Southeastern Louisiana University

NIH Releases New Grants Policy Statement

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants Policy Statement — which answers just about every question regarding the management of NIH awards — was revised this month. The new guide is applicable to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2011. (Note that the October 2010 GPS should be used as the standard set of terms and conditions for NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011.)

While the new GPS does not introduce new material for the first time, it does incorporate new and modified requirements, clarify certain policies, and implement changes in statutes, regulations, and policies implemented during FY 11. A summary of significant changes is available online. NIH publishes interim grants policy changes in the NIH Guide.  Direct specific questions to the NIH Division of Grants Policy at GrantsPolicy@mail.nih.gov.

Pass It on to Faculty: Research Writing Advice

The Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau hosted a webinar on preparing successful manuscripts on March 9, 2011. The presenters - two leading journal editors - provided advice on choosing a research question, planning a study, selecting research methodologies, preparing a manuscript, and submitting manuscripts for publication. The strategies presented have broad applicability across disciplines and audiences, and incorporate many of the principles of effective grant proposal writing. A recording <http://altarum.adobeconnect.com/p23437399/> of the webinar is available online.

February 2010 - The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Research Integrity has posted an interactive movie and facilitator’s guide on research misconduct entitled "The Lab: Avoiding Research Misconduct.”  To view this movie or download the guide go to http://ori.hhs.gov/TheLab.

Mapping Your Career with NIH (NIH-Posted 2/11/11)

Early career researchers: check out a recent Webinar conducted by the NIH Loan Repayment Program. The presentation will help you learn which NIH training grant, fellowship or career development award is right for you. The recording is about an hour in length, with a significant portion at the end dedicated to audience questions and answers.

New Podcast: Navigating a Funding Announcement (NIH-Posted 2/10/11)

Our All About Grants podcast series continues with a new episode on what key things to look for as you are reading through a funding opportunity announcement. Dr. Chris Hatch helps you navigate, section-by-section, so be sure to download a recent announcement before you listen and follow along.

To get new podcasts as they are released, subscribe by visiting NIH on iTunes or catch our podcast RSS using your favorite software.

New Podcast on Writing the Cover Letter (NIH-Posted 2/24/11)

In the past few podcasts we’ve helped you find the right funding opportunity announcement and walked you through it. Now it’s time to start writing, and our next episodes will take you step-by-step through each component/section. First, the cover letter—it may be the last thing you write, but it is one of the first things we see. It’s not just a formality. Listen to “Composing Your Cover Letter” and find out why.

To get new All About Grants podcasts as they are released, subscribe by visiting NIH on iTunes or catch our podcast RSS using your favorite software.

Proposals and Other Resources Added to NIH Site (1/11)

Four researchers who wrote "exceptional" R01 applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) using the new, shortened format -including a 12-page research strategy section - have shared them as a resource on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [website]

(http://funding.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/grant/pages/appsamples.aspx).

In addition, NIAID has continued its new investigator series <

http://funding.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/grant/pages/newpiportal.aspx#nl>  with advice on "Starting to Write Your Application," which covers the specific aims section of the research plan.

NSF Solicits New Body of Social Science Research

The "science of broadening participation," or SBP, is the subject of a new dear colleague letter <

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11023/nsf11023.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click>  from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. By stimulating research in this area, NSF says its goal is to "provide policy makers with the evidence needed for informed decisions" about barriers and pathways to broader participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

In FY 11, NSF's behavioral and cognitive sciences <

http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=BCS>  and social and economic sciences <

http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=SES>  divisions will accept SBP proposals submitted to their standing programs. Applicants should submit to the most relevant standing program and note "SBP" at the beginning of the proposal title.

Collaboration among natural and physical scientists and SBP researchers is encouraged, since the aim is to identify strategies most likely to improve the representation and participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in all disciplines in the STEM pipeline.

Potential applicants should consider research questions such as these:

- What role does geographic and demographic change play in the way that racial, ethnic, and cultural groups interact socially?

- Under which conditions do social, economic, and socio-legal factors influence recruitment and retention into STEM education?

- What aspects of learning environments and workplace culture moderate the effects of the underrepresentation of minorities, women, and persons with disabilities?

- What data sources are needed for identifying and tracking the progress of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, and for hypothesis testing, and how can we make them accessible to researchers?

- What approaches are successful in ensuring that women do not lose interest in science during adolescence?

- How do social, political, economic, psychological, or other forces affect the identity and aspirations of underrepresented groups?

- How can an understanding of explicit and implicit attitudes held by both majority and minority individuals be useful in attempting to reduce prejudice and discrimination in the recruitment, and retention of underrepresented groups in STEM fields?

- What socio-cultural and developmental variables have an impact on parental involvement in children's education, and what is the evidence that can be applied to affect these influences?

- What behavioral processes result in economic outcomes that are associated with success in STEM?

- What are the implications of linguistic relativity for interest and achievement in STEM?

Kellina Craig-Henderson, director of the NSF Social Psychology program, is available to answer general questions about the SBP initiative by e-mail at khenders@nsf.gov. Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their SBP research ideas with the director of the most relevant NSF program prior to the submission of a proposal.

What Every NSF Applicant Should Know - 2011 Changes

On November 22, 2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF) issued

frequently-asked questions <

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/faqs11_1.pdf?WT.mc_id=USNSF_80> 

about proposal preparation and award administration. The easily navigable bookmarks cover subjects ranging from audits and award transfers to collaborative proposals and supplements.

