Last week, I gave a briefing to congressional staff members and other interested parties about the role of basic science in biomedical research. The event was sponsored by the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research and the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus.

My talk, titled "Investing in Discovery: The Impact of Basic Research and the Role of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences," focused on three themes:

• The tremendous unity of biology at the molecular level, which enables researchers to use model organisms for discovery and other experiments directed toward uncovering fundamental biological mechanisms;
• How knowledge of these fundamental mechanisms provides a crucial underpinning for more applied studies relevant to human health and disease; and
• The role of individuals, particularly scientists relatively early in their careers, in making these discoveries.

I presented these themes in the context of two scientific endeavors:

• The discovery of telomeres and telomerase, recognized by the 2009 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine; and
• The elucidation of genetic factors in determining the effective dose of warfarin (Coumadin), one of the early successes in pharmacogenomics.

I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to highlight the impact and importance of the research that NIGMS funds.

I’m proud of NIGMS’ long and strong commitment to research training and biomedical workforce development. As biomedical research and its workforce needs evolve, we want to be sure that our training and career development activities most effectively meet current demands, anticipate emerging opportunities and help build a highly capable, diverse biomedical research workforce. To this end, we are beginning to develop a strategic plan focused on research training and career development, and we want your input. Between March 2 and April 21, you can anonymously submit comments at https://publications.nigms.nih.gov/trainingstrategicplan/. You can also give us input at one of the regional stakeholder meetings we’re holding in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco between April and June 2010. If you’re a pre- or postdoc, you can participate in a special webinar designed just for you on June 11, 2010. You don’t need to be an NIGMS grantee to share your thoughts on this important topic. We want to hear from individuals with many different perspectives, so in addition to responding yourself, I encourage you to let others know of these opportunities to offer comments. As the planning process unfolds, look for updates on the Feedback Loop.

One of my activities as NIGMS director is meeting with members of the scientific community, including leadership groups from scientific societies. These conversations offer a valuable forum for sharing ideas and perspectives, and I find them informative and interesting. A few weeks ago, for example, I met with the board of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). The group of more than 30 people who visited me in Bethesda ranged from graduate students to senior scientists. We had a spirited dialogue about training and career development, including issues related to the diversity of the scientific workforce, and methods for fostering communication between NIH and the scientific community. I briefly discussed our preparations for a strategic plan on training and career development, which I announced at our recent advisory council meeting. I’ll do a Feedback Loop post in early March with more details on the strategic planning process, including a request for input. NIGMS staff and I welcome the opportunity to meet with groups and individuals who would like to know more about the Institute's activities and plans. To arrange a meeting, feel free to e-mail me at bergj@nigms.nih.gov or NIGMS communications director Ann Dieffenbach at dieffena@nigms.nih.gov.

On February 1, the President released his budget request for Fiscal Year 2011. The proposed budget for NIH calls for an increase of 3.2% over the Fiscal Year 2010 enacted levels (not including funds associated with the Recovery Act). The proposed budget for NIGMS represents a 3.6% increase over Fiscal Year 2010.

A major contributor to the larger increase for NIGMS compared with NIH overall is that the budget calls for a 6% increase in stipends associated with Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards. NIGMS supports substantially more training positions than the average across NIH.

The release of the President’s budget request is the first step in the appropriations process, which includes Congressional hearings and culminates with the passage and signing of a bill that appropriates funds for NIH.

We recently posted our Financial Management Plan for Fiscal Year 2010. Among the plan’s key elements are increasing the average size of a competing research project grant by approximately 2%, reducing noncompeting awards by 1% and increasing stipends on National Research Service Awards by 1%.

As I noted in a previous post, NIH recently launched the Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet)and issued four funding opportunity announcements for the current fiscal year. OppNet is now planning initiatives for future years. Key to this effort is obtaining input from all interested parties about current and emerging opportunities in basic behavioral and social sciences research that offer the greatest potential for improving health and well-being. Toward this end, OppNet has just released a request for information soliciting suggestions for both short-term (1-2 years) and long-term (3-5 years) activities, which can focus on humans or animal models.

