), outlining its overarching HIV/AIDS research priorities along with the guidelines the agency will use to determine AIDS funding. High priority research…
HHS Secretary Appears Before House Appropriations Subcommittee, Suggests NIH Budget Cuts to Come From “Efficiencies” in Indirect Costs
On March 29, newly appointed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) former Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) made his first appearance before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Welcoming the Secretary, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) began the hearing by pointing out that the proposed cuts in the Budget Blueprint (aka “skinny budget”) released by the Administration on March 16 “are extensive and span the reach of [the] agency.” Cole asked Price how the Department intends to solve “some of the challenges” the budget poses to HHS, including…
Trump Administration Releases Preliminary Details on FY 2018 Budget
On March 16, the Trump Administration released preliminary, high-level details of its fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request, referred to as a “skinny budget.” Full budget details are expected sometime in May. There are few surprises in the President’s “safety and security” budget blueprint. Major reductions are proposed for nondefense discretionary programs (including research accounts) in order to finance $54 billion in increases for the Department of Defense. Of course, to achieve such a reallocation, Congress would need to act to adjust the budget caps that are currently governing defense and nondefense discretionary spending; the President cannot unilaterally shift funds…
COSSA Testimony Calls for Funding for NIH, AHRQ, CDC, Education Programs
On March 8, COSSA submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The testimony calls for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Institute for Education Sciences (IES), and International Education and Foreign Language Programs (Title VI and Fulbright-Hays). Back to this issue’s table of contents.
OBSSR Director Comments on 2017-2021 Strategic Plan
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Director William (Bill) Riley recently released commentaries on the office’s 2017-2021 Strategic Plan three scientific priorities. Priority One: Improve the synergy of basic and applied behavioral and social sciences research Priority Two: Enhance and promote the research infrastructure, methods, and measures needed to support a more cumulative and integrated approach to behavioral and social sciences research Priority Three: Facilitate the adoption of behavioral and social sciences research findings in health research and in practice. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Ad Hoc Group Issues Statement Responding to the President’s FY 2018 Budget for NIH
COSSA, as a member of the steering committee of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, joined a statement responding to the President’s FY 2018 budget request proposing a 18 percent cut to the NIH’s budget (see related article). The statement calls on “Congress to reject the inexplicable and impractical proposed cuts to NIH and to continue its tradition of investment in medical science.” The Group also stated that it looks “forward to working with lawmakers to finalize an FY 2017 spending package with $34.1 billion for NIH – as approved nearly unanimously by the Senate Appropriations Committee in June…
Friends of NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Submit Statement in Support of OBSSR
On March 9, COSSA, as co-chair of the Friends of NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (Friends of NIH BSSR) with the American Psychological Association (a COSSA founding member), submitted a statement for the record in support of the National Institutes of Health and its Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). The statement emphasizes that the behavioral and social sciences are integral to the NIH mission and highlights the fact NIH supports behavioral and social science research throughout its 27 institutes and centers. The Friends of NIH BSSR is a coalition of professional organizations, scientific societies, and research…
Senate Committee Holds Hearing: “Saving Lives Through Medical Research”
While Congress has not yet completed its work on fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations, Congressional committees have begun holding hearing on agencies’ FY 2018 budgets. On March 8, the Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) held a hearing, “Saving Lives Through Medical Research,” to discuss the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Hearing witnesses included Thomas J. Grabowski, Jr., University of Washington School of Medicine; Timothy J. Eberlein, Washington University, St. Louis; Jennifer M. Sasser, University of Mississippi Medical Center; and Stacey Schultz-Cherry, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Lawmakers’ Priorities
Reviving the Appropriations Committee’s tradition of holding hearings to allow members of Congress to testify on their priorities within a subcommittee’s jurisdiction, on March 1, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) heard testimony from Members of Congress on their priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2018. Throughout the course of the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) continually urged members to “continue to advocate for their priorities.” Otherwise, Cole cautioned, the Subcommittee would have to “live within the allocation” it is given by the budget committee….
NIA Issues RFIs for Alzheimer’s Disease Bypass Budget and on Enhancing Timely Sharing of Data
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued two requests for information (RFI). The first is a time-sensitive RFI, Planning for NIA’s FY 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Bypass Budget (NOT-AG-17-005). The Institute is seeking comments and input for the Institute’s use in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Bypass Budget (ADBB), particularly in identifying and establishing research priorities for the FY 2019 ADBB. The ADBB is congressionally mandated via the FY 2015 Consolidated and Furthering Continuing Appropriations Act. NIH is further mandated to update the ADBB annually through FY 2025. In addition…
NIA Seeks Applicants for its 2017 Butler-Williams Scholars Program
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is accepting applications for its 2017 Butler-Williams Scholars Program. The Institute is particularly interested in receiving applications from emerging researchers, “including those who may have had limited previous involvement in research on aging.” An activity within the NIA Office of Special Populations, the program emphasizes its interest in researchers involved and/or interested in health disparities research related to aging. Applications are due by March 24th, 2017. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Joins Scientific Community in Urging Approval of NIH FY 2017 Budget
On February 7, COSSA joined 260 patient, medical, scientific, academic, and research organizations of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research in sending a joint letter and fact sheet to the President and the House and Senate leadership. The letter urges the enactment of a final FY 2017 spending package that includes $34.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Federal agencies and programs are currently operating under a continuing resolution that expires on April 28. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Date Change: 10th Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honors
The date for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) 10th Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honors has been changed to April 25 on the NIH campus. The Honors program pays tribute to the “research trajectory and continuing influence of Dr. Matilda White Riley in the behavioral and social sciences across and beyond” the NIH. For more information about the program see the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research’s website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIH’s All of Us Research Program Issues Funding Opportunity
The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) All of Us Research Program (formerly the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program) within NIH Office of the Director has issued a new funding opportunity for organizations interested in helping engage volunteers. The funding opportunity is open to national and regional organizations, as well as local community groups. The program is designed to support activities to promote enrollment and retention in the All of Us Research Program across diverse communities. All of Us, unlike the majority of NIH-supported research, is not focused on a particular disease or population. The program is intended to “serve as a…
National Institute on Aging Seeks Input on Timely Data Sharing
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking input from the scientific community on “ways to enhance the timely sharing of high-quality data generated by NIA-funded studies.” Accordingly, the Institute has issued a request for information (RFI) (NOT-AG-17-001) regarding “unique considerations” that might exist for this research as well as what the extramural research community believes are “the primary characteristics of successful data-sharing resources and strategies.” The information received by the institute will be used to inform its future policy development. Comments are due April 15, 2017. For more information and/or to comment…