Volume 12, number 12: June 1, 2006
FEDERAL NEWS
NSF Seeks Review Panelists for Graduate Research Fellowship Program
The National Science Foundation (NSF) welcomes new members each year to the review panels charged with evaluating applications to the NSFn's Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
All panelists should have:
- outstanding research in an NSF-supported field;
- ability to evaluate interdisciplinary proposals;
- knowledge of NSF merit review criteria; and
- experience in mentoring graduate students.
To become a panelist, register in the to the GRFP review panelist database. Current members who would like to be considered for this year’s panels should also update their information. READ MORE
NSF Regional Grants Conference
Date: October 23 – 24
Place: College Park, MD
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is hosting a two-day conference for faculty, researchers, and administrators who want to gain insight into current issues at NSF such as the state of funding, policies and procedures, and administrative issues. READ MORE (pdf)
NIH Eliminates Mailing of Paper Assignment and Change of Assignment Letters
Effective June 1, 2006 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) no longer sends paper notification of assignment and change of assignment letters. Investigators must use the eRA Commons, a web interface where NIH and the applicant organizations conduct extramural research administration business electronically, to obtain this information. This change does not apply to applications for the Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. READ MORE
NIH Multiple PI Pilot Opportunities Announced
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced that it will recognize multiple principal investigators (PIs) on a selected set of grant programs beginning in September 2006. The announcement includes a list of program announcements (PAs), requests for applications (RFAs) and notices that are involved in the Multiple PI Pilot Initiative. Multiple PI leadership is an option only for those applicants responding to the Pilot Initiative. The list of funding opportunities participating in the pilot may be expanded, and information on them will be posted on the Multiple PI website. READ MORE
NIH Expires Announcements Referencing Paper Submissions
All National Institutes of Health (NIH) applications submitted in response to R03, R21, R21/R33, and R34 funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) with submission deadlines of June 1, 2006 or later must be submitted electronically. In addition, NIH published a notice indicating that there were a number of active R03, R21, R21/R33, R33, and R34 FOAs that had not yet been updated to reflect the new electronic submission process. The notice immediately expired any R03, R21, R21/R33, and R34 announcement or portions of announcement that still referenced paper submission for these mechanisms. Applicants are encouraged to use parent FOAs or to contact the NIH institute or center that issued the specific expired FOA for guidance. READ MORE
NIH Person Months
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Extramural Research has created a Person Months FAQ page to answer questions about the definition of person months, how to calculate them, and the impact of person month policy changes on NIH applications. Included in the FAQ is an interactive Excel Conversion Table to assist in calculating person months.