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January/February 2001

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NIH News

FUNDING ALERT

 Minority Undergraduate Biomedical Education Program

RFA:  HL-01-008
Letter of Intent Due:   February 21, 2001 
Full Proposals Due:    March 30, 2001
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) invites applications for the Minority Undergraduate Biomedical Education Program.  The purpose of this program is to develop pilot demonstration programs at minority undergraduate educational institutions that will encourage the recruitment and retention of talented undergraduate students in the biomedical sciences.  The program is designed to increase the number of minority students who enter and succeed in undergraduate and, ultimately, graduate and professional programs in the biomedical and behavioral sciences.

The Program Director of a Minority Undergraduate Biomedical Education Program award must be engaged in undergraduate educational activities, preferably in the life sciences, with the experience to administer and integrate the components of the program.  The Program Director will assume responsibility for the overall direction of the program and is expected to devote a minimum of 25 percent effort to the program. Racial/ethnic minority individuals, women, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply as Program Director.

The NHLBI intends to commit approximately $800,000 total costs in FY 2001 to fund up to 2 new pilot programs in response to this RFA.  An applicant may request a project period of 5 or fewer years and a budget of up to $400,000 total costs for the first and second year and up to $ 500,000 total costs per year for all subsequent years, excluding Facilities and Administrative costs (F&A) on consortium arrangements.   Although the financial plans of the NHLBI provide support for this program, awards pursuant to this RFA are contingent upon the availability of funds and the receipt of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. 

Allowable costs for a pilot demonstration program may include, but are not limited to:

  • Costs for managing the pilot program including salary of key personnel and supplies and materials to support an administrative structure;
  • Ancillary support for pre and post undergraduate student preparation, including retreats, seminars, exchange programs, the development of partnership and collaborative activities, and other activities deemed to enhance the goals of the program;
  • Faculty development costs including support for summer research projects, release time, retreats, and exchange programs; 
  • Student remuneration including the provision of tuition and salary/wages and /or other forms of compensation; and 
  • Student travel for presentation at scientific meetings; 
Despite remarkable progress in health care over the last few decades, minorities still bear a disproportionate share of premature disability.  Given the disproportionate burden of disease among racial/ethnic minorities and the unique sociocultural issues involved in disease pathogenesis and management among minorities, it is critical that more minority individuals be brought into the biomedical research workforce. 

It is not clear why minority individuals continue to be underrepresented in biomedical research.  At the undergraduate level, an increase in college enrollment by underrepresented minorities has persisted for over a decade. Black college enrollment increased at a rate of 3.6 percent per year in the 1990s and Hispanic enrollment grew at an even higher rate (7.1 percent annually.)  Moreover, in 1996,  approximately 17 percent of minority freshmen reported plans to major in biological sciences, up from 10 percent in 1976 and 1986.  Despite these intentions, the number of baccalaureate degrees in the biological sciences awarded to underrepresented minority individuals has not appreciably increased in the last decade.  While 10 percent of Black freshman college students express an intent to study a field of natural science, only 5 percent actually earn bachelor's degrees in natural science.  Of the college students who receive a degree in the natural sciences, only about 11 percent are underrepresented minority students. Thus, a number of underrepresented minority individuals are lost to biomedical science during their undergraduate college education. 

One means of countering this trend is to improve the ability of educational institutions that educate a disproportionate share of minority undergraduates to attract, train and graduate promising  underrepresented minority students in the biomedical sciences, including the behavioral, physical and quantitative sciences.  Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) continue to play an important role in educating and producing minority bachelor's degree recipients in the sciences.  Thirty-one percent of African-Americans awarded baccalaureate degrees in science and engineering in 1996 earned their degrees at HBCUs.  Approximately two-thirds of the 25 institutions that awarded the largest number of science and engineering bachelor's degrees to African-American males and females were HBCUs.  Hispanics are also likely to earn bachelor's degrees from colleges and universities in regions of the country where they are most concentrated, such as California, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico awarded 21 percent of the science and engineering bachelor's degrees received by Hispanics in 1990 and 15 percent in 1996.  Thus, there is an impetus to focus on those institutions with the most experience and success in educating minority undergraduate students in the sciences. The full RFA can by found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HL-01-008.html.

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In the Spotlight 

Spelman College Faculty and Students Present at the 40th Annual American Society for Cell Biology Meeting

The abstracts presented by Dr. Mark Maloney, Associate Professor of Biology, and Ms. Eniki Mack, Spelman College senior working in Dr. Shelia McClure’s laboratory, were among the 3,000 abstracts of research to be presented at the Fortieth Annual Meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, December 9-13, 2000. Also in attendance from Spelman College were: Dr. Pamela Gunter-Smith, Chair of Biology Dept., - poster session judge; Sheres McKenzie, RIMI Laboratory Manger; Johnafel Crowe, RIMI Core Lab Technician; Tammy Wallace, Research Technician; Anisha Stackhouse, student; and Akemie Williams, student. 

