Director's Voice
One Year of Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics, and Anticipating New Challenges
This piece was authored in collaboration with leadership across NIH and represents a unified effort to meet the testing-related challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic with excellence and innovation.
Over the past year, our team of NIH leaders has used this blog to report on an initiative called Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics—or RADxSM for short. The RADx initiative includes five key components designed to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by ensuring that companies make and distribute tests to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19; develop ways to deliver those tests and results directly to people—independent of their age, race, ethnicity, disability, financial status, or where they live; and invest in innovative approaches to detect emerging and spreading infections. NIH has also added a new component to RADx—to find ways to understand and address the concerns of people worried about testing, vaccine safety, and efficacy. The RADx components are described below.
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Registration Open: NIH Matilda White Riley Honors on May 5
The 14th NIH Matilda White Riley Behavioral and Social Sciences Honors will be held virtually on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT.
The NIH MWR Distinguished Lecturer for 2021 is Anne Case, Ph.D., Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs Emeritus at Princeton University.
Dr. Case is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research; a fellow of the Econometric Society; and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Case’s presentation “Death by degree: U.S. mortality in the 21st century” will explore the proximate and underlying causes of poorer health and shorter lives of individuals who have not been to college, and will suggest steps that could be taken to address these disparities.
The NIH MWR Early Stage Investigator Paper Awardees will also present their papers published in 2020:
- Kaitlyn Lawrence, Ph.D., IRTA Post-doctoral Fellow, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. Neighborhood deprivation and epigenetic aging
- Li Niu, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Profiles of childhood maltreatment were associated with distinct sexual risk behavior trajectories among racial/ethnic minority girls
- Matthew S. Goodwin, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Northeastern University. Predicting challenging behavior in individuals with autism using wearable biosensors and machine learning classifiers
- Stephanie J. Wilson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University. Spousal bereavement after dementia caregiving: A turning point for immune health
Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact [email protected] and/or the Federal Relay at 1-800-877-8339.
Register and View the Meeting Agenda
Call for Input: NIH HEAL Initiative Idea Exchange
Share your ideas about research to address the opioid crisis. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM Initiative has launched an Idea Exchange, Moving HEAL Research Into Action, to gather public input. Ideas from diverse stakeholders will shape future directions for the initiative and the way research results are shared with communities.
The Idea Exchange aims to crowdsource solutions to improve pain management and the prevention and treatment of opioid misuse and addiction. All are invited to participate, including the many individuals on the front lines of the opioid crisis (e.g., treatment providers, advocates and families, law enforcement professionals, first responders, policymakers, and government health officials).
The comment period is open from April 6 to June 1, 2021. Individuals must register with a free account to share ideas. Thank you for sharing your input on how to optimize science-based solutions for the opioid crisis.
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ClinicalTrials.gov Updates the PRS Guided Tutorials, Step-by-Step Instructions for Data Providers
The PRS Guided Tutorials have new and updated content and features in response to feedback obtained through focus groups and survey responses over the past year. Updates include improved images and zoom functionality, additional study examples from materials developed for the behavioral sciences community, and revisions to the Introduction and tutorial content for added clarity and guidance. Also, two new sections have been added: Quick Overview Guides are designed to help users get the most from the tutorials, and the PDF Library has all of the tutorial content in a single place, readily available for download. Please note that audio narration has been removed.
Additional ClinicalTrials.gov training materials:
NIH Minority Health and Heath Disparities Strategic Plan 2021-2025
The NIMHD recently announced the release of the NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities Strategic Plan 2021-2025.
The plan’s goals for advancing minority health and health disparities research are in three categories:
- Scientific Research, such as advancing the understanding of the causes of health disparities.
- Research-Sustaining Activities, such as strengthening the national research capacity to address minority health and health disparities, especially in minority-serving institutions.
- Outreach, Collaboration, and Dissemination, such as cultivating and expanding the community of researchers and advocates in the area of minority health and health disparities.
