National Institute of
National Institute of General Medical Sciences Predoctoral Basic Biomedical Sciences Research Training Program (T32)
Program Goal & Structure
The goal of the NIGMS Basic Biomedical Sciences Predoctoral Research Training Grant (T32) program is to develop well-trained scientists available to address the nation's biomedical research agenda. Programs are expected to support the development of biomedical scientists with the technical, operational, and professional skills necessary to conduct rigorous and reproducible research, and transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce.
Training grants offset the cost of stipends, tuition and fees, and training related expenses, including health insurance. Training grants are usually awarded for five years and are renewable. Full details are found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) PAR-23-228.
Organizational Eligibility
NIGMS accepts predoctoral research training grant applications from eligible institutions (see Section III of the NOFO) to enhance Ph.D. research training in 12 broad areas of basic biomedical sciences relevant to the NIGMS mission. Applicant organizations generally may submit more than one application, provided that each application is distinct with respect to the scientific area of research training (an exception is the Trans-Departmental Basic Biomedical Sciences area, which has limited eligibility described here). An institution may not have duplicate or highly overlapping applications in the same training area under review at the same time. Applicants are expected to identify the program area that they are applying to under the Agency Routing Identifier Field on the Cover Page of their application.
NIGMS does not accept applications requesting support for a combined predoctoral and postdoctoral research training programs, nor applications to support short-term training.
Trainee Eligibility and Participation
The applicant organization will select the trainees to be supported by the research training program. It is the responsibility of the organization to establish the qualifications, consistent with applicable law, of the trainees before they are supported by the program.
The individual to be trained must be a citizen or a noncitizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. Additional details on citizenship, training period, and aggregate duration of support are available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Predoctoral trainees must be enrolled in a program leading to a Ph.D. in a biomedical discipline.
All trainees are required to pursue their research training full time, normally defined as 40 hours per week, or as specified by the sponsoring organization in accordance with its own policies. Students are typically provided full-time support for 1-2 years of graduate studies. Use of training grant support in the first two years of graduate research training is strongly encouraged to provide maximum benefits in the participation in courses, laboratory rotations, and professional development activities.
Information for Applicants
Please see information on basic biomedical predoctoral training grant application deadlines.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the NOFO (including Related Notices in the Overview Section), Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, and consult relevant NIGMS staff for the proposed program area to discuss eligibility and application requirements prior to submission. When submitting an application, it's important to follow all instructions and avoid issues that lead to noncompliance and withdrawal prior to review. NIGMS does not require applications requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year to contact staff to obtain agreement that the IC will accept the application.
Per NOT-GM-24-056, NIGMS encourages more applications for the Behavioral-Biomedical Sciences Interface, Biotechnology and Trans-Departmental Basic Biomedical Sciences program areas, particularly from Institutions in an IDeA state or territory.
For general questions about NIGMS basic biomedical predoctoral training programs, please contact Amanda Alise Price, Ph.D.
For questions about training programs in a specific area, please contact the relevant program officials.
