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Research Newsletter 2005

September 12, 2005

This electronic newsletter is distributed to faculty, postdoctoral researchers and staff who are interested in current research news and funding opportunities. Information is compiled by Rosemary Alexander (rosemary.alexander@case.edu) and Diane Weitzen. (diane.weitzen@case.edu). Editor: Rosemary Alexander

Sponsored Projects News

Case News

New Procedure for Small Business Subcontracting Plans for Individuals
Because of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, Case has recently tightened oversight of independent contractor agreements for individuals. There are substantial penalties levied by the IRS when individuals who should be hired as temporary employees are, in fact, hired as independent contractors. Although Rosemary Alexander in OSPA still reviews the contracts and provides feedback to Human Resources (HR) regarding these, to ensure that all sponsored projects' issues are appropriately met, e.g., IRB and/or IACUC approvals, conflict of interest issues, availability of funding, as well as sponsor approval of the use of the funding to pay an independent contractor, ALL independent contractor agreements for individuals are now reviewed and executed by Tony Kinslow, Vice President for Human Resources. In addition, ALL independent contractor agreements for individuals must be accompanied by a completed Independent Contractor Questionnaire, which can be downloaded from http://ora.ra.cwru.edu/ospa/forms/InstrctRsrchIndpContrAgrmt.cfm. This questionnaire must be filled out by the principal investigator or project manager. It will be reviewed by Tony Kinslow when he reviews the contract.

Please note: There is NO change in the procedure for handling of research-related consulting agreements for businesses.

Please review the updated OSPA independent contractor agreement website at the above URL to note all changes in procedure. Most though not all changes are marked with a logo. If you have any questions, please call or email Rosemary Alexander (368-2008 or rosemary.alaxander@case.edu).

Nano-App Summit 2005 in Cleveland - October 17-21, 2005
Case has teamed up with the Nano-Network, ASM International and others to sponsor a Nanotechnology Conference, the Nano-App Summit 2005, that will inform, educate and provide networking opportunities for researchers in both academia and industry, students, and the public. Case's Dr. Alexis Abramson is scheduled to teach in the class "Nanotechnology 101-What you Need to Know", and Case Drs. Clemens Burda, David Schiraldi, and Christoph Weder will be speaking in the "Consumer Products" and "Automotive" portions of the program. For advance registration, respond by September 30, 2005. Click to Register

Advancing Psychosocial And Health Services Research On Aging And Cancer
Case Comprehnsive Cancer Center Program In Aging-Cancer Research is hosting a symposium on October 20, 2005 to present the following:

1. Background and justification for advancing research on aging and cancer
2. An overview and outcomes of psychosocial and health services research on aging and cancer at Case Western Reserve University
3. A review of methodological issues and strategies in analyzing age and aging processes
4. A summary of key findings in psychosocial research on aging and cancer
5. Perspectives on future directions in psychosocial and health services research on aging and cancer.

Symposium location: Iris S. and Bert L. Wolstein, Research Building Auditorium on the campus of Case Western Reserve University at 2103 Cornell Rd. on the corner of Cornell Rd. & Circle Dr.
For the complete brochure and registration, click here.
Or click on http://cancer.case.edu and choose the link to this symposium under "Upcoming Programs".

Midtown Scientific Inc. – Newest Distributor in Cleveland’s Scientific Research Community
Case recently welcomed to campus a new vendor, a distributor/supplier of scientific and laboratory research supplies and equipment, and biochemical reagents. This vendor, Midtown Scientific Inc., is unique in the fact that it is also a minority-owned, women-owned and certified HUBZone vendor. (HUBZone = Historically Underutilized Business Zone). Researchers with contractual and grant-related obligations in their funding awards to target vendors in these categories, should especially take note. Below in the Purchasing News section of this newsletter are more details about Midtown Scientific.

Case Spotlight

Georgia J. Cowart Chair, Department of Music Associate Professor of Music

The most consistent thread of continuity in the body of research Professor Georgia Cowart has published is the attempt to situate music within its artistic, intellectual, and social contexts. Her first book, The Origins of Modern Musical Criticism: Quarrels over French and Italian Music, 1600-1750, traced the development of musical aesthetics and criticism as they grew from literary ideas and quarrels that characterized the early modern period in Europe. Her second book, French Musical Thought, 1600-1800, for which she served as editor and contributor, consisted of a group of essays by leading scholars in musicology and musical iconography, political history, literature, and anthropology. Her articles of the 1980s and '90s, including a comparative study of the concepts of “sense and sensibility” in French and German musical writings (Acta musicologica, Journal of the International Musicological Society, 1984) and a feminist interpretation of critical language (Cambridge Opera Journal, 1994), explored similar themes.

In the late 1990s, a series of research trips to Paris resulted in the discovery of a system of political subversion that embraced various forms of theatrical entertainment of the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Since then she has explored a wide-ranging repertoire to study the ways in which librettists, playwrights, musicians, and artists conspired to undermine and reverse the images and ideologies Louis XIV’s image-makers had created in the musical entertainments of his early reign (1650-1680). In “Carnival in Venice or Protest in Paris? Louis XIV and the Politics of Subversion at the Paris Opéra,” (Journal of the American Musicological Society, 2001), she showed how the Utopia of “Venetian carnival” in operatic works from the turn of the eighteenth century served as a mask for a Parisian public sphere, competing with the spectacles of the courtly entertainments that had constituted the basis of royal propaganda and power. In “Watteau’s Pilgrimage to Cythera and the Subversive Ideology of the Opera-Ballet” (Art Bulletin, 2001), she showed how the mythical isle of Cythera, home of Venus and another operatic Utopia undermining Louis’s patriarchal authority, served as an important source for Watteau’s well-known painting. This article won the 2002-03 James L. Clifford award, presented by the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies for the most outstanding article on an eighteenth-century topic published in any journal in the preceding year. In its announcement, the prize committee stated, “This article is a rich reinterpretation of one work—Watteau’s Pilgimage to Cythera—through a wonderful exploration of multiple cultural forms and meanings, in a manner that sets a model for an interdisciplinary socio-political reading of a cultural artifact.”

