Consideration of Relevant Biological Variables in NIH Grant Applications

In part three of our series on rigor and transparency in research grant and career development award applications, we focus on consideration of relevant biological variables. Updated instructions for the Approach section of the Research Strategy ask the applicant to: Explain how relevant biological variables, such as sex, are factored into research designs and analyses for studies in vertebrate animals and humans. For example, strong justification from the scientific literature, preliminary data, or other relevant considerations, must be provided for applications proposing to study only one sex. Several blog posts have been devoted to sex as biological variable so today we will focus on other biological variables you may need to consider. As with sex, the clarifying instructions on consideration of relevant biological variables do not prescribe that the biological variable itself be studied. If biological variables are known to affect a system or disease model proposed forstudy, the application should discuss how you will control for these factors, if necessary. So, what are some biological variables, other than sex, that might need to be considered when doing research in vertebrate animals? Let’s start with an example of early vaccine development in mice. It’s been well-established that C57BL/6 and Balb/c strains of mice produce different immune responses due to differing genetic backgrounds. Therefore, if an application proposes to study an immune response in mice, it m...
Source: NIH Extramural Nexus - Category: Research Authors: Tags: blog Open Mike applications biological variables reproducibility Resources rigor SABV Source Type: funding