UPDATE: The video for this webinar is now available.

We’re pleased to announce the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for our interactive digital media (IDM) program (PAR-23-213). This NOFO supports eligible small business concerns to develop IDM biomedical science resources for pre-college students and teachers. The products should engage users with interactive learning experiences, thus enhancing interest in learning more about biomedical research and in developing problem-solving skills. The first application receipt date is September 5, 2023.

We strongly encourage all interested in applying to attend our upcoming webinar:

UPDATE: The video and slides [PDF] for this webinar are now available.

I’m pleased to announce that the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) notice of funding opportunity for early stage investigators (ESIs) (PAR-23-145) has been reissued. MIRA funding provides support for an area of research in an ESI’s laboratory that falls within the NIGMS mission. The next application due date is October 3, 2023.

We’re hosting a webinar to discuss the key features of the ESI MIRA program and to answer your questions:

UPDATE: The video for this webinar is now available.

Cloud computing provides access to the exponentially growing volume of biomedical research data, data analytic tools, and data storage capacity. If you’re interested in learning cutting-edge biomedical research methods and/or carrying out your own research on the cloud, we welcome you to an upcoming webinar aimed to help you start or enrich your cloud-computing journey: 

Friday, June 23, 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET
Zoom meeting link

Are you or other principal investigators at your institution preparing a grant application for the NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15)? If so, please join our upcoming webinar, “The NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15) .  .  . What You Need to Know!” to learn about the various NIH R15 programs, which one NIGMS participates in, and application components. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions:

Thursday, June 15, 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET
Zoom registration link
Event webpage

UPDATE: This position is now closed. 

We’re recruiting an accomplished scientist to manage a portfolio of research grants in our Division for Research Capacity Building (DRCB). Job responsibilities involve working collaboratively with other staff to stimulate, plan, advise, direct, and evaluate program activities related to their field of expertise. The candidate selected will manage grants funded through the Native American Research Centers for Health and Institutional Development Award​ programs (visit the DRCB website for a full list of programs).

UPDATE: These positions are now closed.

We’re recruiting accomplished scientists for positions in our Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences (BBCB) and Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (GMCDB). The successful applicants will be responsible for scientific and administrative management of a portfolio of research grants and/or research training grants and career development awards, and will stimulate, plan, advise, direct, and evaluate program activities related to their field of expertise.

We’re pleased to share the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) (PAR-23-145) to provide sustained support for biomedical research through our Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) (R35) program for early stage investigators (ESIs). This NOFO allows applications from ESIs proposing research within NIGMS' scientific mission.

NIGMS has granted MIRAs to ESIs since Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. We’ve analyzed and published application and funding trends for MIRAs from FY 2019 to FY 2021 and for various funding types, including MIRA, for FY 2022. Changes in this iteration of the NOFO include:

UPDATE: This position is now closed.

We’re seeking a highly qualified scientist to serve as a branch chief in our Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences (BBCB). Applicants should have interest and experience in the scientific areas managed by the Biophysics Branch. Position responsibilities include scientific and administrative planning, managing, and evaluating activities of the Branch; optimizing Branch procedures; and overseeing grant portfolio activities of Branch program directors. The branch chief will also manage a research grant portfolio and will work closely with the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and Biomedical Technology branch chiefs and the BBCB division director.

We’re pleased to announce the publication of notice NOT-GM-23-040 introducing a change in the institutional eligibility criteria for applications to our Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phase 1 (P20).

NIGMS continues to support a wide range of topics and investigators, maintaining a broad biomedical research portfolio. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, NIGMS received a congressional appropriation of $3,092,373,000. Consistent with the Institute’s mission, a large portion of these funds support investigator-initiated research project grants (RPGs) at institutions throughout the country. As part of its commitment to transparency, NIGMS publishes data on annual trends in its grant portfolios. In this post, we describe investigator-level trends for RPGs and review the trends associated with competing RPGs as well as those in the Institute’s Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) program.

NIGMS Investigator-Level Trends for Research Grants

At NIGMS, we focus on supporting a broad group of investigators. As a result, we monitor two statistics that describe our investigator pool: the cumulative investigator rate and the number of funded early stage investigators (ESIs). The number of newly funded ESIs has notably increased over recent years, and continued support for ESIs is integral to the success of the biomedical research enterprise and is a priority for the Institute. Figure 1 illustrates the number of ESIs who received their first competing NIGMS R01-equivalent grants each year between FY 2013 and FY 2022. In FY 2022, NIGMS awarded R01-equivalent grants to 319 ESIs in total: 31 investigators received R01 awards, 268 investigators received R35 (MIRA) awards, and 20 investigators received NIH Director’s New Innovator Awards (DP2s). These data include DP2s (four awards) administered by NIGMS on behalf of the NIH Office of the Director. The number of funded ESI MIRAs in FY 2022 was the largest to date, and more than four times larger than in the program’s first year. Overall, the number of funded ESIs has risen almost every year since FY 2013, with the slight decrease in the number of awards between FY 2017 and FY 2018 due in part to the introduction of the MIRA program in FY 2016 and a temporary reduction in the built-up ESI applicant pool as more ESIs received funding.