Professor Cowart’s current research is embodied in the book she is completing, The Triumph of Pleasure: Louis XIV and the Festive Arts, which explores these themes in a more comprehensive way. Supported by fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies, it traces patterns of protest to Louis’ court ballet as a primary site for the development of royal propaganda. Representing the court as a patriarchal Utopia, this propaganda used the king’s dancing body to impress images of authority on the collective imagination. As she argues, in forging allegorical connections between Louis XIV and authority figures such as Jupiter, Pluto, and Minerva, the goddess of war, the creators of the ballet also opened the way for an encoded resistance based on reversals of this royal imagery. Later chapters show how subversive strategies inform certain comedy-ballets of Jean-Baptiste Lully (Louis XIV’s chief musician), and Molière, the operas of Lully’s sons, and especially the opera-ballets of André Campra and his contemporaries at the turn of the eighteenth century. Tracing Lully’s role in the court ballet and in his collaboration with Molière, her research revises the traditional critical assessment of this composer. It also fits the works of his contemporaries and successors into important musical and cultural trends at the turn of the century. In sum, it traces three musical styles accompanying the three thematic treatments of absolutist pomp, pastoral gallantry, and carnivalesque madness. Loosely associated respectively with the monarch, the nobility, and the populace, these topoi were originally manipulated to privilege the king’s image. As the ballet moved from court to the public sphere of urban Paris, a more delicate musical gallantry and a flamboyant Italian style accompanied themes of Cytherean beauty and carnivalesque hedonism to privilege a new model of public pleasure.

Professor Cowart's Web page

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Federal News

Playing It Safe With Research Risk: If you fail to follow the rules, you could conduct an entire project and be forbidden to publish the results.
From the daily online Chronicle of Higher Education article by Karen M. Markin, 8/12/05.
"Young investigators may throw up their hands when faced by this maze of approval processes. How can an institution say it wants faculty members to conduct research and then erect so many hurdles? Blame it on the federal government, which provides much of the money to conduct the research and therefore sets the rules. Institutions take those regulations seriously because failure to comply can hit them in the pocketbook through loss of grant dollars.

In the interest of safety, many research projects must undergo institutional review before you begin. Official approval is needed to work with human subjects, animals, dangerous biological materials, and radioactive materials. Each area is overseen by a different committee and each committee has its own review process. The research safety panels that exist at most institutions include: Human subjects; Animal Care; Biotechnology and Biohazards and Radioactive Material.

The bright side. The federal government recognizes the burden that some of these regulations place on researchers. Agencies realize that only a fraction of research proposals are financed, so they generally allow you to submit a grant proposal involving human subjects or animals before receiving the necessary safety approval. Should your proposal be selected you will need the approval before the agency will release any money. So play it safe in terms of both your own research agenda and the well-being of society. Don't wait until the last minute to begin the necessary approval process. IRBs and IACUCs have regularly scheduled meetings as well as premeeting deadlines for receipt of your application. Biosafety and Radiation Safety Panels many meet less frequently. Contact them about their schedules and application requirements."

Full Text (The Chronicle article provides a quick, very nice overview of the various types of approvals one may need.)

Policy

Delayed Receipt Dates for Principal Investigators Who Assist in Recovery Efforts for Hurricane Katrina
Notice: NOT-OD-05-076
The National Institutes of Health is continuing to make efforts to support grantees affected in various ways by Hurricane Katrina. The NIH has made several announcements for grantees affected by Hurricane Katrina (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-074.html), including one directed to investigators submitting applications from institutions damaged by the hurricane (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-072.html). This latest notice is directed to investigators from other institutions who are involved in the recovery efforts. The process of assistance and recovery from the widespread damage and health problems caused by Hurricane Katrina will involve many members of the biomedical and behavioral research community. Many individuals are now volunteering to help in the relief and rebuilding efforts. The NIH will extend consideration for late grant application submission to those directly involved with hurricane relief efforts. Principal Investigators who are submitting an application late because of their immediate involvement in hurricane recovery efforts should include a cover letter that documents the time period of their direct involvement in assistance for hurricane relief. NIH will endeavor to extend this consideration for the time period of the hurricane assistance; however, the timing of the review meetings must also be considered. Therefore, applications due October 1 must be received by October 25 and those due November 1 by November 25. Principal Investigators submitting applications for RFAs that have special receipt dates should contact the NIH institute or center that issued the RFA to discuss the opportunity for a delayed submission; this may not be possible in some cases. Please note it is not necessary to get permission in advance and that this is limited to the involvement of Principal Investigators only, not other participants in the grant application. Click here to read the full notice.

NIH Announces Plans to Eliminate Mailing of Paper Notifications: Summary Statements & Peer Review Outcome Letters
Notice: NOT-OD-05-075
As the National Institutes of Health (NIH) continues towards its goal of a paperless grants process, over the next two grant review cycles, it will eliminate of the following two notifications which are currently sent in hard copy: Summary Statements and Peer Review Outcome Letters. Instead, investigators are instructed to use the eRA Commons, a Web interface where NIH and the applicant organizations are able to conduct extramural research administration business electronically.

Re. Summary Statements: Beginning October 1, 2005, NIH will no longer send hard copies of the Summary Statements to Principal Investigators (PIs) and Individual Fellows Applicants. Summary Statements are accessible electronically to PIs and Fellows in the eRA Commons within approximately 8 weeks of the Scientific Review Group (SRG) meeting.

Re. Review Outcome “Mailers”: Beginning February 1, 2006, the NIH will no longer send hard copies of the notification letter (also known as a “mailer”) to PIs and Fellows regarding the review outcome of an application by the SRG. When the SRG rosters and meeting dates become available, they may be accessed through http://www.csr.nih.gov/Committees/rosterindex.asp (Center for Scientific Review [CSR] reviews) or http://era.nih.gov/roster/ (Institute/Center reviews). Scores will be posted in the eRA Commons approximately 5 working days after the SRG meeting.

