NIH grant-funding success rate reaches all-time low in 2011

On Jan. 13, the National Institutes of Health deputy director for extramural research, Sally Rockey, posted a blog piece that presented funding data for the NIH in 2011. The data showed what probably came as no surprise to those in the biomedical research community – overall success rates for research project grants (RPGs) fell to an all-time low of only 18 percent in FY11, 3 percentage points lower than that for FY10.

Rockey explained the cause of the decrease in greater detail in a subsequent blog piece posted a week later. Success rate is the number of funded grants divided by the number of applications. The decrease is due in large part to the drastic increase in applications for FY11. The NIH received a record 49,592 competing RPG applications, an 8 percent increase from FY10. In addition to more applicants, the NIH was able to funder fewer grants than in FY10. The RPG funding pool was decreased by $117 million as a result of the 1 percent cut to the NIH budget, and the average cost of each RO1 award also increased slightly.

Another factor that contributed to the drop in success rate came from the increase in short-term R21 grant applications. The number of competing R21 grants rose 17 percent, accounting for more than one-half of the total increase in RPG applications. Finally, because most RGPs are funded for three to five years, this creates a funding commitment for non competing grants in the years after they are initially awarded. In FY11, the amount of funding already committed to non competing grants increased by $189 million.

In addition to overall RPG grant success rates, Rockey showed data on success rates for new investigators and female investigators. All the data included in the blog come from the NIH Data Book, which was recently updated with the 2011 data.

The ASBMB Public Affairs Advisory Committee meets biannually with members of the NIH leadership and the falling RPG success rate consistently has been a discussion point. In March 2011, the ASBMB PAAC released a position statement that put forth three recommendations to help increase the payline for investigator-initiated RO1 grants. Read the position statement here.

Do you have suggestions for how the NIH can raise the RPG payline? We want to hear them! Email the ASBMB Office of Public Affairs at publicaffairs@asbmb.org

President Obama highlights the importance of basic research in the State of the Union address

In his 2012 State of the Union address, President Obama called economic fairness “the defining issue of our time.” In addition to focusing on tax reform, foreign policy and domestic job creation, the president also drew attention to several topics of interest to the biomedical research community, particularly, the importance of federal support for basic research.

“Innovation also demands basic research. Today, the discoveries taking place in our federally financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched. New lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet. Don’t gut these investments in our budget,” he told Congress. “Don’t let other countries win the race for the future. Support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the Internet, to new American jobs and new American industries.”

Obama also emphasized the growing number of science and technology jobs and the importance of a STEM-skilled American work force.

“I also hear from many business leaders who want to hire in the United States but can’t find workers with the right skills. Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job. Think about that – openings at a time when millions of Americans are looking for work.”

Additionally, he showed support for immigration reform that will help scientists trained in America remain here to work.

“[Some immigrants] came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else,” he said. “We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now. [L]et’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses and defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away.”

Even in these times of budget cuts and partisan politics, scientists should be encouraged by the president’s commitment to basic research funding.

Federal reports point to R&D as the key to American innovation

We’re only three weeks into the new year, and a barrage of federal reports that focus on the status of American competitiveness and innovation capacity already have been released. Not surprisingly, the connection between research and education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and a strong national economy was highlighted in each report.

On Jan. 6, the Department of Commerce delivered The Competitive and Innovative Capacity of the U.S. report to Congress. The report outlines the three elements of innovation — basic research, education and infrastructure — and goes on to state that these areas require a strong and sustained federal investment to flourish.

The Commerce report presents ten policy recommendations, the first of which is for continued support for basic research through federal funding. Other recommendations include expanding R&D tax credits, improving STEM education and eliminating the barriers associated with translational research. Read a summary of the report here.

In February 2011, President Obama created the Jobs Council, which was tasked with developing a set of recommendations that would create jobs in the short term and improve American competitiveness in the long term. On Jan. 17, the Jobs Council released a new report titled Road Map to Renewal. It identifies six areas that are critical to address the president’s goal: education, research and development, energy, manufacturing, regulatory reform and tax reform.

The Jobs Council report presents several recommendations for each of the six topics. Of particular interest to the basic research community is the recommendation to raise the national investment in R&D to at least 3 percent of gross domestic product. The U.S. currently invests 2.8 percent of GDP to R&D, while countries such as Japan and Sweden invest 3.4 and 3.7 percent, respectively. Read a summary of the report here.

