Guidelines and Policies for HuBMAP Associate Membership

December 2, 2019
 

The NIH HuBMAP Program (https://commonfund.nih.gov/hubmap), funded by the NIH Common Fund, aims to catalyze development of a framework for mapping of the human body at high resolution to transform our understanding of tissue organization and function. Researchers funded as part of this program are developing novel technologies, resources, and data intended to accelerate research in this field.

The HUBMAP Program offers researchers not currently funded by HuBMAP the opportunity to apply to join the program as non-voting Associate Members. Associate Members are expected to contribute to the research goals of the Consortium by generating, sharing or analyzing data; jointly developing software or algorithms; developing mutually beneficial resources, protocols or reagents; or coordinating development of standards, formats or metadata.

Associate Members are also encouraged to actively engage in HuBMAP Consortium activities as non-voting members (i.e. participate in working groups as appropriate, attend the Annual Meeting etc.) and to abide by all policies approved by the Consortium (https://hubmapconsortium.org/policies/), including the Data Use Agreement, Data Sharing Policy, Publication Policy and any other pertinent NIH policies. Failure to abide by these rules and policies may result in suspension of membership. Prior to attending closed grantee meetings, Associate Members will be required to sign a conflict of interest certification. Any publication of data originating with HuBMAP by Associate Members should involve collaboration with HuBMAP membership, acknowledge HuBMAP as data source, not analyze non-public data without the written consent of the data generators and acknowledge the NIH Common Fund as funding source.

Investigators that wish to apply for Associate Member status should:

  • Submit a letter of intent to Dena Procaccini (Dena.Procaccini@nih.gov) with a cc to the HIVE-IEC (help@hubmapconsortium.org) that identifies...
    • Who is involved in the collaboration
    • How long the collaboration is expected to be active
    • Their planned contribution (e.g. datasets, analyses, reagents)
    • And summarizes how the work will contribute to the mission of HuBMAP
    • The letter should also include a statement that indicates their willingness to abide by all relevant policies, as stated above.

Letters will be reviewed initially by the Executive Committee and then brought to the HuBMAP Steering Committee for discussion and approval by the Steering Committee members and NIH staff.

  • Applicants will be notified of the decision following this meeting
  • Associate members and their institutions invited to join the Consortium will be asked to sign on to all relevant policies, including the Data Use Agreement, prior to any collaborations beginning.
  • The EC will review and recommend renewal of Associate Member status periodically to ensure they are active and in good standing.

Associate membership does not directly or indirectly imply a commitment to funding by the NIH.

 

Associate Membership Addendum 06/06/2022:

It is realized that members no longer directly funded by HuBMAP may want to remain involved as Associate Members to continue to contribute and complete ongoing work with HuBMAP. Being an Associate Member provides continued access to HuBMAP communication and data resources and so needs to be tracked and the end of Associate Membership formalized. After discussion by the Policy WG and approval provided by SC, it is intended that Associate members be asked by email once each year to complete a form stating their intention / desire to remain Associate Members and to provide for a brief summary of how they’ve been and how, if opt in, they plan to continue to be contributing AMs. Those transitioning off HuBMAP funding will, at the time of transition, have the option (Opt in) to be grandfathered in to continue as Associate Members consistent with our Associate Member Policy of continuing active involvement and contribution as non-voting members.