Case as an institution is already registered in the Commons, but investigators must also register. Investigators, who have not done so already should register as soon as possible. The following NIH resources for the eRA Commons are available to assist in the process:

ERA Commons Home Page for registration and updates: https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/
Frequently Asked Questions: https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/faq.jsp
Commons Helpdesk at 1-866-504-9552 or via e-mail at commons@od.nih.gov

Questions may also be addressed to Case OSPA staff at 368-4510. School of Medicine Investigators should call the SOM Research Office at 368-1158 for help. To avoid delays in the e-notification process, it is vital that all Principal Investigators and Individual Fellows register and periodically check e-mail addresses for accuracy.

For the present, the NIH will continue to send assignment and change of assignment mailers. However, this information is also accessible on the eRA Commons.

NOTE: This process does not apply to applications for the Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Click here for the full announcement.

New Process for Reimbursement to NIH Peer Reviewers
After September 30, 2005, NIH will implement a new system to reimburse reviewers who participate in their peer review meetings. This new system will ensure that expenses incurred while serving as a peer reviewer will be reimbursed at a comparable level to what is now reimbursed. Reviewers will no longer be required to submit vouchers and receipts for standard expenses. All peer reviewers are strongly encouraged to register with the US Treasury Central Contractor Registration by September 1, 2005. Specific instructions can be found at http://cms.csr.nih.gov. See also NOT-OD-05-062 and further clarification at NOT-OD-05-065.

Federal Office of Management and Budget
On August 31, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) moved various OMB Circulars that provide guidance on costs for which the federal government may reimburse educational and other non-profits to one title of the Code of Federal Regulations, i.e., 2 CFR, subtitle A. These Circulars include the Circulars A21 (Cost Principles for Educational Institutions), A122 (Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations), and A110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education).

2 CFR was set up in May 2004 with two subtitles. Subtitle A contains guidance for grants and other agreements, and Subtitle B contains the pertinent agency regulations. The logic is that the public may now find both the guidance and the regulations in a single location. This change is the first phase of a two-phase plan. The second phase requires OMB to ask for public comment on any proposals involving "substantive change" to the circulars that come from the interagency working groups charged with implementing PL106-107. After the comment period, final guidance will be published in Chapter 1 of Subtitle A.

More info:
September 1, 2005 Research Policy ALERT
Federal Register notice: http://thefdp.org/FR_05_16648.pdf

Guidelines for Inclusion of Clinical Practice Compensation in Institutional Base Salary Charged to NIH Grants and Contracts
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Notice Number: NOT-OD-05-061 provides guidance and policy to address requests for revision of established NIH requirements for the inclusion of Clinical Practice Compensation (CPC) in Institutional Base Salary (IBS) to provide enhanced clarity and flexibility in implementation while maintaining appropriate stewardship and accountability for the utilization of NIH funds.

IBS is the salary used to determine amounts requested for personnel in applications and proposals and charged to NIH grants and contracts and is defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement (12/03) as:

The annual compensation paid by an organization for an employee's appointment, whether that individual's time is spent on research, teaching, patient care, or other activities. Base salary excludes any income that an individual is permitted to earn outside of duties for the applicant/grantee organization. Base salary may not be increased as a result of replacing organizational salary funds with NIH grant funds. (See “ Allowability of Costs/Activities—Selected Items of Cost—Salaries and Wages”).

CPC is the compensation provided for the clinical service activities of an individual. Institutions manage CPC in a wide array of arrangements and the purpose of this guidance is neither to proscribe nor encourage a specific approach to the provision of this compensation or its inclusion in IBS.

Whether CPC should be included in IBS is most often a question related to faculty appointments at a University. In these settings the inclusion of CPC in IBS must be established consistent with the provisions of OMB Circular A-21 (Cost Principles for Colleges and Universities). These requirements are addressed under ‘Compensation for personal services' Section J.10, which in part states; “ Compensation for personal services covers all amounts paid currently or accrued by the institution for services of employees rendered during the period of performance under sponsored agreements. ” and that payroll distribution “will (i) be incorporated into the official records of the institution, (ii) reasonably reflect the activity for which the employee is compensated by the institution, and (iii) encompass both sponsored and all other activities on an integrated basis…”

Based on these principles and the input of the extramural community, the NIH in consultation with other HHS and other Federal officials has revised the requirements to be used as guidance in the determination of when it is appropriate to include CPC in the IBS. All these criteria must be met for CPC to be included in the IBS used to charge salary and personnel costs to NIH grants.

NIAMS Changes Policy for Acceptance and Competitive Renewal of Unsolicited Program Project Grant Applications
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) in consultation with National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Advisory Council, announced a change in policy for acceptance and competitive renewal of unsolicited Program Project grant applications.

The NIAMS will no longer accept unsolicited applications for new (Type 1) Program Project (P0l) grants. An exception will be made for first time amended (A1 revision) applications received for the October 1, 2005 receipt date. Competing continuation applications will only be considered for Program Project grants for a second competing award, for a total project period of up to 10 years. All non-competing commitments for future year support made to current program project grantees will continue to be honored as indicated on the current Notice of Award. This policy does not apply to applications submitted in response to Requests for Applications (RFAs) or Program Announcements that include specific receipt dates and/or acceptance procedures.
Click here for more details.

Change in NIEHS Policy Regarding Support of Scientific Meetings
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Notice NOT-ES-05-007 announces changes in NIEHS policy regarding support of scientific meetings through the NIH R13 grant mechanism.

NIEHS will no longer accept multiple applications for a single scientific meeting. Applicants and/or organizers of the meeting are responsible for coordinating the submission of a single cohesive application. Exceptions will be made for a single satellite meeting to be held in conjunction with the larger meeting.

