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

We’re pleased to share that the Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) have been reissued. MOSAIC, a trans-NIH initiative that NIGMS oversees, has two components: a postdoctoral career transition award (K99/R00), and a cohort-based mentoring and career development program that supports the scholars (UE5 research education cooperative agreement).

UPDATE: The videocast of the ARPA-H session on August 4 is now available.

President Biden recently called for the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to improve our capabilities to speed research that can improve the health of all Americans. The proposed mission of ARPA-H could include investments in breakthrough technologies and broadly applicable platforms, resources, and solutions that can’t be readily accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity. Such innovations could transform important areas of medicine and health for the benefit of all patients.

UPDATE: The video from the Interventions webinar is now available.

NIGMS has reissued its funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for Research on Interventions that Promote the Careers of Individuals in the Biomedical Research Enterprise (R01) (PAR-21-269). In line with a key mission area of the Institute—ensuring the vitality and continued productivity of the research enterprise—the FOA encourages studies on interventions aimed to enhance research-oriented individuals’ interest, motivation, persistence, and preparedness for careers in the biomedical research workforce. Potential intervention focus areas include, but are not limited to, networking and mentoring, institutional climate, harassment, and structural racism and discrimination.

The new FOA no longer includes research designed solely to inform interventions; applicants must also conduct and test an intervention. Proposals must test the effectiveness of an intervention using robust experimental designs, such as randomized control trial approaches, case controls, matched pair design, or other designs appropriate to perform rigorous research on effective interventions aiming to increase success in the biomedical research workforce.

NIGMS staff members always closely examine each principal investigator’s (PI’s) other research support when making funding recommendations and awards. In addition, the Institute has several policies to ensure a diversified portfolio of grants. At the May 20, 2021, NAGMS Advisory Council meeting, councilors approved our updated NIGMS guidelines for funding investigators with substantial other research support. Informally, this was known as our $750K policy. What’s the policy, and why are we changing it now? 

We’re hosting a webinar for students and fellows interested in the Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) program for the October 4, 2021, receipt date:

Tuesday, June 22, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

PRAT is a competitive 3-year fellowship program that prepares trainees for leadership positions in biomedical careers. Training includes a mentored laboratory research experience and intensive career and leadership development activities. PRAT fellows conduct research in laboratories in the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) in basic biomedical research areas within the NIGMS mission. These areas include, but are not limited to, biological chemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, cellular and molecular biology, computational biosciences, developmental biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology, and technology development.

I’m pleased to share that the Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15) funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) have been reissued (PAR-21-155 and PAR-21-154). The FOAs continue NIH efforts to support small-scale research grants at institutions that do not receive substantial funding from NIH. The grants emphasize providing biomedical research experiences for undergraduate students and enhancing the research environment at grantee institutions. Eligible institutions must award baccalaureate degrees in biomedical sciences, have a greater undergraduate student enrollment than graduate student enrollment, and must not have received more than $6 million per year of NIH support (total costs) in 4 of the last 7 fiscal years. Health professional schools are not eligible for this FOA and are not included in the $6 million eligibility calculation. There is another series of FOAs focused on health professional schools and graduate schools (PAR-19-134 and PAR-19-135).

We’re pleased to announce a new notice of special interest (NOSI) (NOT-GM-21-050) to address the urgent need for documenting COVID-19-related outcomes of patients, including those suffering from health disparities, which helps foster COVID-19-related clinical research. Competitive revisions to active IDeA-CTR (U54) awards will be considered for the purpose of sustaining and strengthening the IDeA state COVID-19 patient registry, a component of the National COVID Cohort Collaborative.

Applications are due by June 18, 2021. If you have any questions about this NOSI, please contact Hongwei Gao.

I’m pleased to announce the release of the NIGMS 2021-2025 Strategic Plan. Like its predecessor, this plan sets the direction and priorities that the Institute will pursue over the next 5 years. It enumerates a series of goals, objectives, and implementation strategies that build upon the successful outcomes of our prior plan, and it reflects key organizational values of the Institute. The plan also contains representative targets for each implementation strategy that promote both transparency and accountability to ensure that progress is tracked and periodically reported, and that any necessary course corrections can be implemented.

UPDATE: This position is now closed.

We’re recruiting an accomplished scientist for a position in the Biochemistry and Bio-related Chemistry Branch of our Division of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry. The Branch supports research studies in enzymology, bioenergetics, glycoscience, synthetic method development, biosynthesis, oxidative stress, and synthetic biology. 

Applicants should have broad expertise in biochemistry, familiarity with modern experimental methods, and experience in applying this knowledge to biological systems. Familiarity with NIH extramural funding as an applicant, reviewer, or NIH scientific administrator is a plus, and outstanding written and oral communication skills are essential. The job responsibilities involve working collaboratively with other staff to stimulate, plan, advise, direct, and evaluate program activities for the portfolio of research awards.

I’m pleased to announce a new funding opportunity for a Support for Research Excellence (SuRE) U24 resource center (PAR-21-227) to broaden participation in the new SuRE R16 programs announced earlier this month, which replace the Support of Competitive Research (SCORE) program. The SuRE resource center will assist eligible institutions in building research capacity and training their professional staff and faculty.

Applicants to the SuRE resource center funding opportunity announcement are expected to have prior experience in managing multi-institutional endeavors and conducting outreach to a geographically diverse pool of applicants. Nonprofit institutions with a national reach (e.g., professional societies) are among those eligible to apply.