Last year, NIH implemented a data management and sharing (DMS) policy to promote the sharing of scientific data. The policy requires that NIH grantees submit a DMS plan as part of their grant application. The great news is that most of our grantees already meet NIH’s DMS requirements, which we explain more fully in a list of FAQs.

Our previous posts in this series described NIGMS research priorities; major research project grants that we support; and overviews of our Institute’s research training, workforce development, and research capacity building programs. In this post, we discuss the notice of award (NOA), project reporting requirements, flexibilities in award management, and matters that require additional NIGMS approval. 

How Do I Manage the Post-Award Process?

The previous post in this series covered tips for crafting a strong grant application. However, the reality is that not all applications will be funded.

NIGMS is offering administrative supplements for equipment to select NIGMS-funded research projects or center/core facilities (NOT-GM-24-021). We welcome requests for single equipment systems that will advance the funded research of the parent project. Eligible investigators are strongly encouraged to discuss potential requests with the program officer of their parent award before submitting an application. The application deadline is February 15, 2024.

You’ve determined that you’re conducting research related to the NIGMS mission and have found a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) you’d like to apply to. Now it’s time to craft your application.

There are many resources providing guidance on what to include in an NIH funding application. We recommend reviewing our grant writing webinar series, which discusses faculty readiness and submission considerations, as well as determining whether a funding opportunity is right for you and writing a competitive application. NIH’s Write Your Application webpage also includes valuable guidance.

We’re pleased to announce a new notice of special interest (NOSI) (NOT-GM-24-007): Topics for Training Modules for Enhancing Biomedical Research Workforce Training (R25). The NOSI, associated with the reissue of notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) PAR-24-040, requests applications to develop biomedical research training modules on one of the following topics:

Now that you understand the major types of research project grants NIGMS supports and where to apply, let’s discuss our Institute’s funding opportunities that focus on research capacity building.

What Is Research Capacity Building?

Part of NIH’s mission is to increase the participation and representation of researchers at institutions that don’t receive large amounts of NIH funding. This includes institutions that have partnerships with Tribal organizations and that educate students from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research, and those in states and jurisdictions that traditionally have low levels of NIH funding.

The first post in this series introduced our Institute’s research priorities. This post outlines the major types of research project grants that NIGMS supports and where to find notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) to which you can apply.

We’re always looking to add stunning images to our gallery, like this one from Tina Weatherby Carvalho, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Have you seen our image and video gallery? We’d love to feature your work there!

The gallery contains photos, illustrations, and videos that showcase NIGMS-supported science. It’s a place where anyone, including teachers, students, and journalists, can get images that help people understand and appreciate biomedical research. Images in the gallery are freely available for educational, news media, or other noncommercial purposes, as long as the user credits the source (i.e., you/your colleagues and institution).

We regularly feature cool imagery from the gallery on our Biomedical Beat blog and in our social media posts.

If you have interesting or striking images or videos created with NIGMS support that you’d like to share via our image and video gallery, please let us know! We prefer entries without copyright restrictions (i.e., never published or retained under copyright).

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the new web resource, Which Research Grant Is Right for Me? This interactive decision tree will be particularly useful for investigators who are new to or less familiar with NIGMS notices of funding opportunities that support research. Through a series of yes/no questions, potential applicants can identify the best potential fit to one or more of the major research project grant types we support, including R35, R16, R15, and R01.

The questions work through the eligibility criteria for the different award types. For example: