November 6, 2009
Category:
Well, well, well. As my more dedicated readers are well aware one of my ongoing criticisms of the peer review of NIH grants is the seeming obsession with revision status of the application. I've just reposted this old entry from 2007.
I was, quite naturally, sensitized to this issue originally as a grant applicant. As with many of you, I developed this sneaking suspicion that complaints and bad scores on the original submission of some of my proposals were not in good faith. I mean this in the usual sense that the same or essentially unchanged parts of the proposal were stomped on very hard on the first submission and essentially ignored later. Also from the growing realization that essentially none of my more-junior colleagues and friends had received an award un-revised.
Some years down the road, I entered service on a study section and in hearing the way grants of the three different revision steps were reviewed, well, I started to suspect.
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 6:18 PM • 9 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Ask DrugMonkey • Careerism
As I have noted before, if there is one modal complaint of the newly hired Assistant Professor in the laboratory sciences...
...(i)t boils down to a failure of the hiring University to live up to the spirit (and even letter) of what was promised during the recruiting phase. The space that magically becomes "shared space". The startup funds that get reduced or restricted. The surprises that one is supposed to pay for "out of your startup". The new building renovations that are slow, "Oh just use this temporary space for now" becomes "Well, you have a lab we promised that to the next sucker". Etc. The excuse is almost always "The dean won't go for it", "The dean denied it" and the like while the Chair insists s/he went to the mat for you. Everyone has problems doncha know....
This brings me to today's edition of "Ask DrugMonkey".
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 1:59 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Careerism • Grantsmanship • NIH Budgets and Economics • Peer Review
I have a post I'm working on that references a topic I've been talking about on the blog for a long time. I was about to quote extensively from this one but I figured I'd just better repost the whole thing. This originally appeared on 10 Sep 2007.
I've made reference a time or two to what I describe as "bias" for amended (revised) applications. In the lifecycle of the standard, investigator initiated research project grant (the R01) application, it is initially submitted and reviewed and if not funded, the application can be revised/amended one (called the A1) or two (A2) times. (Thereafter the PI must submit a
substantially new proposal.) First, the evidence that revised applications score better and are more likely to get funded relative to initial submissions is readily available.
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 1:37 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 4, 2009
Category: Call yer CongressCritter • Drug Abuse Science
Our good blogfriend, Scibling and scientist-artist BioE! has a post up discussing the intersection of drug abuse health care, drug abuse science, research funding and the political process. I recommend you start with:
But there's a huge double standard in the media, and in society in general, when it comes to drug abuse treatment...Maybe it's because these other addicts are meth addicts, or potheads, or heroin addicts - probably not people you relate to or approve of. That makes it pretty easy for the media to take cheap shots at crack, etc. addicts, and question whether we should waste money trying to help them...But here's an even easier target than pot smokers: drug-using Thai transgendered prostitutes!
That last is not a joke.
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 2:43 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 3, 2009
Category: Hockey
It starts off as a very simple issue of socio-political attitudes. Columnist Justin Bourne, former minor league pro, writes in USA Today:
In my days as a hockey player, I did nothing but contribute to hockey's culture of homophobia and prejudice against gays. I used gay slurs more times than I'd like to admit. Six months after I left my last professional locker room, I felt a twinge of regret, followed by a full-out, stomach punch of regret. And by the time I finished the first draft of this column, I was disgusted with myself.
It is a great column and I recommend you click through and read the whole thing.
Back to my interest today, he makes the usual exhortation in the middle of the piece.
We can't wait another two decades ignoring the small but consistent strides of progress that the world outside sport is making.
We need to make a change now, because kids who move away from home to play junior hockey at 16 or 17 are still impressionable. If they don't encounter a good role model, the seeds are sown for a person, who after trying to fit in, thinks it's OK to drink, treat women a certain way and use homosexuality as a punchline.
Simple isn't it? The kind of statement we can all get behind, right?
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 2:20 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
November 2, 2009
Category: Alcohol • Cannabis • Drug Abuse Science • General Politics • LSD • MDMA
When I last took up the quixotic campaign of David Nutt, Ph.D., Professor of Psychopharmacology, Univ. of Bristol and former Chair of the UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, it was to point out his belief that MDMA should be downgraded to a lesser harm category. He had issued opinion pieces comparing MDMA's propensity for causing harm favorably with alcohol and waxed enthusiastic about the current clinical trials. The trigger for my post was his absurdist essay on the unfortunate harms to public health that are associated with addiction to "equasy".