This strategic plan was developed through comprehensive engagement across NIH Institutes, Offices, and Centers and externally with experts and communities impacted by health disparities.
NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers contribute to science and support training, workforce development, capacity building, and other activities that advance the field. This strategic plan demonstrates the commitment of all of NIH to improving minority health and reducing health disparities.
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The Science of Health Disparities Research Textbook
The NIMHD recently announced the release of a new textbook titled The Science of Health Disparities Research, edited by Irene Dankwa-Mullan, M.D., M.P.H.; Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D.; Kevin Gardner, M.D., Ph.D.; Xinzhi Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., FACE, FRSM; and Adelaida M. Rosario, Ph.D.
Building upon the advances in health disparities research over the past decade, this authoritative volume can inform policies and practices addressing the diseases, disorders and gaps in health outcomes that are more prevalent in minority populations and socially disadvantaged communities. In 26 chapters, the textbook describes how using an interdisciplinary approach can reduce inequities in population health studies, the importance of adding community engagement to the research process, and the ways that rigorous research can promote social justice.
The Science of Health Disparities Research is an essential resource for trainees and clinical researchers in health services, behavioral science, population science, public health and basic science as it intersects with clinical studies; health care policymakers and epidemiologists; and those working with minority, vulnerable, or underserved populations.
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Webinar Recording Available: Behavioral Health and Injury Prevention: The Emergency Department as a Window to Community and Population Health
On March 23, 2021, Rebecca Cunningham, M.D., Professor, Emergency Medicine, Director, Injury Prevention Center, Principal Investigator, Firearm Safety Among Children and Teens (FACTS), University of Michigan Medical School, presented “Behavioral Health and Injury Prevention: The Emergency Department as a Window to Community and Population Health.” Dr. Cunningham's presentation provided an overview of violence prevention among Emergency Department patients including the CDC best practice program SafERteens. This presentation also covered the longitudinal outcomes of Emergency Department youth regarding substance use and violence, including how to utilize the SAFETY score to predict risk for firearm injury.
Dr. Cunningham is vice president for research at the University of Michigan. Dr. Cunningham’s career has focused on injury prevention, opioid overdose, substance misuse prevention, firearm injury prevention, and public health. She is the former Director of the U-M Injury Prevention Center, established a national consortium to improve firearms safety, served as associate vice president for research-health sciences, and is the former associate chair for research for the U-M Department of Emergency Medicine.
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Accelerating Behavioral Science through Ontology Development and Use: Committee Meeting 1
On March 1 and 8, 2021, the National Academies' Committee on Accelerating Behavioral Science through Ontology Development and Use held its first meeting. This consensus study will define the scope of ontology development for behavioral science research (BSR), summarize the state of behavioral ontology development, and use in BSR, in addition to identifying their compelling use, approaches, gaps, and challenges that need to be addressed in order to facilitate widespread ontology use in BSR. A short session open to the public was held on March 1, 2021, that included the study sponsors' introductory remarks, discussion, and committee member Q&A.
View the Recorded Meeting
2021 NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival
SAVE THE DATE: Friday, November 19, 2021. The Annual NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival will be hosted by OBSSR and the NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Coordinating Committee. The purpose of the festival is to highlight recently funded behavioral and social sciences research that the NIH supports; bring together behavioral and social scientists within the NIH extramural and intramural communities to network with each other and share scientific ideas; and explore ways to advance behavioral and social sciences research.
View Past Research Festival Materials
Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies and Approaches in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R25 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
FOA Number
RFA-OD-21-005
Key Dates
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date): May 4, 2021
Expiration Date: June 5, 2021
Purpose
The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs.
View RFA-OD-21-005
Emergency Award: Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
FOA Number
RFA-AG-21-035
Key Dates
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date): May 9, 2021
Expiration Date: June 10, 2021
Purpose
The purpose of this Cooperative Resource-Related Research Project FOA is to establish a coordinating center to support and develop research, dissemination, and various data-sharing activities for social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19. The Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium Coordinating Center (SBECCC) will foster innovation, collaboration, and synergies across researchers funded through the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium (U01) program and other relevant NIH-funded studies by supporting networking activities intended to advance research in the field; supporting the development and use of harmonized COVID-19 data constructs for primary and secondary data to support comparability and replicability; assisting in efficient and enhanced sharing/discoverability of data; and disseminating findings to the research community and the public.
