Advocacy
COVID-19 resources and guidance from funding agencies
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health has released a number of guidances about grant proposals, animal care, study sections and more. It also has COVID-19-related funding opportunities and a frequently asked questions page. See the main landing page, and the FAQ on COVID-19 flexibilities for applicants and recipients.
Proposal submission and award management
- Temporary Extension of Eligibility for the NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award During the COVID-19 Pandemic - NOT-OD-20-158
- Updated NIH Late Application Policy Due to Public Health Emergency for United States for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) - NOT-OD-20-091
- General Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Proposal Submission and Award Management Related to COVID-19 - NOT-OD-20-083
- Flexibilities Available to Applicants and Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance Affected by COVID-19 - NOT-OD-20-086
- Guidance for NIH-funded Clinical Trials and Human Subject Studies Affected by COVID-19 - NOT-OD-20-087
Peer review
Based on NIH Guidance on Travel and Meetings, in-person NIH peer review meetings are being held in alternate formats. Scientific review officers will be in contact with peer reviewers about these changes.
Virtual meetings
Animal Care
The NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare has a contingency planning and resources page for animal care and use programs, which can be found here and the office put on a webinar titled "Pandemic Contingency Planning and Its Impact on Animal Care."
Soliciting research and medical products for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
The NIH Office of Strategic Coordination (OSC) issued this Notice of Special Interest (NOT-RM-20-015) to simulate innovative research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease it causes, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). OSC is offering Emergency Competitive Revisions to active Common Fund grants and cooperative agreements.
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) issued a NOSI (NOT-LM-20-011) to highlight the urgent need for innovative high-risk/high impact research on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 in related to NLM's strategic goal of fostering data driven research.
For the duration of the present crisis, the National Cancer Institute (NOT-CA-20-054) will consider requests from its funded grantees and cooperative agreement awardees to engage in limited COVID-19 related research using part of their existing NCI-funded resources under several conditions.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) published a notice of special interest (NOT-GM-20-025) to address the urgent need for research on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
HHS is also soliciting proposals for the development of medical products for the novel coronavirus. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development authority (BARDA) issued BAA-18-100-SOL-00003-Amendment 13, to solicit proposals for advanced development of COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines or medicines such as therapeutics or antivirals.
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation also released guidances about grants and deadlines and posted a frequently asked questions page. See the landing page and a letter to the community regarding COVID-19.
NSF notice for peer reviewers
The NSF issued a statement on March 9 that will be of interest to anyone participating on review panels. Here's a nugget: "Reviewers participating in panel sessions for a minimum of four hours are eligible to receive compensation at the NSF virtual panelist compensation rate." Read it here.
The NSF has also implemented flexibilities to allow Federal awarding agencies to repurpose their Federal assistance awards to support the COVID-19 response. For example, federal award recipients can donate medical equipment purchased with NSF funds to hospitals and medical centers. Read more here.
Department of Energy Office of Science
The DOE’s Office of Science doesn't have a page dedicated to COVID-19 for grantees, but it did release this letter about the scientific infrastructure available to researchers. It says, in part, "Through its user facilities, computational power, and enabling infrastructure, DOE has unique capabilities that the scientific community may leverage for the COVID-19 response and recovery. Read the letter.
Other resources
Unify the country around trust in science, medicine and engineering
Show your support for science-based policymaking by signing this open letter, which reads, in part, “We urge the American people and our leaders to support a science-driven approach against our common enemy, the SARS-CoV-2 virus
Urgent call for expert contributions from the Research Data Alliance
Research Data Alliance, an international, consensus-driven, community-based organization, has set up a fast track working group, "RDA COVID-10 Working Group" to clearly define detailed guidelines on data sharing and re-use under the present COVID-19 circumstances to help researchers follow best practices. The RDA COVID-19 Working Group is open to all. Go here for more information on how to get involved.
More COVID-19 funding opportunities
Johns Hopkins University has kept a list of COVID-19 related funding opportunities from federal agencies and compiled a list that is updated regularly. Find it here.
Free sequencing panel for coronavirus researchers
Arbor Biosciences is offering the research community a free myBaits Expert hybridization-based panel for the 2019 coronavirus. A company press release said: "The myBaits Expert 2019-nCoV panel is based on all full and partial genome sequences available in the NCBI database." See the full release and contact info.