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 7:56 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Blogging • Social Sciences • Statistical Reasoning
Andrew Gelman, professor of statistics at Columbia University, has joined the Scienceblogs as author of Applied Statistics. One look at his professional page and you will see why I am so happy to have him here:
Andrew has done research on a wide range of topics, including: ...[snip]... methods in surveys, experimental design, statistical inference,
I think I am going to enjoy having this guy around. If you want to know what you are in for, visit his old blog for a taste.
Posted by DrugMonkey at 3:57 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: NIH Budgets and Economics
I'd seen some sort of press release on this before but for some reason there is a new NIH brag note out today. It informs us that the NIH will be investing $27 Million to build yet another useless failed attempt to create social networking and professional networking entities that are specific to scientists.
Charming and Loaded! [source]Before into the specifics, let's talk about opportunity cost. Thanks to a newfound tool to snoop Indirect Cost rates I feel more comfortable with my assertion that ~55% is a decent estimated IDC rate for the larger public Universities with heavy research focus. An IDC rate of ~90% applies to a number of the smaller, private research institutions that think very highly of themselves with a big reputation. This gives us our range for the full-modular R01 ($250,000 in direct costs for 5 years) as something between $387,500 / yr ($1.94M for 5 yrs) and $475,000 / yr ($2.38M / 5yrs). In rough numbers we are talking about anywhere from 11 to 14 full-modular R01 awards that are being poured into this project.
Of course, since this is the ARRA / stimulus funding, this amount of money is being poured in over a mere two years. Thus, 28-35 two-year intervals of full-modular R01 funding.
It better be one charming [muppethugging] pig*.
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 1:34 PM • 16 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 29, 2009
Category: Cognition • MDMA • NIH
Hey, here's another one! The University of Cincinnati school paper has a bit entitled "Ecstasy might be linked to mental deficits" by one Gin A. Ando.
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 1:37 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge
I have been a bit distracted and keep forgetting to remind you that the DonorsChoose Social Media Challenge is coming to a close. If you keep meaning to donate to one of our selected projects or those of another ScienceBlogger (or heck, any project at all), now's the time. The challenge ends at the end of the month. As always, don't be too shy to donate even a little bit. Every $5 or even $1 inches those projects that much closer to funding. And I won't lie, I love the idea of lots of people getting involved, even if they don't have a huge amount to give.
I'm looking forward to the end of the fundraising drive because I get to distribute some Reader Appreciation Prizes to some of our reader/contributors.
Don't forget to forward me your confirmation if you want to enter the drawing. Even if you don't fancy wearing our nameplate, you'll be able to shop at a selected number of other Sb'er schwagshops as well. So go donate, help some kids learn a little more science and throw your hat in the ring for a thank you from Your Humble Narrator.
Posted by DrugMonkey at 7:12 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 28, 2009
Category: Careerism • Grant Review • NIH • NIH Budgets and Economics
I thought one of the Twitts that I follow was intentionally baiting me by linking a recent editorial in Nature Neuroscience. Turns out I am very pleasantly surprised by the degree of balance. For background, this editorial takes up the hoopla over the practice of the NIH in using out-of-initial-priority-score exceptions (aka "pickups") to fund investigators who have never held a major NIH research grant before. I had observations here and here. To summarize, I am usually disappointed with the lack of understanding of the NIH grant business displayed by media accounts of this particular nuance of the funding picture.
Nature Neuroscience appears to grasp nuance, bravo.
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 4:00 PM • 50 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 27, 2009
Category: Blogging
The person who posts a link to a blog related to substance abuse or publicly funded science careers that 1) I have not seen before* and 2) that most amuses me by the end of the day wins a Reader Appreciation Prize. Reference to your own blog counts.
that is all.
/ennui
*or at least can't recall
Posted by DrugMonkey at 3:48 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: MDMA
I ran across an article in a college newspaper, I think via a Google news search for "MDMA". Cause I do that. The article is "Rocking and Rolling: An Inside Look at SoCal's Rave Culture" in the University of California, Irvine paper under the byline of one Stephanie Vatz. My original response was via a Twitt:
drugmonkeyblog So completely full of FAIL that I don't even know where to start. http://tinyurl.com/yz6gmlg #MDMA
I then started wasting my time Twitting one-liner objections but then a comment by @dr_leigh (who you really should be following) started me thinking about the changing nature of college journalism.