NIEHS will accept applications under the following budget guidelines: The maximum amount of support that may be requested is $25,000. Currently, the maximum amount NIEHS will provide to any R13 application is $15,000. However, conferences from organizations with large funding resources may be limited to $8,000. Please note that an average award from NIEHS is $8,000. Applicants are encouraged to contact program staff at NIEHS concerning funding limits.

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NIH

NIH Announces Initial Plans to Transition to the SF424(R&R) Application and Electronic Submission through Grants.gov
To simplify the NIH grant application process, Federal Agencies involved in research and research-related grant funding have developed a common data set -- the SF424 Research and Research Related (R&R) application form.

The PHS 398 application has been replaced with the SF424 (R&R). This transition will occur in conjunction with the electronic receipt of competitive applications through Grants.gov. Request-for-Applications and Program Announcements will be issued in the NIH Guide and posted in Grants.gov as mechanisms are transitioned. The transition by mechanism will include all active Funding Opportunity Announcements for that program/mechanism.

Online Security Enhanced: The submission of electronic applications to NIH and AHRQ will require organizations to register with both Grants.gov and the NIH eRA Commons (Commons). Click NOT-OD-05-067 to read more about the transition.

Initial Plans/Milestones For Submission Dates And Mechanisms:
December 1, 2005: Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (STTR) (R41), R42, R43, R44)
December 15, 2005: Support for Conferences & Scientific Meetings (R13 & U13)
January 25, 2006: Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) (R15)
June 1, 2006: Small Grant Programs (R03) & Exploratory/Development Research Grant Awards (R21)
October 1, 2006: Research Project Grant Program (R01)

NIDCD Will Maintain Competing Grants by Cutting Existing Grants
From the September 2, 2005 edition of Research Policy ALERT:
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) Director, James Battey, announced on September 1st at an advisory meeting that the institute will reduce existing grants to keep the grants payline at an acceptable level. Dr. Battey told the council, "The non-competing will tumble and the competing will actually get a little bit bigger. but don't be fooled by this. The total number of grants that we're funding is going down because the budget is remaining flat, and the cost of giving awards is going up.

NIDCD's budget for FY2005 was about $394 M. The requested budget for FY2006 is about $397 M, with about $52 M of that allocated for competing R01 grants. Dr. Battey said that the funding for competing grants did increase by about $8 M because some previously funded grants had concluded, so the funds were moved from the non-competing grant budget to the the competing grant budget. About $10.4 M will be available to fund high priority projects, providing members with about $3.4 M to disburse for each of their other three meetings. Per Dr. Battey, "Unfortunately with only $3.4 M, it's unlikely that we will be able to support all the nominations to the full extent." The rest of the budget will resemble last year's. Intramural research will increase by about $500K, but that does not compensate for inflation or a 3% salary increase for staff. The shifting of funds has also allowed for an increase in the research management and support budget, which will increase by about $1 M.

Research Policy ALERT article (must be a subscriber to read)

Announcing the NIA Aged Non-Human Primate Tissue Bank
Notice: NOT-AG-05-008
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) announced a new resource for investigators in the field of aging research. The NIA Aged Non-human Primate Tissue Bank provides a repository of tissue from aged non-human primates (NHP) for use in research. Some tissue from middle-aged and young NHP will also be available soon. The tissues are donated by NIA-supported NHP colonies and other NHP colonies such as the National Primate Research Centers. The goal of the NIA Non-human Primate Tissue Bank is to archive tissue that might otherwise be discarded, and provide that tissue to investigators undertaking research on normal aging and age-related diseases. By making NHP tissue readily available, the NIA hopes to encourage investigators using other model organisms such as the rat and mouse to test their research findings in the primate model. In addition, the NIA NHP Tissue Bank will facilitate pilot studies and provide additional resources to investigators already using the primate model.

The primary focus will be on rhesus monkey tissue since this is the NHP model used most often for aging research. Other species will be included as they become available. The tissue available will be of varying ages and the health status of the animals will also vary. Some information on the health status of the donor animals will be available, but the NIA does not guarantee any aspect of the health status. Tissues are available as fresh-frozen specimens, slides containing sections of formalin-fixed tissue, and on a limited basis, OTC-embedded fresh-frozen specimens. Staining of slides may be requested.

Click here for more info.
For information on availability of tissue, contact Tracy Cope, copet@nia.nih.gov.
Full announcement.

Clarifications Re. Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) Award
Several issues clarified in the NIH Notice NOT-ES-05-009 include eligibility requirements as well as level of effort required for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) Award. Read the notice for details.

NIH Request for Information (RFI): Procurement of Knockout Mice for Neuroscience Research
This is a time-sensitive RFI directed toward neuroscience researchers. Participating Institutes/Centers from the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience (http://neuroscienceblueprint.nih.gov/) have been involved in extensive discussions to acquire hundreds of existing phenotyped knockout mice, which will be chosen from 1840 available strains from selected commercial suppliers under contract. The selected strains will be available to the academic/non-profit research community through NIH-supported central repositories, and the phenotypic data will be available to all without restriction via public databases. The NIH Institutes supporting neuroscience research request your assistance in nominating mouse lines that would be most valuable for neurobiological studies. There is a rapid turnaround from the time nominations are made, to the time the acquisition orders are placed, so a two-step process has been devised to receive your input as efficiently as possible.

Your first step is to request a listing of available knockout mice. To receive an email with the listings of available strains, please email knockoutmouse@mail.nih.gov with the heading “Requesting List” in the subject line. In the second step, those who have requested the list will receive an email with an attached spreadsheet containing all available mouse lines. You will also receive further instructions on how to nominate strains of interest. Responses/rankings need to be returned as soon as possible, but no later than September 8. Nominations coming in after that date will not be considered for this initial acquisition.

