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Drexel Library

SciENcv for Biosketches: SciENcv

Using the NCBI tool SciENcv to create NIH or NSF Biosketches

What is SciENcv?

Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is researcher profile system for all individuals who apply for, receive or are associated with research investments from federal agencies. Available through My NCBI, 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.

My NCBI users can create multiple SciENcv profiles in official biographical sketch formats, for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), which can be used for grant submissions. In addition, SciENcv profiles include, when registered with ORCID, your ORCID iD.

Creating a My NCBI account

To create a My NCBI account, go to PubMed and click the "Log in" link in the top right corner. You will see many options for signing in to My NCBI including ORCID, Login.gov and ERA

  1. Click on "New Here?  Sign up"
  2. Sign in using another 3rd party option such as Google.

If you choose to create a new NCBI account, you can link it to your eRA Commons account at a later time, which will be needed for managing NIH Public Access Policy compliance.

Linked Bibliography

Currently, the NIH biosketch format allows applicants to include a link to a full list of their published work as found in a “publicly available digital database” such as MyBibliography. The link is optional.

Updated instructions for applications due on or after May 25, 2016 indicate that a URL for a publication list is optional but, if provided, must be to a government website (.gov) like My Bibliography.

Improved functionality in the NCBI My Bibliography now allows uploading of citations formatted in RIS or MEDLINE format. See our NCBI My Bibliography library guide for more information.

Adding Delegates

Once you have signed in to My NCBI, you can assign others as delegates, giving them permission to edit your My Bibliography and SciENcv profiles.

To add a delegate, go to your NCBI Account Settings page by clicking on your username in the top right corner of the page. You will see a section for managing your delegates. Click Add a Delegate to enter the email address of the person you would like to give access to. Once they have accepted the delegate role for your account, you can assign them access to your My Bibliography and/or your SciENcv profiles.

NCBI Account Settings

Addinf delegates

The Linked Accounts section of this page is where you can link to your eRA Commons account, if you have not already done so.

SciENcv Video

Step-by-Step

  • Sign in to My NCBI and click in the SciENcv box to create a new Profile.
  • Select "Create a New Profile"
  • You can choose to create a new profile "From scratch" (i.e., enter the information manually, step-by-step), "From an external source", or "From an existing profile". Choose the tab for the method you want to use
  • Using any of these methods, you can choose to create an NIH Biosketch, a NEW NIH Biosketch (format required as of May 25, 2015) or an NSF Biosketch.

Create a new profile "From scratch":

  1. Give your new profile a name ( e.g. "NIH Biosketch for 5/2015 proposal")
  2. Select the type of biosketch: NIH, NIH Fellowship, NSF or IES
  3. Choose to make your profile Public or Private (you can change this at any time)
  4. Click "Create".
  5. For each section, click "Edit" and add the requested information.

Create a new profile "From an existing source":

  1. Give your new profile a name ( e.g. "NIH Biosketch for 5/2015 proposal")
  2. Select the type of biosketch: NIH, NIH Fellowship, or NSF or IES
  3. Choose the External Source from the drop-down menu: eRA Commons, ORCID, National Science Foundation. Note: your My NCBI account must already be linked to that external source.
  4. Choose to make your profile public or private, and click Create. You may change the sharing status for this profile at any time.
  5. The sections of the profile will populate with data from that source; you can edit each section as desired.

Create a new profile "From an existing profile":

  1. Select ”From an existing profile,” and enter a name for your new profile.
  2. Select a previously created profile from the “Profile to be copied” drop-down menu.
  3. Choose to make your profile public or private, and click Create. You may change the sharing status for this profile at any time.
  4. SciENcv will generate a duplicate of the selected existing profile. You can edit any sections as desired.

To share your completed profile:

  1. From the SciENcv box in My NCBI, click on "Manage SciENcv"
  2. Select a profile name, then select "Change" sharing.
  3. A URL will be generated that can be sent to those with whom you wish to share your profile.

The completed profile can be downloaded in PDF, MS Word or XML format.  A profile downloaded in MS Word format can be edited further outside of the SciENcv application, e.g. to add citations from sources other than My Bibliography.

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