National Institute of
General Medical Sciences

Goal of the Program

The goal of the Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training program is to develop a diverse pool of scientists earning a Ph.D., who have the skills to successfully transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce.

Institutional Eligibility

Each Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training program must consist of a strong partnership/consortium composed of at least two institutions: an institution that offers the master's degree as the only graduate degree in the biomedical sciences, and a research-intensive college or university granting Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical sciences. Research-active institutions are not eligible to apply for or receive Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training program grants as the Ph.D. granting partner institution(s). Two different scenarios are anticipated for the institutional partnerships: (1) one research-intensive Ph.D. granting institution as the lead applicant institution partnering with one or more master's degree institutions, or (2) one master's degree granting institution as the lead applicant institution partnering with one or more research-intensive Ph.D. granting institutions.

Program Design

Each Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training program should provide high-quality training that equips individuals with the

• technical (e.g., appropriate methods, technologies, and quantitative/computational approaches),
• operational (e.g., independent knowledge acquisition, rigorous experimental design, and interpretation of data) and
• professional (e.g., management, leadership, communication, and teamwork) skills required for careers in the biomedical research workforce.

Each institution is encouraged to design a program that emphasizes its environment, mission and strengths, and to set measurable goals and specific objectives against which the program will use for self-assessment and evaluation for continual institutional improvement and continued funding. The total project period may not exceed 5 years. The size of award will vary with the scope of the research training program proposed.

Individual Eligibility:

Bridges Programs select the trainees to be supported. Trainees 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. At the time of appointment, trainees must be enrolled full-time in a master’s program in the biomedical sciences at the master’s-granting partner institution.

NIGMS encourages all applicants for Bridges to the Doctorate grants to contact Sydella Blatch. For more information about the Bridges to Doctorate program, please see the links below, and consult the Bridges to Doctorate program announcement (PAR-19-300).