Dr. Mercedes Rubio. Credit: NIGMS.

I’m pleased to announce that Mercedes Rubio has been selected as the new director of our Division for Research Capacity Building. Mercedes is a medical sociologist by training and is currently chief of the Predoctoral Basic Biomedical and Medical Scientist Training Programs Branch in our Division of Training and Workforce Development. She also manages research training, scientific conference, and research on intervention grants and has been the program director for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diversity Program Consortium’s National Research Mentoring Network.

The NIGMS Sandbox, a cloud-based learning platform that teaches students, researchers, and clinicians how to harness cloud technology for life sciences applications and research, has been featured in a special supplement of Briefings in Bioinformatics.

UPDATE: The video from this webinar is now available.

We’re pleased to announce that the notice of funding opportunity for the Tribal Institutional Review Board Establishment and Enhancement (TIRBEE) program has been published (PAR-24-260). TIRBEE supports federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribes, Tribal colleges and universities, Tribal health programs, or Tribal organizations to establish institutional review boards (IRBs) or enhance the capacity of existing Tribal IRBs. The program seeks to give Tribes greater autonomy over their own research processes and is part of the response to needs identified through a formal Tribal consultation [PDF] NIGMS conducted in 2021.

We've published the funding announcements for our new Tribal Undergraduate to Graduate Research Training and Leadership Experiences (TURTLE) program. TURTLE will support federally recognized American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) Tribes, Tribal Colleges or Universities, Tribal health programs, or Tribal organizations (collectively termed, eligible Tribal entities) to identify and develop a pool of scientists to conduct research on AI/AN health and health disparities.

Saad Bhamla, Ph.D. Credit: Rob Felt, Georgia Tech.

What does a children’s toy have to do with malaria diagnostics? How about a barbecue lighter and a nucleic acid vaccine? Find out from Saad Bhamla during our 2024 Judith H. Greenberg Early Career Investigator Lecture. The lecture, “Fast and Frugal: Cells That Move Without ATP and Life-Saving Tools That Cost Pennies,” will take place on October 7 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

UPDATE: This position is now closed.

We’re recruiting an accomplished scientist for a program director position in our Division of Training and Workforce Development (TWD). The successful applicant will be responsible for scientific and administrative management of a portfolio of research training and workforce development grants and will stimulate, plan, advise, direct, and evaluate program activities. The selectee will handle postdoctoral, early career, and workforce development programs.

In Vannevar Bush’s 1945 report Science, the Endless Frontier [PDF], he wrote:

“A nation which depends upon others for its new basic scientific knowl­edge will be slow in its industrial progress and weak in its competitive position in world trade, regardless of its mechanical skill.”

This principle also applies to U.S. states and the academic institutions in them. When resources are limited, organizational leaders are often tempted to focus their research efforts on applied studies that could have short-term payoffs. It’s easy to understand this reasoning because there are often pressing health, social, and economic problems close at hand that are crying out for prompt action. However, economic studies, including a recent paper by Hans Gersbach and colleagues and a 2012 study by Andrew Toole, have indicated that basic research is essential to overall advancement, even on a local level.

The funding announcements for our NIGMS institutional predoctoral National Research Service Award training grants (T32) ask grantees to report and disseminate training and career outcomes in a publicly available format. Training outcomes are relevant to both students and to the broader community to monitor the success of our evidence-informed training and mentoring activities. A website is an easy way to disseminate training and career outcomes.

UPDATE: This position is now closed.

We’re recruiting an outstanding individual to serve as the NIGMS Tribal health research strategy coordinator. The incumbent will report to the deputy director and assume a broad sphere of responsibilities that include, among others:

• Serving as the expert on matters related to Tribal health research within the NIGMS mission, and as a resource for the Institute director, deputy director, our associate director for extramural activities, and other senior leadership within NIGMS
• Serving as a senior-level NIGMS representative in collaborations and initiatives with the NIH Tribal Health Research Office, the Indian Health Service, Tribal nations, and federal and academic partners across the country
• Formulating, planning, directing, and evaluating broad NIGMS-wide program objectives, policies, and activities for Tribal health research projects, programs, and other grants/awards including the discovery, development, and evaluation of scientific areas critical for eventual prevention and therapeutic strategies
• Advising leadership on strategies to address ongoing matters with Tribal communities

UPDATE: This position is now closed.

We’re seeking a highly qualified scientist to serve as Branch Chief for our Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences (BBCB). Applicants should have interest and experience in the scientific areas managed by the Biomedical Technology Branch. Position responsibilities include scientific and administrative planning, management, and evaluation; optimization of Branch procedures; and oversight of Branch program directors’ grant portfolio activities. The Branch Chief will also manage a research grant portfolio and work collaboratively with the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology and Biophysics Branch Chiefs and the BBCB Division Director.