National Institute of
General Medical Sciences

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support. The contact PD/PI must be from the applicant organization and is expected to have a full-time appointment at the applicant organization unless extremely well-justified.

• Each participating organization(s) that is an organization of higher education should have at least one PD/PI that is an academic administrator (for example, Chair, Dean, Provost).
• For applicants that are not organizations of higher education, a PD/PI in a leadership position, as defined by the applicant organization, is required.

BRE-SPAD programs may focus on developing biomedical research across the broad range of areas at NIH; however, certain participating NIH Institutes and Centers have expressed funding priorities below.

• National Institute on Aging (NIA) will consider supporting eligible, domestic institutions for training researchers for lifetime careers in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. With the goal of advancing the most innovative scientific ideas from investigators of all ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds, NIA works to diversify the aging research workforce, both within our institute and through the grantees we support. NIA encourages research training and support that capitalizes on emerging research opportunities and provides trainees with knowledge and advanced skills in all areas of aging research, including palliative care, especially those aligned with NIA’s Strategic Plan.
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) will consider supporting eligible, domestic institutions seeking to build research capacity to conduct and enhance research in the areas of arthritis, musculoskeletal and skin diseases that align with NIAMS Strategic Plan.
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeks to advance all aspects of science on drug use and addiction, including understanding and addressing health disparities related to substance use, substance use disorder, and health consequences of substance use. NIDA will consider supporting eligible, domestic institutions seeking to build research capacity to conduct scientific research aligned with NIDA’s Strategic Plan.
• National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) will support eligible, domestic institutions with dental schools seeking to build research capacity to conduct, enhance and increase dental oral and craniofacial research activities relevant to the NIDCR mission and strategic plan [PDF]. Priority will be given to programs that include partnerships with dental schools.
• The mission of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure. NIMH supports research on topics that include basic neuroscience and behavioral science, and translational application of brain and behavior relationships in healthy and diseased states. Mental disorders may be defined according to existing diagnostic criteria or along dimensions of neurobehavioral functioning according to the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework. If existing diagnostic criteria are to be used, investigators should include plans for addressing heterogeneity within the diagnostic category or categories. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications within the areas of priority detailed in the NIMH Strategic Plan [PDF] and the NIMH Strategic Research Priorities.
• NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) will consider supporting eligible, domestic institutions seeking to build research capacity to conduct and enhance complementary and integrative health research aligned with NCCIH Strategic Priorities.
• National Eye Institute (NEI) leads the federal government in conducting and supporting research in vision research. The mission of the NEI is to eliminate vision loss and improve quality of life through vision research. The NEI has framed its current strategic plan around this mission which addresses multiple opportunities as challenges in the vision field. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications that align to the NEI Strategic Plan: NEI Strategic Plan: Vision for the Future [PDF].
• Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) is interested in supporting eligible, domestic institutions seeking to build data management and research capacity for making biomedical data FAIR, ethical, and AI-Ready. Applications may address but are not limited to: support for dedicated staff with required expertise; support for training or other means of strengthening the needed skills and competencies of biomedical researchers; coalescence or development of institutional data management, sharing, and AI services with a focus on biomedical research; support for multidisciplinary teams required for ethical and responsible data science/AI research projects (e.g., social sciences, ethics, data generation, model development, community engagement).

1. NIH Capacity Building Programs Website
2. NIGMS Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Programs
3. NIH Building Biomedical Engineering Education, Research, and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU eBETA) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
4. NIH Instrumentation Grant Program for Resource-Limited Institutions (RLI-S10)
5. NIH Modern Equipment for Shred-Use Biomedical Research Facilities: advancing Research-Related Operations (S15)
6. NIH Strengthening Research Opportunities for NIH Grants (UC2)
7. NIH Extramural Construction Programs (C06)
8. NIH Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program (U54)
9. NIH Funded SuRE Resource Center’s, Office of Sponsored Programs Seed Grants
10. NIH Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH)
11. National Science Foundation Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRANTED)
12. National Science Foundation Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST)
13. National Science Foundation Advancing STEM Education, Training and Workforce Development at HBCUs
14. National Science Foundation Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Excellence in Research
15. National Science Foundation Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology
16. US Department of Education Research and Development Infrastructure Grant Program

BRE-SPAD awardees are required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually. Tracking progress of biomedical research activities and environment and sponsored programs administration development is critical to increasing biomedical research capacity.

Below are additional, suggested ways to describe some accomplishments or outcomes that could be included in RPPRs.

Examples of accomplishments/outcomes that could be listed

• Conference attendance and presentations supported by this award*.
• Sabbaticals or other faculty research opportunities resulting from this award*.
• Equipment and/or research supply purchases from the award and their usages*.
• Publications or other biomedical research or training-related scholarship outcomes.
• Number of faculty with protected time to conduct research or write grants (e.g., sabbaticals, course buy-outs).
• Number of faculty that gained mentors for grant writing or research.
• Amount of institutional contribution to faculty research startup, sustaining funds, or pilot project funds (dollar amount and type of usage).

* If applicable, note whether any outcomes were achieved from Pilot Research Funding and the name of the pilot investigator.

Examples of information about biomedically-related, external grant applications to include

• List of all project/program titles and application numbers.
• Number of applications submitted to NIH and NSF.
• Number of applications submitted to other funding agencies.
• Number of applications that are awards, subawards, contract and subcontracts.
• Number of applications with a single and multiple project/program director(s)/investigator(s).
• Number of applications that were funded, reviewed and competitive but not funded, reviewed and not competitive/not funded, pending review, and withdrawn.
• Description of any assistance/support received from BRE-SPAD in the application preparation or submission process.