Two Mid-CAREER solicitations: Transitions and MCA

MCB offers two special opportunities for mid-to-late-career scientists looking to enhance their research programs. A brief comparative overview is provided below.

Transitions to Excellence in
Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
Research (Transitions)		Mid-Career Advancement (MCA)
NSF 21-508NSF 21-516
MCB-specific solicitationNSF-wide solicitation
Open to all mid-career scientists, typically at Associate or Full Professor rank (or equivalent).Open to Associate Professor rank, 4th year onward (or equivalent).
Enables mid-career or later-stage scientists to pursue exciting new avenues of inquiry and expand or transition their research toward greater impact.Supports mid-career scientists to reinvest in their research amid high service and teaching responsibilities, through collaborative partnerships.
Offers PI salary for a sabbatical or similar professional development mechanism and additional 2 years of funding to continue building the research program.Offers PI and mentor salary, and funding to support associated research and training activities.
Priority is given to proposals built on a strong record of prior accomplishment and a compelling plan for moving the research in new directions. Projects that explore cross-disciplinary dimensions are encouraged.Priority is given to proposals demonstrating a substantive benefit to the PI’s research and career trajectory. Projects that explore cross-disciplinary dimensions are encouraged.
Deadline: Proposals are accepted at any time.Target Date: February 01, 2021 and the first Monday in February, annually thereafter.
Budget: $750,000 total over 3 years, including PI salary (6 mo)Budget: PI salary (6.5 mo), mentor salary (1 mo), and $100,000 total for research over 3 years.
Full list of requirements and funding priorities is in the solicitation, including Program Officer contacts, additional information can be found in the FAQsFull list of requirements and funding priorities is in the solicitation, including Program Officer contacts.

MCA will be hosting a webinar for more information and to answer any questions on Friday January 15 12PM EST. Register in advance here, a confirmation email will be sent which includes instructions on how to join.

Integrative Research in Biology (IntBIO) Solicitation NSF 21-543

A new solicitation has been issued by the Directorate for Biological Sciences that is relevant to MCB Investigators, Integrative Research in Biology (IntBIO; NSF 21-543). The program replaces the Rules of Life track, which was previously a part of the core program solicitations in the four Divisions of the Directorate for Biological Sciences. The new program refines and expands the former submission track.

The IntBIO solicitation invites submission of collaborative proposals that tackle bold questions in biology and require an integrated approach to make substantive progress. Integrative biological research spans subdisciplines and incorporates cutting-edge methods, tools, and concepts from each to produce groundbreaking biological discovery.

Note that proposal submissions to IntBIO have a deadline of March 16, 2021. Also note that, as BIO progresses in migrating proposal submissions to Research.gov, submissions to IntBIO must be made through Research.gov or Grants.gov.

Join MCB’s next Virtual Office Hours on Wednesday, January 13th from 2pm-3pm where we will discuss the IntBIO solicitation. Program Officers will introduce the solicitation, highlighting key aspects, and representatives from each of the program will be available for questions.

REGISTER FOR MCB’s VOH HERE

DEB’s next Virtual Office Hour on Monday, January 11th from 1pm-2pm EST will also cover the solicitation.

REGISTER FOR DEB’s VOH HERE

Informational EDGE Webinar: January 15, 2021, 2:00pm ET

The following is reposted from the IOS in Focus blog:

The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS), together with the Divisions of Biological Infrastructure (DBI), Environmental Biology (DEB), and Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will host a webinar about the Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE) program, which recently released a new solicitation, (NSF 21-546). Following a brief presentation, program directors from all of the Divisions and agencies will be available to answer questions from participants.

Through the EDGE program, the NSF and the NIH support genomic research that addresses the mechanistic basis of complex traits in diverse organisms within the context (environmental, developmental, social, and/or genomic) in which they function. The program also continues to support the development of innovative tools, technologies, resources, and infrastructure that advance biological research focused on the identification of the causal mechanisms connecting genes and phenotypes. 

Information on how to join the webinar live can be found below. The slides and transcript of the webinar will be posted here on the IOS blog as well as the EDGE program website after the live event.

All are welcome to join and ask questions!

Participant Instructions for the EDGE Program Webinar:

 When: Jan 15, 2021 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 
 Topic: EDGE Program Webinar
 
 Register in advance for this webinar:
 https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_G6jcpqjjRFCjcfSy0YbCxA
 
 Or an H.323/SIP room system:
     H.323: 161.199.138.10 (US West) or 161.199.136.10 (US East)
     Meeting ID: 161 766 4900
     Passcode: 468123
     SIP: 1617664900@sip.zoomgov.com  
     Passcode: 468123
 
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
 
If you require accessibility accommodations to participate in this webinar, send an email to ethiels@nsf.gov 14 days in advance of the webinar specifying the accommodations needed. 

Related NSF/BIO programs and Divisions
Neural Systems
Behavioral Systems
Developmental Systems
Plant Genome Research Program
Physiological and Structural Systems
Division of Biological Infrastructure
Division of Environmental Biology
Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
  
Related NIH/NHGRI Divisions
Division of Genome Science
Division of Genomic Medicine
Division of Genomics and Society
  
Websites
Materials of the webinar will be available on the EDGE program website and the blogs of each of the Divisions in the Directorate for Biological Sciences following the webinar.

Life after Proposal Decline: Call Your Program Director
Headshot of Dr. Karl Thompson, Howard University

“Of course there is a lot of emotion involved with a decline,” says Karl Thompson, Associate Professor of Microbiology at Howard University. He admits that when his proposal to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Excellence in Research (HBCU – EiR) solicitation was declined two years ago, he hesitated to contact Pamela Clarke, his university’s Director of Research Development. “I knew she would tell me to reach out to the program director,” he says. She did.

