May 2014
As the academic year winds down, this is a wonderful opportunity to recognize your commitment to promoting your research and the work of your peers. Last month, the American Neurological Association (ANA) received 375 abstracts to be considered for the 2014 Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD. The research covered a wide variety of topics and will ensure an outstanding meeting.
We received 39 exceptional nominations for leadership positions on the ANA board of directors, and 18 leading researchers were nominated for the Derek Denny-Brown Award. The committees leading the charge on each of these important efforts are working diligently to increase diversity of subspecialty, gender, institution, geographic location and seniority. This work, and the work of the many other committees, is helping to move us closer to our goals.
The application deadline draws near for the ANA’s Translational and Clinical Research Course (TCRC), which will be held in Chicago, IL from July 20-22, 2014. The two most essential elements of our mission include both expanding our understanding of diseases of the nervous system and broadening our ability to treat them. TCRC is designed to aid clinician-scientists in an analysis of the development of therapies for neurological diseases, which addresses both elements. If you know a candidate who may be eligible for the program, please encourage them to apply by May 12, 2014.
Just a reminder, if you have new, meritorious, ongoing clinical or basic research of an extraordinary nature you may wish to consider submitting an abstract when the Works in Progress site opens on June 2, 2014. This feature of the ANA annual meeting is an opportunity for junior faculty to educate the entire Neurology community on the intricacies of their leading-edge research.
If you are certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and participate in the ABPN’s maintenance of certification program you may be interested in their new fellowship. The ABPN has established a new faculty fellowship award, which is intended to support the development of innovative education and/or evaluation projects that promote effective residency/fellowship training or lifelong learning of practicing psychiatrists and neurologists. Preference will be given to projects that have the potential for use in more than one site and to applicants who are at a junior or mid-faculty level. More information is available on www.abpn.com or by contacting, djuul@abpn.com.
As NIH funding is a vital resource, I wanted to be sure you were all aware of a recent announcement by Sally Rockey, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, on a change to the NIH’s resubmission policy (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-14-074.html). For application due dates after April 16, 2014, following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1) application, applicants may now submit in a new grant application (A0) without having to substantially redesign the content and scope of the project.
I look forward to learning more about your achievements in the coming months. Be sure to let the ANA know if you are planning to do international research projects in the coming months. And of course, save the date for our annual meeting, October 12-14, 2014 in Baltimore, MD.
Sincerely,
Robert H. Brown, Jr., D.Phil., M.D.
University of Massachusetts
President, American Neurological Association