July 29, 2020
Funding Connection

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through its  Evidence for Action: Approaches to Advance Gender Equity from Around the Globe Program ,  seeks to learn from programs, policies, and practices that are advancing gender equity around the world to understand how they can be adapted to improve health and well-being in the United States, and build a national Culture of Health .

The   National Science Foundation’s  Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)   awards Fellowships for graduate study leading to research-based master's and doctoral degrees in STEM or in STEM education. GRFP supports individuals proposing a comprehensive plan for graduate education that takes individual interests and competencies into consideration. 


Guidance for Applicants Preparing Applications for the Fall 2020 Due Dates During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The NIH is deeply concerned for the health and safety of people involved in NIH research, and about the effects on the biomedical enterprise in the areas affected by the  HHS declared public health emergency for COVID-19.  Due to the potential exceptional impact of the declared public health emergency, we want to assure our recipient community that NIH will be doing our part to help you continue your research. Our website on  Extramural Response to Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies  has a list of available resources.

The purpose of this Notice is to alert the community of administrative flexibilities that will apply to NIH applicants and recipients. Therefore, working with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) NIH has identified the following short-term administrative flexibilities to assist our applicants with managing administrative, financial management and audit requirements under the Uniform Guidance “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” – which are implemented in HHS regulation at  45 CFR Part 75  – without compromising their accountability requirements.

These flexibilities are applicable to NIH applicants and recipients where the entity is conducting research activities related to or affected by COVID-19. Affected entities are those that have been closed, or business activities have been hindered due to COVID-19 precautionary measures and/or illnesses. Entities that are affected will be asked to provide documentation to NIH describing the effects, and how long their facility and NIH related research, clinical practices, or instruction was and/or will be affected.

Read the full notice to learn more.
Events and announcements

The National Endowment for the Humanities’ (NEH)    Summer Stipends    program supports continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. NEH funds may support recipients’ compensation, travel, and other costs related to the proposed scholarly research. This is a limited submission since Kansas State University can only submit two nominations of tenure-track/tenured faculty to this program each year. If you are interested in being considered for this program, please submit a working title and a short synopsis (2-3 sentences) of your planned project to the Office of Research Development by 5 p.m. on July 31 via ordlimitedsubs@k-state.edu
In consideration of the challenges facing many in our country, NSF is extending the upcoming proposal deadline for the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) until 5 p.m. submitter's local time on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020.

EPSCoR Proposals
The EPSCoR Program Review Committee of the Kansas Board of Regents is currently seeking proposals for its upcoming meeting, scheduled for October 13, 2020. Proposals must contain the information outlined in the  Program Guidelines  and should not exceed seven pages in length. Proposals will be accepted through September 29, 2020 .
 
Questions may be directed to Jennifer Armour at  jarmour@ksbor.org .

Kansas NSF EPSCoR (KNE) is announcing a funding opportunity for Major Initiatives to Improve Research Infrastructure in the focus area of   Adaptive and Resilient Systems In summer 2021, Kansas NSF EPSCoR will submit a Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-1 proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). To develop the proposal, KNE is seeking proposals that will make up a key component of this multi-million dollar/multi-year request to NSF. The selected initiative is expected to foster an interdisciplinary research community of engineers, computer and computational scientists, social and behavioral scientists, and natural scientists that creates new approaches and engineering solutions for the design and operation of infrastructure, processes, or services. One major initiative will be selected to be included, along with other infrastructure-building components, in the $20 million RII Track 1 EPSCoR proposal, which will be submitted in August 2021.  White papers are due on September 1, 2020
Call for Nominations — NAS Awards in the Biological Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is accepting nominations for the 2021 awards presented in the biological sciences listed below. NAS membership is not required to nominate candidates or to be considered for an award. All awards being presented in 2021 can be found  here

Nominations for these awards will be accepted  online  through  Monday, October 5, 2020.
AAAS Research Competitiveness Program
July and August Webinars Online Event Series 2020

The AAAS Research Competitiveness Program (RCP) has worked for more than two decades designing and leading assessments, proposal review processes, and data-driven evaluations for S&T projects, universities, foundations and state and national governments. This online event series shares our insights and lead discussions on a range of topics related to our careers as researchers and academic leaders:
  • Proposal Development and Peer-Review Processes
  • S&T Evaluation and Assessment
  • Technology Entrepreneurship and Investment
  • Career Skills for S&T Professionals

2-3:15 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 3, 2020

2-2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020

Noon-1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020
LRBAA Today Webinar Series
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security  Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate  invites you to join the new  LRBAA Today  webinar series! 

Long Range Broad Agency Announcement  (LRBAA) is a standing, open invitation to the scientific and technical communities to submit proposals for open topics that address priority homeland security needs. 

This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the department’s research challenge areas, specific to S&T’s LRBAA topics. During each webinar, viewers will hear about the work currently being pursued under the topic areas below and gain context for the solutions being sought. Join for a live discussion and learn how to utilize the LRBAA program to work with S&T! 

Register now for one (or all!) of the upcoming  LRBAA Today  webinars: 

The LRBAA Today webinar series is open to anyone interested in learning about solutions sought under the LRBAA Research Areas. These events are complimentary, but as space is limited, please register via the links above.  

For more information, email  LRBAA.Admin@hq.dhs.gov.
NIH Pre-Application Webinar for PAR-20-017 "Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (R35 - Clinical Trial Optional)”
Noon
Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020

NIGMS will host a webinar to provide advice and respond to questions from prospective applicants who plan to submit applications to  PAR-20-117   “Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (R35 - Clinical Trial Optional)."

SciComm 2020
The conference will take place from  August 14-16, 2020 , as a virtual conference.

The virtual conference will be free!

Find an overview of SciComm 2020 events and register on the conference website.
K-State RSCAD in the news
Agency news and trending topics
Unless you have been living under a rock or hiding in your underground bunker for the last month, you have taken note of the racially-charged atmosphere in the United States (US) and abroad. There have been numerous events to set the stage for what we see today. Although it may make us very uncomfortable, we know that exposing the bad helps usher in some good. RACC newsletter

Contact tracing, a term that’s been in the news lately, is a crucial tool for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. It depends on quick, efficient identification of an infected individual, followed by identification of all who’ve recently been in close contact with that person so the contacts can self-quarantine to break the chain of transmission. nih.gov

Financial losses from low ridership and unexpectedly low sales tax revenue threaten the future of public transportation. smithsonianmag.com

Widespread use of pesticides and other agrochemicals can speed the transmission of the debilitating disease schistosomiasis while also upsetting ecological balances in aquatic environments that prevent infections, finds a new study led by researchers at the  University of California, Berkeley nsf.gov

Many research institutions and universities are responsible for the kind of foundational discoveries and inventions that ultimately lead to innovative new cures and products. But it takes a massive investment and additional research and development by the private sector to bring these innovations to market. For every dollar the government spends, industry spends 10 to 100 times that amount. rollcall.com

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, six U.S. research institutions are launching the first-ever multicenter network to study  diabetic foot ulcers , a common and burdensome complication of  diabetes  and the leading cause of lower limb amputations in the United States. nih.gov
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