View RFA-AG-21-035
Emergency Award: Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research on COVID-19 Consortium (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
FOA Number
PAR-21-213
Key Dates
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date): May 9, 2021
Expiration Date: November 9, 2021
Purpose
The purpose of this FOA is to advance research on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 and associated mitigation efforts on individual, family, and community behavior and on how subsequent economic disruption affects health-related outcomes, with close attention to underserved and vulnerable populations.
View PAR-21-213
Understanding and Addressing the Impact of Structural Racism and Discrimination on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
FOA Number
RFA-MD-21-004
Key Dates
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date): July 20, 2021
Expiration Date: August 25, 2021
Purpose
This initiative will support (1) observational research to understand the role of structural racism and discrimination (SRD) in causing and sustaining health disparities, and (2) intervention research that addresses SRD in order to improve minority health or reduce health disparities.
View RFA-MD-21-004
Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for NIH Bridge2AI Integration, Dissemination, and Evaluation (BRIDGE) Center (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Notice Number
NOT-RM-21-021
Purpose
This Notice is to alert the community that the NIH plans to publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) as part of the Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) Program to solicit applications for Integration, Dissemination, and Evaluation (BRIDGE) Center cores to integrate, disseminate, and evaluate datasets and cross-cutting products across Bridge2AI Data Generation Projects (see related Notice), and to develop best-practices for the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) methods to address key grand challenges in biomedical and behavioral research. The BRIDGE Center cores will encompass expertise in administration of a consortium, teaming, ethics, standards, tools, and skills and workforce development. It is expected that the BRIDGE Center will work collaboratively with funded Data Generation Projects to achieve the goals of the Bridge2AI program.
Research Initiative Details
The Bridge2AI Program seeks to bridge the biomedical and behavioral research communities with the rapidly growing community of experts developing AI/ML models by producing flagship datasets that adhere to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reproducible) and critically integrate ethical considerations in preparing data for computation. The program will use biomedical and behavioral research grand challenges to drive the development of ethics, standards, tools, datasets, and skills and workforce development strategies for linking scientific workflows, protocols, and other information about the data collection process into computable knowledge.
View NOT-RM-21-021
Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Research Opportunity Announcement for the Data Generation Projects of the NIH Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) Program (OT2)
Notice Number
NOT-RM-21-022
Purpose
This Notice is to alert the community that the NIH plans to publish a Research Opportunity Announcement (ROA) as part of the Bridge to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) Program to solicit data generation projects to produce flagship datasets for use in biomedical and behavioral science discoveries driven by applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML). The data generation projects will encompass expertise to incorporate into the datasets ethical principles, associated standards and tools, and skills and workforce development to address biomedical and behavioral grand challenges (see illustrative list below). A companion FOA will solicit applications for an Integration, Dissemination and Evaluation (BRIDGE) Center that will integrate, disseminate and evaluate datasets and cross-cutting products across Bridge2AI Data Generation Projects, and will develop best-practices for the use of AI/ML methods in biomedical and behavioral research (see related Notice). It is expected that all Data Generation Projects will work collaboratively with the BRIDGE Center to achieve the goals of the Bridge2AI program.
Research Initiative Details
The Bridge2AI Program seeks to bridge the biomedical and behavioral research communities with the rapidly growing community of experts developing AI/ML models by producing flagship datasets that adhere to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reproducible) and critically integrate ethical considerations in preparing data for computation. The program will use biomedical and behavioral research grand challenges (see illustrative list below) to drive the development of ethics, standards, tools, datasets, and skills and workforce development strategies for linking scientific workflows, protocols, and other information about the data collection process into computable knowledge.
View NOT-RM-21-022
