On June 12, NIH Director Francis Collins announced that he will not take part in conferences or meetings in which “attention to inclusiveness is not evident in the agenda.” In keeping with this announcement, all NIGMS staff, including leadership, program and scientific review officers, grants management specialists, and others, will only attend meetings and conferences where the organizers have shown a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion in their selection of chairs, speakers, and panelists. NIGMS has a long-standing mission to promote diversity in the scientific enterprise. Helping to ensure that the organizers of scientific conferences and meetings plan diverse and inclusive agendas will further our goal of developing the most creative, vibrant, and productive biomedical research workforce possible.

UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 350KB] from the SPAD Webinar have been posted.

We’ve just released a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA) soliciting applications for the Diversity Program Consortium’s Sponsored Programs Administration Development (SPAD) Program (UC2).  

A primary goal of the program is to enhance faculty and student participation in biomedical research and research training programs. These programs include undergraduate research programs, Academic Research Enhancement Awards (R15), and Support of Competitive Research (SC1, SC2, SC3), among others. Funded institutions are expected to develop offices that provide services such as professional development in targeted areas (e.g., enhancing grant-writing skills), pre- and post-award services, and certification-guided training of sponsored program staff and leadership.

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

Are you preparing an NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) (R25) application for the July 9 receipt date? If so, please join us for a webinar about the program and the opportunity to ask questions: 

Wednesday, June 5, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

Sepsis is a serious condition that affects about 1.7 million people and causes about 270,000 deaths annually in the U.S. Because it involves multiple organ systems, it is also one of the clinical research areas supported by NIGMS. Despite decades of research, sepsis remains a poorly understood condition with limited diagnostic tools or therapeutic interventions.

Nearly a year ago, we established a working group of our Advisory Council to advise us on how best to advance sepsis research. At last week’s Council meeting, Dr. John Younger and Dr. Monica Kraft, co-chairs of the working group, presented the group’s recommendations:

UPDATE: The slides and video from the NIGMS RM1 Webinar have been posted.

If you're preparing an NIGMS Collaborative Program Grant for Multidisciplinary Teams (RM1) (PAR-17-340) application for the May 25 receipt date, don't miss our upcoming webinar:

Tuesday, April 16, 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET

During the webinar, we'll provide an overview of our expectations of RM1 applications and how they will be assessed for fit to the program, and we'll answer any questions you may have. You can send questions before the webinar or post them in the chat box during the event.

NIGMS has published a Notice in the NIH Guide to clarify the types of conferences and scientific meetings that the Institute will support through the R13 activity code. If you are thinking of requesting NIGMS funding for a meeting, it’s important to know that:

UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 522KB] from the NIGMS G-RISE Webinar have been posted.

Are you preparing an institutional Graduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (G-RISE) (T32) grant application? If so, please join us for a webinar about the program and the opportunity to ask questions:

Tuesday, March 26, 1:30-3:00 p.m. ET

During the webinar, we'll provide a broad overview of the program and share our expectations of applications and the required data tables for the upcoming May 21 receipt date.

Feel free to send your questions in advance to us (Luis Cubano or Anissa Brown) or post them live 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 624 352 823 and the password GRISET32. If you’re 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.

NIGMS Staff Participating in the March 26 Webinar:

Anissa Brown, G-RISE Program Director
Luis Cubano, G-RISE Program Director
Justin Rosenzweig, Grants Management Specialist
Office of Scientific Review Staff

We look forward to talking to you about the G-RISE program. Slides will be posted on the RISE website following the event.

UPDATE: The slides and video from the NIGMS Institutional Predoctoral Training Grant Program Webinar have been posted.

If you’re preparing an application for the NIGMS Institutional Predoctoral Training Grant (T32) program in either the Basic Biomedical Sciences (PA-17-341) or the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) (PAR-19-036) for the May 25 receipt date, don’t miss our upcoming webinar:

Monday, March 18, 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET

During the webinar, we’ll provide an overview of our expectations for NIGMS-funded training grant applications, share our observations from the first round of review of new T32 applications in basic biomedical sciences, and answer any questions you may have. You can send questions before the webinar or post them in the chat box during the event.

To join the webinar, visit the WebEx Meeting page (link no longer available) and enter the meeting number 626 141 685 and the password vPPwB3ZT. If you’re 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.

NIGMS Staff Participating in the March 18 Webinar:

Jon Lorsch, Director
Alison Gammie, Director, Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity
Shiva Singh, Chief, Undergraduate and Predoctoral Training Branch
Stephanie Constant, Chief, Office of Scientific Review

In addition, other NIGMS staff will be available to answer programmatic, review, and grants management questions.

We look forward to talking to you about the NIGMS-sponsored predoctoral T32 training programs. Slides and videos will be posted on the Predoctoral Training Grant website following the event.

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.