In September, we hosted a virtual meeting for investigators and students supported by the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program to introduce them to strategic initiatives from NIH leaders in response to COVID-19, and to highlight scientific progress by IDeA researchers. We were pleased with the overwhelming response from the IDeA community—there were approximately 750 attendees and more than 180 abstracts submitted.

UPDATE: The video from the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence webinar is now available.

If you’re planning to submit a Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) application in 2021 or 2022, it’s important that you attend our upcoming webinar:

Wednesday, November 18, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET

Our Northeast IDeA State Technology Transfer Accelerator Hub, which supports biomedical entrepreneurship, is hosting a workshop for research core directors, postdoctoral fellows, and others supported by NIGMS grants who are interested in learning more about the business side of academic research facility management: 

Monday, October 5, 1:00-5:00 p.m. ET

The workshop will introduce helpful business skills to ease management and improve the top and bottom lines of IDeA research core facilities.

Registration for this free event is required by October 1. For more information, visit the meeting website.

If you’re planning to submit an application for the NIGMS Institutional Predoctoral Training Grant (T32) program in the basic biomedical sciences (PAR-20-213) for receipt dates on or after September 25, don’t miss our upcoming webinar:

Friday, August 28, 12:00-1:30 p.m. ET

Are you preparing a grant application for the Bridges to the Baccalaureate or Bridges to the Doctorate institutional research training program? If so, please join our informational webinar to learn about the programs and application components. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions:

Tuesday, August 25, 2:00-4:00 p.m. ET

We were unable to get together for this year’s National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence. In response to requests from the community, we’re hosting a virtual meeting for investigators and program leaders supported by the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program:

Tuesday, September 22, 2:00-5:30 p.m. ET

UPDATE: The video and slides [PDF] from the MOSAIC webinar are now available.

Last summer, we shared with you our new Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). MOSAIC, which NIGMS oversees, is part of NIH’s efforts to enhance diversity within the academic biomedical research workforce. It’s designed to facilitate the transition of promising postdoctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds into independent faculty careers at research-intensive institutions. The program has two components: a research education cooperative agreement (UE5) and a postdoctoral career transition award (K99/R00).

We recently reissued the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (PAR-20-117). The first application due date is October 2, 2020.

We’re hosting a webinar to discuss this FOA and to answer your questions about the program on Thursday, August 6, 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET. To access the webinar, visit the WebEx meeting page (link no longer available). We plan to post the archived webinar and slides on the MIRA webpage after the event.

If you’re preparing an Institutional Development Award Networks for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) grant application for the October 7 receipt date, don’t miss our upcoming webinar:

Thursday, August 6, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET

During the webinar, IDeA program staff will answer your questions about changes in the goals, objectives, and organizational structures of the IDeA-CTR program, as described in the funding opportunity announcement. Principal investigators who plan to submit new or renewal applications are encouraged to attend.

UPDATE: The video and slides from the PRAT webinar are now available.

We’re hosting a webinar for students and fellows interested in the PRAT Program for the October 2, 2020, receipt date:

Tuesday, July 14, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

PRAT is a competitive 3-year fellowship program that prepares trainees for leadership positions in biomedical careers. Training includes a mentored laboratory research experience and intensive career and leadership development activities. PRAT fellows conduct research in laboratories in the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) in basic biomedical research areas within the NIGMS mission. These areas include, but are not limited to, biological chemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, cellular and molecular biology, computational biosciences, developmental biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology, and technology development.