linkstream2 microblog

New grant format w/ prelim. results under significance v. approach as nowhttp://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-16-011.html @NIH notice is cryptic. People’s thoughts?

+
need to use strength & weakness for each citation.

see also:
http://www.grantcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Supplement-Changes-in-Approach-Subsection.pdf http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms_updates_faq.htm#2426
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm

QT:{{”
One of the changes to this Chapter pertains to the format for the Approach subsection, which is reproduced, above. “Justification and Feasibility” and its two subdivisions have been lined out because, with the new approach that we recommend, they are no longer part of the Approach subsection. (We have moved them to the Significance subsection, Chapter 9). Without those components, the formatting for each aim “collapses” to include the Introductory Paragraph, Research Design, Expected Outcomes and Potential Problems & Alternative Strategies.
“}}

&

QT:{{”
Updates to Research Strategy Guidance
By November 25, 2015 application guide instructions will be updated to include the following additional guidance for the Significance and Approach sections of the Research Strategy, in addition to the existing instructions.
Significance
Describe the scientific premise for the proposed project, including consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of published research or preliminary data crucial to the support of your application. Approach
Describe the experimental design and methods proposed and how they will achieve robust and unbiased results.
“}}

QT:{{”

11. Descriptive Title of Applicant’s Project

Enter a brief descriptive title of the project. This field is required.

A “new” application must have a different title from any other PHS project with the same PD/PI. A “resubmission” or “renewal” application should normally have the same title as the previous grant or application. If the specific aims of the project have significantly changed, choose a new title.

A “revision” application must have the same title as the currently funded grant.

NIH and other PHS agencies limit title character length to 81 characters, including the spaces between words and punctuation. Titles in excess of 81 characters will be truncated. Be sure to only use standard characters in the descriptive title: A through Z, a through z, 0 through 9, space ( ), and underscore (_).

“}}

QT:{{”
Font

Prepare the application using Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia typeface in black font color. After text attachments are converted to PDF, font size in each final PDF document must be at least 11 points (or larger). (A Symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters; the font size requirement still applies.) Since some PDF converters may reduce font sizes, it is important to confirm that type density in each final PDF document, including both characters and spaces, is no more than 15
characters+spaces per linear inch and no more than six lines per vertical inch.
“}}

Note: 72 points/inch so 6 lines/inch at 11pt type translates into a line spacing of 11 pts + 1pt per line.

QT:{{”
Paper Size and Page Margins

Final PDF documents should be formatted to be no larger than standard paper size (8 ½” x 11). The final PDF document should have at least one-half inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right) for all pages. No information should appear in the margins, including the PI’s name and page numbers.

….
Figures, Graphs, Diagrams, Charts, Tables, Figure Legends, and Footnotes You may use a smaller type size but it must be in a black font color, readily legible, and follow the font typeface requirement. Color can be used in figures; however, all text must be in a black font color, clear and legible.
“}}

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424

Here is a news about Dartmouth Medical School.

http://www.vnews.com/news/18808319-95/dartmouth-proposes-fix-for-geisel-deficit

The most recent informations is that departments will be kept, but some departments will be removed or merged.

Limitation to 81 characters

https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2010/10/01/does-the-application-title-have-a-maximum-length-2/

A New Initiative on Precision Medicine
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1500523 Notable: focus on #cancergenomics & mention of endophenotypes & #QS data

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., and Harold Varmus, M.D.
N Engl J Med 2015; 372:793-795February 26, 2015DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1500523

QT:{{”
“These features make efforts to improve the ways we anticipate, prevent, diagnose, and treat cancers both urgent and promising. Realizing that promise, however, will require the many different efforts reflected in the President’s initiative. To achieve a deeper understanding of cancers and discover additional tools for molecular diagnosis, we will need to analyze many more cancer genomes. ….
The cancer-focused component of this initiative will be designed to address some of the obstacles that have already been encountered in “precision oncology”: unexplained drug resistance, genomic
heterogeneity of tumors, insufficient means for monitoring responses and tumor recurrence, and limited knowledge about the use of drug combinations.
…
The initiative’s second component entails pursuing research advances that will enable better assessment of disease risk, understanding of disease mechanisms, and prediction of optimal therapy for many more diseases, with the goal of expanding the benefits of precision medicine into myriad aspects of health and health care.

The initiative will encourage and support the next generation of scientists to develop creative new approaches for detecting, measuring, and analyzing a wide range of biomedical information — including molecular, genomic, cellular, clinical, behavioral, physiological, and environmental parameters. Many possibilities for future applications spring to mind: today’s blood counts might be replaced by a census of hundreds of distinct types of immune cells; data from mobile devices might provide real-time monitoring of glucose, blood pressure, and cardiac rhythm; genotyping might reveal particular genetic variants that confer protection against specific diseases…
“}}

BD2K funded programs so far…
https://datascience.nih.gov/bd2k/funded-programs/enhancing-training/institutional-grants

NIGMS Comp Bio & Bioinfo funded predoctoral programs
http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Training/InstPredoc/Pages/PredocInst-Bioinformatics.aspx

THE NLM funded Biomedical Informatics training programs
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/ep/GrantTrainInstitute.html#5

Disappearing Young Scientists http://on.wsj.com/1v4GvUk Michael Levitt on implications of #budget cuts for starting researchers HT @oselsayed

QT:{{”
What’s behind the shortage? Mr. Daniels suggests several reasons, including longer postdoctoral training; a system of applications, demonstrable data and peer review, and a shift in research costs to universities—which typically narrows awards to seasoned, tenured researchers. But perhaps the simplest explanation came from Nobel laureate Michael Levitt of Stanford, who said last year that senior scientists were once able to renew their existing grants and let young scientists compete for unawarded grant money. Now after budget cuts, older scientists are competing “against the kids,” and usually winning.
“}}

QT:{{”

n 2005, just as Mr. Silver’s referral income from the Weitz firm began to balloon, records show that he directed a state grant worth $250,000 to Dr. Taub for asbestos research, ostensibly related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In October 2006, Dr. Taub wrote to Mr. Silver to request another $250,000 grant. A few months later, the money arrived.

Both times, the plans submitted by Dr. Taub’s center said the money would go toward studying the general treatment of mesothelioma, making only passing reference to those who may have been exposed to asbestos after the attacks on the World Trade Center.
…
For his part, Dr. Taub served as an expert witness for the Weitz firm as recently as a 2013 case in federal court in Pennsylvania. Legal records show that his rate for working on the case was $1,750 per hour, plus $7,500 per day for testimony when overnight travel was required.
“}}

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/nyregion/sheldon-silvers-link-to-a-bonanza-and-a-cancer.html

Here is a link for some helpful information on the new NIH format for biosketches:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/faq_biosketches.htm.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-032.html