91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½

The 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ held a series of meetings earlier this month with officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.

Fifteen Public Affairs Advisory Committee members and three public affairs staff members convened the 10 meetings to advocate for policy changes that will benefit the biomedical research enterprise and to learn about new or updated science-funding programs that will benefit 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members.

Ann West

“It is important for our federal agencies to hear the concerns of the scientific community,” said Ann West, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Oklahoma and an 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ PAAC member. “I believe that the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ in turn can be a good conduit for transmitting information from the federal agencies to our membership. Everyone agreed that maintaining a dialogue between the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ and federal agencies would be productive.”

USDA touts funding opportunities

This was the first time the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ met with the USDA, and the society’s primary goals for the meeting were to establish a connection with the agency and learn how to work together.

Jeff Wilusz a professor of microbiology, immunology and pathology at Colorado State University and a PAAC member, has received funding from USDA for studies of animal biosecurity pathology. He wanted to know more about USDA funding opportunities that may be relevant to 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members.

Jeff Wilusz

“The agency was very open to helping to educate our membership regarding USDA and agricultural funding and programmatic initiatives,” Wilusz said. “I thought that this would be very useful for our membership as my impression is that many overlook USDA due to its size and applied focus.”

The USDA has a number of funding opportunities for biochemists and molecular biologists. The is the largest competitive grants program for agricultural sciences. Within this initiative, the offers grants for basic scientific research in plant biology; animal and animal product biology; food safety, nutrition and health; bioenergy, natural resources and environment; and agriculture technology. In addition to large grants for principal investigators, the USDA has for undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs.

Advancing diversity, equity and inclusion is a major pillar of 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½’s mission, and Wilusz said USDA officials share that passion.

“We had an excellent discussion regarding the challenges that minority-serving and smaller academic institutions face in terms of truly mobilizing their research potential,” Wilusz said. “Given that USDA does have specific programs targeting these institutions, there seemed to be several potentially openings where 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ efforts might realize some significant impact.”

The agency officials welcomed feedback from the community, the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ participants said, because they want to ensure that USDA is prioritizing the most cutting-edge research in agriculture. Finally, USDA officials underscored the need for excellent study section reviewers for all USDA programs, especially the .

DOE looks to expand its reach

The 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ participants’ goal for the meeting with DOE was to convey how fundamental science research such as how biochemistry supports applied research in the environmental sciences. During the meeting, DOE officials expressed appreciation for 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½’s advocacy efforts to bolster scientific funding for the DOE Office of Science.

Rick Page

“Our meeting with DOE was particularly productive in bringing to the forefront how to promote inclusive and equitable research plans, finding avenues for DOE and the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ to partner in educating scientists about DOE policies and programs and determining how 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members can best advocate for the Department of Energy,” said Rick Page, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Miami University and chair of the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ PAAC.

DOE officials shared available through the program. BER has plans to reimagine its biocenters to broaden bioenergy and the bioeconomy. Within this reimagined space, DOE officials said, there will be funding opportunities for 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members in areas such as protein structure, metabolism and plant biology.

While the program is narrower in scope, some of its funding opportunities may be relevant to biochemists and molecular biologists working on biomaterials.

NSF calls for fellowship applications

While meeting with 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members, NSF officials said their fellowship opportunities are often underutilized. This agency offers many training and fellowship programs in the basic sciences that could benefit 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members.

Sarina Neote

“We have been advocating for increased and sustained funding to NSF for many years, including promoting the ,” Sarina Neote, 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½’s public affairs director, said. “NSF has funding opportunities for young scientists, postdocs and established researchers to further their training and gain funding for their important basic science research efforts.”

The , brought forth by the CHIIPS in Science Act, has many new and programs with the goal of “advancing U.S. competitiveness through investments that accelerate the development of key technologies and address pressing societal and economic challenges.”

One such program, the , is for early-career scientists to learn the skills they will need to be competitive in emerging technology fields.

To help investigators achieve success with their NSF proposals, each division within the agency set up during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have maintained this resource. NSF encouraged investigators to attend and submit one page summaries of their grants for evaluation before composing an entire proposal.

NIH tries to bridge the gap for struggling researchers

91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members met with officials at COSWD, NIH’s center for scientific workforce diversity, as well as the NIH Center for Scientific Review, the Office of Extramural Research, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Aging.

West said they discussed scientists’ concerns over the rising cost of doing research during times of flat budgets. In addition, West praised NIH’s efforts to promote diversity, equity, access and inclusion with programs such as reentry supplements.

“We were duly impressed with all that (COSWD) has done to broaden the scientific workforce,” West said.

Officials at the NCI shared the institute’s many funding opportunities for basic scientists and said they are trying to make DEI an integral part of the institute. Specifically, they highlighted the and encouraged 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members to apply.

The EIAP’s goal is to facilitate the advancement of scientists from diverse backgrounds to become independent investigators. The transition from junior investigator to independent investigator is particularly challenging, and NCI officials want to provide support for underrepresented groups at the stage.

Finally, NCI recently launched a focused on cancer careers. Institute officials encouraged 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members to to share their experiences on the podcast.

Overall, all PAAC members said they enjoyed being able to share their triumphs and difficulties with officials at the federal agencies, institutes and offices and speak on behalf of the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ community.

“It was a tremendously enjoyable experience meeting with such deeply committed civil servants all focused on supporting science,” Page said. “The resounding desire to partner with the 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ to provide the best possible information and resources for 91ÑÇÉ«´«Ã½ members was invigorating.”