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Headlines for this newsletter: New NIH Policy on AI usage and grant submission limit • Meet two of our Summer Research Participants: Elise Knight and Marlee Lamoreaux • Past AR INBRE supported researcher appointed Associate Editor and so much more!
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NIH has recently observed instances of Principal Investigators submitting large numbers of applications, some of which may have been generated with AI tools. While AI may be a helpful tool in reducing the burden of preparing applications, the rapid submission of large numbers of research applications from a single Principal Investigator may unfairly strain NIH’s application review processes. The percentage of applications from PIs submitting an average of more than six applications per year is relatively low; however, there is evidence that the use of AI tools has enabled PIs to submit more than 40 distinct applications in a single application submission round.
NIH will continue to employ the latest technology in detection of AI-generated content to identify AI generated applications, but it is imperative that all NIH research applications are consistent with the NIH Grants Policy Statement (GPS) Section 2.1.2’s expectation that institutions and affiliated research teams propose original ideas for funding. AI tools may be appropriate to assist in application preparation for limited aspects or in specific circumstances, but researchers should be aware that using AI comes with its own risks. AI use may result in plagiarism, fabricated citations, or other kinds of research misconduct. As a reminder, NIH oversees research misconduct investigations and acts on non-compliance (see GPS Section 4.1.27).
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Policy NIH will not consider applications that are either substantially developed by AI, or contain sections substantially developed by AI, to be original ideas of applicants. If the detection of AI is identified post award, NIH may refer the matter to the Office of Research Integrity to determine whether there is research misconduct while simultaneously taking enforcement actions including but not limited to disallowing costs, withholding future awards, wholly or in part suspending the grant, and possible termination.
NIH will only accept six new, renewal, resubmission, or revision applications from an individual PI/Program Director or Multiple PI for all council rounds in a calendar year. This policy applies to all activity codes except T activity codes and R13 Conference Grant Applications. Based on recent data, this limit will affect a relatively small number of Principal Investigators while enabling the NIH to maintain consistently high-quality grant application review and appropriately steward taxpayer dollars.
Effective Date This policy is effective for applications submitted to the September 25, 2025, receipt date and beyond.
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Meet our Summer Research Participants |
Arkansas INBRE’s paid summer research fellowships are available for undergraduate students who are rising juniors or seniors. Selected students will work on a project relevant to human health led by a faculty member at either the University of Arkansas, or the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. We offer two 9-week summer research programs tailored to students with STEM majors (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science, mathematics, and related disciplines) who are considering careers in biomedical research. Here are some of our students. Meet more on our website.
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Elise Knight, Rising Senior, Ouachita Baptist University AR INBRE Student Researching at UAF
Major(s)/Minor: Double major in Chemistry and Biophysics with a minor in math
What I am researching this summer: This summer, I’m working in Dr. Feng Wang’s lab at UAF where I will be computationally modelling pentanes. The goal of this project is to create a better understanding of their thermodynamic and energetic properties for use in applications such as environment-friendly refrigerants.
Plans after graduation: After graduating from Ouachita, I plan to pursue a PhD in physical chemistry and work in research & development for the pharmaceutical industry.
Outside of the lab/classroom: I am a part of OBU’s cross-country and track teams and the treasurer of the Ouachita student chapter of the American Chemical Society.
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Marlee Lamoreaux, Rising Senior, University of Central Arkansas Clinical Trials Office (CTO) Student Researching at UAMS Major: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
What I am researching this summer: This summer I am working in the UAMS Clinical Trials Office and my current role is to shadow CTO nursing staff and assist with clinical trial duties.
Plans after graduation: In the future I would like to work as a pediatric nurse, potentially in the hem/onc unit, or PICU!
Outside of the lab/classroom: When I’m not participating in academics, I love to workout, play soccer, and swim. During the summer I also love to do anything outdoors such as hiking, kayaking, or going to the lake!
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GENETICS Expands Primers Section Primers in GENETICS are intended as guides to help instructors use peer-reviewed articles in their classrooms when teaching about research methods and model organisms. These guides provide a road map that allows educators to use cutting-edge research published in the Genetics Society of America Journal GENETICS to demonstrate core competencies in the classroom.
Beth De Stasio of Lawrence University has led the Primers initiative since 2012 as a special editor for GENETICS. Seeking to expand the commitment to this community contribution, GENETICS is formally creating a Primers section to be led by De Stasio in the role of Senior Editor.
