Using SciENcv and ORCID to Create Your Biosketch

Are you looking for help to create your NIH, DOE, or NSF Biosketch?  This step-by-step guide will walk you though what you need to know, from logging into SciENcv (the NSF, DOE, and NIH-approved system for creating biosketches) and linking your ORCID profile to make it easier to populate your biosketch, through creating and exporting your biosketch. Select a section below for more details.

  • Background Information

    What is a biosketch? 

    A biographical sketch or biosketch is a document highlighting the qualifications of key personnel for a specific role in a proposed grant project. The NIH, DOE, and the NSF require a biosketch for senior or key personnel applying for and renewing grants with each agency. 

    As of October 23, 2023,  NSF has indicated that only PDFs for biographical sketches that are generated through the use of an NSF-approved format will be accepted. You can generate these PDFs via the SciENcv tool or the NSF fillable PDF.  The NSF announcement regarding these changes can be found here.

    Important: You should consult with your research administrator(s) if you have questions about how this will affect your grant submission and deadlines.

    What is SciENcv? 

    Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is an electronic system that researchers can use to create and maintain biosketches that must be submitted with NIH and NSF grant applications and annual reports. SciENcv pulls information from other systems, including MyNCBI, ORCID, and eRA commons in order to ease administrative burden and allow researchers to quickly create and recreate a biosketch for each grant application or annual report. 

  • Using SciENcv through MyNCBI

    Accessing SciENcv

    You can access SciENcv a number of ways. The easiest is by going to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ and selecting your preferred log-in method. You can also access SciENcv via the NCBI’s My NCBI portal, or by going to PubMed and selecting the “Sign in to NCBI” link at the top right of the screen. 

    My NCBI is a tool designed for multiple purposes across the NCBI system, including saving and customizing NCBI database searches and creating bibliographies of your own work, in addition to housing the SciENcv system, so if you’re not familiar with My NCBI, finding SciENcv once you’re in My NCBI can be a bit tricky. For most users, the SciENcv box will default to the bottom right corner of your screen, but if you have customized your My NCBI account before, it may be located elsewhere. 

    Login Options

    • ERA Commons
    • NSF Research.gov
    • Third party party sign-in options:
      • North Carolina State University (select from 3rd party drop-down list)
      • Institutional Gmail
      • ORCID

    NIH eRA Commons and ORCID account holders who have linked their accounts to NCBI can populate their SciENcv profiles with the information stored in their eRA or ORCID accounts.

    Creating a MyNCBI/SciENcv Account

    1. Using your web browser, go to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ and select your preferred log-in method.  
      Select log-in method for SciENcv
    2. To log-in using your Unity ID: select ”More Options”, then select "more login options": scroll down to select "North Carolina State University" to log in using your existing Unity ID credentials
      • Or to log-in using ORCID, select "More Options" and scroll down to select ORCID
      • Or to log-in using Google, select "More Options" and select the Google icon and sign in using your NC State University Google email account.
      • Logging in using the NC State authentication method
    3. You will be given the option to create a new MyNCBI account or link your google account to an existing MyNCBI account. 
      • If you do not already have a MyNCBI account:
        • Select “Create a new NCBI account”
        • Select the account you wish to use and log in; this will create a MyNCBI account with your email as the username and send a verification link to your email.
      • If you already have a MyNCBI account, select “Link to an existing NCBI account”
      • create a new account using an existing google account
      • The confirmation page will automatically redirect in 5 seconds
    4. You’ll see a screen entitled “My NCBI” - this is your landing page for managing tools within the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).   
      MyNCBI landing page  
       
    5. For most users, SciENcv will be down the page and at the bottom right.  Click "Manage SciENcv".  If you haven't used SciENcv before, there will be a small box with a link to create a profile. If you have used SciENcv before, you will see links to biosketches you've already created. To get started on your biosketch go to the “SciENcv” section and at the bottom of that section and select “Manage SciENcv”.   
      Locating SciENcv, and clicking Manage SciENcv
    6. Select “Create New Document”  
      Select Create New Biosketch
    7. View the new biosketch template.

    New biosketch template

  • Linking information from ORCiD 

    The easiest way to populate your SciENcv biosketch is through an ORCID iD.  If you do not yet have an ORCID iD, go to the Citation Index and select “Get Started.”  Note that the Citation Index is only available to members of NC State University with a Unity ID.  

