Articles tagged Research Funding
(52 results)

NIH Director Francis Collins, along with the leaders of NIH’s institutes, centers, and offices, have written a letter emphasizing their continuing commitment to basic science. Despite past assurances to this effect (e.g., Collins 2012), the NIH leadership is concerned that the community may feel that NIH has moved away from basic research. The letter, which was published…

GSA has begun to receive feedback from our members about the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) program from NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). And we are interested to hear your perspective, especially if you were eligible to apply for MIRA.   Please let us know what you consider the strengths and weaknesses of…

NIH’s Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) has issued a program announcement for the Development of Animal Models and Related Biological Materials for Research. This opportunity “encourages highly innovative research to develop, characterize or improve animal models and related biological materials for human health and disease or to improve diagnosis and control of diseases that…

NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) has issued a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the second year of its Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) program. The new FOA continues the pilot phase of the MIRA program and is limited to established investigators with two or more R01 equivalent awards or a single…

In 1996, when I started researching the conservation genetics of New Zealand’s critically endangered parrot, the kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus), little was known of the species’ genome.  On many occasions after a long day in the molecular lab on the hunt for an elusive gene, I found myself imagining that I had the complete genome of…

Considering my career as a whole, I have had a major role in three hugely creative experiments. It might be instructive to examine the features common to the three. They were all carried out when I was relatively young and my title was assistant professor. They all occurred when I had relatively little funding. Perhaps…

GSA member Erin K. O’Shea has been selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) as its sixth president and will assume the top position on September 1, 2016. O’Shea has served as HHMI’S vice president and chief scientific officer since 2013. She is also a professor at Harvard University. With a background in yeast research, O’Shea’s…

Following the much appreciated budget increases for scientific agencies in December, science and health advocates alike were ecstatic at the mention of a “cancer moonshot” in President Obama’s final State of the Union Address to the House of Representatives. It is reported that the White House  plans to request $755 million for cancer research funding as…

For an American biologist, submitting a grant application to the NIH may feel like buying a lottery ticket for Powerball. Or perhaps it’s more like the inside of the bottlecap that reads, “Each participant has a 1 in 250,000 chance of winning the big prize.” Yet there may be a way to make the likelihood…

NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) has issued a request for applications (RFA) for a new program that will bridge predoctoral and postdoctoral training. Its aim “is to encourage and retain outstanding graduate students who have demonstrated potential and interest in pursuing careers as independent cancer researchers.” Similar to NIH’s Pathway to Independence Award (which bridges postdoctoral training…

An article in the most recent issue of Science highlights a growing concern about the continued support of the biological databases on which our community depends. Indeed, 2015 GSA President Jasper Rine was quoted as saying these resources are “critical for our daily life as geneticists and biomedical researchers.” Many of the model organism databases (MODs) used…