STEM workforce
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,…
NSB Releases Policy Brief on Career Path of Science, Engineering, and Health PhDs
The National Science Board, which is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF), released a new policy brief featuring an interactive infographic tool allowing policymakers, educators, students, and others to assess career opportunities for those with doctoral degrees in science, engineering, and health fields. The interactive webpage also allows users to see the number of people with doctorates employed in business, government, and academic jobs and how career paths change over time. The tool can be found here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
National Academies to Host Workshop on Graduate Training in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
The National Academies’ Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) is hosting a two-day workshop on Graduate Training in the Social and Behavioral Sciences on June 8 and 9. The workshop is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and will analyze the current employment of PhDs in the social and behavioral sciences, the future of the social and behavioral science workforce, and other relevant topics. A tentative agenda can be found here. Register today. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
SBM Hosts NIH Good Clinical Practice for Social and Behavioral Research Training Course
The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), a COSSA member, is hosting a free National Institutes of Health (NIH) training and certification course for good clinical practice in behavioral and social science research at the request of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program, funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, developed the training material which is comprised of nine video modules. As previously reported, all NIH-funded investigators and staff who are involved in applying for, conducting, overseeing, or managing clinical trials are required, effective January 1, 2017, to…
NIGMS Analyzes RFI Response on Modernizing Biomedical Graduate Education
On November 2, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shared its analysis of the input it received from the scientific community in response to a June 2016 request for information (RFI) (NOT-GM-16-109) on how to “catalyze the modernization of biomedical graduate education through NIGMS’s institutional predoctoral training program.” According to NIGMS, the comments received addressed 28 themes and fell into five categories: institutional and training-related issues, skills development, systemic issues within the research enterprise, careers, and administrative and review issues. The feedback around the issue of diversity and the role of…
NRMN Seeking Applicants for Grant Proposal Writing & Professional Development Coaching Groups
The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) recently announced a new “R01 Resubmission” Grant Proposal Writing Coaching Group, designed for individuals who are resubmitting an R01 (investigator-initiated) grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the spring and summer of 2017. A “nationwide consortium of biomedical professionals and institutions collaborating to provide all trainees across the biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences with evidence-based mentorship and professional development programming that emphasizes the benefits and challenges of diversity, inclusivity and culture within mentoring relationships, and more broadly the research workforce,” NRMN’s specific goal is to enhance the diversity of 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…
2017 National Academies Workshop on Current and Future Training Needs in Social and Behavioral Sciences
In an August 31 blog post, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) Director William Riley announced the convening of a 2017 National Academies workshop that is being sponsored by OBSSR and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate. The workshop will address the current and future training needs in the behavioral and social sciences and responds to the various reports in recent years that “indicate that a majority of behavioral and social sciences doctors are entering research careers in areas outside of the traditional academic research track; and…
More than 300 Social Science Students Selected as NSF Graduate Research Fellows
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced the 2,000 winners of the annual Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program competition. Among the 2016 winners are 311 social and behavioral science researchers from across the U.S. The GRF program provides three years of financial support over a five-year fellowship period for graduate study that leads to a master’s or doctoral research degree in a STEM field, including social science. It is one of NSF’s flagship programs aimed at fostering the next generation of the STEM workforce and ensuring diversity within the workforce. The 2,000 awardees were chosen from about 17,000 total applications….
National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council Approves Concept Clearances
The National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council (NADCRC), the advisory body to the National Institute on Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), held an abbreviated session of its first quarter congressionally-mandated advisory council meeting to accommodate the East coast blizzard. The shortened session included a discussion of proposed research concept clearances to allow the Institute’s program staff to move forward to develop funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) around creation of a mentored translation program and an implementation science and oral health program.
President Obama Proclaims January 2016 National Mentoring Month
On December 31, President Obama issued a proclamation declaring January 2016 “National Mentoring Month” to honor “all those who continuously strive to provide young people with the resources and support they need and deserve.” The proclamation announced the Administration’s recommitment to “building a society in which all mentors and mentees can thrive in mutual learning relationships.” To read the entire proclamation, go here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Comments on NSF Reauthorization; Senate Seeks Input on STEM Workforce
As previously reported, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee spent the summer engaging with scientific stakeholders to inform possible reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act, or legislation authorizing the National Science Foundation (NSF). In July, the Committee put out a request for input on the topic of “Maximizing the Impact of Basic Research.” COSSA submitted detailed comments to the Committee on August 14. The Committee is now seeking input on the topic of “Building a STEM Workforce.” Interested parties are invited to comment on any/all of the following questions: How does the availability of STEM graduates affect corporate decision-making…
NIGMS Releases 2015-2020 Strategic Plan
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) recently released its 2015 -2020 strategic plan. According to NIGMS director Jon Lorsch, the plan outlines the Institute’s priorities and activities, including “the goals, objectives and implementation strategies that the Institute—in partnership with the scientific community at universities, professional societies and other federal agencies—will engage in over the next five years.” Additionally, the plan provides “snapshots” of specific institute priorities and achievements. In his director’s message, Lorsch emphasizes that the Institute continues to place “great emphasis on supporting investigator-initiated research grants” and highlights NIGMS emphasis on “the…
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…
NIH: BD2K MOOC on Data Management for Biomedical Big Data
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applications designed to develop an open, online educational course that complements and/or enhances the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. The funding opportunity announcement (FOA), NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Initiative Research Education: Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Data Management (RFA-LM-15-001), focuses on curriculum or methods development.
SMRB Accepts Working Group Report on Pre-college Engagement in Biomedical Science
On December 15, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB) unanimously approved the Report of the SMRB Working Group on Pre-college Engagement in Biomedical Science. Chaired by Clyde Yancy, Northwestern University, the working group was charged by NIH director Francis Collins “to recommend ways to optimize NIH’s pre-college programs and initiatives that both align with the NIH mission and ensure a continued pipeline of biomedical science students and professionals.” The group released preliminary findings at its October meeting (see Update, October 28, 2014).
NIH Makes Awards to Enhance Diversity of the Scientific Workforce
On October 22, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the awarding nearly $31 million in FY 2014 to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce. The awards are part of a five-year program and will “support more than 50 awardees and partnering institutions in establishing a national consortium to develop, implement, and evaluate approaches to encourage individuals to start and stay in biomedical research careers.” Twelve of the awards will be supported by the NIH Common Fund and all of the NIH 27 institutes and centers and will be part of three initiatives that form the Enhancing the Diversity…