The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is making a number of changes to the fellowship application and peer review process for due dates on or after January 25, 2025. For details, visit the Revisions to the NIH Fellowship Application and Review Process webpage. New funding announcements and application instructions will be released in the coming months.

Early career investigators (postdoctoral and faculty) are often seeking a mentored research experience to further develop their careers in biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research. This includes new and early stage investigators who are doing research within the NIGMS mission and don't have a major research grant. To make it easier to find the right program, we've launched a new web resource, Which NIGMS Mentored Career Development Award Is Right for Me?

NIGMS supports a wide range of research, training, workforce development, and institutional capacity building grants in the biomedical sciences. While NIH’s Center for Scientific Review reviews the majority of our investigator-initiated research grants (read our post on NIGMS RPGs), NIGMS has its own scientific review branch (SRB) that manages the review of applications to programs in workforce development and in research capacity building (past posts on training and capacity building provide more information). These programs often require reviewers with unique experiences, in addition to scientific or technical expertise. Thus, SRB is always searching for volunteers with varying experiences and scientific expertise from all career stages, funding and review experiences, geographic locations, and institution types to provide expert reviews. Some examples include individuals familiar with research training programs, institutional administration, faculty mentorship, Tribal communities, and people with experience conducting research in states that are eligible for Institutional Development Awards.

UPDATE: We will update the how-to videos on preparing NIH Training Tables in 2025.

We’re pleased to announce the creation of informational videos on completing the NIH training tables. These videos take you through completing the NIH tables for undergraduate and graduate research training grant applications and, when applicable, research performance progress reports.

The following NIH training tables have informational videos* (accessible PDF versions are available on our website):

Last year, NIH implemented a data management and sharing (DMS) policy to promote the sharing of scientific data. The policy requires that NIH grantees submit a DMS plan as part of their grant application. The great news is that most of our grantees already meet NIH’s DMS requirements, which we explain more fully in a list of FAQs.

Our previous posts in this series described NIGMS research priorities; major research project grants that we support; and overviews of our Institute’s research training, workforce development, and research capacity building programs. In this post, we discuss the notice of award (NOA), project reporting requirements, flexibilities in award management, and matters that require additional NIGMS approval. 

How Do I Manage the Post-Award Process?

The previous post in this series covered tips for crafting a strong grant application. However, the reality is that not all applications will be funded.

You’ve determined that you’re conducting research related to the NIGMS mission and have found a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) you’d like to apply to. Now it’s time to craft your application.

There are many resources providing guidance on what to include in an NIH funding application. We recommend reviewing our grant writing webinar series, which discusses faculty readiness and submission considerations, as well as determining whether a funding opportunity is right for you and writing a competitive application. NIH’s Write Your Application webpage also includes valuable guidance.

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.

The first post in this series introduced our Institute’s research priorities. This post outlines the major types of research project grants that NIGMS supports and where to find notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) to which you can apply.