In September, we hosted a virtual meeting for investigators and students supported by the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program to introduce them to strategic initiatives from NIH leaders in response to COVID-19, and to highlight scientific progress by IDeA researchers. We were pleased with the overwhelming response from the IDeA community—there were approximately 750 attendees and more than 180 abstracts submitted.

We were unable to get together for this year’s National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence. In response to requests from the community, we’re hosting a virtual meeting for investigators and program leaders supported by the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program:

Tuesday, September 22, 2:00-5:30 p.m. ET

We’d like to call your attention to a pair of recently published notices (NOT-GM-20-042 and NOT-GM-20-043) that address the unfavorable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on institutions’ ability to recruit faculty investigators. In response to this, we’ve reduced the minimum number of research projects required for our Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phases 1 and 2 from three to two. Additionally, we’ll allow budget increases for recruitment costs and pilot projects. These changes apply to active awards and to applications submitted for new Phase 1 (PAR-19-313) and Phase 2 (PAR-19-312) funding opportunity announcements.

If you’re preparing an Institutional Development Award Networks for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) grant application for the October 7 receipt date, don’t miss our upcoming webinar:

Thursday, August 6, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET

During the webinar, IDeA program staff will answer your questions about changes in the goals, objectives, and organizational structures of the IDeA-CTR program, as described in the funding opportunity announcement. Principal investigators who plan to submit new or renewal applications are encouraged to attend.

I’m pleased to announce that the Institutional Development Award Networks for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) funding opportunity announcement (PAR-20-175) has been reissued.

IDeA-CTR funds statewide or multistate regional networks that support:

We’re pleased to announce that the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phase 3 funding opportunity announcement (FOA) (PAR-20-115) has been reissued.

COBRE supports thematic, multidisciplinary research centers that establish and strengthen institutional biomedical research capacity in IDeA-eligible states through three sequential 5-year phases.  

UPDATE: The slides [PDF] from the recent webinar are now available.

NIGMS, in partnership with the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) and twelve other institutes and centers of NIH, invites applications for administrative supplements to eligible Institutional Development Award (IDeA) grants to address important issues of women’s health in the IDeA states. We encourage a broad range of research addressing women’s health issues with a special interest in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, as well as their underlying causes.

We’re pleased to announce that the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) funding opportunity announcement (FOA) (PAR-20-102) has been reissued. INBRE fosters the development, coordination, and sharing of research resources and expertise that expand research opportunities and increase the number of competitive investigators in IDeA-eligible states. The program achieves these goals through partnerships between research-intensive and primarily undergraduate institutions, community colleges, and tribally controlled colleges and universities.

The Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program supports biomedical research and research capacity building in states and territories that historically have had low levels of NIH funding. The Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) are long-standing IDeA funding initiatives supporting thematic, multidisciplinary centers that establish and strengthen institutional biomedical research capacity via three sequential 5-year phases. Funding opportunity announcements for the first and second phases of COBRE were just reissued:

UPDATE: The slides and video from the Regional Technology Accelerator Hubs Webinar have been posted. If you or your institution are considering applying for our Regional Technology Transfer Accelerator Hubs for IDeA States (STTR) funding opportunity—a new initiative designed to promote biomedical entrepreneurship—don’t miss our upcoming webinar: Wednesday, November 15, from 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET. During the webinar, NIGMS and Center for Scientific Review staff will explain the goals and objectives of the initiative and answer your questions. You are encouraged to submit questions by November 13 to Krishan Arora. To access the webinar, visit the WebEx Meeting page (link no longer available) and enter the meeting number 620 731 655 and the password “nigms.” If you are unable to attend online, you can join by phone by calling 1-650-479-3208 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and entering the access code 628 562 389. NIGMS Staff Participating in the November 15 Webinar: Slides will be available on the IDeA website following the event. We look forward to talking with you soon.