ORCID®

Are you seeking help to create your NIH, DOE, or NSF Biosketch? This step-by-step guide will walk you through what you need to know, from logging into SciENcv (the NSF, DOE, and NIH-approved system for creating Biosketches) and linking your ORCID profile, making it easier to populate your Biosketch through creating and exporting your Biosketch.

As of October 23, 2023, NSF has indicated that only PDFs for biographical sketches generated through an NSF-approved format will be accepted. You can generate these PDFs via the SciENcv tool or the NSF fillable PDF.  You can find the NSF announcement regarding these changes 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 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, to ease administrative burden and allow researchers to quickly create and recreate a Biosketch for each grant application or annual report.

You can access SciENcv in several ways. The easiest is by going to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ and selecting your preferred login method.

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. Finding SciENcv once you're in My NCBI can be tricky if you're unfamiliar with My NCBI. 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 elsewhere.

Login Options

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

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

1. Using your web browser, go to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ and select your preferred login method.
   
2. To log in using your Panther ID: select" More Options," then select "more login options." Scroll down to select "Georgia State University" to log in using your existing Campus ID.

• Or, to log in using ORCID, select "More Options" and scroll down to select ORCID.

3. If you do not already have a MyNCBI account:
   • Select "Create a new NCBI account."
   • Enter the email account you wish to use and log in; this will create a My NCBI 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."
• Once you create an account, you will see a link to create a SciENcv.

1. Login to SciENcv at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/ or from the My NCBI site -  for most users, SciENcv will be down the page and at the bottom right.
2. Select "Create New Document" 
3. View the new document template.

The easiest way to populate your SciENcv Biosketch is through an ORCID iD.

When you're ready to link your ORCID iD with SciENcv, go back to your My NCBI account and sign in again if needed.

1. Once you see your My NCBI landing page, you should see your username in the upper right corner. Select your username.
2. Click on Account Settings to access Linked Accounts.
3. Click Add Account Under Linked Accounts to add your ORCID 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 "My NCBI" in the top left corner. You are now ready to go to SciENcv.

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). 
2. For Format, select "NSF Biosketch" (if you would like to create an NIH Biosketch, select "NIH Biosketch" instead).
3. 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 update your ORCID profile.***
4. For Sharing, choose if you want the Biosketch to be public or private.  You can always change the sharing settings. 
5. Select "Create." 
   
6. SciENcv will automatically pull from ORCID to populate your new Biosketch - it may take a few minutes.
7. Scroll down to find the section on Peer-reviewed publications or References - the section's name will be different for different Biosketch Formats (e.g., Products, Contributions to Science).
8. Select "Edit this section" or "Show/hide entries." Then select the ORCID tab. Select the articles you want to display in this Biosketch. You will also have the option of selecting from your My Bibliography. Once you have checked the ones you want, select "Done."
9. The articles you selected should then appear in Section C. You can edit what appears there using the "Show/hide entries" option.

Remember that the more you fill in your ORCID profile, the more you can pull automatically into SciENcv when you create a Biosketch. Education and positions may also be pulled from ORCID.
 

Once your Biosketch is complete, you will want to export it to include in the grant/funder materials. 

1. On the SciENcv landing page, select the Biosketch you want to export. 
2. After you select the Biosketch, you will have the opportunity to export it. NIH Biosketches can be exported in PDF, Word, and XML. Only PDF is available for NSF Biosketches. (If you export to Word or XML, be aware that any changes you make after exporting will affect the overall format and could cause issues with submission.)
3. Once you select the format, you will see a dialogue box showing the download process. When it finishes, the file will save to your computer; if you don't see it, check your downloads folder.  

This video shows how to populate your SciENcv biosketch using your ORCID record. The first part is about setting up your ORCID record. Jump to minute 13 to skip to the SciENcv section.