Among those joining as Associate Editors is Dr. Andrea Duina, from Hendrix College. Excerpt from GSA’s blog:
Duina is a Professor of Biology where he has been carrying out yeast genetics research with undergraduate students since 2004. Following initial support from the Arkansas BRIN Program (now known as Arkansas INBRE), Duina’s research has since been funded through several grants from the NSF. The Duina laboratory leverages the power of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genetics to gain insights into chromatin biology, in particular as it relates to the highly conserved histone chaperone complex yFACT.
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High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program supports exceptionally creative scientists pursuing highly innovative research with the potential for broad impact within the NIH mission. Preliminary data are not required.
NIH Director’s New Innovator Award supports early career investigators of exceptional creativity who propose bold and highly innovative research projects with the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important areas relevant to the NIH mission. Due Aug 19.
NIH Director's Transformative Research Award supports individuals or teams proposing transformative projects that are inherently risky and untested but have the potential to create or overturn fundamental paradigms and may require very large budgets. Due Sept 3.
NIH Director’s Pioneer Award supports scientists with outstanding records of creativity pursuing new research directions to develop pioneering approaches to major challenges in biomedical, social science, and behavioral research. Due Sept 9.
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R16 SuRE and SuRE-First NOFOs. The SuRE program supports research capacity building at eligible higher education institutions through funding investigator-initiated biomedical research in basic, social, clinical, behavioral, or translational science that falls in the mission areas of the NIH. Applications due for both on Sept 29.
Support for Research Excellence (SuRE) Award (PAR-25-414) provides support for investigator-initiated research at resource-limited institutions by full-time faculty who are not currently funded by any NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) with the exception of SuRE or SuRE-First awards.
SuRE – First Independent Research (SuRE-First) Award (PAR-25-145) provides support for investigator-initiated research at resource-limited institutions by full-time faculty who have not had any prior independent, peer-reviewed, external research grants.
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New Non-Federal Funding/ Fellowships Source. SC INBRE has announced a new web page full of links to foundation, organization, society and other entities offering biomedical-related grants, awards, fellowships and education funding. Page is arranged by research topics. They also welcome input if a site visitor knows of a source not currently listed. More
Examples of available non-Federal resources currently accepting LOIs/ applications: Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundationsupports early-stage biomedical investigators engaged in basic and translational research that has the potential to make fundamental advances in biomedical science. Grant provides $75,000 annually for up to three years. Apply by Aug 1. More
Arnold & Mabel Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Program provides research support to the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and life sciences, particularly to foster the invention of methods, instruments and materials. Projects are for four years, in the range of $600,000 ($150,000 annually). Submit LOI by Aug 1. More
The Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation: Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergrad Institutions awards provide a $25,000 grant to 1) facilitate a visit and lectures by a notable researcher in the chemical sciences to a PUI, and 2) fund summer research fellowships for two undergrad students. Apply by Aug 7. More
Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program supports the research and teaching careers of talented early-career faculty in the chemical sciences at PUIs. Provides an unrestricted research grant of $75,000. Apply by Aug 7. More
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National Center for Genome Resources and NM INBRE Virtual Metagenomics Workshop, Aug 4-8. Learn how to use the UNIX command line and perform metagenomic analyses. This workshop covers analyses of 16s and whole genome shotgun metagenomic sequence data, including community analysis and assembly. This workshop is targeted towards advanced undergraduate or graduate students, and researchers in biology or related fields. Apply by July 28. More
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NCFDD LIVE ON ZOOM: Ten UDL-Aligned Strategies for Supporting Students with ADHD, July 29, 1 pm CT. This ADHD-friendly session will give participants the tools (including at least 10 UDL-aligned strategies), to help instructors more effectively reach and teach their ADHD students by examining instruction through the lens of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. Zoom (Meeting ID: 890 3311 0413; Passcode: 298636). More
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Abstracts accepted for Postdoc Seminar Series. The Society for Developmental Biology Ethel Browne Harvey Postdoctoral Seminar Series was established to highlight the work of our outstanding postdoctoral members, providing a platform for those members who will soon be going on the job market. The one-hour virtual seminars will be held the Second Friday of the month at 3 pm ET. It will feature two postdoc speakers giving 20-minute talks followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. All seminars will be recorded and available on the SDB website. Recordings will be posted the following week. Submit by Aug 1. More