Since only a subset of strains can be acquired, not all nominations will be successful. See NIH Notice: NOT-MH-05-016

RFI: Preclinical Development Facility for Medical Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is considering issuing a contract to fund a preclinical testing facility that will conduct safety, pharmacokinetic/biodistribution, and developmental chemistry studies with candidate drugs as medical countermeasures against chemical agents that could be used in a terrorist attack. As a first step, the Institute has issued a Request for Information (RFI) is for information and planning purposes to identify expert sources to conduct safety, pharmacokinetic/biodistribution, and developmental chemistry studies with candidate drugs. (Candidate drugs will be supplied to the contractor by the NINDS.) See details in Notice NOT-NS-05-012.

NINDS Guidelines for Enrollment of Subjects into NINDS-Funded Clinical Trials
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) issued a notice is to inform NINDS grant applicants that beginning with the February 1, 2006 grant submission cycle, research proposals of biomedical or behavioral interventions submitted as a NINDS pilot clinical trial (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-03-174.html), or as a multi-center clinical trial, must include relevant information that addresses the feasibility of recruiting subjects who are eligible for the clinical trial. Specifically, potential applicants must provide evidence that each recruiting center in the trial has access to a sufficient number of study participants who meet the eligibility criteria as defined in the submitted protocol. For multi-site applications, information must be provided for each site participating in the trial. See more details in the full notice.

Notice of the NHLBI Exploratory Program in Systems Biology
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) announced it's intention to issue a Request for Applications (RFA) for an Exploratory Program in Systems Biology in the fall of 2005. The receipt date for applications would be in the spring of 2006.

This Exploratory Program in Systems Biology would support innovative, high-risk, high-impact research in the heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) areas. The systems biology approach supported by this RFA would bring together teams of experimental and computational/modeling researchers to further our understanding of biological networks and pathways critical in HLBS function. It is envisioned that this research would be carried out by highly interactive, collaborative, and multidisciplinary teams of investigators that would include researchers with a range of expertise, such as biomedical, physical, informatic, and mathematical disciplines.

This Notice encourages investigators who believe that they have sufficient expertise and resources to form these collaborative, multidisciplinary teams to begin considering applying for this initiative.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME. See full notice: NOT-HL-06-103.

Amendment to Budgetary Requirements for the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Dental Research Training Program (PAR-DE-05-101)
Notice: NOT-DE-05-007
This National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Notice regarding the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Dental Research Training Program is intended to modify programmatic budget requirements.

The PAR states that “Applicants may request awards up to $700,000 per year in direct costs.”
Applicants may now propose awards up to $1 million in direct costs. This change modifies the language of both the original Program Announcement and the Notice NOT-DE-05-006, which was released on June 17, 2005. With this substitution, all other guidelines and conditions in the PAR and the Notice remain the same. Click here to read full notice.

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NSF

New Version of the NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) (NSF 05-131) - Effective July 1, 2005
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published a revised version of the NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) (NSF 05-131) effective July 1, 2005. This document supersedes all prior versions of the GPM. This revision implements important changes to NSF's policies and procedures, as well as implements enhanced capabilities in FastLane. A by chapter summary of significant changes has been developed to assist the user in navigating through these changes. NSF strongly encourages all of its grantees to review this document.

The updated version of the GPM is available at
www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpm

NSF requests that questions or comments about the GPM to the Policy Office, Division of Institution and Award Support, at (703) 292-8243 or by e-mail to policy@nsf.gov.

Washington Watch: NSF Funding Still Lags Behind, but More in Congress Show Concern
From the online American Institute of Biological Sciences article by Erin Heath, August 2005.
Some Republican and Democrat representatives are coming together in a common goal to persuade the White House to increase science funding as a way to grow the economy. Representatives on both sides sent a letter to the President asking for a tripling of the investments to foster science and research over the next ten years.

"A growing number of lawmakers are viewing basic research as an investment rather than an expenditure. When the appropriations committee presented its plan for the FY 2006 spending bill for NSF, it raised the agency's budget just $171 million over last year's to $5.64 billion, well below the 6.1 billion scientists and congressional advocates had requested. Science funding is not likely to improve until Congress and the White House connect scientific research and development with economic growth and an enhanced quality of life. It is this connection that has inspired political leaders to fight to augment the federal budget for fundamental research." To read the full article: Click here.

Data released August 10, 2005, by the NSF found that "Graduate Enrollment in Science and Engineering Rises Over All, but Drops for Foreign Students"
From the online Chronicle of Higher Education by Sara Lipka, August 12, 2005.
"Graduate programs in science and engineering at American colleges enrolled 474,203 students in the fall of 2003, an all-time high that reflected an increase of 4 percent over the preceding year...."

"The number of people holding postdoctoral positions in science or engineering departments grew by 6 percent from 2002 to 2003. Rate of growth for foreign postdocs, 9 percent from 2002 to 2003, was nearly six times the growth from 2001 to 2002. For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, the 2003 increase in postdocs was less than 1 percent, down from 12 percent in 2002, according to the foundation. In 2003 approximately 60 percent of the 33,700 postdocs were foreign." To read the full article: Click here.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemistry Seeks Qualified Reviewers
The NSF Division of Chemistry seeks to enhance its pool of qualified reviewers of proposals. It is requesting researchers in the chemical sciences who have not previously reviewed for the Division of Chemistry, but are interested in providing this service, to contact NSF by visiting its website at http://www.nsf.gov/mps/che/reviewer/reviewer_info.jsp and completing the online registration form. NSF welcomes qualified reviewers from academic, industrial, and government employment, as well as from other countries. The National Science Foundation does reserve the right to choose its reviewers. Per the website: While NSF is unable to assure individuals that they will be asked to review proposals, it does attempt to call upon as many qualified reviewers as possible; as well as to limit the number of requests made to any single individual, recognizing the many demands reviewers have on their time. (Source: NSF Division of Chemistry Newsletter, No. 7)

NSF Cyber Trust Program Anticipates Providing Awards Totaling $36 M
NSF Press Release 05-141
"The National Science Foundation (NSF) expects to make 36 new awards totaling $36 million through its 2005 Cyber Trust program. The awards, ranging from $200,000 to $7.5 million, include two new centers--one focused on the design and technology for trustworthy voting systems and the other on securing electric power grids.