The ASCB is a non-profit scientific society of 10,000 active bench scientists in cell biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, immunology and related basic science fields.  The meeting was presided by Richard O. Hynes, Director of the Center for Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with approximately 8,000 participants.

The meeting featured world class scientists presenting their research, starting on Saturday evening with the Keynote Symposium “The ASCB: 40 Years Leading the Revolution in Cell Biology,” with Nobelists J. Michael Bishop, Michael S. Brown, Joseph Goldstein and Harold E. Varmus.  Symposium topics such as The Mechanism of Protein Synthesis, Novel Dimensions of Cell Motility, Pathogen Recognition and Host Defense and Biological Clocks; and numerous award lectures and platform talks throughout the five-day program.

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Congress Approves New Center for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH

Congress has passed a bill to create a new Center for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH. Originally introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, the measure won approval after Senate leaders modified an earlier version of the bill that critics said would have established quotas for giving federal funds to minority researchers. The final version of the bill, S.1880, authorizes the federal government to repay up to $35,000 of the education loans of researchers, regardless of their race, for each year that they conduct studies on health disparities.

The new National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities would replace the existing Office of Research on Minority Health. The bill would give the new center grant-making authority, and would authorize a budget of $100 million in FY2001. It also requires the Director of the new Center to: (1) chair a trans-NIH task force that will establish a comprehensive plan and budget estimates for minority health that should be conducted or support by NIH and recommend an appropriate agenda for such research; (2) establish a minority health research information system to track minority-related research, training and construction; (3) act as the primary Federal official for monitoring all minority health research conducted or supported by NIH; and (4) identify areas of insufficient minority health research at NIH and its institutes and centers, and provide funds to such entities for awarding peer-reviewed grants for innovative projects that address high priority areas of minority health research.

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NSF Will Receive Record Funding Increase Next Year

The Senate passed the VA-HUD consensus agreement on October 12, providing increased Fiscal Year 2001 funding levels for the National Science Foundation. The agreement recommends $4.424 billion for NSF overall in Fiscal Year 2001 – $526 million over Fiscal Year 2000. This represents the largest dollar increase the Foundation has ever received, in real or current dollars. According to Dr. Rita Colwell, Director, National Science Foundation, “this increase puts us on the path towards doubling the NSF budget in five years, a goal championed by Senate VA-HUD Chairman Kit Bond, Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and more than 40 member of the Senate.”

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NIH News

Format of Grant and Cooperative Agreement Applications Submitted to NIH

The main goal of the NIH is to identify and support the best possible biomedical and behavioral research in order to improve the health of all Americans.  The scale of the effort (over 46,000 competing applications received in fiscal year 2000) requires standards for application submission. Specific format instructions can be found at the following websites:  These specifications allow all applicants comparable space and provide reviewers with applications that are easy to read, thus allowing them to concentrate on the scientific evaluation of the proposed research.  Most applications submitted to NIH adhere to these specifications and most principal investigators routinely use appropriate formatting and presentation to make their applications clear and easy to follow.  However, there are increasing complaints from study section members about applications that do not follow these specifications.  Furthermore, NIH is increasing its use of scanning applications as an intermediate step in the transition to electronic applications.  For scanning to be accurate and cost-effective, it is important that applications follow the format specifications.  In an effort to ensure that all applications meet the stated format requirements, NIH is undertaking the following steps: 
  • Instituting checking of competing grant applications for adherence to format requirements. APPLICATIONS THAT DO NOT COMPLY WITH THE SPECIFICATIONS FOR TYPE SIZE, PAGE LIMITS, OR MARGINS WILL BE RETURNED TO THE INSTITUTION WITHOUT REVIEW.   THESE APPLICATIONS CANNOT BE SUBMITTED IN A CORRECTED VERSION UNTIL THE NEXT RECEIPT CYCLE.
  • Establishing a dedicated email address (format@mail.nih.gov) for questions regarding format of applications, including type size, page limits, and margins.  Although each application kit clearly specifies these specifications, this will provide an additional opportunity for clarification.
  • Please note that the central email address for other questions on grant applications remains grantsinfo@nih.gov. 
  • Establishing a site with frequently asked questions about application format:  http://www.format.nih.gov.
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Announcements:

Technology Oppotunities Program Fiscal Year 2001 Grant Round Open

This year, TOP has approximately $42.5 million available for grants. The application is available online at the TOP home page (http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/top).

