By Susan B. Shurin, MD
2009-07-01
Dr. Shurin is a pediatric hematologist and Deputy Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
After six years of increasingly constrained resources, the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) has been blessed with a visionary public
investment in science represented by the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Signed into law by President Obama on
February 17, 2009, the ARRA is an extraordinary effort to jump-start
the U.S. economy, create or save millions of jobs, and address
long-neglected challenges to help the country move forward and thrive.
We at NIH are profoundly grateful for this opportunity to advance
biomedical research. We very much appreciate the confidence in our
organization that it implies and are committed to the highest standards
of stewardship of these public funds.
The timeline for ARRA funds is very compressed. Disbursement of
funds will occur over fiscal years 2009 and 2010; investigators will
have until September 30, 2011, to complete expenditure of grant funds.
While the individual NIH components have broad flexibility to invest in
many types of grant programs, they are following the spirit of the ARRA
by funding projects that will stimulate the economy, create or retain
jobs, and be capable of making scientific progress in two years. The
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), for example, has
expanded its payline to the 25th percentile to fund meritorious
applications from established investigators using R01 and similar
mechanisms, to the 30th percentile for new investigators, and to the
35th percentile for early-stage investigators. Individual Institutes,
including NHLBI, are also participating in some or all of various
NIH-wide solicitations, including the following:
Challenge Grants in Health and Science
Research, for research on topic areas that address specific scientific
and health research challenges in biomedical and behavioral research
that would benefit from a significant two-year jump-start. Nearly
21,000 applications have been received as of mid-May 2009.
Research
and Research Infrastructure “Grand Opportunities” Grants, for projects
that address large, specific biomedical and biobehavioral research
endeavors that can be expected to yield a high short-term return and
offer a great likelihood of enabling growth and investment in
biomedical research and development, public health, and health-care
delivery.
New faculty recruitment to enhance research resources, supported through Biomedical Research Core Centers.
Academic
Research Enhancement Awards, for research in educational institutions
that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number
of the nation’s research scientists but have not been major recipients
of NIH support.
Administrative supplements
to support research employment opportunities for new employees who are
pre-doctoral students, postdoctoral trainees/fellows, or recent college
and master’s degree graduates; to promote diversity in health-related
research or re-entry into research careers; and to provide summer
research experiences for students and science educators.
The Web sites of the individual Institutes identify their priorities
and participation in the components of NIH-wide ARRA initiatives. The
deadlines for the single solicitation have passed. The response to
these funding opportunities has been overwhelming, reflecting
substantial capacity and need in the research community. We anticipate
substantial resubmissions in FY 2010, increasing the demand for
sustained NIH funding.
Reporting requirements for these funds will
be demanding on both NIH and grant recipients, as full transparency and
accountability are required. The distribution of funds and jobs created
will be carefully tracked and reported on www.Recovery.gov.
As the research supported by ARRA funding gets underway, we will be
pleased to report progress and outcomes to ASH members. In the
meantime, we hope you will take the time to express your thanks to
Congress and the President for providing this extraordinary opportunity!
The $10.4 billion allocated to NIH through ARRA breaks down as follows:
• Scientific research priorities $8.2 billion
• Equipment, facilities, and infrastructure $1.8 billion
• Comparative effectiveness research (CER) $0.4 billion
Of the $8.2 billion for scientific research, $7.4B will go to the
Institutes and Centers (I/Cs), with allocations generally proportionate
to each I/C’s annual budget funding (with specific allocations made to
autism and cancer research).
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