NIH Programs for Training, Career Development and New Investigators Glen Nuckolls, PhD Program Director, Neurogenetics Cluster Division of Extramural Research National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke glen.nuckolls@nih.gov

NIH Institute Support for Neuromuscular Research National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) ALS Muscular dystrophies Spinal muscular atrophy Myasthenia gravis Inherited and acquired peripheral neuropathies National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) Muscular dystrophies Inflammatory myopathies Malignant hyperthermia Muscle channelopathies Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Spinal muscular atrophy Newborn screening for neuromuscular diseases National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Muscular dystrophy cardiomyopathy, sleep disturbances Pompe disease

Application Planning and Submission Your Partners at NIH Application Planning and Submission Study Section Review Council Review Grant Funding Ongoing Research SRO GMO/GMS PD/PO Scientific Review Officer (SRO) Checks eligibility of applications Oversees peer review Prepares summary statements Grants Management Specialist (GMO/GMS) Provides advice on budget issues Prepares and issues awards Monitors award drawdown Program Director / Officer (PD/PO) Advises researchers on funding strategies Observes review meetings and discusses review outcome with applicant Makes recommendations to Senior Leadership on funding decisions Promotes research field Thomas.Cheever@nih.gov NIAMS Glen.Nuckolls@nih.gov NINDS

Loan Repayment Program Eligibily: a strong commitment to clinical or pediatric research student loan debt that equals at least 20 percent of your salary research support from a federal agency, state or local government, or nonprofit organization Candidates must devote at least half of their time to research Must be US citizen or PR working in a US, not-for-profit institution Receive up to $35,000 per year for qualified education expenses Applications accepted Sept. 1- Nov. 15

Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (PA-16-288) Request funds to support researchers in your lab (high school through visiting faculty) who enhance workforce diversity Diversity includes under-represented minorities, individual with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged socio- economic backgrounds Funds can be added to an existing grant of most R, U or P mechanisms Support can continue through the end of the existing grant Short-term (e.g. summer) research opportunities are also encouraged Applications are received throughout the year, NIH staff review

Training and Career Development Awards Predoc Postdoc/ Clinical Fellow Early Independent Mid Career Training Grants F30 F32 F31 MSTP Career Development Grants K01 K02 (NINDS only) K24 K08 K23 K99/R00 K22 Diversity (NINDS only) PhD’s MDs or MD/PhDs All applicants

Features of a Successful Training or Career Development Application Quality of the candidate and mentor(s) Career appropriate productivity of the candidate Experienced mentor Description of the training or career development plan Well-supported rationale for training Detailed description of the training, mentoring and experience to be gained An appropriate research project Suitable for the training experience or generating preliminary data for subsequent grant applications Appropriate for the level of independence of the candidate Evidence of support from the institution Unconditional access to resources Other investments in the training environment or career development activities

New Investigator and Early Stage Investigator R01 Awards A new investigator (NI) is someone who has not successfully competed for an R01 grant (or equivalent NIH grant). An early stage investigator (ESI) is a NI who is less than 10 years past terminal academic degree or medial residency. Special consideration of NI applications (only for R01’s): Study sections set aside time exclusively for reviewing NI applications Reviewers are guided to expect less preliminary data in NI applications Better paylines: NIAMS gives 5 points on the payline (18% instead of 13%) NINDS gives about 10 points on the payline, but only to ESI’s

Common Weaknesses and Strengths in NI Applications PI independence is not clear Research plan is overly ambitious Specific aims are too descriptive or dependent on one another Inadequate preliminary data to demonstrate feasibility of studies or to support hypotheses Mismatch between hypotheses and experimental plans Lack of consideration of potential obstacles and alternative strategies Strengths A manageable research plan that will lead to depth of understanding, often involving mechanistic hypotheses A project that helps to develop a significant scientific niche for the PI Collaborators who have contributed to the design of the studies and provided letters of support

Outcomes of Career Development or NI R01 Awards Current NIH support R21 NI Experienced Investigators 2010 Competing *Neuromuscular R01 Awards R01 PI None (applying) 17 None (not applying) 6 years later R21 34 None (applying) R01 PI *Coded ALS, CMT, MD, MG, SMA

NINDS Historical Payline Tentative FY2017 payline

Appropriation History (Dollars in Billions)   FY 2013 FY2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 FY 2017 PB FY 2017 House FY 2017 Senate NINDS $1.534 $1.589 $1.605 $1.695 $1.751 $1.803 NINDS % Change -5.6% 3.6% 1.0% 5.6% 0.0% 3.3% 6.4% NIH $29.2 $30.2 $30.3 $32.3 $33.1 $33.3 $34.1 NIH % Change -5.5% 3.4% 0.5% 6.6%* 2.6% 3.1% 5.5% *minus the BRAIN funds = 3.9% for IC budget Omnibus Appropriation signed into law on January 17, 2014. 3.5 months after the start of the fiscal year but 3 months earlier than last. FY2017 President’s Budget includes: IC budget is unchanged from FY16 NCI receives Cancer Moonshot $680m BRAIN increase of $45m in Office of the Director Precision Medicine increase $100m in Office of Director

NINDS Seeking Knowledge about the Brain, Reducing the Burden of Disease NINDS