Cyber Trust, the centerpiece of NSF's cybersecurity efforts, is based on a vision of society in which the computers and networks underlying national infrastructures, as well as in homes and offices, can be relied upon to work--even in the face of cyber attacks.

To build more trustworthy voting systems, Johns Hopkins University's Avi Rubin will lead "A Center for Correct, Usable, Reliable, Auditable and Transparent Elections" (ACCURATE). A collaborative project involving six institutions, ACCURATE will investigate software architectures, tamper-resistant hardware, cryptographic protocols and verification systems as applied to electronic voting systems. Additionally, ACCURATE will examine system usability and how public policy, in combination with technology, can better safeguard voting nationwide. The center's research and findings will also apply to other systems where end-to-end security is paramount.

The second collaborative center, led by Bill Sanders at the University of Illinois, will address the challenge of designing, building and validating a secure cyberinfrastructure for the next-generation electric power grid. The "Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure for the Power Grid" (TCIP) project brings together four institutions to create technologies that will convey critical information to grid operators despite cyber attacks and accidental failures. The solutions created are expected to be adaptable for use in other critical infrastructure systems. Both the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security have pledged to collaborate with NSF to fund and manage this effort.

"These two centers represent opportunities to find solutions for urgent national problems," said Carl Landwehr, coordinator of the Cyber Trust program. Each center will receive approximately $1.5 million per year for five years.

In addition to the centers, Cyber Trust expects to support 34 other projects concerned with improving the dependability and security of computer systems and networks. These other Cyber Trust projects include research to:

• assure authenticity of digital media
• develop automated defenses against malicious code attacks, including viruses, worms, and spyware
• extract valuable information from large databases without compromising individual privacy
• protect businesses from "denial-of-service" attacks
• safeguard children's on-line transactions by increasing parental consent"
  

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Miscellany

"The Good Reviewer"
In keeping with the NIH policy change regarding reimbursements to peer reviewers and the subject of peer reviewing, we've included an excerpt from an article about reviewing that you may helpful. From the online Academe article by Stephen Chilton:

"Confine your comments to the manuscript; don't review the author, and don't be afraid to say no. Draft manuscripts are more difficult to read than published works, so peer reviewers should expect to work harder than reviewers of published works. Avoid second-guessing what the journal needs or the editor wants. The editor gets to decide what to publish; a good editor wants your professional judgment. Take sufficient time to review the work thoroughly, but return your comments no later than three weeks from receipt of the manuscript."

"Good peer reviewing isn't difficult if one starts with the proper attitude toward the author, namely, that we're in this together." Full article.

Olympus America Awards for Faculty Excellence
The National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) and Olympus America announced the opening of nominations for three Olympus-sponsored faculty awards: the Olympus Innovation Award, the Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award and the Olympus Emerging Educational. The awards will be given to faculty nominees chosen from among the nearly 200 member institutions of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), a national alliance of colleges and universities fostering invention, innovation and entrepreneurship in U.S. higher education, and a partner to Olympus in executing the program. Olympus will present the three prize awards at the NCIIA’s 10th Annual Meeting in Portland, OR on March 23, 2006.

The Olympus Innovation Award Program, now in its second year, recognizes a faculty member who fosters an environment of innovative thinking among students through inventive teaching methods and hands-on educational opportunities. Nominations will demonstrate how the nominees’ methods and philosophies have inspired students, and detail the resulting student innovations. The winner will receive a $10,000 prize award.

The Olympus Lifetime of Educational Innovation Award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated a sustained contribution throughout their careers to stimulating and inspiring innovative thinking in students in their own universities and throughout academia. The winner will receive a $2,500 prize award.

The Olympus Emerging Educational Leader Award, whose winner will receive a $1,000 prize, recognizes an individual who has inspired innovating thinking in students in a discrete area and who, the judges believe, has the potential to make even greater contributions to the field in the future.

The nomination deadline for all three awards is September 30, 2005. All nominations must be submitted online at www.nciia.org/login. (You must establish an account to log in, but there is no fee.)

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)’s Annual Scientific Awards
Nominations Accepted through September 16, 2005

The AACR is now accepting nominations for the following awards recognizing excellence in cancer research. Please note that there is no limit to the number of candidates who can be nominated from any one institution or nominator.

Winners of these awards will present a major lecture at the AACR 97th Annual Meeting, which will be held from April 1-5, 2006 in Washington, D.C. Click here for more details.

Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research for a scientist of international renown who has made a major scientific discovery in basic cancer research or who has made significant contributions to translational cancer research

AACR-G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award for outstanding recent accomplishments in basic cancer research

AACR-Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award for clinical cancer research

AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research to give recognition to a young investigator

AACR-Bruce F. Cain Memorial Award for preclinical cancer research

AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention

AACR-Joseph H. Burchenal Clinical Research Award

AACR-Women in Cancer Research-Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship for an outstanding scientist who has furthered the advancement of women in science

AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research-Jane Cook Wright Lectureship for an outstanding scientist who has furthered the advancement of minorities in cancer research

Please direct inquiries to awards@aacr.org.

A Limerick Contest to Ponder and a Previous Contest Winner's Witty Work:
From the mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR")
Issue number 2005-08 August 2005

The Contest:
2005-08-06 Five-Patels Limerick Competition

August's limerick competition involves a five-Patel paper that was spotted by investigator Frédéric Glasser. (The paper is also now part of Mini-Air's Multiplicity of Monikers Collection). Please submit an original (by you, done now, of good quality) limerick that elucidates this study:

"Physico-Chemical Characteristics and Fatty Acid
Composition of Milk Fat of Krankrej Cows, II.
Effect of Dietary Conditions," G.K. Patel, M.J. Patel,
R.M. Patel, K.C. Patel and R.D. Patel,
Fat Science Technology, vol. 91, no. 4, 1989, pp. 164-7.