A week later, Thompson called Anthony Garza, program director in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB), about the declined proposal. The conversation with Garza helped Thompson recognize the need to improve an aim and to recruit a collaborator to supplement the specific expertise needed on the proposed project. The conversation also affirmed for Thompson that the division was interested in the research area covered by the proposal, he says. Encouraged, Thompson submitted the revised proposal to MCB’s core solicitation (NSF 21-509). This time, the proposal was funded.

Thompson first applied to the EiR solicitation after attending MCB’s first webinar-based workshop for potential applicants. Participating in the mock panel review was a valuable experience, he says, and the webinar overall helped him understand and work with NSF structures.

To develop as an outstanding scientist, you’re going to have a lot of failures—and all of that is learning. – Karl Thompson

“If you make it, you have a track record of declines. To develop as an outstanding scientist, you’re going to have a lot of failures—and all of that is learning,” says Thompson. A review of proposal submissions by 10 of MCB’s most widely recognized awardees indicates that of nearly 300 proposals submitted, nearly half were not funded.  

“I am resilient,” says Thompson, “but it’s not that simple, because I had people along the way who guided me.” He offers this advice to fellow researchers: “Do the mourning. Do the denial. Then snap out of it.” And, call your program director!

Sewage Sampling Offers Promising Method for Early Detection of COVID Outbreaks

One of the challenges facing researchers responding to the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is the ability to identify and track infection early. Predicting the spread of illness can help communities and governments know where to concentrate resources, focus outreach efforts, and how to alter policy.

One way that researchers have been able to detect early increases in cases is by sampling sewer systems. Because everyone flushes their toilet, sewer samples represent the health of the entire neighborhood on any given day. Researchers can detect a SARS-CoV-2 signal in the sewer before hospitals see an uptick in patients. The samples collected would track the rise and fall of infections in the community.

Dr. Julius Lucks (MCB-2028651) and his lab at Northwestern University in Chicago have made this kind of wide-scale sewer sampling possible by utilizing CRISPR Isothermal Amplification (CIA).  This approach allows samples to be processed in a single reaction at room temperature, making it a faster, cheaper, and a more scalable assay. The ability to have a point-of-contact test that takes less than an hour, costs less than a dollar, and is more accurate than a PCR-based method could change the way researchers approach SARS-CoV-2 tracking. Read more in the Chicago Tribune.

Join BIO Program Officers for a Webinar on the Biology Integration Institutes Solicitation

A webinar providing information on NSF 20-601 (Biology Integration Institutes (BII)) will be held Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 1 pm EST. A question and answer session will follow the webinar.

Join the webinar at https://nsf.zoomgov.com/j/1603208549?pwd=S0lDSlpkd2hpZVVJdnVGYVFNdUhYUT09

The event will be hosted by the Directorate for Biological Sciences.

MCB Welcomes Rosetta Rhine and Bianca Garner

Rosetta Rhine became the operations manager of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) in September 2020. Previously, she served as the program support manager in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS).

What is your educational background?

I’m currently a student at the University of Maryland Global Campus pursuing a Master of Science degree in human resources management, expecting to graduate next month.   

What were you doing before you came to NSF? 

This is my 32nd year of federal service. I worked for the Department of the Navy and the National Institutes of Health before arriving at NSF 11 years ago.

What was your first impression of NSF? Has this impression changed since you began? 

My first impression of NSF was about how collaborative the environment was ; I had never worked in an organization where all levels interacted so much, where everyone seemed to have a seat at the table. The impression is still the same. There is a true learning culture in BIO, and the agency does a lot to support employee development. 

What are some of the challenges you have faced so far?

Getting acclimated to a new position in a virtual world. It helps that I’m not new to BIO, but I definitely would prefer to be onsite with the entire team.

Bianca Garner joined MCB as a program director in the Systems and Synthetic Biology cluster in October 2020.

What is your educational background?

I received a BS degree in chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana, a MS degree in microbiology from the University of South Florida, and a PhD in microbiology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. I have postgraduate training in infectious diseases, translational research, and higher education leadership.

What were you doing before you came to NSF?

I am a full professor of biology at Tougaloo College. A small liberal arts HBCU in Mississippi, Tougaloo has produced a large percentage of the medical doctors and teachers in Mississippi. As a biology professor, I teach numerous classes, including biochemistry, genetics, and microbiology. I serve as the pre-medical advisor for the early identification programs with Brown University, Boston University, University of Buffalo, and Mississippi State University. I have the pleasure of working with some incredible Hispanic and African-American students, many of whom enter into the STEM workforce. In addition, I serve as the principal investigator of the institution’s Career Pathways grant from the United Negro College Fund. This grant works to address the underemployment of students by ensuring career readiness is integrated into the liberal arts curriculum. Finally, I have an undergraduate research laboratory that examines microbial physiology in response to environmental conditions.

What are some of the challenges you have faced so far?

I began work during the pandemic, so onboarding has been virtual. This process has actually been very efficient, and I am very comfortable with the technological tools used by NSF. I do, however, consider connectivity to be one of the great mysteries of life, as you never know when you will be dropped from Zoom.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about serving as a program director at NSF?

Working at NSF is an incredible opportunity. You will gain insight into scientific and workforce advancement from a national perspective. I encourage individuals to review the NSF website and reach out to program directors to learn more about the various directorates within the agency. In addition, I direct interested individuals to the NSF Beta website for employment opportunities. I have several colleagues who are being reviewed for program director positions using this process and I wish them the best of luck!

When friends or colleagues find out that you work at NSF, what do they say or ask?

The most common question that I receive is always, do I like working for the Federal Government? I tell everyone, emphatically, yes! I enjoy the collaborative nature, the procedures used to ensure a fair and effective system, and the comradery that creates a good working environment.