Notices and Reminders
NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan: New Requirement from the Office of Research Administration (ORA)
The project’s Principal Investigator (PI) is required to monitor and manage the DMS Plan, with at least yearly examination and oversight of data sharing and storage at the time of the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). To ensure compliance with NIH DMS guidelines, the following language for element 6, Oversight of Data Management and Sharing was developed by the ORA and MUST be included in your DMS Plan:
The Principal Investigator (PI) for this project, Dr. ABC, will ensure that this Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan is followed. The PI will be responsible for oversight of compliance with the accepted DMS Plan. Compliance will be evaluated annually during the award period by Ashley Krukowski, the Associate Vice President for Research Administration, and progress towards the plan’s DMS activities will be included in the annual Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) submitted to the National Institute of XXXX Project Officer. At the project conclusion, the final progress report will summarize how the DMS objectives were fulfilled and provide links to the shared dataset(s).
The Washington Week in Science Compiled by Van Scoyoc Associates
Health
2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded for development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their work on nucleoside base modifications that allowed the development of effective messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against COVID-19. The duo’s groundbreaking discoveries were crucial in the current international understanding of how mRNA interacts with the immune system; their work played a crucial role in the rapid rate of vaccine development during the global pandemic. Read more:
PharmTech
US State Department slams Congress for failure to renew anti-AIDS program The failure of Congress to reauthorize the main U.S. program aimed at reducing the spread of AIDS sends a message that Washington is "backing down" from its leadership on the issue, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday. A deadline to renew long-term funding for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) passed on Saturday, despite a stop gap deal reached to avoid a partial government shutdown. Read more:
Reuters
CDC draft recommends certain people use antibiotic pill after sex to prevent the spread of STIs Health care providers should consider prescribing a commonly used antibiotic to certain people as a way to prevent chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis infections, according to a draft recommendation posted online by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday. “The purpose of the proposed guidelines is to provide updated clinical guidance for healthcare providers to inform the use of doxycycline PEP for preventing bacterial STI infections,” according to the
posted document. Read more:
CNN
FDA authorizes Novavax's updated COVID vaccine The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized an updated version of Novavax's COVID vaccine, allowing doses to begin shipping to doctors' offices and pharmacies across the country. Anyone age 12 and older can get a dose of the new vaccine, regardless of whether they were previously vaccinated, the
FDA said in a statement. Read more:
NBC News
FDA urges development of cocaine and meth addiction treatments The Food and Drug Administration is encouraging drugmakers to develop treatments for stimulant use disorder, hoping to address a major gap in the addiction crisis response. There aren't any approved treatments to help address addiction to cocaine, meth or prescription stimulants, whose use has
surged in recent years — often in combination with opioids.
Draft guidance issued Wednesday reflects FDA's current thinking on clinical trial design and considerations throughout the drug development process. Read more:
Axios
Small study identifies brain region associated with breathing failure following seizures A research team supported by the National Institutes of Health has identified a part of the brain that may be associated with breathing failure following a seizure in people with severe epilepsy that cannot be controlled with medication. The condition, known as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), is the leading cause of death in this patient population. Read more:
NIH
Digital autism screening tool shows promise in NIH-funded study A tablet-based screening application for
autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may improve early detection, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Early detection is critical for access to
early interventions that can have major long-term positive effects on symptoms and later skills. The app showed 87.8% sensitivity for detecting ASD. Read more:
NIH
Fundamental Science and Engineering
Senate Commerce Committee holds hearing on implementation of Chips and Science Act Wednesday the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on implementation and oversight of the Chips and Science Act, which authorized nearly $250 billion to spur American manufacturing, research and development, create thousands of jobs and build a highly-trained workforce. Testimony was received from Commerce Secretary Gina Raimonda and National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. Read more:
Senate Commerce Committee
Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to three scientists for exploring the nanoworld The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for being pioneers of the nanoworld. The new laureates discovered and developed quantum dots, semiconductors made of particles squeezed so small that their electrons barely have room to breathe. Read more:
New York Times
OUHSC now has a Helicobacter positive mouse breeding facility
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Historically mouse breeding only occurred in the Rodent Barrier Facility (RBF), where all colonies must be free from Helicobacter spp.
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Increasing prevalence, however, of scientifically justified needs to breed Helicobacter spp. positive mouse strains in recent years have risen
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The VPR office has supported the Department of Comparative Medicine (DCM) so we can start Helicobacter spp. positive breeding in the O’Donoghue Research Building (ORB)
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All breeding in this facility is 100% facilitated by DCM Colony Management Services
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The Success of this new breeding program will rely on strict adherence to biosecurity principles, separate facilities, and minimal crossover of personnel between ORB and RBF
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Complementary Helicobacter spp. negative and positive breeding facilities will now support the ever growing and complex biomedical research landscape on the OUHSC Campus and is consistent with the University Strategic Plan
Workshops and Seminars
12th International Conference on Computational Advances in Bio and Medical Sciences (ICCABS 2023)
This symposium be hosted by the Oklahoma University Norman Campus from December 11
th to 13
th 2023. This leading conference in bioinformatics and computational biology is hosting 4 workshops on next generation sequencing, molecular epidemiology, single cell omics, and systems immunology. The conference will have post-proceedings and extended abstracts published in Springer Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics (LNBI) and selected submissions will be invited to special issues of the Journal of Computational Biology (JCB) or Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (TCBB) dedicated to the conference. The conference will have a poster session and a networking event. Highlight talks of published works or research in progress are also welcomed. Please visit the conference website (
https://iccabs.cs.ou.edu/) and consider the CFP for more details. A number of student scholarships and 20% discount is offered for OU affiliate faculty and students for registration fees support.