    If you are not a member of the NC State community, simply go to ORCID (https://orcid.org/signin) to register or sign in. 

    An ORCID record is a free account that creates a persistent identifier that will follow you throughout your career and allows you to gather all of your scholarly work in a single location. You can use it to add publications to your Biosketch that are not located in PubMed. 

    The NC State University Libraries can help researchers make their ORCID records more complete. The first step is for researchers to connect their ORCID record with their Unity ID.  The ORCID - UnityID connection enables integration with other NC State systems and allows researchers to get help adding their publications into their ORCID records.  


    NC State's Citation Index

    When you’re ready to link your ORCID iD with SciENcv, go back to your My NCBI account and sign in again (if you are logged out) and follow steps 1-4 in the Creating a MyNCBI/SciENcv Account section.

    1. Once you see your My NCBI landing page, you should see your username in the upper right corner.  Select your username, then select "Account settings". 
    2. Select "Add account" button under Linked Accounts to add your ORCID account.  
      Shows the change button to use to add linked accounts
    3. In the pop-up window, search for ORCID.  
      Shows how to search for ORCID to link account
    4. Select ORCID under "Login Account Options," then enter your ORCID username and password, and authorize it. You should now see your ORCID account listed in your Linked Accounts.  
       
    5. Select your username in the top right corner, then select "My NCBI" in the top right corner.


    You are now ready to go to SciENcv.

    *Information credit to Stony Brook University Libraries' "Creating and Using Your ORCID Profile: Linking to NIH/NSF Biosketches"

  • Importing ORCID publications into MyBibliography 

    Note: use these steps only if you are having trouble selecting publications from the ORCID tab in SciENcv.  The following steps provide a work-around to enable you to add your publications to MyBibliography (in the MyNCBI platform where SciENcv is hosted). Once you have your publications in MyBibliography, you can select them to add to your biosketch in SciENcv.

    1. First, connect your ORCID record to the Libraries' Citation Index (for NC State members only).  
    2. Once you've done this, you can use our CV Service.  The CV service enables you to send your most current CV and the library will go through your publications - add them to Citation Index as well as your ORCID record. Let us know if you have a tight deadline. 
    3. Once your publications are complete in the Citation Index, navigate to your Citation Index Profile and add ".ris" to the end of the URL and hit Enter. Example: https://ci.lib.ncsu.edu/profiles/[UNITYID].ris (replace UNITYID with your UnityID). This will download an RIS file of all of your Citation Index Profile citations to your computer.
    4. Login to your My NCBI account (see steps above).
    5. Click on "Manage My Bibliography" on the dashboard menu.
    6. Click on "Add citations" and choose "From a file" from the drop down menu.
    7. Navigate to where you saved the RIS file.
    8. My Bibliography will process the file and show you a pop-up window when the process is complete.
  • Creating your Biosketch 

    To create a new biosketch using your ORCID information, go back to your SciEncv account, sign in if you are not already signed in, and follow these steps: 

    1. Give your new biosketch a name (e.g., 2022 NSF biosketch). 
      • For Format, select “NSF Biosketch” (if you would like to create an NIH biosketch, select "NIH Biosketch" instead)
      • For Choose Data Source, select “External source: ORCID” (Once you have created your first biosketch in SciENcv, you can select “Existing Biosketch” and use a previous biosketch as a template, saving you from having to re-do the process described below)  
        ***Note that your biosketch will not dynamically update as you make updates to your ORCID profile - you will want to create your Biosketch after your ORCID profile is up to date.***
      • For Sharing, choose if you want the biosketch to be public or private.  
      • Select “Create”  
        Create new biosketch using ORCID
    2. SciENcv will automatically pull from ORCID to populate your new biosketch. This may take a couple of minutes.
    3. Scroll down to find the section C on "Products" to add the relevant publications - the name of the section will be different for different Biosketch Formats.
    4. Select "See related products" or "Select other products". Then select the ORCID tab. Select the articles you want displayed in this biosketch. You will also have the option of selecting from your My Bibliography as well. Once you have checked the ones you want, select "Continue."
    5. The articles you selected should then appear in Section C. You can edit what appears there by selecting "Edit products".


