COVID-19

  • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Information for NIH Applicants and Recipients of NIH Funding
  • Applicant/Recipient COVID-19 Update History
  • CDC COVID-19
  • Get the latest research information from NIH | Español
Expand for resources

n/a Warning! This browser is not supported - Some features might not work. Try using a different browser such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari.

  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • National Institutes of Health
Grants Home
  • eRA  |  new windowwNIH Staff   |  Glossary  |  FAQs  |  Help
  • Home
  • About Grants
    • Grants Process Overview
    • Get Started

    • Learn the Basics
    • Plan Your Application
    • How to Apply

    • Prepare to Apply
    • Write Application
    • Submit
    • How to Apply Video Tutorials

      Application Referral and Review

    • Receipt and Referral
    • Peer Review
    • Pre-Award and Post-Award Processes

    • Pre-Award and Award Process
    • Post Award Monitoring and Reporting
    • Forms Library

      Information For

    • Researchers
    • Research Administrators
    • Reviewers
    • Small Businesses Link to External Site
    • Foreign Grants
    • Media and the Public
    • NIH Staff Lock Icon
  • Funding
    • Find Grant Funding (NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts)
    • Other Transactions
    • Contracts
    • Research Training and Career Development Link to External Site
    • Loan Repayment Programs Link to External Site
    • Extramural Diversity Link to External Site
    • NIH Funding Strategies




      Notice IconAvoid Grant Scams
  • Policy & Compliance
    • NIH Grants Policy Statement
    • Notices of Policy Changes
    • Compliance & Oversight
    • Policy Topics

    • Animal Welfare Link to External Site
    • Application Submission Policies
    • Clinical Trial Requirements
    • Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
    • Early Stage Investigator Policies
    • Family-Friendly Initiatives
    • Financial Conflict of Interest
    • Human Subjects Research
    • Inclusion Policies
    • Intellectual Property Policy
    • Lobbying Guidance for Grantee Activities
    • Natural Disasters
    • NIH Funding Strategies
    • Peer Review Policies and Practices
    • Protecting U.S. Biomedical Intellectual Innovation
    • Public Access Link to External Site
    • Research Integrity
    • Rigor and Reproducibility
    • Sharing Policies Link to External Site
    • Supporting a Safe and Respectful Workplace
  • News & Events

      Latest News

    • News Highlights
    • "Open Mike" Blog Link to External Site
    • Extramural Nexus Link to External Site
    • Subscribe and Follow

    • Listservs
    • Social Media

      Virtual Learning

    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
    • NIH Grants YouTube Channel Link to External Site

      Connect In Person

    • NIH Regional Seminars on Program
      Funding & Grants Administration
    • SBIR-STTR Engage & Connect Link to External Site
    • Loan Repayment Program (LRP)
      Contact & Engage
       Link to External Site
    • Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW)
      Workshops and Conference
      Link to External Site
    • Events Calendar
  • About OER
    • About the Office of Extramural Research
    • OER Offices

    • Immediate Office of the Director (IMOD)
    • Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA)
    • Office of Research Reporting and Analysis (ORRA)
    • Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW)
    • Strategic Management and Contracts Office (SMCO)
    • Office of Electronic Research Administration (eRA)
    • Division of Communication & Outreach (DCO)
    • Small Business Education and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED)
    • Division of Biomedical Research Workforce (DBRW)
    • Division of Human Subjects Research (DHSR)
  • eRA
    Link to External Site
  • NIH Staff Lock Icon
  • Home
  • FAQs
  • Help

Policy & Compliance

  • NIH Grants Policy Statement
  • Notices of Policy Changes
  • Compliance & Oversight
  • Select Policy Topics+
    • Animal Welfare
    • Application Submission Policies
    • Clinical Trial Requirements+
      • Clinical Trial Definition
      • Why the Changes
      • Good Clinical Practice
      • Specific Funding Opportunities
      • New Form
      • Single IRB Policy
      • Protocol Template
      • Registration and Reporting
    • NIH Funding Strategies
    • Human Subjects Research
    • Intellectual Property Policy
    • Lobbying Guidance for Grantee Activities
    • Early Stage and Early Established Investigator Policies
    • Peer Review Policies and Practices
    • Public Access
    • Research Integrity
    • Anti-Sexual Harassment
    • Sharing Policies
Home  »   Policy & Compliance   »  Policy & Guidance   »  Letter from Director, NIH and Deputy Director for Extramural Research to NIH Research Community concerning Hurricane Katrina
Letter from Director, NIH and Deputy Director for Extramural Research to NIH Research Community

