Summer Science Institutes Unveil Newest Seminar Call for Nominations A Hitchiker's Guide to the NIH Roadmap: What's In It For You? Don't Miss the 2004 Regional Association Meetings Summer Science Institutes Unveil Newest Seminar In July 2004, the APA will hold an advanced seminar in statistics at the University of Maryland, College Park. This new program, the Advanced Statistical Training in Psychology (ASTP) program, will be an intensive, 9-day, hands-on seminar in which students learn about psychological statistics and research methods in a dynamic setting that emphasizes the skills it takes to analyze and interpret real data. This seminar will be co-taught by award winning instructors Keith Maddox (Tufts University) and Brett Pelham (SUNY, Buffalo) who have each taught statistics and/or research methods at major research universities. ASTP will target students from traditionally underrepresented groups in psychology. The definition of underrepresented groups for this program is broad. The seminar will undoubtedly include students who are members of ethnic minority groups, but it will also include first generation college students and students who have had to overcome other kinds of social or economic barriers on the road to academic excellence. ASTP will focus primarily on statistics and research methods. However, the program will also include a professional socialization component, in which students will learn about important topics such as maximizing one's chances of being admitted to graduate school and maximizing one's chances of being happy and successful once admitted. Several prominent guest speakers have already been lined up for these special lectures. The co-instructors describe the program as a chance to develop the kind of sophisticated skills that one actually uses as a researcher. It also represents a chance to learn more about overcoming barriers to professional success. Finally, it provides talented students a chance to get to know some of the other talented students who will shape the future of psychological research. Those accepted into the program, which will take place July 10–18, will pay a $200 registration fee and provide for their own travel. APA will cover the cost of room, board, lectures, and labs. Financial need should not be a barrier to participation. Thus, for those with financial need, scholarship support is available. We expect ASTP to be very competitive. Eligibility is limited to college students (senior class of either 2004 or 2005) who have firm plans to attend a graduate program in psychology after college, and who plan to pursue research careers. The application deadline for summer 2004 is Tuesday, February 17, 2004. Application materials are available on line at http://www.apa.org/science/astp.html Call for Nominations: Master Lecturers and Distinguished Scientist Lecturers The Board of Scientific Affairs (BSA) is soliciting nominations for speakers for the 2005 Master Lecture Program and the 2005 Distinguished Scientist Lecture Program. These annual programs spotlight experts in psychological science and are sponsored by the APA's Science Directorate. Selected speakers receive an honorarium of $1,000 and reimbursement for travel expenses, up to $1,000. All nominees should be excellent public speakers. BSA will review all nominations at its 2004 spring meeting. Nominations may be for either the Distinguished Lecture or the Master Lecture program (or both). The Master Lecture Program, developed by BSA, supports up to five (5) psychological scientists to speak at the APA Annual Convention. A list of previously selected speakers can be found on-line at http://www.apa.org/science/masterlecturers.html. BSA has organized the lectures into ten core areas that reflect the field. Each year, five of these areas are addressed by Master Lecturers. Speakers for the 2005 Convention, to be held in Washington, DC, August 18–21, 2005, will be chosen to have expertise in each of the following areas: applied psychology biopsychology animal and human cognition and perception health and behavioral medicine personality and individual differences The Distinguished Scientist Lecture Program, developed by BSA, supports up to three (3) psychological scientists to speak at Regional Psychological Association meetings to be held in 2005. Speakers must be actively engaged in research, with expertise in any area. A list of previously selected speakers and their topics can be found on-line at http://www.apa.org/science/distsci-lecturer.html Please send in the name of your nominee(s) by email or fax at 202-336-5953 to Jeanie Kelleher, APA Science Directorate. Nominations must be received by February 20, 2004. A Hitchiker's Guide to the NIH Roadmap: What's In It For You? by Patricia Kobor, Public Policy Office An initiative of NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, the Roadmap is a collection of 28 new research initiatives organized in three themes (Research Teams of the Future; New Pathways to Discovery; and Re-engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise) that are intended to stimulate investment in crosscutting research areas that no one institute could fund on its own. Each institute and center at NIH has given 1 percent of its budget to a central pool to provide funds for these initiatives-a total of approximately $35 million for Fiscal Year 2005. The National Science Foundation has long had a trans-foundation pool of research funds, but this is the first time a formal program has been established at NIH. Research psychologists can be confident that a number of the Roadmap initiatives are focused on or welcoming of behavioral research proposals. In many cases the Requests for Applications (RFAs) arising from Roadmap initiatives will be reviewed by Special Emphasis Panels rather than by standing NIH study sections. The NIH web page contains a great deal of information about Roadmap initiatives. A description of the initiative areas can be found at http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/initiatives.asp. One or more RFAs will be issued for each initiative. New initiatives are appearing daily so you should check the website