Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has introduced the “Medical Innovation Act” that would attempt to increase funding for the NIH and FDA [view Sen. Warren introducing the bill here]. The bill requires drug companies that have violated the law and entered into settlements with the U.S. Justice Department to pay a percentage of their yearly profits for five years to supplement funding fo…

  NIGMS released a Notice announcing new guidelines for funding investigators with substantial unrestricted research support. These guidelines—which will go into effect for research grants submitted on or after January 2, 2016—define the parameters for awarding NIGMS research grants (e.g., R01s and other RPGs) to investigators with substantial levels of unrestricted research funding (at …

FASEB has released the latest publication in the Horizons in Bioscience series “Nanomedicine: A Targeted Approach.” The article describes the emerging field of nanoparticle targeting. Nanomedicine is beginning to change the way scientists and physicians diagnose and treat disease. Unlike conventional therapies, these tiny particles – 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair – can se…

    The completed spending package for FY 2015 passed December 16 provides funding through the balance of the fiscal year that ends September 30. Only the Department of Homeland Security is funded through a continuing resolution through February 27. The spending agreement reflects the austerity minded Congress and really reflects previously agreed to overall spending levels negotiated last year.…

  Last summer, NIH released a notice that encouraged institutions to develop Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Yesterday, NIH posted a revised policy to clarify implementation and reporting expectations for this policy, effective for progress reports received on/after October 1, 2014. In this revision, NIH clarifies that “NIH progress reports …

  Last summer, NIH released a notice that encouraged institutions to develop Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Yesterday, NIH posted a revised policy to clarify implementation and reporting expectations for this policy, effective for progress reports received on/after October 1, 2014. In this revision, NIH clarifies that “NIH progress reports …

  NCATS now is accepting applications for its Discovering New Therapeutic Uses for Existing Molecules (New Therapeutic Uses) program. Today, NCATS issued funding announcements and provided information about partially developed therapeutic candidates — referred to as “agents” — for researchers to crowdsource ideas for new uses. Read the full article here.

   FASEB released its annual research funding recommendations for Congress, Federal Funding for Biomedical & Related Life Sciences Research FY 2015 for the federal science agencies.  FASEB makes specific recommendations for five agencies along with justifications for those budget recommendations:       National Institutes of Health: a minimum of $32 billion   National Science Foundation: $7.6…

A growing number of Members of Congress have expressed their support for increased funding for the NIH for FY 2014. A Senate letter organized by Senators Robert Casey (D-PA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) obtained 43 Democrat and nine Republican signatures. The letter requests Appropriation Committee leadership to “maintain a strong commitment to funding for the National Institutes of Health…” The letter…

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) has launched a new series, Horizons in Bioscience, to provide educational, one-page articles that highlight cutting-edge scientific research on the brink of clinical application and describe the pathway of discovery. The first in the new series, “How Biomedical Research Provides Fertility Hope to Cancer Survivors,” discusses the…