The winner will receive a free issue of the Annals of Improbable Research.

Please submit your entry to:

FIVE-PATELS LIMERICK COMPETITION
c/o marca@chem2.harvard.edu

A Winner:
2005-08-08 Koffka/Kafka Kompetition Results

A winner for the Koffka/Kafka Kompetition, which asked competitors to compare and contrast, in limerick form:

KURT KOFFKA, the gestalt psychologist
versus
FRANZ KAFKA, the novelist

The winner is INVESTIGATOR FREDERICK CREWS, who points out that his last nine words should, ideally, be printed sideways:

Kurt Koffka gave a lecture in the hall:
"Perception Isn't Partial, It Is All."
"That's fine for you," said Samsa,
"Or a walrus or a hamsta,
But
what
if
you're
an
insect
on
the
wall?"

Looking for More?
If you would like further enlightenment, subscribe to mini-AIR. It's free.

To subscribe, send a brief E-mail message to:
LISTPROC@AIR.HARVARD.EDU
The body of your message should contain ONLY the words
SUBSCRIBE MINI-AIR MARIE CURIE
(You may substitute your own name for that of Madame Curie.)

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Compliance News

ORC has undergone reorganization through the Department of Human Resources:

Ms. Isabel Sanchez has been promoted to Case Institutional Review Board (IRB) Director and will continue to serve in a leadership role for the administration of the Case IRB. She can be contacted at 368-6995 or ias5@case.edu. Ms. Kimberly Volarcik was promoted to Case Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) Director and Director of the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) Quality Improvement Program. She can be contacted for consultation at 368-0134 or kav6@case.edu. Denise Turso, ORC Education Administrator, left the University to move with her family out-of-state. Questions concerning the Research Seminar Series or the CREC Program content can be forwarded to Maureen Dore-Arshenovitz at 368-6925 or mxd4@case.edu until the time that the Education Administrator position is filled. Ms. Maureen Landies, COI Administrator, was hired in April to administer the Case Conflict of Interest Advisory Committee and the annual sponsored research conflict of interest disclosure process for the University. She can be reached at 368-0838 or mel19@case.edu.

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Research Seminar Series

The Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA) and the Office of Research Compliance (ORC) offer frequent seminars throughout the year. To view the Research Seminars schedule in full, click here. Below are the upcoming seminars. Many of the seminars require online registration. The announcement will specify. If you have never registered online for the Research Seminars, you must first click here to establish an account for this and future registrations. If you need assistance with the registration process, contact Maureen Dore-Arshenovitz at mxd4@case.edu. Registrations are not confirmed until one week before the event.

September Seminars
October Seminars

September 21, 2005:
Confidentiality and Privacy of Electronic Records in Human Subject Research: HIPAA Security Rule
Case Biomedical Research Building (BRB) 105
9:00 am - 10:30 am
CREC Credits: 4

This seminar is designed to provide local human subject researchers with information about federal requirements (HIPAA Security Rule, FDA and OHRP Regulations) and tools to assist in improving confidentiality and security of electronic human subject research records. Christian LaMantia, Case Assistant Vice President for Research Compliance, will provide a regulatory overview, including guidance on local affiliated hospital HIPAA requirements. There will be ample opportunity for attendees to ask questions and get specific recommendations for their data security concerns. Register online.

Questions/problems re. registration should be addressed to Maureen, mxd4@case.edu

Parking: Tickets will be validated for attendees who work outside of campus.

September 28, 2005: Designing Babies: Human Research Issues
Case School of Medicine, Room E-501
12:00 noon – 1:30 pm, pizza and soda will be served.
CREC Credits: 4

Rebecca Dresser, J.D., Professor of Ethics in Medicine, Daniel Noyes Kirby Professor of Law, Washington University will discuss:
• Background on renewed interest in genetic modification of embryos to treat or enhance later-born children.
• Examination of ethical and policy issues in human testing of embryo modification
• Evaluation of justification for pursuing genetic modification research.

Parking: Tickets will be validated for attendees who work outside of campus
Register online or phone 368-6196

October 13, 2005: Effort Reporting
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Case Wolstein Auditorium
CREC Credits: N/A

Eric Cottington, Associate Vice President for Research will speak on effort reporting:
• Learn why effort reporting is receiving increased national attention
• Understand the key effort reporting policies and procedures
• Preview changes to the effort reporting system at Case
Parking: Tickets will be validated for attendees who work outside of campus
Register online or phone 368-6196

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Purchasing News

Vendor Spotlight: A quick overview, followed by a more detailed introduction
Midtown Scientific Inc. – Newest Distributor in Cleveland’s Scientific Research Community

Midtown Scientific, Inc.
4415 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland OH 44103

Attention researchers with federal small business subcontracting plan goals to meet! Midtown Scientific meets all of the categories below.

• Certified Minority Business Enterprise
• Certified Women Owned Business
• Certified HUBZone Business

Distributor/supplier of Scientific and Laboratory Research Supplies and Equipment and Biochemical Reagents.

Midtown Scientific Contact: Darlene Darby Baldwin, 216-431-0110, 216-431-0128 (fax)

Web address: www.midtownscientific.com

For assistance please contact the Case Purchasing Department at 216-368-2560 and ask to speak to the appropriate buyer based on commodity.

Below is a press release that provides more background on the company:
Cleveland, OH---Midtown Scientific, Inc. (MSI) has joined Cleveland’s scientific community as its first minority scientific supply distributor. It will distribute scientific research supplies, equipment, chemicals and safety products to research scientists in northeast Ohio.

MSI offers competitively priced scientific products and services. The company has modeled its business as a strategic partner and alternative for medical hospitals and universities. Most research products are bought from companies outside Cuyahoga County and the state of Ohio. MSI is the first African American-owned company of its kind. It partners nationally with numerous manufacturers and suppliers, providing complete lines of scientific research products that help the local economy grow.