ORA Training: Introduction to Proposal Preparation & ORA Submission Process
Date: October 31, 2023; 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Zoom
Description: This session will provide an overview of OUHSC grants policies and procedures, budget development, and grant submission process.
Oklahoma Conference for Statistical Innovation and Application
American Statistical Association Oklahoma Chapter, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at OUHSC, and Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Research co-organized the second Oklahoma Conference for Statistical Innovation and Application in the Era of Data Science which will be held at Hudson College of Public Health in Oct 23
rd and Oct 24
th. The conference invites 11 well established guest speakers and it also includes student poster competition session. The conference will be in hybrid format including both in-person and zoom options. The theme of the conference is the novel development in biostatistics, statistics, data science and their applications in biomedical research. Registration is needed at the following website for attending the conference:
https://obsc.ouhsc.edu/.
Web of Life Conference is April 25-26, 2024 held at OU Health Sciences Center campus. For additional information please refer to the attached flyer (WebofLifeConference).
OUHSC Funding Opportunities
Presbyterian Health Foundation (PHF) Bridge Grant Program – Request For Applications
The primary objective of the PHF Bridge Grant Program is to provide funding to enhance OUHSC faculty competitiveness for extramural funding. OUHSC Principal Investigators are eligible if they meet the following criteria: 1) have submitted an extramural application within the past 18 months that was scored but not funded, 2) are requesting over $750,000 in total direct costs and over $200,000 in total facilities and administration (F&A) costs; and 3) received a review that ranks applications and provides critiques.
Oklahoma Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging
Call for Applications for 2024 Pilot Project Awards
Application due: October 15, 2023
Link to the full announcement: See attached flyer for more complete information (Nathan Shock Pilot Advertisement).
Office of Technology Commercialization presents the following opportunity for researchers to engage with industry (click
here for more information, or email
otc@ou.edu or
gina-mcmillen@ouhsc.edu).
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A top five pharmaceutical company is looking to identify protein engineering research and technologies that support the development of therapeutics with bi/multi-specific conditional activity. Approaches of interest include activation by specific pH, proteases, small molecule or ligand binding; structural occlusion mechanisms and other novel mechanism to achieve conditional activation. Submission entails a one-page 200-300 word non-confidential brief. Deadline 10/30.
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A multinational pharmaceutical company is seeking novel biology or therapeutic compounds for treatment of Immunology and Inflammation diseases (i.e. asthma, COPD, IBD). Novel first-in-class or best-in-class preferred; small molecule, large molecule and RNA modalities are of highest interest. Out of scope: drug repurposing, natural products and herbal medicine. Submission entails a one-page 200-300 word non-confidential brief. Deadline 10/30.
NOTE: If the project is selected to move forward with a full application, it will need to be routed through SoonerTrack II.
NIH Notices
NOTE: When only one application is allowed per Institution according to the sponsor instructions, a one-page letter of intent summarizing the proposed project should be submitted to the Vice President for Research at least two months prior to the application deadline (unless otherwise noted). The letters of intent will be reviewed and a single application will be chosen for submission from the University.
NIH Funding Opportunities
Other Funding Opportunities
Route 66 Endometrial Cancer SPORE: Developmental Research Program
Description: The Developmental Research Program within the Route 66 Endometrial Cancer SPORE seeks applications developing bold new ideas in endometrial cancer research. Projects at the pilot stage investigating new treatment or prevention strategies and/or obtaining preliminary data are encouraged to apply.
Application Deadline: October 27, 2023
Link to the Full Announcement: Please see attached (SPORE_DRP_RFP_2023)
Route 66 Endometrial Cancer SPORE: Career Enhancement Program
Description: This program is for Early career faculty or established investigators who wish to develop or refocus their careers on translational research in endometrial cancer with emphasis on etiology, prevention, diagnosis, early detection, treatment, endometrial cancer disparities, or population science, and Senior level post-doctoral or clinical fellows who provide a letter from their Department Chair or Division Director stating that candidate will join its faculty by the time of the award.
