OFFICE OF RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION NEWSLETTER | April 2007
(Volume VI, No. 10)
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION NEWSLETTER | April 2007 |
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UM-St. Louis Center Expands Scope by Going Nano To better reflect current and planned research, the Center for Molecular Electronics (CME) on the UM-St. Louis campus has been renamed the Center for NanoScience (CNS). The Center is located in the William L. Clay Building next to Benton Hall. According to CNS Director, Dr. Jimmy Liu, and Associate Director, Dr. George Gokel, molecular electronics is a small subset of nano-electronics. Center research is more aptly described within the broader category of nanoscale science/nanotechnology. Nanoscience, or science on a molecular and atomic scale that deals with dimensions and tolerances of 0.1 to 100 nanometers, is interdisciplinary and encompasses all branches of sciences. Liu and Gokel note that a successful nanoscience or nanotechnology research program will include chemists, biologists, materials scientists, physicists as well as engineers. The change from "Center for Molecular Electronics" to "Center for NanoScience" signifies the broader intellectual base of nanoscience. The CNS will host an open house once renovations have been completed. Watch for more information. Background Information The William L. Clay Center for Molecular Electronics building was completed in early summer 1997. Congressman Clay had helped secure funding of $10 million in 1991, of which approximately $7.5 million was used for construction with the balance used to furnish the building and some research instruments. The building has approximately 16,000 square feet assignable space, (11,300 square feet for research laboratories; 2,700 square feet for research support space). In addition, there are 12 offices, two secretarial suites, a conference room, the Microscopy Image and Spectroscopy Technology (MIST) Lab and the X-ray Diffraction Facility. l
Compliance Training RESCHEDULED for April 10 (OMB Circular A-133) The Office of Research Administration will host a training session on Tuesday, April 10, for all researchers who have a federally funded or flow-through grant and all faculty and staff who work administratively with grant funds (e.g., PIs, department assistants, fiscal officers, etc.). Facilitated by Susan Eickhoff, Partner, KPMG (the University’s external auditor), the training will focus on UM-St. Louis' FY 2005 A-133 audit of federal grants and related compliance issues. The A-21 also will be discussed as it relates to the audit. By the end of the course, participants will be familiar with:
The Scientist Survey Unveils Top 40 Postdoc Institutions (UM Jumps in Ranking) The Scientist's fifth annual survey (March 2007, Vol. 21) names the top 40 institutions in North America, as ranked by postdocs. For the first time ever, a for-profit company made the top 15. The most sought-after qualities by postdocs included: mentors that would help, colleagues who knew their stuff, well-equipped research facilities, the ability to explore new research, and adequate compensation and benefits. The University of Missouri jumped from No. 42 in 2006 to No. 16 this year. l READ "BEST PLACES TO WORK 2007: POSTDOCS"
MIT's Technology Review Releases Emerging Technologies Report MIT's Technology Review has released its annual "10 Emerging Technologies" report, documenting innovations that are expected to make a lasting industrial impact on the future. READ REPORT l
NIH Issues Fiscal Policy for FY07 March 02, 2007 The National Institutes of Health (NIH) late last week announced its fiscal policy for FY07. The policy announcement was occasioned by the President’s signing into law the FY07 continuing resolution that funds agencies and programs in the unfinished FY07 appropriations bills, including NIH. Specifically, NIH announced that it will fund non-competing grants or “continuations” at 97.1 percent of their FY07 committed levels. This 2.9-percent cut is necessary, says the agency, because of a “markedly increased number of applications and applicants for grant support” and a commitment “to buttressing core areas of vulnerability, such as the ability of new investigators to compete for support in these difficult financial times, and protecting our investment in well-established investigators with little or no other significant support.” NIH also announced that it will maintain the salary cap on grants at Executive Level I, or $186,000, for FY07. READ POLICIES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS l
NSF Releases Statistics on Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities The National Science Foundation (NSF) released the latest statistics on women, minorities and persons with disabilities in science and engineering. The report focuses on education and employment statistics for these groups. Figures and tables detail degrees earned, occupations, age, country of birth and salary. The latest figures are from 2004, and were updated in December 2006. A complete update of the report is issued by NSF every two years. NSF obtains the data from many sources, including NSF surveys, other federal agencies, and non-federal organizations. VIEW REPORT l
