Webinar Q&A summary - AAMC

January 23, 2013, Webinar
Report from the NIH Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce Implementation Team
Summary of Questions and Answers with Dr. Lawrence Tabak
1. Q: When does the NIH anticipate the planning grants for the Building Infrastructure
Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Program will be issued? When will the request for
proposals (RFPs) for the full BUILD Program grants be announced?
A: The NIH will issue funding opportunity announcements (FOA) for the planning
grants in fiscal year (FY) 2013. The NIH envisions issuing the FOAs for the full
program in late FY2013 or early FY2014 such that the grants will be funded in FY2014.
2. Q: Did the committee look at any successful bottom-up approaches to recruit or retain
African-American or other underrepresented minorities in biomedical disciplines?
A: The NIH reviewed many examples of different efforts across the country for
approaches to this, including a number of small grassroots activities where people selfassembled.
Although the committee heard many positive anecdotes about these efforts, it
was challenged by the lack of analyzable data related to these activities, thus making it
difficult to predict the ability to scale up to what the NIH hopes will be a nationwide
effort. Although the framework may be considered top-down, the BUILD Program is
very much a bottom-up approach. BUILD institutions may partner with whomever they
wish, provide a resource set that they can use for the students they select, provide
infrastructure to whatever end the institutions feel they need it, and provide an innovation
space where they can propose exactly the sort of thing that the questioner is speaking to.
The NIH understands that the local solutions that work in one area may not necessarily
work in another. The BUILD and National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN)
Coordinating and Evaluation Center will collect and evaluate data in real time to have a
good sense of the types of efforts that work.
3. Q: It appears that the BUILD Program is focusing on institutions with low levels of
funding. Is there a role for research-intensive institutions with high levels of NIH
funding to participate in the BUILD Program?
A: There is absolutely a role for research-intensive institutions. It is the NIH’s hope that
the primary site institutions will reach out to research-intensive institutions and engage
them in partnerships to be part of the BUILD consortium. Research-intensive institutions
will be given the opportunity to be the training site for a uniquely diversified pool of
highly talented and motivated young people either during the summers of their
undergraduate years or post baccalaureate. The students will be supported by the BUILD
program, and there will be modest research support provided.
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January 23, 2013, Webinar
Report from the NIH Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce Implementation Team
Summary of Questions and Answers with Dr. Lawrence Tabak
4. Q: Can BUILD primary institutions have multiple research-intensive university partners?
A: Yes, the NIH hopes that the primary sites enter into a number of partnerships to
complement the opportunities that they can provide to their students.
5. Q: Will funding for programs such as Minority Access to Research Careers-
Undergraduate Student Training for Academic Research (MARC U-STAR), Minority
Biomedical Research Support -Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (MBRS-
RISE), and MBRS -Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) be
maintained at current levels with this new initiative?
A: There is no intention to reduce resources for these existing NIH programs. The NIH
views the BUILD Program as being complementary to these other programs.
6. Q: What is the role of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the
BUILD and NRMN Programs?
A: The NIH envisions HBCUs playing a major role in these initiatives. Depending upon
the strengths of the particular HBCU, they could either serve as a primary site or they
may serve as a research-intensive site. As more young people matriculate into PhD
programs relevant to biomedical research, the NIH hopes that all PhD programs,
including those at HBCUs, will benefit from a much more diversified applicant pool.
7. Q: For pipeline programs like BUILD, what are some examples of metrics for success?
A: The overall goal of the program is to increase the diversity of the biomedical research
workforce. The primary site institutions will each articulate their own success metrics.
8. Q: Will the Coordinating and Evaluation Center award be contemporaneous with the
BUILD and NRMN awards or will there be some delay?
A: The NIH is still working out the timing, but the awards would certainly be very close
to one another.
9. Q: How will the evaluation function of the Coordinating and Evaluation Center be
sustained beyond the initial support from NIH? Would the expectation be that the Center
being self-sustaining beyond that period of time?
A: Common Fund programs typically have a lifespan of between seven and ten years.
The expectation is that if the program is successful, the NIH would consider alternate
ways of supporting the program after the initial support period.
10. Q: Will those schools with existing programs (i.e., MARC or NBRS) be eligible to apply
as a BUILD primary institution?
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January 23, 2013, Webinar
Report from the NIH Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce Implementation Team
Summary of Questions and Answers with Dr. Lawrence Tabak
A: The NIH will not exclude organizations that already have NBRS and/or MARC
funding. The institutions must meet the general criteria articulated for the BUILD
Program and will need to articulate how their existing programs, MARC or NBRS, will
synergize with the BUILD Program.
11. Q: Is the initiative directed at PhD scientists, or does it also include MD scientists?
A: This program is devoted to increasing the numbers of diverse students entering a PhD
program relevant to biomedical research.
12. Q: If there is an MD who is doing basic research, would that physician scientist be
eligible to be part of this?
A: All individuals regardless of their educational pathway could serve mentorship roles
either by supervising research experiences or by serving as a mentor in the NRMN.
13. Q: Is there an effort on the part of NIH to consider geographical diversity in funding the
planning grants?
A: Yes, geographical diversity will be considered.
14. Q: Will the BUILD initiative include a focus on training of postdoctoral researchers?
A: BUILD is focused on undergraduate trainees and their transition to graduate level
programs. However, the NIH envisions postdoctoral researchers as being engaged in the
NRMN.
15. Q: Does the NIH envision involving liberal arts colleges as part of the BUILD Program?
A: Those liberal arts colleges that meet the BUILD Program general criteria are welcome
to participate either as a primary site or may participate as a pipeline partner. The NIH
would like to make the network as diverse as possible so that it provides the maximum
number and flexibility of opportunities for the undergraduates that participate in the
program.
16. Q: Is the NIH considering a potential role for professional discipline-specific societies in
these new initiatives?
A: Professional societies may participate in several ways. First, they could participate in
the NRMN. Many professional organizations have mentoring programs and one could be
informed by those experiences and build upon those. Second, professional organizations
may agree to partner with the primary site organizations to offer some unique
programming opportunity or some unique mentoring opportunity. However, professional
organizations can not directly apply for the BUILD Program.
17. Q: To whom will the new NIH Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity report?
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January 23, 2013, Webinar
Report from the NIH Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce Implementation Team
Summary of Questions and Answers with Dr. Lawrence Tabak
A: This individual will report directly to Dr. Collins.
18. Q: Will institutions also track the research record of those disabled researchers?
A: The NIH has little information about individuals with various disabilities who
participate in the workforce. The NIH would like to track individuals within the BUILD
Program and beyond to do a much better job of enumerating and tracking the NIH
trainees and workforce.
19. Q: The NIH has been encouraging institutions to do tracking and evaluation. Does the
NIH see in the future that this would be mandatory for future training grants?
A: The NIH, as a result of recommendations from the Advisory Committee to the
Director Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group, led by Drs. Shirley Tilghman
and Sally Rockey, will be announcing initiatives related to better tracking of all of our
trainees and investigators. It has not yet been determined if tracking will be mandatory.
20. Q: Could the BUILD primary site institution also partner with high schools to develop
research and mentoring programs for high school students entering the field of
biomedical research?
A: This has not been explicitly discussed by the NIH. If an institution wants to make a
compelling case for using some of the innovation funds to partner with local high
schools, that could be considered. However, the main focus of the BUILD initiative
begins at the undergraduate level.
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