MSI, located in the Empowerment and Historically Underutilized Business (EZ/HUB) Zone of the Midtown Corridor, is small, women-owned, and MBE-certified through the Northern Ohio Minority Business Council (NOMBC).

In Cleveland, where research is conducted in hospitals, universities, the biotech industry and research institutions, MSI fulfills grant requirements mandated by the federal government.

“Midtown Scientific is pleased to be a part of Cleveland’s research community,” said Darlene Darby Baldwin, president and CEO. “As a minority supplier, the research institutions have received us warmly. I am so excited about this business, particularly that we have met the requirements and joined the vendor list at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Case Western Reserve University and Kent State University. It is so gratifying. We’re still completing applications for additional certifications, presenting quotes and filling purchase order requests. It is my greatest hope that our major institutions will really utilize us a strategic partner to fuel our local economy.”

According to Dorothy A. Terrell, president and CEO of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, and John Koten, editor-in-chief, Inc. Magazine, MSI, has been identified as a “good candidate” to compete in the 2006 “Inner City One Hundred” competition which identifies the 100 fastest growing businesses located in America’s inner cities.

A Cleveland native, Darlene is a Cleveland public schools success story and graduate of John Carroll and Case Western Reserve Universities. “I’m just trying to use the gifts and talents God gave me to improve the quality of life for others – whether it’s through supplying research scientists with what is needed to find a cure, or finding a way to boost our local economy through creating new opportunities,” she said.

To find out more about Midtown Scientific Inc., call (216) 431-0110 or visit the Web site at: www.midtownscientific.com

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Research Equipment Resources

Equipment to Borrow or Lend?
Do you need some equipment but do not have the funds to purchase it? Do you have equipment you are not using and would be willing to lend to other researchers at CWRU? This spot in the newsletter will be devoted to those needs. Send notices of equipment you are willing to lend or need to borrow to Rosemary Alexander at rosemary.alexander@case.edu.

Equipment Broken or Working Poorly?
The Scientific Instrument Repair Center (SIRC), directed by William M. Frank, services a wide variety of research equipment from small bench top equipment to X-ray generators for any laboratory on campus at reduced cost. The SIRC also offers advice when purchasing new equipment and extended warranties. The Center is located on the CWRU campus in the School of Medicine in TB07. Contact Mr. Frank at 368-3225 or william.frank@case.edu for details about fees and services or go to http://mediswww.cwru.edu/sirc/.

If you need to borrow equipment while yours is being serviced, you are welcome to post a notice in this space. Email Rosemary Alexander with your notice.


Need Specialized Equipment Built?
The Design and Fabrication Center (DFC), located on campus in the School of Medicine in EG-1, is a fully equipped machine shop, and will custom build new equipment or modify existing equipment to meet your needs at reduced cost. The DFC can provide technical and engineering support service for any mechanical, electrical, and computerized application, for significantly less money. The DFC provides services not only to any CWRU lab, but also to University Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic, and CWRU-affiliated biomedical companies. Contact Mr. Torontali at 368-3461 or steven.torontali@case.edu. The DFC website, currently under construction, will be available at http://mediswww.cwru.edu/DFC/.

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Funding Opportunities

OSPA Funding News
The Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA) maintains a funding page at the this link (http://ora.ra.cwru.edu/OSPA/News/Funding_news.cfm). This list of funding announcements is not meant to be comprehensive. It changes at least monthly, sometimes daily. Announcements will be displayed on the website until the letter of intent due date or the application due date and will not be archived, so be sure to save any announcements to which you wish to refer in a future month. The list may include internal funding opportunities as they arise, as well as some less publicized and/or cross-discipline funding announcements sent to us by various routes. OSPA assumes that the reader is also making use of Community of Science (see below), to which the university subscribes, as well as the other resources listed in the links which follow these announcements. If you know of funding announcements that you think should be posted on this page, please contact Rosemary Alexander at rosemary.alexander@case.edu.

Community of Science (COS)
Case is a subscriber to Community of Science (COS), which makes it possible for you as faculty or research staff to make use of this excellent service. If you have not already set up your own profile in Community of Science and need help in doing so, please do not hesitate to call OSPA for guidance (368-4510). You may also contact the Case campus COS liaisons, Monica Bradley (368-4432 or monica.bradley@case.edu) or Narinder Dhaliwal (368-2001 or narinder.dhaliwal@case.edu) for help.

School of Medicine Funding Alerts
While many of you may already receive hard copies of the School of Medicine Funding Alert, the School of Medicine's quarterly newsletter listing funding opportunities and grant-writing tips, you may not be aware that the Funding Alert is also available, in its entirety, online in PDF format. A comprehensive list of RFP's available for the current period, may be viewed at http://mediswww.cwru.edu/researchoffice/index.html. At this URL, click on "Funding Opportunities". Then choose the current School of Medicine Funding Alert. Contact Narinder Dhaliwal in the School of Medicine at 368-2001 or narinder.dhaliwal@case.edu if you have questions.

Links to Sponsors
For an ever-growing list of links to many sources of funding announcements, both public and private, to aid your searches, click on the OSPA Links page.

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Conferences & Symposiums

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Re. Printing this newsletter:

If you wish to save this newsletter as a pdf file, you may do so on PCs via Adobe Acrobat (the full version), which is downloadable for free to faculty, staff, and students from the Case Software Center. In Adobe Acrobat, choose "Open Web Page" from the "File" menu, then insert the URL and click "Download". Adobe Acrobat may display an error message re. one gif file which may not load correctly. Just ignore this, it does not affect the appearance of the newsletter. Mac users using the Safari browser, may choose to print to pdf. Internet Explorer also will print to pdf, but truncates the right portion of the page in doing so.

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To unsubscribe:
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please contact Rosemary Alexander at rosemary.alexander@case.edu. If you are aware of individuals who are not currently on our mailing list and would like to receive the newsletter, please have them email Rosemary Alexander.