NIH Director Launches Program for Innovative New Investigators From NIH News March 9, 2007 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., today announced a special program to fund new investigators who propose highly innovative research projects that could have an exceptionally great impact on biomedical or behavioral science. The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award offers grants of up to $1.5 million in direct costs over five years. “New investigators are the future of science, and innovative ideas are its lifeblood. This flagship program underscores NIH’s commitment to supporting these two critical elements of the research enterprise. The New Innovator Award, funded through the NIH Roadmap Common Fund, complements longstanding activities in both areas at the NIH level and at its institutes and centers,” said Zerhouni. The application period opens on April 25 and closes on May 22, 2007. NIH expects to make at least 14 awards in September 2007. New investigators who have not yet obtained an NIH R01 or similar grant are eligible to apply. Applicants must hold an independent research position at an institution in the United States and must have received a doctoral degree or completed a medical internship and residency in 1997 or later. “We want proposals in a broad range of scientific areas relevant to the NIH mission and from a diverse pool of applicants,” Zerhouni said. “We’re shortening the application and emphasizing the significance of the research, what makes the approach exceptionally innovative, how the applicant will address challenges and risks, and the applicant’s qualifications for the grant. We aren’t requiring applicants to present preliminary data, although we’ll allow it if they choose to do so,” he added. l
PATENTS: Lawmakers Eye Incentives for Kids' Therapies Excerpted from Reuters By SUSAN HEAVEY Read Entire Article Online: http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN2720631420070327 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Patent extensions for drug companies that test their medicines for use in children should be continued, U.S. lawmakers heard on Tuesday at a hearing that also considered incentives for devicemakers. The provision, set to expire in September, allows pharmaceutical companies to receive a six-month patent extension in exchange for conducting clinical trials of their therapies for younger patients. Such studies are key for doctors and parents to choose the best and most effective treatments for children. Without them, physicians must decide what therapy to use and how much based only on data gathered on adults. At a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, medical and industry experts urged lawmakers to renew the practice of allowing drugmakers to hold exclusive rights longer in return for the information. "Children's differing metabolism, growth and development, and size have very large effects," Dr. Richard Gorman said on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics, adding that nearly two-thirds of medicines used in children are not specifically labeled for them. Gorman, a Maryland pediatrician, told lawmakers the system had generated "a flood" of new data that has helped doctors avoid potentially harmful side effects. Still, some critics say the protection not only gives companies an unnecessary windfall but also impedes access by delaying the introduction of cheaper generic drugs. READ MORE l
U.S. Biotech Industry Faces Shortage of Qualified Scientists Excerpted from Bloomberg.com By LUKE TIMMERMAN Read Entire Article Online: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a_.GiV85q2bM&refer=news Biotechnology companies including Genentech Inc. and Gilead Sciences Inc. can't find enough scientists to hire, threatening to slow one of the industries bolstering U.S. job growth. Genentech's workforce doubled in the past four years to 10,500 and may rise 11 percent this year -- if managers can locate biomedical scientists. Gilead bought two companies last year, partly to get 200 skilled employees. The biotech business, which generated $51 billion in U.S. sales in 2005, is one of the fastest-growing U.S. industries, creating 40,000 jobs from 2001 to 2004, according to Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio. Genentech says the lack of qualified applicants means the company is "scrambling'' to grow. A drop over the past decade in the percentage of U.S. college graduates pursuing science is making the task harder. "The big failing is in education, not only post-grad but also undergraduate, and even K-12,'' said Robert Reich, the former U.S. Labor secretary who is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in an e-mail. "We do a lousy job of training our kids to be scientists.'' READ MORE l
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| The Office of Research Administration supports and advocates research and technology transfer by faculty, graduate students and staff. The ORA provides services in conjunction with external and internal sources of funding for research, along with services related to commercializing discoveries through technology transfer. The goal of this newsletter is to inform the campus community of grants received, to highlight the accomplishments of our faculty, graduate students and staff, and to share with you a calendar of important events and deadlines. Please direct any comments or questions regarding the newsletter to Tamara Wilgers (wilgerst@umsl.edu). | University of Missouri- Fax: 314-516-6759 |