To assist in the application process, TOP will hold several technical assistance workshops in Washington, DC (Feb. 2), Denver, CO (Feb. 6), and St. Louis, MO (Feb. 8). To find out more about the workshops and details for registering, please see the TOP home page.
 

Minority Opportunities in Research Regional Grant Writing Workshop

Hosted by Spelman College February 22, 2001, 9 a.m. — 4 p.m., Living and Learning Center II.  This workshop coordinated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will provide potential grantees with information regarding the preparation of applications for three major programs and NIH in the Division of Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC). The programs which will be focused on are the Research Initiative for Student Enhancement (RISE), Minority Access to Research Careers Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (MARCH U*STAR) program and the Bridges to the Future Program. The workshop is open to all who wish to attend and there is no registration fee or cost for materials.

All workshop materials, including PowerPoint presenations, applications guidelines, and links to resources for applicants are available on the NIH website at http://pub.nigms.nih.gov/moregww/registration_feb22.htm.

Spelman faculty who plan to attend this workshop should register online at the above referenced website. The agenda for the workshop is available at: http://pub.nigms.nih.gov/moregww/agenda.htm.

Online Journals Available Soon

Online access to the Journal of Biological Chemistry and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science will soon be available.  In addition, to further assist your research efforts we have periodicals such as BioEssays, InVitro, Nature Cell Biology , Nature, Science, Trends in Cell Biology, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, which are located in the RIMI office in room 149 of the new Science Building.

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RIMI STAFFING NOTES

Dr. Jann Primus has been appointed Interim Program Director for the Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) Program.  Dr. Primus, Associate Professor of Biology, has been involved with the RIMI program since its inception in 1996.  Her dedication and involvement will ensure that the RIMI program maintains its continued commitment to strengthen the research infrastructure.

Dr. Shelia McClure, RIMI Program Director and Associate Professor of Biology, will be on leave for the spring 2001 semester.

Congratulations to Sheres McKenzie, former RIMI Laboratory Manager, in her appointment to Chemical Hygiene Officer.

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Core Lab Update

I hope the Holidays were pleasant for everyone.  Now that the Spring semester is upon us, below is the schedule for biomedical research laboratory techniques and instrumentation training sessions given by the
RIMI program.  These training sessions are constructed to introduce the basic principles of common laboratory instrumentation which will allow technicians and students to become comfortable in a laboratory environment.  Training sessions will be brief yet informative and everyone is encouraged to attend. If anyone would prefer one-on-one training on a specific technique or the use of a particular laboratory instrument not covered in the this semester’s sessions  please notify me and a time can be scheduled.  The training sessions will be held at 11:00 a.m. in the Project Laboratory Rm. 278 of the Science building.  For further information please contact Johnafel A. Crowe at (404) 215-7915 or jcrowe@spelman.edu. 

Spring 2001 Training Schedule

Feb 22: Autoclave 
Mar 8: Centrifuge and Rotors
Mar. 22: CytoFluor
April  5: Spectra Max 350 Microplate Reader
April 19: PAGE and Agarose Electrophoresis
May  3: MBA 2000 Spectrophotometer

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Sheres' Corner

Happy New Year, and with the New Year comes change.  This will be the last Sheres’ Corner, and I am writing it with mixed emotions. I am happy because I now have a newly created position, which would not have been created without RIMI.. My new position as Chemical Hygiene Officer partly came about from the Hazmat and chemical training I provided to the research community and Spelman seeing the need for that training and more to be standard for the whole scientific community. On the flip side, I am a little sad to be leaving a great program and wonderful coworkers. The position as research laboratory manager, which I held since the inception of the RIMI program here at Spelman, was always new and challenging. Pinpointing how to meet the laboratory infrastructure needs and fulfilling them gave me great satisfaction. My new position marks my second appointment to a first time position here at Spelman. So I will be blazing a new trail and as always the RIMI program  will not be far from my heart. I look forward to working with the new laboratory manager and reading his/her column. 

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Administrative Niche

I hope everyone had a joyous holiday season. I would also like to thank those of you who assisted me with obtaining guest speakers for our Spring 2001 Seminar Series.  I think we’re on a good start, all of the lecture dates have been filled.  Remember the lecture time has been changed from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  I am also currently collaborating with Dr. Scott-Johnson in preparation for our EARDA/RIMI
Lecture Series, which will be held on Thursdays, at 3:00 p.m.  More information will be forthcoming.

For those individuals who are presenting at the Georgia Academy of Sciences 78th Annual Meeting March 23-24, 2001 at the Coastal Community College in Brunswick, GA, don’t forget to register. The deadline date is March 6th.

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