For Researchers

The NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, Norka Ruiz Bravo, Ph.D., has requested that the AAMC serve as a communications link between the agency and the academic medical research community. As the NIH identifies research and training needs in grantee institutions in the devastated region, it will need to assess the capability of medical schools and teaching hospitals to respond.

• Read an open letter to the NIH research community from NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D., and NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research Norka Ruiz Bravo, Ph.D. (PDF - 2 pages 11 KB)


• If you are a displaced biomedical research student or postdoctoral fellow unable to reach your program, contact researchtrainee@aamc.org.


• Offers of support for biomedical researchers affected by Hurricane Katrina have been sent to the AAMC from a number of institutions. To be added to this list of institutions able to accommodate affected Ph.D. students, M.D./Ph.D. students, postdocs, and other researchers, contact researchtrainee@aamc.org. (PDF - 50 pages, 369 KB)


• If you are a displaced medical school faculty investigator seeking relocation, you may contact researchinvestigator@aamc.org.


• See a listing of individual biomedical researchers who have messages waiting at the AAMC. (PDF - 1 page, 27 KB)

NIH Research Grantees

The NIH has created a Web site to provide information for researchers and institutions affected by the hurricane.

The NIH has acknowledged that the widespread damage caused by the hurricane may lead to problems for investigators who plan to submit grant applications. Investigators, grantees, and others affected by Katrina should consult the NIH-issued FAQs for Grantees/Grants/Applications. Applications that are submitted late because of Hurricane Katrina should include a cover letter noting the reasons for the delay. Advance permission is not necessary for hurricane-related delays, but the delay should not exceed the time period that an institution is closed.

Federal Agency Relief for Investigators and Institutions

The Office of Science Technology and Policy has published information on federal agency relief for investigators and institutions in the wake of the recent hurricanes. The information provides links to agency points of contact and agency-specific Web sites. More specific information will be added on steps agencies are taking to respond consistently to those affected by the storms. Among the topics addressed at the site are no-cost extensions, salary and stipend charges, application deadlines, planned project funding increments, prior approval requirements, required reports, and project close out.

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