Applicants should note that beginning January 18, 2011, the guidelines in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide 11-1 <

http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg11001>  will apply to all submitted proposals.

Policy Changes Affect NIH Grant Applications - 2011 Changes

OCEAN-OIL – It is now more than 7 months since the largest marine oil spill in history began in the Gulf of Mexico. Many questions remain regarding the causes, magnitude and consequences of the Deepwater Horizon blow out.   Larger questions remain regarding off-shore drilling and the use of energy and society.

The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) and its partners, Boston University and Louisiana State University, have created a resource that will allow you to explore these questions and others, as well as to contribute your own expertise.

The Online Clearinghouse for Education & Networking: Oil Interdisciplinary Learning (OCEAN-OIL) is an open-access, peer-reviewed electronic education resource about the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation.

OCEAN-OIL already contains:

* 1,000+ hyper-linked encyclopedia style  articles related to the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, including offshore oil and gas, the ecological effects of oil spills, details of the event, oil spill response, and lessons from the disaster, and related topics

* 400+ glossary of important terms related to oil spill causes, impacts, clean-up, and prevention

* 75+ acronyms (LPG,  PPM,  ROV,  VOC) to help decode the language of oil spill science

* 80+ external resource links to federal government sites, image galleries, news sources, industry, environmental groups, education, and journal articles

* Deepwater Horizon photo gallery: Images by renowned photojournalist Gary Braasch

* Deepwater Horizon by the Numbers: Publication quality graphs

* Reports of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The OCEAN-OIL website is seamlessly integrated into the Encyclopedia of Earth (www.eoearth.org), which is a free, peer-reviewed, searchable collection of content about the Earth, its natural environments, and their interaction with society, written by expert scholars and educators. NCSE coordinates the Encyclopedia. The Encyclopedia's Editor-in-Chief Cutler Cleveland of Boston University, who is an expert in energy and society, leads the development of the new online resource.

We invite you to contribute your expertise to this important initiative. To be a reviewer, follow these procedures.  You can become a contributor by registering here.  For more information contact Mallory Nomack at MNomack@bu.edu

NCSE will also be holding a special one day symposium on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster, exploring what is necessary for ecological and economic recovery as well as the broader issues of off shore oil drilling. It will kick off NCSE’s 11th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment: Our Changing Oceans, January 19-21, 2011 in Washington, DC. Former EPA Administrator William Reilly and Senator Bob Graham, Co-chairs of National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling will keynote the symposium. Register today, space is limited. For more information, visit www.ourchangingoceans.org

Louisiana EPSCoR/Board of Regents Gulf Oil Spill Conference

Most PowerPoint presentations from the November 1-2 Louisiana EPSCoR/Board of Regents Gulf Oil Spill Conference are now available on the web at http://tinyurl.com/25k32zr. For easy reference, available presentations are organized by Strand and session. We are still locating and loading a few documents, so bookmark the page if what you are looking for is not yet available.

Summary of US EPA Office of Research Development/National Center for Environmental Research Grants Process Workshop

Dillard University, New Orleans, LA and via Webcast - October 28, 2010

For a summary of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative and the US EPA Oil Spill Research RFA, check here.

New Call to Expand STEM Participation

The National Academies <http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12984> has issued a report, "Expanding Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads <http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12984>," finding drastic under-representation of minorities in STEM disciplines. The product of a recent study sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institutes of Health, and National Science Foundation, the report says the current number of minorities holding prominent positions in STEM would "need to triple to match the share of minorities in the U.S. population." It projects that science and engineering are the two areas in which demand will increase most quickly.

This information builds on "Rising above the Gathering Storm," the 2005 publication from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine that urged improvements in STEM education at all levels as part of a larger plan to sustain U.S. scientific and technological leadership. A podcast <http://national-academies.org/podcast/> on the report is available online.

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance in the United States: 2009  (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2009/index.html) — These U.S. Census Bureau findings could provide important data for the development of proposals focused on health, education, and community services.

A Summary of the February 2010 Forum on the Future of Nursing: Education (http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12894) — This Institute of Medicine report summarizes the last in a series of three public forums sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing. It presents views on what, how, and where to teach nurses.

NIH eRA eSubmission Items of Interest -­ August 16, 2010

For an overview of NIH eRA eSubmission "Items of Interest," including upcoming changes and a checklist of common errors to avoid, check here.

Day One - General Session Presentations

·         Introduction and NSF Overview

·         Proposal Preparation

·         NSF Merit Review Process

·         Award Management

Day Two - General Session Presentations

·         Challenges, Opportunities and New Directions

·         Office of the Inspector General (OIG)

·         Office of International Science & Engineering (OISE)

·         Transformative & Interdisciplinary Research at NSF

·         Crosscutting and Special Interest Programs 

Breakout Sessions - Breakout Session Descriptions

·         Biology

·         Compliance Issues

·         Education and Human Resources

·         Engineering

·         Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program

·         Geosciences

·         Mathematical and Physical Sciences

·         NSF Grant Payment & Federal Financial Report (FFR) Processes

·         Office of Integrative Activities: MRI & STC

·         Proposal and Award Policy Update

·         Research.gov Demo

·         Research.gov Facts Sheet

·         Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences