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NIH Working Group on Basic Behavioral and Social Science Research Reports at Advisory Committee Meeting
The Advisory Committee of the Director of NIH heard a presentation December 2, 2004, on the recently released draft report of the NIH Working Group on Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. Working Group members Susan Fiske, Robert Levenson, and Bruce McEwen, along with chair Linda Waite, presented the draft report and its recommendations to the NIH Director and his advisory committee. The Working Group was established in 2003 by NIH Director Elias Zerhouni with the charge to review the portfolio of basic behavioral and social science research funded by NIH and to make recommendations on how to strengthen basic
research.
The Working Group released an inventory of basic behavioral and social research in each of the NIH institutes that reported supporting it, with titles of some grants shown as examples. It also released a report with recommendations on how to strengthen basic research. Those recommendations were: 1) Task the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) with coordinating trans-institute basic research initiatives, and 2) to designate a home for basic research that is not differentiated by disease by establishing a branch or a program in a non-categorical institute (either the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which funds basic research; the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; or the National Institute on Aging).
While the latter recommendation technically overreached the group’s charge, Waite explained to the Advisory Council that undifferentiated basic research needs a home at NIH, especially now that the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is refocusing its research portfolio toward translational research. Several NIH institutes support basic research, but even though basic questions are being addressed, they are often posed in populations reflecting, or within the context of, the disease mission of those institutes. Waite characterized the first recommendation as encouraging basic research in a “top-down” approach, through Requests for Applications, and the second as a means to provide a stable home where investigator-initiated basic research would be welcomed.
Zerhouni and the advisory committee expressed several concerns about the second recommendation. Some advisory committee members asked why NSF was not the more appropriate home for this type of basic behavioral and social science research. Zerhouni noted the tightening budgets at NIH and appeared to question why he or the advisory council ought to dictate to any institute what sort of research it should fund. He didn’t question the importance of the research, but noted that the amount of basic research tallied in the report, approximately $936 million, was not an insignificant amount of money. The Working Group members noted that the inventory they developed showed that almost all examples of basic research included in the $936 million were projects posed within the context of the disease missions of the institutes. The challenge in the meeting was to explain why undifferentiated basic behavioral and social science was as relevant to health as, for example, undifferentiated research on cellular function.
The presenters attempted to answer the concerns posed by Zerhouni and other members of the Advisory Council. Fiske pointed out that there is a strong body of research on how lack of social support adversely affects cardiac patients. While NIH has supported this applied research, she questioned whether today’s NIH would support basic research on social isolation and social support that made the clinical research possible.
Even if the reception by the Advisory Committee was more tentative than hoped, APA and other organizations will share the Working Group’s recommendations with congressional allies and discuss them with individual institutes to see if a more welcoming climate can be established for basic behavioral and social sciences research at NIH. While the report is still in draft form now, the Director’s Advisory Committee is expected to discuss its approval before the committee’s next meeting in June 2005.
The draft report and inventory are online at http://obssr.od.nih.gov/Activities/Basic%20Beh%20Report_complete.pdf. For additional information, see: Membership of the NIH Director's Advisory Committee at www.nih.gov/about/director/acd.htm and the Charge to the Working Group on Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at http://obssr.od.nih.gov/Activities/BasicResearch.html.
Applications Now Available for 2005 Advanced Training Institutes
2005 will mark the sixth year of this highly successful program, featuring training seminars on fMRI (where this year's focus will be on clinical applications), structural equation modeling, and using large-scale databases, featuring the NICHD's Study of Early Child Care. Please go to www.apa.org/science/ati.html for more information, and to apply.
The ATI on large-scale databases will be held from June 7-10 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Participants will learn to use longitudinal data from NICHD's Study of Early Child Care (SECC). The SECC data are from 1,364 families, followed since their infants' birth in 1991. The study covers demographic, family, maternal, paternal and caregiver characteristics; child social and emotional outcomes; language development; cognitive skills; school readiness; growth and health measures, and much more. Through a grant from NICHD, training institute costs for transportation, lodging, food and materials will be covered.
The fMRI course is run by Robert L. Savoy, Director of fMRI Education at Massachusetts General Hospital, and will be held at the hospital's Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, just outside of Boston. It will be held from June 19-24. Most expenses are paid for invited applicants, thanks to a grant from NIMH.
The ATI on structural equation modeling in longitudinal research will also be held June 13-17, 2005. This course is taught by Jack McArdle at his home institution, the University of Virginia. This training covers a range of topics, including fundamental measurement problems, dealing with incomplete data, and new techniques for dynamic analyses. Course materials will include basic readings on the fundamental theoretical issues in contemporary longitudinal data analysis. These materials will also include all computer scripts (e.g., AMOS, LISREL, Mplus, Mx) used in the practical applications. Participants will be encouraged to bring along their own data and research problems, and time will be set aside daily for individual meetings with members of the faculty.
Two more ATIs are being planned (at the time of this writing, one on conducting online experiments, and another on behavioral genetics) so please check back over the winter to www.apa.org/science/ati.htmlfor more information and applications.
APA Summer Research Programs Ready for Applicants!
February 2005 deadlines have been set for the APA Science Directorate’s two summer research experiences for undergraduates. The Summer Science Institute (SSI), now in its 10th year, and the Advanced Statistical Training in Psychology (ASTP), new in 2004, will be open for applications beginning December 1, 2004.
Applications for SSI, to be held at Vanderbilt University June 18-26, 2005, will be accepted until February 8, 2005. The SSI is a 9-day intensive program designed to immerse students in the science of psychology. The Institute gives students an opportunity to explore the intellectual, personal, and social processes of scientific inquiry and to experience cutting-edge psychological research through seminars and hands-on laboratory activities. Visit www.apa.org/science/ssi.html for complete details about the program and online application.
The ASTP will be held at the University of Maryland July 9 - 17, 2005. Applications will be accepted until February 23, 2005. ASTP is an intensive, 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. Much of the statistical instruction will be geared toward the use of computer-assisted statistical packages (SPSS). ASTP will target students from traditionally underrepresented groups in psychology. The definition of underrepresented groups for this program is extremely 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, physical or economic barriers on the road to academic excellence. Please visit www.apa.org/science/astp.html for online application and more program information.
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