    Remember that the more up-to-date you keep your ORCID profile, the more publications or works that you will be able to pull automatically add into SciENcv when you create a biosketch.  
     

  • Exporting your Biosketch 

    Once your biosketch is complete you will want to export it to be included in the grant / funder materials. 

    1. On the SciENcv landing page select the Biosketch you want to export  
      Select the biosketch you want to download  
      Select Download
    2. After you select the biosketch you will have the opportunity to export as a certified PDF. 
    3. When the certified PDF is generated, save it to your computer so that you can upload it with your grant application.  
       
  • Delegate Access 

    Any My NCBI account holder can set up one or more delegates for their My NCBI account. Once a delegate has accepted their invitation, they will then have the ability to view, edit, and create profiles in the original account holder’s SciENcv, as well as editing the account holder’s My Bibliography. 

    If you would like to send a delegate request: 

    1. Login to your My NCBI account
    2. Select your username in the top-right corner of the screen to access the Account Settings page
    3. Under “Delegates,” select “Add delegate”
    4. Enter your delegate’s email address and select OK.

    If you would like to accept a delegate request: 

    1. Log in to your My NCBI account
    2. Check your email for the delegate request. If you haven’t received the request email, be sure to check you spam folder – the email comes from myncbi@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    3. Use the link in the delegate request email to accept and confirm the delegation

    If you would like to see if a delegate has accepted your request: 

    1. Login to your My NCBI account
    2. Select your username in the top-right corner of the screen to access the Account Settings page
    3. If you have sent one or more delegate requests, you will see a table in the Delegates section:  
      Displays the delegates section  
      This delegation request has not been accepted – refer your delegate to the instructions on how to accept a delegate request.  
      Shows delegate awaiting acceptance  

      This request has now been accepted.

    Shows delegate accepting request

    To control what your delegate has access to: 

    1. Login to your My NCBI account
    2. Select your username in the top-right corner of the screen to access the Account Settings page
    3. You can use the table in the delegates section to control what your delegates have access to.
    4. If you have checked the “My Bibliography” box, your delegate will have the ability to view and make changes to your My Bibliography and Other Citations collections. If you have checked the “SciENcv” box, your delegate will be able to create, view, and change your SciENcv products.

    Giving delegates access to MyBibliography and SciENcv  

    ***Note that the Public or Private settings on your My Bibliography or SciENcv have no effect on your delegate’s ability to view and make changes to these resources. Should you wish to remove a delegate, use the "Remove" icon next to the delegate to remove. Should you wish to give a delegate access to only one resource, use the check-boxes.***

    To access your delegator’s SciENcv: 

    1. Login to your My NCBI account
    2. If you have been granted access to your delegator’s SciENcv, you will be able to access it from your SciENcv portlet:  
      Viewing delegate's biosketches on SciENcv


    *Information taken from MY NCBI Delegates FAQ and NCBI Insights.

  • Current and Pending Disclosures

    SciENcv will also be required to complete the Current and Pending support section of NSF proposals.

    As part of the Current and Pending support section, senior personnel are required to disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs. Further, if an individual receives direct or indirect support that is funded by a foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program, even where the support is provided through an intermediary and does not require membership in the foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program, that support must be disclosed. Senior personnel must also report other foreign government sponsored or affiliated activity.

    NC State's Research Education and Training team have created a SciENcv Current and Pending Setup Guide with more info on SPARCS Guidance.  Also see a training slide deck: https://go.ncsu.edu/sciencv-current-pending-slidedeck

    If you need assistance creating your Current and Pending in SciENcv, please work with your College Research Office. Additional questions can be directed to sps@ncsu.edu.

  • Additional Help 

    You can find more information on using SciENcv at the following links:   
    SciENcv Background  
    YouTube Video: SciENcv Tutorial  
    YouTube Video: Integrating with ORCID  
    SciENcv Help

    NSF SciENcv FAQs

    To troubleshoot issues with SciENcv, you can contact the NCBI Help Desk or info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.  You can also contact NSF Help Desk at 800-381-1532 or rgov@nsf.gov

    If you would like additional help from the Libraries, you can contact us at group-lib-orcid@ncsu.edu

    If you need assistance creating your Current and Pending in SciENcv, please work with your College Research Office. Additional questions can be directed to sps@ncsu.edu.