2009-05-01

NIH Announces Grant Opportunities Resulting From Stimulus Funding

The hematology research community is abuzz with excitement (and perhaps anxiety) as investigators prepare responses to the unprecedented opportunities announced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). A major component of the NIH ARRA portfolio is the newly formed Challenge Grant program (RC1 Awards), which will provide up to $1 million for research on topics that address specific scientific and health research challenges in biomedical and behavioral research that would benefit from significant two-year-jump-start funds. NIH expects to fund at least 200 of these grants, but individual Institutes and Centers, such as NHLBI and NIDDK, may fund additional applications based on their programmatic needs. 

ARRA funds will also be available for competitive and administrative supplements on existing grants, construction and improvement of research facilities, purchase of expensive scientific equipment, innovative large-scale, short-term research projects, and two-year funding for a subset of grants submitted within the past year that came close, but did not meet paylines. Institutions that receive funding for construction projects will have to assess the environmental impact of their facilities to encourage green building designs and technologies.

NIH announced the first round of grant opportunities in March, and the first series of awards will be announced in late spring. Recognizing the unprecedented opportunities presented by the funding included for NIH in ARRA, as well as the uncertainty over how funds will be distributed and the quick turnaround on grant applications, ASH is providing updated links to information on NIH grant opportunities on its Web site. Additional information is available on the NIH Web site.

Additional Nominees Announced for Federal Health Posts

President Obama announced the nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to head HHS and Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, a former New York City health commissioner, to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Hamburg will succeed Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, who stepped down as FDA commissioner in January. Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, the health commissioner of Baltimore who led the Obama administration’s transition team for the FDA, will become principal deputy commissioner at FDA.

Health-Care Reform Debate Begins to Take Shape

President Obama has stated publicly that he wants health-care overhaul legislation completed and signed by the end of this year. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA), have announced an ambitious schedule to have a prospective bill on the Senate floor in June.

Several House and Senate committees met in early March to discuss the specifics of potential legislation. While there is broad support for health-care reform among both parties and most interest groups, the debate over the details of future legislation is expected to become contentious, particularly over proposals to cut payments to Medicare Advantage Plans and a proposal, sketched out by President Obama on the campaign trail last year, to set up a government-run health plan that would compete alongside private insurers. A third point of contention is the issue of comparative effectiveness.

As the health-care reform debate moves forward, ASH will be involved with several components, including physician payment reform, comparative effectiveness research, coverage of special patient populations such as adults with sickle cell disease, and hematology-related public health issues.

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