Postdoctoral Training Grant Program Contacts
Preparing a Postdoctoral Training Grant Application
Items Considered by Reviewers in Evaluating Applications
NIGMS accepts Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA institutional postdoctoral research training grant applications from eligible institutions to support the training of outstanding clinician-scientists in the four clinically-relevant research areas within the mission of NIGMS: anesthesiology; clinical pharmacology; medical genetics; and trauma, burn and peri-operative injury. These postdoctoral programs, which emphasize the selection of M.D. degree holders as trainees, should require at least 2 years of rigorous research training in basic, clinical and/or translational science areas. The training of Ph.D. postdoctoral scientists should focus on advanced and specialized areas of research and offer appropriate opportunities to study problems of clinical relevance.
Programs should offer a range of research training opportunities as outlined in the program descriptions below. Institutional postdoctoral training grants are limited to the support areas listed and are usually awarded for 5 years. No single postdoctoral trainee may receive more than 3 years of NRSA support, unless a waiver is obtained.
Note: NIGMS does not require T32 applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs for any year to contact staff to obtain agreement that the IC will accept the application.
Training Grant Program Areas and Contacts
Instructions for Preparing an NIGMS Postdoctoral Training Grant Application
Anesthesiology: Zuzana Justinova, M.D., Ph.D.
The programs should provide multidisciplinary research training to help develop individuals with the skills and expertise to explore research problems relevant to anesthesiology, including, for example, anesthetic pharmacology, systems neurobiology, and toxicology; issues related to anesthesia critical care; and pain and pain management, especially related to the peri-operative period. The goal is to provide rigorous postdoctoral research training with an emphasis on hypothesis-driven laboratory or clinical research. Trainees, most of whom would hold the M.D. degree, will be expected to spend at least 2 years in the training program and should have the opportunity to acquire fundamental knowledge and research techniques in such basic science disciplines as biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, neurobiology, pharmacology or physiology.
Clinical Pharmacology: Sailaja Koduri, Ph.D.
Individuals in these programs should receive experience in the methodology and conduct of basic and clinical research to qualify them to investigate the effects and mechanisms of drug actions in humans. Trainees, most of whom would have the M.D. or Pharm.D. degree, will be expected to spend at least 2 years in the training program and should have the opportunity to acquire fundamental scientific knowledge and research techniques in such areas as basic pharmacology, biochemistry, physiology, molecular medicine and gene therapy, biostatistics and other biomedical subdisciplines. For trainees with an M.D. or Pharm.D. degree or other professional degree, this experience should emphasize rigorous research training and complement their clinical backgrounds. For trainees with a Ph.D. degree, the research and training should be specifically designed to promote a career in clinical pharmacology research. Fellows of Clinical Pharmacology Training Programs should be well prepared to pursue careers in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, academia or government research or regulatory agencies.
Medical Genetics: Rita Miller, Ph.D.
Programs should provide advanced and specialized research training in the principles of genetics, with the goal of understanding human genetic disorders. Trainees, who would normally hold the M.D. degree, should be drawn from diverse backgrounds and should be offered opportunities for conducting research with faculty who represent a variety of approaches to genetics, ranging from molecular genetics to human population genetics. Programs should provide rigorous training in basic or applied research, with an emphasis on human or medical genetic problems. For holders of the M.D. or other professional degree, the program should provide training and research opportunities in areas of basic genetics that will build on, and complement, the trainee's clinical background. For holders of the Ph.D. degree, the research and training should be specifically designed to foster a career in human and medical genetics.
Injury and Critical Illness: Xiaoli Zhao, Ph.D.
Programs should provide multidisciplinary research training for postdoctoral scientists who seek to improve the understanding of the body's systemic responses to major injury, with an overall goal of fostering application of this knowledge to the treatment of trauma and burn injury victims as well as critically ill patients. The supervisory staff should include trauma surgeons and/or burn specialists, physician scientists specializing in emergency and intensive care medicine, as well as basic scientists. Trainees, most of whom would hold the M.D. degree, will be expected to spend at least 2 years in the training program and to apply such basic disciplines as biochemistry, physiology, immunology, microbiology, cell biology, molecular biology, or biomedical engineering to the study of injury and critical illness.
Applications for Institutional Training Grants (T32) must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov using the NIH T32 parent program announcement PA-25-168.
The required data tables are designed to be used in conjunction with specific instructions that are included in the NOFO. Detailed instructions, sample tables and blank, fillable tables are provided. If you have any questions regarding the organization of your application, please contact the NIGMS Scientific Review Branch and an appropriate staff member will be happy to assist you.
All applications for NIGMS-funded postdoctoral training grants must:
NIGMS training grant awards do not provide support for mixed predoctoral and postdoctoral research training; an application must request support for either predoctoral or postdoctoral research training.
In general, only one award in each of the training grant program areas will be made to an institution. Institutional training grants may be made for project periods of up to 5 years and may be renewable.