Application Deadline: October 27, 2023
Link to the Full Announcement: Please see attached (SPORE_CEP_RFP_2023)
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Request for Applications: Single-Cell Biology Data Insights Cycle 3 RFA
Description: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) invites applications for Cycle 3 of the
Single-Cell Biology Data Insights RFA. CZI seeks to support projects that will advance the fields of single-cell biology and data science. Projects may include dedicated efforts to democratize access and usability of existing single-cell datasets, demonstrate utility by leveraging existing single-cell datasets to address impactful and challenging biological questions, and develop methods that enable greater biological insight and other major challenges brought forward.
This request for applications is the last of three currently planned cycles, with successful projects receiving 18 months of funding support. Awards are a maximum of $400,000 in total costs for Expanded Projects, and $200,000 in total costs for Focused Projects.
Application Deadline: December 5, 2023
Conquer Cancer Grants & Awards
The
Conquer Cancer Grants & Awards Program offers a comprehensive portfolio of funding opportunities for every career stage. Conquer Cancer supports the brightest minds in cancer research in every aspect of oncology, from prevention and diagnosis to treatment and survivorship.
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Young Investigator Award (YIA)The YIA provides research funding to promising physicians to support the transition from final years of training to faculty appointment and to encourage and promote quality research in clinical oncology. Applications in all areas of cancer research are accepted from U.S. and international applicants, and there is dedicated funding for disease sites and topics. Applications are
due September 21, 2023, by 11:59 PM (ET).
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Applications are due January 31, 2024, by 11:59 PM (ET):
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YIA in Drug Development
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YIA in Geriatric Oncology
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YIA in Cancer Supportive Care
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YIA in Primary Brain Tumors
Applications are due March 14, 2024, by 11:59 PM (ET):
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YIA in Mantle Cell Lymphoma
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YIA in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
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YIA for Diversity and Inclusion in Breast Cancer Research
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The CDA provides research funding to clinical investigators, who have received their initial faculty appointment, as they work to establish an independent clinical cancer research program. This is a mentored award and the research project is conducted under the guidance of a scientific mentor. Applications are due October 19, 2023, by 11:59 PM (ET).
CDA for Diversity and Inclusion in Breast Cancer Research–Applications are due March 14, 2024, by 11:59 PM (ET).
The ACRA is designed with the primary goal of increasing diversity in the oncology workforce and cancer research. Awards will be given to mid-career investigators who are members of racial and/or ethnic groups traditionally excluded in academic medicine and biomedical research, and who wish to conduct original breast cancer research not currently funded. Letters of Intent are due November 16, 2023, by 11:59 PM (ET).
The WWCC Mentorship Award recognizes extraordinary women leaders in oncology and role models who have excelled as a mentor and have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the professional development of women colleagues as clinicians, educators, and researchers in oncology. Nominations are due December 15, 2023, by 11:59 PM (ET).
The purpose of this award is to facilitate collaborations involving a diverse team of investigators, directed toward developing treatment options for childhood medulloblastoma. This is a $100,000 grant from Carson Leslie Foundation and #cureMEdullo, with Conquer Cancer serving as the lead organization for grant administration. Letters of Intent are due September 29, 2023, by 11:59 PM (ET).
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Wellcome: Strengthening Health and Disease Modeling for Public Health Decision Making in Africa
Description: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome have launched a new request for proposals, "Strengthening Health and Disease Modelling for Public Health Decision Making in Africa."
Local modeling expertise is critical to effective public health decision making, and the community of modelers across Africa is growing. With this in mind, the Gates Foundation and Wellcome recently co-hosted a workshop with over 100 African modelers and other stakeholders to discuss how to strengthen the public health modeling ecosystem on the continent. This request for proposals was shaped by the themes of those discussions. We seek to support modelling projects that answer important public health questions, that are actionable enough to result in policies that improve people’s health, and that strengthen the African modelling ecosystem by developing new approaches and tools or connecting modelers and policymakers across countries and institutions.
Application Deadline: October 23, 2023
Susan G. Komen ASPIRE: A Supplement to Promote Inclusion for Research Excellence
Description: This new Susan G. Komen grant is intended to enhance the diversity of the breast cancer research workforce by providing established breast cancer scientists with supplemental funding to support research trainees from communities historically minoritized and marginalized in research. By supporting these promising trainees early in their research careers, Komen seeks to ensure that a diverse group of highly trained scientists who reflect the communities we serve will emerge as the next generation of leaders in breast cancer research and end breast cancer forever.
Eligibility: Lead mentor must have a currently funded breast cancer research project that has undergone a rigorous peer review (see request for application for link of organizations that fall under this category). Trainees supported with this supplement are from groups shown to be historically minoritized and marginalized in biomedical research from National Science Foundation data. This includes individuals who identify as Black or African American, Latino or Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders; individuals with disabilities; and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds according to the criteria used by the NIH (https://diversity.nih.gov/about-us/population-underrepresented). Eligibility for disadvantaged background will be measured using the same characteristics as the NIH, i.e., at least two of the criteria must be met to be included.
Award amount: up to $100,000 per year to cover a trainee’s salary for one year or two years.
Full Application Due: November 1, 2023, by 1 p.m., Eastern Standard Time