often. Behavioral Roadmap Initiatives: Under the theme "Re-engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise," psychology is explicitly listed as one of the disciplines eligible for career support through the RFA for institutional support entitled, "Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Programs." According to the NIH Guide, "Career Development Programs supported under this RFA must include a broad representation of clinical disciplines and professions (e.g., internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, dentistry, pharmacy, statistics, nursing, psychology) and their various specialties and sub-specialties. Programs must include a structured core didactic component and a practical training component in various aspects of the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical research. Individuals should be trained in team research settings and will be known as NIH Clinical Research Scholars (CR Scholars)." The full RFA can be found at http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/clinicalresearch/grants.asp Several initiatives are being coordinated by the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research in partnership with one or more NIH institutes. One example is a multidisciplinary research training initiative on Behavior, Environment and Biology that was posted on November 19, 2003. The RFA can be found at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MH-04-007.html. This institutional, postdoctoral National Research Training Award (NRSA) will support the establishment of programs that provide formal coursework and research training in a new interdisciplinary field to individuals holding advanced degrees in a different discipline. These training programs are required to include a behavioral or social science discipline, and programs are encouraged to integrate the behavioral and/or social sciences with the more traditional biomedical sciences. In particular, applicants are encouraged to develop programs that accept postdoctoral trainees with varied research backgrounds, and provide multiple tracks of research training that enhance each trainee's development of new, interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, while supporting opportunities for trainee interaction and research integration across the research tracks. Another new Roadmap initiative is called "Dynamic Assessment of Patient-Reported Chronic Disease Outcomes." According to the NIH Guide, "This RFA seeks proposals for innovative approaches to measuring patient-reported outcomes (PROs) that will meet the needs of clinical researchers across a wide variety of chronic disorders and diseases. This RFA solicits two types of applications; (1) individual research proposals, with added concept proposals for network-wide collection of self-report data on specific domains of patient-reported outcomes, symptoms, or quality of life in large and diverse samples, and (2) proposals for a statistical coordinating center that will serve as a data repository, conduct analyses, and develop a computerized system to administer, collect, and report PRO data. The principal investigators of each project will become members of a network - Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)- to be established immediately following award." The grants will be administered by the National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases on behalf of the NIH. Letters of intent are due on February 22, 2004. The RFA may be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-04-011.html Drawing the Roadmap: When planning began in earnest for the NIH Roadmap in early 2003, behavioral and social scientists were initially concerned that the initiatives might largely exclude behavioral research. Psychologists and others at NIH worked hard to ensure that behavioral and social scientists were appointed to the trans-NIH working groups developing each of the initiatives, so that psychology and the other social science disciplines could have a voice in, and influence on, the process. APA's Chief Executive Officer Norman Anderson contacted several NIH institute directors personally to discuss the composition of the working groups and the conceptual framework for the Roadmap. As a result of all these efforts, the behavioral and social sciences stand to benefit along with the rest of NIH by an increased investment in trans-NIH research and renewed scientific infrastructure. Virginia Cain, Acting Director of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, has offered to be a point of contact for behavioral scientists with questions or concerns about the Roadmap proposals or processes. She can be reached at (301) 402-1146 or by email. Don't Miss the 2004 Regional Association Meetings! The regional psychological associations are busy making plans for the 2004 annual meetings. The regional conventions feature invited presentations by distinguished psychologists, symposia, panel and poster sessions, workshops, and more! Learn more about this year's regional meetings in the APA Monitor (January 2004) and through the regional association Web sites.   Regional Association Annual Meeting Dates For More Information Southeastern Psychological Association Meeting (SEPA) Atlanta, Georgia March 10–13, 2004 SEPA Web site http://www.sepaonline.com Southwestern Psychological Association Meeting (SWPA) San Antonio, Texas April 8–10, 2004 SWPA Web site http://www.swpsych.org/ Rocky Mountain Psychological Association Meeting (RMPA) Reno, Nevada April 15–17, 2004 RMPA Web site http://www.unco.edu/psychology/rmpa/ Eastern Psychological Association Meeting (EPA) Washington, DC April 15–18, 2004 EPA Web site http://www.easternpsychological.org/ Western Psychological Association Meeting (WPA) Phoenix, Arizona April 22–25, 2004 WPA Web site http://www.westernpsych.org/ Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting (MPA) Chicago, Illinois April 29–May 1, 2004 MPA Web site http://condor.depaul.edu/~psych/mpa/ New England Psychological Association Meeting (NEPA) Providence, Rhode Island October 15–16, 2004 NEPA Web site http://NEPA-info.org   Back to January/February homepage