UPDATE: The video from this webinar is now available.

We’re pleased to announce that the notice of funding opportunity for the Tribal Institutional Review Board Establishment and Enhancement (TIRBEE) program has been published (PAR-24-260). TIRBEE supports federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes, Tribal colleges and universities, Tribal health programs, or Tribal organizations to establish institutional review boards (IRBs) or enhance the capacity of existing Tribal IRBs. The program seeks to give Tribes greater autonomy over their own research processes and is part of the response to needs identified through a formal Tribal consultation [PDF] NIGMS conducted in 2021.

We've published the funding announcements for our new Tribal Undergraduate to Graduate Research Training and Leadership Experiences (TURTLE) program. TURTLE will support federally recognized American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) Tribes, Tribal Colleges or Universities, Tribal health programs, or Tribal organizations (collectively termed, eligible Tribal entities) to identify and develop a pool of scientists to conduct research on AI/AN health and health disparities.

In Vannevar Bush’s 1945 report Science, the Endless Frontier [PDF], he wrote:

“A nation which depends upon others for its new basic scientific knowl­edge will be slow in its industrial progress and weak in its competitive position in world trade, regardless of its mechanical skill.”

This principle also applies to U.S. states and the academic institutions in them. When resources are limited, organizational leaders are often tempted to focus their research efforts on applied studies that could have short-term payoffs. It’s easy to understand this reasoning because there are often pressing health, social, and economic problems close at hand that are crying out for prompt action. However, economic studies, including a recent paper by Hans Gersbach and colleagues and a 2012 study by Andrew Toole, have indicated that basic research is essential to overall advancement, even on a local level.

UPDATE: The CTR-D video and the CTR-N video are now available.

If you’re planning to apply to the IDeA Clinical & Translational Research Network (CTR-N) (PAR-23-241) or the IDeA Clinical & Translational Research Development (CTR-D) (PAR-23-257) programs, don’t miss our upcoming webinars. The next application due date for both programs is October 9, 2024.

UPDATE: The video for this webinar is now available.

We’re pleased to share the notice of funding opportunity for the Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) Planning Grants (PAR-24-041). This program supports Tribal entities, including federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes, Tribal colleges and universities, Tribal health programs, and Tribal organizations, to plan and conduct preparatory work for developing competitive NARCH S06 applications. The NARCH Planning Grant awards aim at expanding the reach of the NARCH S06 program, which supports health-related research, research career enhancement, and research infrastructure enhancement. 

With the departure of Ming Lei, a search is open for an outstanding candidate to serve as director of our Division for Research Capacity Building (DRCB).

DRCB seeks to enhance the research, research training, research infrastructure, and faculty development of institutions in states and jurisdictions that have historically received low levels of NIH support. DRCB is thus responsible for both broadening the distribution of NIH biomedical research funding and supporting NIGMS' commitment to developing a diverse biomedical research workforce. DRCB manages a number of highly impactful initiatives, including the Institutional Development Awards (IDeA), Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH), Support for Research Excellence (SuRE), and Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) programs.

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.

We’d like to make you aware that NIGMS is expanding eligibility within the diversity supplement program (PA-23-189) to include applications from principal investigators (PIs) of parent awards from the following programs:

• Support for Research Excellence (SuRE, R16)
• Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE Phases 1 and 2, P20)
• Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Networks for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR, U54)
• IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE, P20)
• Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH, S06)

UPDATE: The video for this webinar is now available.

I’m pleased to announce two funding opportunity notices that support clinical and translational research (CTR) in Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states: the IDeA Clinical & Translational Research Network (CTR-N) award (PAR-23-241), and the IDeA Clinical & Translational Research Development (CTR-D) award (PAR-23-257). 

These programs support clinical and translational research at IDeA-eligible institutions through programs that develop research infrastructure and human resources, equip investigators and institutions to develop competitive clinical research programs, and strengthen collaborative research that addresses health conditions prevalent in IDeA states. A reissue of PAR-20-175, the CTR-N award continues support for statewide or multistate regional networks in IDeA states that have been conducting significant levels of clinical and translational research. The new CTR-D award supports clinical and translational research, workforce development, and infrastructure enhancement at health research organizations with limited clinical and translational research capacity, to help them build a foundation and enable recipients to conduct research on diseases and health challenges faced by the populations they serve.  

UPDATE: The video for this webinar is now available.

We’re pleased to announce that the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phase 3 notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) (PAR-23-216) has been reissued. The COBRE program supports the establishment and development of innovative biomedical and behavioral research centers at Institutional Development Award (IDeA)-eligible institutions. The goal of this NOFO is to solidify the research base built in Phases 1 and 2 through continued support of research and research infrastructure and to implement strategies to sustain research excellence beyond COBRE funding.

Application due date: September 26, 2023
Earliest start date: July 2024