NIH and AHRQ Important Notices

Dear Colleagues:

The following summaries of NIH Guide Notices may be of interest to faculty and researchers. Please review and forward to faculty, researchers and others, as appropriate.

Questions regarding these notices should be directed to your assigned Contract and Grant Officer.  

  • Update on NIH Extension Policy for Early Stage Investigator Status (ESI)
    (NOT-OD-18-235) National Institutes of Health

The purpose of this notice is to update NIH policy on extension criteria for Early Stage Investigators (ESIs).  NIH remains strongly committed to the Next Generation Researchers Initiative (NGRI) policy to fund more early career investigators and to enhance biomedical research workforce diversity. NIH defines an ESI as a Program Director / Principal Investigator (PD/PI) who has completed her/his terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award.  NIH considers requests for extension of the ESI period for various reasons, including medical concerns, disability, extended periods of clinical training, natural disasters, active duty military service. Each of these requests is reviewed on a case by case basis.  Because close to 50% of the ESI extension requests are related to childbirth,  effective immediately, NIH will approve an ESI extension of one year for childbirth within the ESI period. PDs/PIs must provide the child’s date of birth in the extension request justification on the NIH Extension portal.  Additional information on ESI Policy can be found at the links included in this summary.

  • NIH & AHRQ Announce Upcoming Updates to Application Instructions and Review Criteria for Fellowship Award Applications
    (NOT-OD-18-227) National Institutes of Health

The purpose of this Notice is to inform the biomedical and health services research communities of planned updates to application instructions and review criteria language for fellowship grant applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2019. The planned updates focus on the areas of inclusion reporting and protections for human subjects.  These upcoming updates will clarify the current application instructions and update the review criteria according to the new policy requirements for the NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Individuals Across the Lifespan as Participants in Research Involving Human Subjects (NOT-OD-18-116). The exemption language within the review criteria for the Protections for Human Subjects will be updated in preparation for the implementation of the Revised Common Rule.  Revisions to the application guide will be available through the How to Apply – Application Guide website by November 25, 2018. Significant updates are outlined in the full notice. 

  • NIH & AHRQ Announce Upcoming Updates to Application Instructions and Review Criteria for Research Grant Applications
    (NOT-OD-18-228) National Institutes of Health

The purpose of this Notice is to inform the biomedical and health services research communities of planned updates to application instructions and review criteria language for research grant applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2019, and for research and development contract proposals submitted in response to solicitations posted on or after January 25, 2019.  The planned updates include changes in the areas of (1) the rigor of the prior research, formerly Scientific Premise (Note: Please refer to NOT-OD-16-011 for a list of activity codes excluded from the Enhancing Reproducibility policy); (2) Inclusion reporting; and (3) protections for human subjects.   The upcoming updates will clarify the current application instructions and review criteria by replacing the term “scientific premise” with “the rigor of the prior research” and adding instruction and review language so that “the rigor of the prior research” is addressed under Significance and Approach. In addition, the updates will include new policy requirements for the NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Individuals Across the Lifespan as Participants in Research Involving Human Subjects (NOT-OD-18-116). The exemption language within the review criteria for the Protections for Human Subjects will be updated in preparation for the implementation of the Revised Common Rule.  Revisions to the application guide will be available through the How to Apply – Application Guide website by November 25, 2018. Significant updates are outlined in the full notice. 

  • NIH & AHRQ Announce Upcoming Updates to Application Instructions and Review Criteria for Career Development Award Applications
    (NOT-OD-18-229) National Institutes of Health

The purpose of this Notice is to inform the biomedical and health services research communities of planned updates to application instructions and review criteria language for career development award applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2019.  The planned updates will focus on the areas of (1) the rigor of the prior research, formerly Scientific Premise (Note: K02, K05, and K24 career development award activity codes are excluded from the Enhancing Reproducibility policy); (2) inclusion reporting; and (3) protections for human subjects.  The upcoming updates will clarify the current application instructions and review criteria by replacing the term “scientific premise” with “the rigor of the prior research” and adding instruction and review language so that “the rigor of the prior research” is addressed under Significance and Approach. In addition, the updates include new policy requirements for the NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Individuals Across the Lifespan as Participants in Research Involving Human Subjects (NOT-OD-18-116). The exemption language within the review criteria for the Protections for Human Subjects will be updated in preparation for the implementation of the Revised Common Rule. Revisions to the application guide will be available through the How to Apply – Application Guide website by November 25, 2018. Significant updates are outlined in the full notice. 

Sandra M. Stevens

Associate Director, Sponsored Projects

 

Sponsored Projects Administration

Office of Research

University of California, Irvine

141 Innovation, Suite 250
Irvine, CA 92617-3213

PH:  (949) 824-4928

Fax: (949) 824-2094

E-mail:     

http://www.research.uci.edu/

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