• Today’s Basic Science for Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs: The budget proposal for NIH highlights two major initiatives to tackle challenges in basic research. First, the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative, to which NIH will contribute $40 million in FY14, aims to develop a deeper understanding of brain function through development of new tools and technologies. Second, the Big Data to Knowledge Program (BD2K) will support programmatic efforts to facilitate data sharing, develop and disseminate new tools for data analysis, enhance training of scientists in data management fields, and establish centers of excellence focused on biomedical analytics, computational biology, and medical informatics.
• Translational Science: In FY14, NIH will continue to work on re-engineering the drug and diagnostic development pipeline through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). In addition, the budget announces a new effort to establish a National Clinical Research Network to capitalize on the use of electronic health records in clinical research and to recruit broader participation in clinical studies.
• Recruiting and Retraining Diverse Scientific Talent and Creativity: NIH will continue the efforts begun by working groups of the Advisory Committee of the Director that focus on the biomedical research workforce and enhancing diversity in the workforce. This includes launching the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) program, which will provide educational resources to institutions representing under-represented populations, as well as creating a National Research Mentoring Network to connect students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty to experienced mentors."