Biomedical Technology

This branch supports research to discover, create and develop innovative technologies for biomedical research. Technology development often requires multidisciplinary and team-oriented approaches and can lead to new or improved instrument development that has broad application to medical research. Areas of emphasis include computational infrastructure, molecular imaging and dynamics, and technologies to elucidate structural and functional biology.

Technologies that have been developed by NIGMS and demonstrate high value to the biomedical research community are supported as scientific research resources. These include centers that provide access to valuable instrumentation, staff expertise and user training. They may also include computational tools, methods, protocols and reagents.

The National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy at the Scripps Research Institute has developed an automated transmission electron microscope 'pipeline' for determining the structures of viruses and other macromolecular machines. 900MHz NMR spectrometer at the National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison, a resource for biomolecular NMR spectroscopy. ImageVis3D Mobile is a mobile visualization application for data visualization, from The Center for Integrative Biomedical Computing which develops software for image-based biomedical modeling. MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry uses a focused laser beam to analyze biological molecules in specific groups of cells within pathology tissue sections, providing mechanistic insights of the underlying biology and diagnostic information that can be used in the treatment of patients. Quadruple fluorescence confocal image of mouse retina stained to reveal the distribution of glial cells (green), f-actin in the vessel-ensheathing endothelial cells (blue), optic nerve axons (red), and DNA/RNA in cell nuclei and cytoplasm (orange).

Program Areas

Biomedical Technology Optimization and Dissemination (BTO​D) Centers (RM1)

Biomedical Technology Research and Resource (BTRR) Centers

Investigator-Initiated Research Grants

Small Business Grants (R41/R42/R43/R44)

NIGMS National and Regional Resources (R24)

Mature Synchotron Resources (P30)

NIGMS Technology Development R01 and R21 Programs

Legacy Community-Wide Scientific Resources (R24)

Additional Information

Funding Opportunities

NIGMS-Supported Research Resources​

Division Staff Contacts

For more information about biomedical technology programs, contact:

Dr. Christina Liu
Chief, Biomedical Technology Branch
Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
National Institutes of Health
45 Center Drive MSC 6200
Bethesda, MD 20892-6200