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 12:27 PM • 24 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 26, 2009
Category: Ask DrugMonkey • Careerism • Grant Review • Grantsmanship • NIH • NIH Budgets and Economics
I had a query from a reader today which put me onto something new. So I though a few of my readers might like the opportunity for yet more time wasting critical career-related research.
One of the many past times of the NIH-funded research scientist is best described as...whinging...about indirect costs. Otherwise known as "overhead", the indirect costs of an NIH award are that bit of extra cash above and beyond the amount needed for the actual conduct of the research plan that is awarded to the University.
Scientists are exceptionally fond of one particular complaint which is "Where in the hell is my overhead going since you re-charge me for every dang thing I can think of that might be overhead costs?" Arguing about local mistreatment of your heroic golden goose scientist is all fun and games but there is another complaint which is even more entertaining because of inter-institutional warfare. It goes something like this:
Read on »
Posted by DrugMonkey at 7:55 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 23, 2009
Category: General Politics
"What is that", you ask.
I hadn't heard of it until a couple of years ago either, which is strange.
The Red Ribbon Coalition site claims:
Red Ribbon Week began after the kidnapping, torture and brutal murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985.
-snip-
The following year the California State PTA adopted the Red Ribbon Week campaign. Then, in 1988, Red Ribbon Week was recognized nationally with President Ronald and First Lady Nancy Reagan serving as the first Honorary Chairs.
Today, the Red Ribbon Week brings millions of people together to raise awareness regarding the need for alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention, early intervention, and treatment services. It is the largest, most visible prevention awareness campaign observed annually in the United States.
So I ask, have you ever heard of this campaign, DearReader? Ever participated in any events at your kids' school or what not?
Posted by DrugMonkey at 4:47 PM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 22, 2009
Category: Humor
There are days. Not ordinary days. But....days. Like the one you just had. In which some individual has caused you much woe. Woe and annoyance. And pain. Let us not forget that.
Graphical artist Jessica Hische [ blog ] has just the solution.
Bill 'em.
[h/t: Kitsune Noir by way of @chrislbs]
Posted by DrugMonkey at 6:59 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Alcohol • Blogging • Cannabis • Drug Abuse Science
I have no idea why it has taken me so long to find the Addiction Inbox blog penned by one Dirk Hanson. Lots of great stuff here for my readers that are interested in the substance-abuse topics.
Kudzu for Alcoholism?
600 comments on a post on Marijuana Withdrawal ?
A take on the infamous Vandrey et al., 2008, study- Marijuana withdrawal rivals nicotine ?
Coverage of the recent news stories such as: Russian Heroin Addiction "Spreads Like Wildfire"
Go read.
Posted by DrugMonkey at 1:25 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
October 20, 2009
Category: Diversity in Science • NIH
I was going to just add this as a late addendum to the Diversity in Science Blog Carnival #3 in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Since this involves the NIH IC that focuses so much energy on enhancing diversity in science, I thought it deserved a little more.
A recent post on the NIGMS blog Feedback Loop tells us that:
The end of this year's observation coincided with the opening ceremony of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) National Conference, which is supported by NIGMS.
The SACNAS conference highlights the scientific contributions of Hispanics and Native Americans and fosters the development of new scientists.
The entry goes on to detail the honoring of three of their NIGMS grantees. Go Read.
Posted by DrugMonkey at 7:45 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: DonorsChoose Blogger Challenge
Breaking news from the DonorsChoose Social Media Challenge for 2009! HP already contributed $50 to every challenge on the board. Now they are offering a matching deal to spur competition. PalMD's and Isis' readers may have exhausted their wallets and now it is time to catch up by scoring matching funds from HP. From the DonorsChoose email:
HP has been tracking the competition closely and has already made a $50 contribution to your page, as a result of all of your hard work. The good news? HP wants to make yet another contribution to your Giving Page. The more you raise by this Sunday, October 25, the more HP will contribute!
Next week, we will distribute $200,000, the rest of HP's contribution, to all Social Media Challenge Giving Pages. But this time, your share will be calculated on a pro-rata basis based on the amount you've raised by Sunday. What does that mean? Now is the time to motivate your readers, followers, friends, fam and fans to donate to your page, so you can claim a larger share of the funds!
And there's yet another bonus: after the Challenge is over, everyone who donated to your Giving Page will get a DonorsChoose.org Giving Card, courtesy of HP. Those donors will get to decide which projects are supported with HP's $200,000 in funds
So if you've been holding back or meaning to get to it, now's the time to stroll on over to the DM Challenge page and give a few bucks to the kids.
Posted by DrugMonkey at 3:42 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