Less than two months ago, NIH announced a new initiative, the Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet). Richard Hodes, the director of the National Institute on Aging, and I co-chair the steering committee for this exciting, trans-NIH effort. The first year of OppNet activities will use $10 million in Recovery Act funds and focus on short-term efforts to develop existing programs' capacity for conducting basic behavioral and social sciences research. Starting in Fiscal Year 2011, OppNet will be supported through NIH's pool of common funds shared across its institutes and centers. NIH has just issued the following OppNet opportunities for funding in the current fiscal year:

• Recovery Act Limited Competition: NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet) Short-term Mentored Career Development Awards in the Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences for Mid-career and Senior Investigators (K18), RFA-OD-10-003; applications are due February 18, 2010.
• NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications (R01, R03, R15, R21, R21/R33, and R37) through the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet), NOT-OD-10-032; applications are due March 2, 2010.
• NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications (R01, R03, R15, R21, R21/R33, and R37) for HIV/AIDS-related Research through the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet), NOT-OD-10-033; applications are due March 25, 2010.
• NIH Announces the Availability of Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Transfer Technology Research Grants (R43/R44 and R41/R42) through the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet), NOT-OD-10-034; applications are due March 25, 2010.
• NIH Announces the Availability of HIV/AIDS Funds for Competitive Revision Applications (R01, R03, R15, R21, R21/R33, R37) for HIV/AIDS-related Research through the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet), NOT-OD-10-036; applications are due May 7, 2010.

OppNet's Web site has more details about the initiative and FAQs related to the funding announcements. As plans develop, the site also will include information about potential future initiatives and opportunities to provide input. To automatically receive updates, send an e-mail to listserv@list.nih.gov and in the body of the message include: subscribe nih-oppnet-l your name.

Fiscal Year 2009, which ended on September 30, was a time of unprecedented opportunities for NIH due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As I noted previously, NIGMS used Recovery Act resources to support a variety of funding mechanisms.We have now analyzed the overall results for R01 grants using both our regular appropriation and Recovery Act funds. These results are shown in Figures 1-3.

The total NIGMS expenditures (including both direct and indirect costs) for R01 grants are shown in Figure 3 for Fiscal Year 1995 through Fiscal Year 2009.

We are analyzing additional data on NIGMS funding trends and will be posting these results on the NIGMS Funding Trends Web site.

I recently had several peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts accepted. As an NIH-funded investigator (with an intramural laboratory in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases), I complied with the NIH Public Access Policy and deposited the articles in NIH PubMed Central. I also included the PubMed Central ID numbers (PMCIDs) in my CV list of scientific publications.

I wanted to take this opportunity to remind other NIH-funded investigators of the public access policy, which also requires the inclusion of PMCIDs in all applications and progress reports, including those for training grants and fellowships. If a PubMed Central submission by a journal is in process and you do not have a PMCID yet, you can indicate "PMC Journal – In Process" at the end of the citation. If you have submitted the manuscript and so far only received an NIH Manuscript Submission System reference number (NIHMSID), NIH will accept it as a placeholder for the PMCID.

One area of confusion is that PMCIDs are not the same as PMIDs assigned by PubMed.

NIH’s frequently asked questions helped guide me through the PubMed Central submission process, and you may find the information there useful, as well.

On October 30, the President signed Public Law 111-88, which includes appropriations for NIH to operate at Fiscal Year 2009 levels through December 18, 2009. During this period, NIH will make noncompeting research grant awards at reduced levels, typically up to 90% of the previously committed level. This approach is consistent with our practice in previous years. The policy affects research grants. Research training grants and fellowship awards will not be affected. NIH anticipates that noncompeting awards will be adjusted upward once the level of the final appropriation has been established.

Through initiatives such as "glue" grants, the Protein Structure Initiative, the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study, the Pharmacogenetics Research Network and in other ways, NIGMS-supported researchers develop resources, information and opportunities of value to broad segments of the scientific community. A list of major NIGMS-funded Web sites and portals is available on our Web site.

I invite you to explore these resources, and I welcome your comments about them.