NIH Public Access Policy & Biosketch

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SciENcv can be used to create an NIH biosketch format. If you've created your SciENcv profile from an external source (eRA Commons, ORCiD), part of your profile will be populated automatically. The following sections will demonstrate the areas that must be completed to comply with the new format.

FOR RESEARCHERS: If you are creating a SciENcv account for yourself, go to NCBI and login by clicking on the eRA Commons button and logging into your eRA Commons account. After entering your username and password you will be redirected to NCBI.

FOR DELEGATES: If you are assisting a researcher or faculty member in creating a SciENcv profile, you will need to create an NCBI account for yourself.

1. Start by registering for a free account through NCBI. Use your institutional e-mail address to register.
2. Next, you will need to be added as a delegate by your researcher or faculty member. Here are the instructions for adding a delegate. Once they have added you as a delegate through their NCBI account, you will receive an e-mail asking you to confirm or deny the request. Confirm the request. Once you've confirmed,
3. Sign in to NCBI. Once you sign in, you will be redirected to the SciENcv homepage. Click on My NCBI in the upper right-hand corner of your screen to access your My NCBI dashboard.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and you will see your faculty/researcher profile under Delegated CVs.

1. Sign in to NCBI. Once you sign in, you will be redirected to the PubMed homepage. Click on My NCBI in the upper right-hand corner of your screen to access your My NCBI dashboard. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Click here to create a new CV. If you are supporting a faculty member, select their name under Delegated CVs and choose Create New Biosketch.
2. You have three options for creating a new profile in SciENcv. 1) Start with a blank document OR 2) Existing Biosketch OR 3) External source. If you choose External source, parts of the profile will automatically populate from the eRA Commons including Research Support. If your Faculty member does not have an eRA Commons account, choose Start with a blank document.
3. Enter a Name for your profile. You can create multiple profiles in SciENcv.
4. Select NIH Biosketch from the drop-down menu.
5. Choose your data source
6. Select Create.

1. Under the Education/Training section, select add one. Add your academic degree(s) and training, from oldest to most recently acquired.
2. Select Save. For multiple entries, select Save & add another entry.
3. To edit or delete an entry, hover over the selected degree or training entry and select either delete or edit.
4. In SciENcv you can hide entries. If you want to print or share your profile and only want specific content to be displayed, select Show/hide entries. Uncheck the box next to the entry you wish to hide and select Done.

What should be included in the personal statement?

"Briefly describe why your experience and qualifications make you particularly well suited for your role (e.g., PD/PI, mentor, participating faculty) in the project that is the subject of the application.

Within this section you may, if you choose, briefly describe factors such as family care responsibilities, illness, disability, and active duty military service that may have affected your scientific advancement or productivity."

How do I add my Personal Statement to SciENcv?

In the Personal Statement section, enter a brief personal statement and up to four publications that highlight your work experience and qualifications.

Citations stored in My Bibliography can be uploaded by selecting add one. Choose up to four citations to be displayed in this section. To upload other citations, replace the current ones, or hide citations, select Show/hide citations.

The section titled Positions and Honors consists of three parts: employment, other experience and professional memberships, and honors. If you linked your eRA Commons or ORCID account to My NCBI, the work experience section of SciENcv will be automatically populated for you.

1. To add an entry under each section, select add one. Enter your past and present employment, work experience and professional memberships, honor society memberships, honorary titles and other honorary awards. For multiple entries, click Save & add another entry.
2. To edit or delete an entry, hover over the selected work experience, professional membership or honor and click either Delete or edit.
3. In SciENcv there is an option to hide entries. If you want to print or share your profile, but only want selective content to be displayed, click Show/hide entries. Uncheck the checkbox next to the entry you would like to hide, and select Done.

The Contribution to Science section in the new NIH Biographical sketch aims to give researchers a place where they can describe five of their most significant contributions to science. Each contribution entry has two parts: a description and relevant references of up to four peer-reviewed publications.

1. To enter a description, choose edit. Each description should include: the historical background that frames the scientific problem; the central findings; the influence of the findings on the progress of science or the application of those findings to health or technology; and your specific role.
2. To add relevant citations from My Bibliography for each contribution, click Select citations. Select up to four citations to be displayed.
3. You can create up to five tabs by selecting Add another contribution. The tab display order can be changed by dragging and dropping each tab. Contribution tabs can be removed by clicking Delete this contribution. To save edits, click Done.
4. There is also an option to include a URL to your My Bibliography collection of published research. Selecting this option would make your My Bibliography collection public.

SciENcv uses My Bibliography, to populate the publication sections of the profile. This allows the researcher to select which publications will show under Contributions to Science and the Personal Statement sections. It also allows a user to link to a full list of their published works.

(Note: There is a difference between My Bibliography and delegated bibliographies in My NCBI. My Bibliography is intended to be used for your own personal bibliography. Delegated bibliographies can be found under Collections in My NCBI.)

How do I create My Bibliography?

1. Sign into My NCBI.
2. Search for yourself as an author. (Tip: Enter the authors last name, and initials)
3. Select the citations you want to add to My Bibliography by checking the boxes next to the article title.
4. Select Send To and choose My Bibliography and Add to My Bibliography.  If you are supporting a faculty member, choose Other bibliographies that you manage and select your faculty member’s name. Choose Save.

How do I add citations that aren't included in PubMed?

1. Sign into NCBI.
2. Go to your My NCBI account by selecting My NCBI in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.
3. For researchers/faculty, go to the My Bibliography section, choose Manage Bibliography. For delegate/support staff, go to Collections and select your faculty member's My Bibliography.

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4. Select the Add Citation button.
5. Select the type of publication to be entered manually: journal articles, books/chapters, meeting abstracts, presentations, patents, dataset/database, software, and non-standard citations. Enter the publication information in the fields provided. Select Add Citation to save this citation in My Bibliography. 

The Research Support section displays a list of ongoing and completed research awards. NIH grantees who have linked their eRA accounts to My NCBI will have their SciENcv profile automatically populated with their research awards. These will appear under the eRA Commons tab.Check the boxes next to the awards you wish to appear in your final biosketch.

If you linked your ORCID account to My NCBI, your SciENcv profiles will have the research awards included in your ORCID record. These awards will appear under the ORCID tab. Check the boxes next to the awards you wish to appear in your final biosketch.

In addition, you have the option to add awards manually:

1. To add an award, click on the User tab and select Add one.
2. Enter your ongoing and completed research awards. Be sure to select the appropriate category in the Your Role drop-down menu.
3. For multiple entries, click Save & add another entry. The research awards entered manually in SciENcv will be placed in the User tab.
4. In SciENcv, you can selectively hide the research awards that you wish to omit from displaying in your profile. To hide citations, select Edit Awards, uncheck the awards you want to hide, and choose Done.