Finally, on Jan. 18, the National Science Board, the policy-making body at the National Science Foundation, released its yearly report on Science and Engineering Indicators. This report outlines trends in U.S. global competitiveness in the science and technology work force, education and economic activity. While the U.S. remains the leader in supporting science and technology, that lead could soon be overtaken as countries in Asia, particularly China, continue to increase their national investments in R&D.

The report shows that between 1999 and 2009 the U.S. investment in R&D dropped from 38 percent to 31 percent, whereas it grew from 24 percent to 35 percent in the “Asia-10″ (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand). Read the report digest here, or visit the NSF website to explore specific topics like STEM education, global R&D trends or the science work force.

These reports all indicate that the key to maintaining America’s global competitiveness lies in its commitment to federal support for research and development. Countless studies have shown that STEM occupations are among the highest paying, fastest growing and most influential in driving economic growth and innovation. The ASBMB Office of Public Affairs will continue to bring you studies such as these that help support the argument for a strong investment in research.

NIH outlines future of NCRR grants on the heels of NCATS creation

The National Institutes of Health is moving full steam ahead with plans to establish the new National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The NCATS formation represents the largest reorganization at the NIH in more than a decade, and NIH leadership is eager to bring this new center online.

Transparency appears to be a key issue in the NCATS reorganization, possibly in response to the controversy raised over the seemingly hasty pace with which NIH moved to establish NCATS. Now that NCATS has its official seal of approval, the NIH leadership seems to be focused on providing as much information as possible about how the reorganization will occur.

One of the many concerns from the extramural research community was how the programs housed in the National Center for Research Resources (which NCTAS has replaced) would be handled. A list of the reassignments for NCCR programs can be found here. Last week, NIH announced the creation of two new divisions within the National Institute of General Medical Sciences that will each administer programs from NCRR, along with its own.

In a blog piece posted Friday, Sally Rockey, deputy director for extramural research at NIH, outlined the new programs that will be housed in NCATS. The Clinical and Translational Science Awards, formerly administered by NCRR, will be transferred to NCATS and represents a significant portion on the new center’s budget. Some CTSA directors are concerned about the future of certain awards that don’t have a clear translational focus. In an interview with ScienceInsider, NCATS acting director Thomas Insel said that NIH wants to preserve the range of CTSA activities but added that the program should expect to “evolve.”

In her blog, Rockey goes on to describe efforts to ensure that the transition of NCRR grants to their new homes goes as smoothly as possible. An NIH Guide notice released Jan. 6 details what principle investigators/project directors who received funding from NCRR should expect in the coming weeks as these awards are transferred to their new IC. The notice stated that “these transfers will not change any of the terms and conditions of the current awards or the level of funding anticipated for future non-competing awards (pending the availability of funds).”

The ASBMB Office of Public Affairs will continue to keep you updated on NIH reorganizational issues.

Reorganizing as a result of NCATS approval has begun at NIH

On Dec. 23, President Obama signed into law the FY12 omnibus appropriations bill that officially established the new National Institutes of Health center, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. NCATS will replace the National Center for Research Resources, and the NIH already has begun to put in motion plans to redistribute several programs originally housed in the NCCR. The first steps in the reorganization process were announced Wednesday with the establishment of two new divisions at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. These new divisions will each administer programs from both NIGMS and NCRR.

The new Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity merges NIGMS research training programs with activities that were previously in the institute’s Division of Minority Opportunities in Research. The division also will house the Institutional Development Award program from NCRR. It will be led by former MORE director Clifton Poodry.

The new Division of Biomedical Technology, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology administers research and research training in areas that join biology with the computer sciences, engineering, mathematics and physics. It includes programs from the former NIGMS Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology along with NCRR biomedical technology programs. Former CBCB director Karin Remington will lead the division.

NIH leadership appear pleased with the new divisions, with NIGMS acting director Judith Greenberg stating, “This reorganization will synergize and strengthen our activities in several critical mission areas.”

The announcement also says that the reorganization will have no effect on the funding levels for the programs from NIGMS or NCRR. Additionally, most grants in the new divisions will continue to be managed by the same staff members.