Using SciENcv to Create an NIH Biosketch and Other Support Documents

NIH will require applicants to use SciENcv to generate their biosketches for all proposals in the future.

Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is an electronic system that helps researchers assemble the professional information needed for participation in federally funded research. A researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive, or are associated with research investments from federal agencies, SciENcv gathers and compiles information on expertise, employment, education, and professional accomplishments. Researchers can use SciENcv to create and maintain biosketches that are submitted with grant applications and annual reports. SciENcv allows researchers to describe and highlight their scientific contributions in their own words.

Not only can you create a biosketch for the NIH with SciENcv, but you can also create one for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). SciENcv quickly formats everything, including citations, according to NIH rules.  

Access SciENcv by logging into any National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) webpage (such as PubMed, the NCBI home page, or the SciENcv home page directly). The NCBI advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. SciENcv is one of the tools made available by the NCBI. If you do not have an NCBI account yet, one will be created for you automatically if you log in using your eRA credentials (via Login.gov or via eRA Commons login) or if you log in using your Northwestern login, Google account, or many other login options (by selecting "More options" from the SciENcv login page.

You may be the only researcher with your name here at Northwestern, but how do you distinguish yourself outside of the Northwestern universe? The scholarly community has realized the value of name disambiguation and would like to see it available outside of any single database. To assure  everyone gets credit for their work, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID or ORCID, was created. This ID acts like a social security number for an author and helps disambiguate their papers from others. When an author publishes in a journal or receives grant funding, they are often asked to include their ORCID along with their name. You can also associate your ORCID with nontraditional outputs, like conference posters, teaching materials, or videos, and keep track of those in your ORCID profile. Some of you may already have an ORCID.

• All senior and key personnel will be required to have an ORCiD and use it on their biographical sketches, beginning May 25, 2025 (target date).
• All senior and key personnel will be required to link their ORCiD to their eRA Commons accounts.
• You can link your ORCID account to your SciENcv account and use the biographical data in your ORCID record to populate SciENcv profiles. 

eRA Commons is an online interface where grant applicants, grantees, and federal staff at NIH and grantor agencies can access and share administrative information relating to research grants. You will use eRA commons throughout the lifecycle of a grant, from application submission to grant closeout. You must include eRA Commons credentials for personnel who participate in a NIH funded project for at least one month. You can find detailed instruction for creating and affiliating accounts in the Accounts Module Online Help System. An "eRA Commons User Name" is required for the Program Director, Principal Investigator, primary sponsors of fellowship applicants, all mentors of candidates for mentored career development awards, and candidates for diversity and reentry research supplements. The "eRA Commons User Name" field is optional for other project personnel.

Changes targeted for May, 2025: As a reminder the NIH will require all senior and key personnel to associate their ORCiD with their eRA Commons user profile for all proposals on or after May 25, 2025 (target date).

For personnel who are working as delegates for investigators in managing grant proposal submissions and populating biosketch and funding forms in SciENcv: It is not essential to have an eRA Commons account to access SciENcv or to be named a delegate in the SciENcv system, but it is essential to have a Commons account and delegation to your investigators' funding information in Commons to access their awards and help them populate their Other Support forms in SciENcv.