September 04, 2005

Dear NIH research community,

We are all profoundly saddened by the loss of life and the suffering of so many as a result of hurricane Katrina.  Our thoughts go out to all those who have been injured and lost loved ones, homes, or even communities. 

NIH's first response, as a medical and public health agency, has been, understandably, to address the immediate medical needs of the affected population.  We are participants in the Department of Health and Human Services Task Force to respond to these events, and anticipate that approximately 250 NIH staff members will be deployed to the field; we are working with academic partners around the country, consulting and coordinating, to provide needed specialized medical information.  We have made 100 beds available in the NIH Clinical Center , as necessary for patients with special needs that the Clinical Center is uniquely suited to meet.  These activities continue to develop very rapidly.

We must also look to the future, however, and to the needs of our research community in the affected area.  Although we do not have complete information yet we have been able to contact directly the leaders of the concerned academic institutions.  We understand that in many areas, the damage to the research infrastructure has been profound, and that valuable, unique research resources may have been lost, or in all likelihood will be lost.  In addition, many investigators may not be able return to their laboratories for several weeks to months.

This crisis has elicited tremendous generosity from the biomedical research community.  We are grateful for the many of you who have expressed a willingness to help, particularly with the placement of students, postdoctoral fellows, and investgators.  To keep everyone informed of developing events and to help NIH manage the outpour of offers of assistance, we have created website pages ( http://www.nih.gov/about/director/hurricanekatrina/index.htm and https://grants.nih.gov/grants/katrina/index.htm), and we are partnering with a number of organizations.  A website recently created by the Association of American Medical Colleges (http://www.aamc.org/katrina.htm ) for example, will help broker interactions between medical school researchers (from students to investigators) who cannot return to their classes or laboratories in the foreseeable future and would like temporary placement elsewhere, and those of you offering placement, including the NIH intramural program.  We are also partnership with other organizations to provide similar services for those not directly affiliated with a medical school.  The NIH website will list those URLs as soon as they become available.  We will continue to update the post-Katrina information on the NIH website as we hear about your needs.

We have also been asked by many what specifically can NIH do for investigators and institutions in this time of crisis.  NIH is ready to provide assistance in a number of ways � from extensions in time that include personnel costs and replacement of equipment, supplies, and unique resources damaged or lost as a result of the storm; to flexibility in grant application deadlines.  NIH also works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure that investigators and their institutions have opportunities to obtain maximum support.  We have already published two hurricane-related Notices in the NIH Guide, and a third, containing additional information will be published shortly.  Hurricane-related information particular to investigators and their institutions is also available at the NIH Office of Extramural Research website (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/katrina/index.htm).  We encourage you to visit this and the parent NIH website for the most recent information.

The response to Katrina will require effort, flexibility, and cooperation, but first and foremost it will require a profound commitment and solidarity - the entire NIH, the entire biomedical research community - must stand together with those of us who have been struck by this disaster.

Thank you very much for your many expressions of concern and generosity.

Elias A. Zerhouni, MD
Director, NIH
                 Norka Ruiz Bravo, PhD
Deputy Director for Extramural Research, NIH

This page last updated on September 4, 2005 
Content Manager: GrantsPolicy@od.nih.gov 
Technical Issues: E-mail OER Webmaster   

Back to Top
  • Contact Us
  • Bookmark & Share
  • E-mail Updates
  • RSS Feed
  • Podcast
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

  • Search
  • Help Downloading Files
  • Disclaimer
  • Older Versions of this Page
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility
  • HHS Vulnerability Disclosure
  • FOIA
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Grants.gov
  • USA.gov - Government Made Easy


  • National Institutes of Health (NIH), 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

  • NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health