The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), together with the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) and seven other institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), provided funding to scientists across the country to expand their research on women’s health. This initiative, which supports trans-NIH efforts to address high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, funded 19 administrative supplements in response to NOT-GM-20-017, Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements for Research on Women’s Health in the IDeA States.

IDeA is a congressionally mandated program that builds research capacity in states that historically have had low levels of NIH funding. Residents—including women and children—in these states, especially those living in rural areas, often have less access to health care and suffer from poorer health outcomes than the average American.

This initiative sought to expand the research capacity of IDeA states to conduct research on women’s health and health disparities. The NOSI encouraged a broad range of research on women’s health, including maternal health with a special interest in maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, as well as their underlying causes. It also encouraged building connections with program investigators working in their respective mission areas. Eligible applicants for the 1-year supplemental funding were limited to current awardees from three IDeA programs: Institutional Development Award Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR), Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), and IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE).

The response to the NOSI was very enthusiastic, and 25% of all eligible awardees submitted a request. NIGMS distributed the applications to the participating institutes based on their mission areas. Each institute conducted its own reviews and made its funding decisions. The success rate was 51%, and total funding for the 19 selected applications was $4.8 million in total costs.

The administrative supplements funded in fiscal year 2020 are listed below:

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