UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 1.5MB] from the 2019 Webinar for Bridges Applicants have been posted.

In September 2018, we presented our plans to reorganize the Bridges training programs, part of a larger effort to reorganize the undergraduate and graduate programs in the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity. We’re now pleased to announce two new Bridges funding opportunities aimed at developing and implementing effective, evidence-based approaches to biomedical training and mentoring. The goal of these funding announcements is to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce and to encourage applications from training programs that:

UPDATE: The slides from the DPC DaTA Webinar have been posted.

On behalf of the NIH Common Fund, we’ve just released a new funding opportunity announcement soliciting applications for the Diversity Program Consortium Dissemination and Translation Awards (DPC DaTA) (U01).

This initiative is designed to broaden the DPC’s national impact. It provides an opportunity for institutions not currently part of the DPC to apply for funding to employ the consortium’s experimental methods to understand the effectiveness of biomedical research training, mentoring, or research capacity building interventions.

UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 1.04MB] and video from the PRAT Program Applicant Webinar have been posted.

We recently reissued the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) Program and will host a webinar for interested students and fellows:

Wednesday, June 19, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 1.2MB] from the Bridges Applicants Webinar have been posted.

Are you preparing an institutional Bridges to the Baccalaureate or Bridges to the Doctorate grant application? If so, you may have questions about the funding opportunity announcements, data tables, and FORMS-E application package required for the upcoming September 25 receipt date.

We’re offering a webinar to discuss these topics:

Thursday, August 16, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET

You may send questions to us (Mercedes Rubio or Patrick H. Brown) before the webinar or post them live in the chat box during the event. If you’re away from your computer, you can access the webinar from a mobile device or listen to a voice-only option by dialing 1-800-857-5163 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and entering the participant passcode 2222558.

NIGMS Staff Participating in the August 16 Webinar:

Mercedes Rubio, Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program Director
Patrick H. Brown, Bridges to the Doctorate Program Director
Rebecca Johnson, Scientific Review Officer
Justin Rosenzweig, Grants Management Specialist

We look forward to talking to you about the Bridges programs. Slides will be posted on the Bridges to the Baccalaureate and Bridges to the Doctorate websites following the event.

UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 671KB] from the Webinar for NRMN Program Applicants have been posted.

If you’re preparing a grant application for either the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Coordination Center (U24) or the NRMN Resource Center (U24) for the June 11 receipt date, don’t miss our upcoming webinar:

Monday, April 30, 1:00 p.m. ET

During the webinar, we’ll provide an overview of the NRMN Coordination Center and the NRMN Resource Center funding announcements and answer your questions. You may send questions before the webinar or post them in the chat box during the event.

To access the webinar, visit the WebEx Meeting page (link no longer available) and enter the meeting number (access code) 622 059 858 and the password PxH2Dy3Q. If you are unable to attend online, you can call 1-650-479-3208 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and enter the meeting number above.

We look forward to talking to you.

UPDATE: The slides from the Webinar for NRMN Program Applicants have been posted. 

If you’re preparing a National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN): The Science of Mentoring, Networking, and Navigating Career Transition Points (U01) grant application for the June 11 receipt date, don’t miss our upcoming webinar:

Monday, April 23, 1:30 p.m. ET

During the webinar, we’ll provide an overview of the NRMN: The Science of Mentoring, Networking, and Navigating Career Transition Points (U01) announcement and answer your questions. You may send questions before the webinar or post them in the chat box during the event.

To access the webinar, visit the WebEx Meeting page (link no longer available) and enter the meeting number (access code) 628 857 139 and the password WCkku5qx. If you are unable to attend online, you can call 1-650-479-3208 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and enter the meeting number above.

We look forward to talking to you.

UPDATE: Enrollment for the course is open until October 15. The path to a successful career as a biomedical scientist is rarely direct: There can be stops along the way, and each person has different motivations, opportunities, and challenges. The path also depends, in part, on the institution, program, or department where the student is training, and finding the right scientist, mentor, or coach to help guide that journey isn’t the same for everyone. A new online training program supported through an Innovative Programs to Enhance Research Training (IPERT) grant to iBiology can help participants navigate this process. “Planning Your Scientific Journey,” provides training for undergraduate and graduate students on successfully navigating the path to a research career. The interactive lessons may be useful for postdocs and early career scientists, too. Topics include:

• Developing a good scientific question
• Establishing a plan of action
• Asking for advice and developing collaborations

The free 6-week course will take place October 2 to November 13. The course can accommodate nearly 20,000 participants. New course content will be released on a weekly basis to allow students time to focus on each week’s lessons. The course is expected to be offered again in either the spring or fall of 2018. Ultimately, iBiology plans to make this course available in a self-paced format—further enhancing students’ ability to benefit from the course offering, and to revisit the course content at any time. iBiology is just one of the awardees in our IPERT program. IPERT R25 grants support creative and innovative research educational activities that are designed to complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical research needs. Each IPERT grant must also address the NIGMS goal of creating a highly skilled and diverse biomedical workforce, and integrate three required elements: short courses/workshops for skill development, mentoring, and outreach. To learn more, visit the IPERT webpage. The next receipt date for applications is January 23, 2018.

We’re hosting a webinar on CareerTrac, the system used to track student outcomes on Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE), Bridges to the Baccalaureate and Bridges to the Doctorate grants. The webinar, for principal investigators/program directors of these grants, will be on Thursday, September 28, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. EDT. A CareerTrac representative will be on hand to provide an orientation about the use of the system and to answer your questions. You may send questions before the webinar to Luis Cubano or post them in the chat box during the event. To access the webinar, visit the WebEx Meeting page (link no longer available) and enter the meeting number 620 731 655 and the password “nigms.” If you are unable to attend online, you can join by phone by calling 1-650-479-3208 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and entering the meeting number above. Slides will be available on the RISE, Bridges to the Baccalaureate and Bridges to the Doctorate websites following the event. We look forward to talking with you about CareerTrac.

UPDATE: The slides from the Bridges Applicants Webinar have been posted. Are you preparing an institutional Bridges to the Baccalaureate grant or Bridges to the Doctorate grant application? If so, you may have questions about the funding opportunity announcements, data tables and FORMS-D application package required for the upcoming September 25 application due date. We’re offering a webinar (link no longer available) to discuss these topics on Thursday, August 10, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT. You may send questions to us (Mercedes Rubio or Patrick H. Brown) before the webinar or post them live in the chat box during the event. If you’re away from your computer, you can access the webinar from a mobile device or listen to a voice-only option by dialing 1-888-469-1681 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and entering the participant passcode 4928788. Slides will be posted on the Bridges to the Baccalaureate website and Bridges to the Doctorate website following the event. We look forward to talking to you about the Bridges programs.

We’re pleased to announce the launch of MyNRMN, a free, web-based platform designed to help biomedical researchers and students across the United States connect professionally. MyNRMN is part of the National Research Mentoring Network, which NIGMS manages for the NIH Common Fund’s Diversity Program Consortium.

MyNRMN is designed for scientists at every career level. Faculty in more senior roles and established researchers can sign up as mentors. Early career faculty can serve as mentors or be mentees, depending on their needs. Undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs can elect to be peer mentors or sign up to be mentored. The connections you form through MyNRMN might be as simple as asking a question to scheduling formal mentoring sessions.

Some of MyNRMN’s features include:

• Browsing other registrants’ profiles to connect with people who have similar interests (as on social media sites).
• Sharing documents and sending direct messages to your connections.
• Creating a personalized calendar to schedule mentee/mentor meetings, and electing whether you would like to receive text message reminders.
• Revising and improving your resume with the CV Builder tool (for mentees).