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NASEM NRC Research Associateship Programs are postdoc and senior research awards designed to provide promising scientists and engineers with high-quality research opportunities at federal labs and affiliated institutions. These programs offer a comprehensive experience, including mentorship and access to state-of-the-art facilities, all geared toward enhancing the research career development of the Research Associates. Apply by Aug 1. More
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HHMI/Janelia Junior Scientist Workshop on Theoretical Neuroscience. This workshop is intended as a "by the students, for the students" meeting. Participants will include only grad students and postdocs doing theoretical neuroscience research. Attendees will give 20-minute research talks on their work, as well as in-depth 45-minute tutorials on theoretical techniques relevant to their research. Janelia will cover the cost of accommodation, meals and reasonable travel expenses for accepted participants. Apply by Aug 5. More
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NCURA 3rd Annual AI Symposium, Aug 9, Washington Hilton Hotel. This symposium will explore how AI is reshaping the research award lifecycle, from proposal development to post-award management. More
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NSF Research Experiences for Undergrads (REU) program supports active research participation by undergrad students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. This solicitation features two mechanisms for supporting student research: REU Sites and REU Supplements. Submit proposal by Aug 20. More
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Chronicle of Higher Ed Webinar Series — Trump and Higher Ed: Understanding the Latest. Series of webinars breaking down the latest news involving higher ed and the Trump administration. Each webinar will cover the most significant topics of the moment, so you can stay prepared for the challenges ahead. Next webinar, 12 pm CT, Aug 20. More
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Third Annual Data Sharing Symposium: How Data Advances the Impact of Cancer Research, Sept 30-Oct 1, NCI Office of Data Sharing, Shady Grove Campus, Rockville, MD. Attendees are invited to present a poster describing how data sharing has impacted your cancer research, or to set up a table to demo an innovative data sharing product. Abstracts due Sept 1. More
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Sigma Xi International Forum on Research Excellence (IFoRE), Oct 30-Nov 1, Virtual. Sessions will center around a theme of "Science and Society: Crafting a Vision for a Sustainable Tomorrow," with speakers and an elite research competition for STEM students of ALL education levels and disciplines. Now accepting submissions for Student Research Competition (due Sept 5) and General Session Proposals, as well as registrations. More
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Innovative Science Accelerator Program (ISAC) award, funded by the NIH NIDDK, is seed funding for exceptionally innovative, disruptive (high-risk/high-reward) research relevant to Kidney-Urologic-Hematologic communities. Applicants may request up to $100,000 (direct + indirect costs) Total Costs for one year. The next submission deadline is Sept 17. More
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Scholars Transforming Through Research (STR): Council on Undergraduate Research’s Advocacy Program engages students in the varied stages of the undergrad research process. Participants learn valuable skills in communicating the impact of their undergrad research experiences to a variety of audience members and stakeholders. The STR Program expands and enhances the learning of CUR’s previous successful advocacy offerings, Posters on the Hill and REU Symposium. Apply by is Sept 17. More
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July 289 am CT, NIH Online Training: Data Visualization in R: Customizations Part 2 of 2
July 2910 am CT, NIH Online Training: Resources for Identifying Experts in a Field
12 pm CT, AACR Immuno-onc Res Fellowship
1 pm CT, NCFDD (Virtual): 10 UDL-Aligned Strategies for Supporting Students with ADHD
LOI: NIH Blueprint MedTech Translator (UG3/UH3)
July 30 12 pm, NIH Online Training: Copyright and Plagiarism: What Authors Need to Know
July 31 12 pm CT, NIH Virtual Meeting: Predicting Genetic Variants that Alter that Alter 3D Genome Folding in Cancer & Developmental Disorders
1:30 pm CT, NIH NIDDK Biostats Seminar Series: R is for All
August 1 Genentech RFP: Independent Med Ed — Small-Cell Lung Cancer
August 5
LOI: NIH Sm Bus Transition Grant for New Entrepreneurs (R41/R42) (R43/R44)
August 6 LOI: Alzheimer’s Assoc 2026 Part the Cloud: —Enable the Molecule for Therapeutics (PTC-EMT) Funding Program
Pre-App: NMSS Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Care Physician Fellowship
August 7 9 am CT, NIH Online Training: Python for Data Sci: How to Get Started, What to Learn, & Why
1 pm CT, NCFDD Webinar: Every Semester Needs a Plan
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Our newsletter is open to all. Please feel free to forward.
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Copyright © 2024 Arkansas INBRE, All rights reserved.Questions or more info, contact Cyndy Buckhaults, Media Specialist, cbuckhaults@uams.edu Material in this newsletter is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of General Medical Sciences (5P20GM103429). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the AR INBRE Program and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NIH.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 4301 W. Markham Street, Slot 818 Little Rock, AR 72205 USA
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