Those eligible to attend include faculty named on an active R16 award, students working in R16-funded labs, or research administrative staff from an R16-eligible campus. If you are unsure of your institution’s R16 eligibility, please contact one of our Regional Coordinators, who can assist with your questions. 

Only those faculty named on an active R16 award may attend. 

We highly encourage faculty with active R16 awards to invite their lab students to the conference. There is no limit on the number of trainees you may include if they work in your R16-funded lab. Once we begin accepting abstracts, students can seek travel awards by submitting for an oral presentation.  

An institution does not need an active R16 grant for its research administrative staff to attend the conference; however, it does need to be an R16-eligible institution. If you are unsure of your institution’s R16 eligibility, please contact one of our Regional Coordinators, who can assist you.  

This conference will offer a variety of sessions catered toward research development and administration professionals. These will include formal presentations on both pre- and post-award topics and panel discussions.  

The registration fee is $100 for faculty, research administrative staff, and leadership. Student registration is free.  

The deadline for conference registration is Monday, June 3, 2024.  

Students may register themselves. Before registering, students should ensure they have permission from the Principal Investigator (PI) to attend the conference.  

Students in an active R16-funded lab may attend this conference without the PI. However, they should make sure they have permission from the PI to attend.

Faculty and research administrative staff are responsible for their $100 registration fee. Students may register for free. All conference attendees are responsible for their airfare, lodging, and incidentals. Faculty are encouraged to use their R16 award travel budget to cover costs for them and their lab students to attend the conference.  

A free shuttle service will be provided between the Hilton Garden Inn Bethesda Hotel and the conference venue each morning and at the end of the day. If you need to return to your hotel during the day, the Metrorail is nearby and provides an easy one-stop commute. Light breakfasts and box lunches will be provided for all registrants onsite. 

Yes, we encourage faculty to use their R16 award travel budget for them and their lab students to attend the conference.  

There is no registration fee for students to attend. The $100 registration fee is for faculty,  research administrative staff, and leadership.  

Students are encouraged to submit an abstract, where they can request an oral presentation. Students selected for an oral presentation will be provided lodging during the conference for up to three nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Bethesda Downtown. 

All registrants will receive light breakfasts and box lunches at the conference on both days. Light snacks will also be available at the evening networking event on Tuesday, July 23rd. Special dietary requests can be made through the registration form. 

You may include any special requests on the registration form, and a SuRE team member will contact you to discuss arrangements. If you have questions before registering, please email your information to SuRE.RC@uky.edu, and a team member will be in touch.  

There are several airports used for flying into the DC area. The nearest airport to Bethesda is Reagan National (DCA), 9.4 miles away. Other nearby airports include Washington Dulles (IAD), 18.9 miles, and Baltimore (BWI), 27.1 miles.  

For ground transportation, the Metrorail provides transit services throughout the Washington, DC area, with the Red Line servicing Bethesda. Visit this link for information.  

Since the Biennial ’24 conference begins the morning of Tuesday, July 23rd, we recommend flying sometime the day before on Monday, July 22nd.

The Biennial ’24 conference will occur on the main NIH campus in the William H. Natcher Building #45, Center Drive. View this map of the NIH campus. 

A reduced conference rate is available at the Hilton Garden Inn Bethesda Downtown, which may be booked using this link. A free shuttle from the hotel to the conference will be available to attendees each morning and at the end of the day. If you need to return to your hotel during the day, the Metrorail is nearby and provides an easy one-stop commute. 

If you plan to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Bethesda Downtown, where the conference has a special rate, a free shuttle will be provided between the hotel and the conference each morning and at the end of the day. If you need to return to your hotel during the day, the Metrorail is nearby and provides an easy one-stop commute.  

For attendees with other lodging accommodations, we recommend visiting this link for directions and information about mass transit, security, and visitor parking on the NIH campus. 

For attendees driving into Bethesda each day for the conference, we recommend visiting this link for directions and information about mass transit, security, and visitor parking on the NIH campus.  

Picture IDs will be required to enter the NIH campus, and non-US citizens will specifically need to have their passports in hand to gain entry to the Natcher Building. Additional information about security and campus access can be found at this link.  

Abstracts must be submitted by Wednesday, May 1, 5:00 PM Eastern. The submission portal is now closed. 

Faculty and students may submit an abstract. Students are encouraged to submit an abstract, where they can request an oral presentation. Students selected for an oral presentation will be provided lodging during the conference for up to three nights at the Hilton Garden Inn Bethesda Downtown.  

We request abstracts be submitted as text only (no figures) by Wednesday, May 1, 5:00 PM Eastern, following the NIH formatting standards. We will notify faculty and students of speaking opportunities by late April. 

We will notify faculty and students of speaking opportunities by mid to late May 2024.