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IN
THIS ISSUE . . .
June 8, 2011
From the MORE Director: Indicators of Success?
MORE News
Research Administration News/Funding Opportunities
Meetings
The NIGMS Division of Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) administers research and research training programs aimed at increasing the number of minority biomedical and behavioral scientists. For more information about the Division, see http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Research/FeaturedPrograms/Minority.
NIGMS is one of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. By supporting basic biomedical research and training nationwide, NIGMS lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
All MORE grantees and T32 program directors are automatically subscribed to this e-newsletter; other interested individuals are encouraged to subscribe. To subscribe, change subscription options, or unsubscribe, visit the Minority Programs Update subscription page at https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=nigms-mpu-newsletter&A=1.
Got MORE news to share? Contact Susan Athey or Jilliene Mitchell at 301-496-7301.
From the MORE Director: Indicators of Success?
One of the challenges in judging the effectiveness of student development programs is that the ultimate objective is far downstream and under many influences beyond our programs and their interventions. It would be helpful to have some short- or intermediate-term indicators that one might associate with the likelihood of later success. In science, we often use publication numbers as a surrogate for scholarship and productivity. We wondered whether the number of student publications might be a reasonable marker of student development and a predictor of future success.
To begin to address this question, Dr. Alberto Rivera-Rentas of the NIGMS MORE Division culled data on the number of student-authored publications from this past year’s IMSD progress reports. We divided the number of publications by the number of student slots in each program. The range in the ratios was substantial. For example, the top four programs supporting just undergraduate students report 1.7, 1.5, 0.2 and 0.1 authored publications per student. The top eight programs supporting just graduate students report 3.8, 2.4, 2.2, 1.7, 1.4, 1.1, 0.33 and 0.14 authored publications per student.
We in the MORE Division want to encourage strong programs and identify those that are doing the best job of developing students. However, in gathering data like that used in the example above, we worry about the accuracy of the source material. Could some programs be underreporting their outcomes, and could others be using a different timeframe—perhaps more than the current year—which could lead to overreporting?
Perhaps a better approach to gauging how predictive student publications are of future success would be for program directors to collaborate with each other and, using pooled data, test the hypothesis. We welcome your ideas on using this and other data to assess program effectiveness.
As always, I welcome your comments.
Clifton A. Poodry
Director, MORE Division
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
301-594-3900
MORE News
NIGMS Issues Its First Strategic Plan for Research Training
 Investing in the Future, the NIGMS strategic plan for biomedical and behavioral research training, is now available online. The plan, which is already being implemented, reflects the Institute’s long-standing commitment to research training and the development of a highly capable, diverse biomedical and behavioral research workforce. To view the plan, visit http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/trainingstrategicplan. Print copies will be available in late June.
MORE Grantee Receives Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award
Dr. Douglas Eaton received the Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award from the American Physiological Society. The award recognizes people who have made outstanding contributions to physiological research and have demonstrated commitment to excellence in training young physiologists. Eaton is an IRACDA program director at Emory University School of Medicine. To see the full article, visit http://www.the-aps.org/awards/society/S-Nawardee.htm.
Harvard Foundation Honors IMSD Program Director
Dr. Maggie Werner-Washburne was recently named 2011 Scientist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation. She was honored for her scientific contributions in pioneering studies of the genomics of the stationary phase of yeast as well as for her efforts in mentoring more than 20 Ph.D. graduates from underrepresented groups. Werner-Washburne directs the IMSD program at the University of New Mexico. The article can be viewed at http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/04/%E2%80%98truly-inspirational%E2%80%99/.
Research Administration News/Funding Opportunities
MARC Ancillary Training Grant Announcement Status
The MARC Ancillary Training (T36) program announcement is forthcoming. The receipt date for applications is tentatively scheduled for September 2011. Please check the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts in the coming months for the latest T36 program announcement. The announcement will also be posted on the NIGMS Web site.
Reminder: SCORE Program Expiration Date Extension
NIGMS is extending the SCORE Program expiration dates to September 8, 2012. For additional information, see NIH Guide notices NOT-GM-11-101 (SC1), NOT-GM-11-102 (SC2) and NOT-GM-11-103 (SC3).
Upcoming Receipt Dates
August 13, 2011—NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (F31)
September 25, 2011—MBRS Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) (R25)
September 8, 2012—MBRS Support of Competitive Research (SCORE) Research Advancement (SC1), Pilot Project Award (SC2) and Research Continuance Award (SC3)
For more information on these programs, see the MORE Division Web page, http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Research/FeaturedPrograms/Minority.
Meetings
American Society for Cell Biology 6th Annual Junior Faculty and Postdoctoral Fellows Career Development Workshop
June 10-11, 2011, in Atlanta, Ga.
http://ascb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=593&Itemid=6
Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science National Conference
October 27-30, 2011, in San Jose, Calif.
http://sacnas.org/events/national-conf
Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students
November 9-12, 2011, in St. Louis, Mo.
http://www.abrcms.org/index.html
American Indian Science and Engineering Society National Conference
November 10-12, 2011, in Minneapolis, Minn.
http://www.aises.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28&Itemid=127
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