Applicants for this training grant program need to describe an interdisciplinary program that integrates training in the conceptual models, methods and approaches of both behavioral and biomedical sciences. This should be a joint effort between the faculty and leadership of departments from both sides of this interface which could include, but is not limited to, departments of psychology, anthropology, behavior, demography and economics on the behavioral side, and departments of biology, physiology, cellular and/or molecular biology, pharmacology, neuroscience, biochemistry, biophysics, immunology, genetics, and biomedical engineering on the biomedical side. One of the main challenges in this training program is to bridge scientific cultural differences between disciplines. The program is sufficiently flexible to allow applicant institutions to tailor their proposed training program to take advantage of the resources available to them and the areas of strength at their institutions.

Applicants should note that this training grant program is not targeted to a specific developmental stage or disease but is fundamental to a range of diseases and health conditions. Many of the disease or developmental stage-targeted Institutes and Centers (ICs) at NIH currently support behavioral research training in areas specific to the IC’s mission, and inquiries for training grants in targeted areas should be directed to the specific ICs. This training grant program supports basic behavioral research training that is broad-based, and that transcends the missions of many of the NIH ICs.

Funded Predoc Training in Behavioral-Biomedical Science Interface Grants

Applicants for a predoctoral institutional training grant in biostatistics must describe an interdisciplinary program that is built on a strong foundation in statistical theory and methodology and that provides a clear understanding of basic biological research. Applications should address any challenges of melding two disparate cultures, statistics and biology, at both the faculty and student levels, and how these challenges will be overcome.

To develop a vital collaborative infrastructure that provides interdisciplinary training, faculty must be recruited from more than one department. Evidence for this infrastructure could include collaborative research projects, co-authored publications, joint service on dissertation committees, collaborative teaching, and regular interactions in journal clubs and seminar series. Applications should also describe how they will promote the success of students coming from a biological or quantitative background in the training program. While biostatistics training often depends on a theoretical formalism that requires an essential core of didactic courses, this requirement must be balanced with training in other disciplines. Applicants must identify the key ideas and skills that are essential to multidisciplinary training in biostatistics and monitor the impact of core requirements on time to degree.

Funded Predoc Training in Biostatistics Grants

With the increased applicability of quantitative and engineering approaches to biomedical research, it is encouraged that students and faculty from engineering and other quantitative disciplines who have strong interests in biotechnology actively participate in these training programs. While many of the successful biotechnology training programs supported by the NIGMS involve engineering students and faculty, such involvement is not required; indeed, each program is encouraged to design and implement training in biotechnology that meets the needs and opportunities that exist locally. Some biotechnology training grant programs are rather focused on an inherently interdisciplinary topic (e.g., tissue engineering) while others are broad and support trainees pursuing degrees in a range of areas.

Funded Predoc Training in Biotechnology Grants

CBM programs may vary widely in the scope of the science, organizational structure, training activities and size of the training faculty and student population. Some CBM training programs are based in degree-granting departments, and the training grant serves to provide overarching training activities that lead to a common experience and uniform, high quality training. Others are based in interdisciplinary degree-granting programs, in which the training grant program and the graduate program are very similar. Still others entail a mix of the two, with an initial interdisciplinary, umbrella program that recruits and trains students in the first 1 to 2 years, followed by the identification of students with individual training programs that may be departmental or interdisciplinary. Regardless of the training program at a given institution, the training grant should have an impact on how training is conducted and should provide a means to foster and enrich interdisciplinary training in the cellular, biochemical and molecular sciences.

There are several features that are common and desirable in CBM programs. There should be a didactic core of courses that most students are required to take. There is usually a rotation system that allows students free choice of laboratories with a broad range of qualified training faculty in the areas of cellular and molecular biology. Students should be free to choose thesis mentors among this same broad training faculty, regardless of departmental or programmatic affiliation. CBM programs often offer a teaching experience as part of the formal training program, or at least have this option available for students who desire such experience. Beyond classes, rotations and teaching activities, there should be program-specific activities that enrich the students’ training and expose them to the full range of research being conducted in the laboratories of the CBM students and training faculty. Such activities may include, but are not limited to, retreats, seminar series and journal clubs. Series on career options also are encouraged. Instruction in the responsible conduct of research is required.
 

Funded Predoc Training in Cellular, Biochemical, and Molecular Sciences Grants

CBI programs are expected to bring together a broad community of trainees and mentors that includes chemists, biologists, engineers, and physician-scientists to foster creative thinking across disciplinary lines. Programs should develop a shared vocabulary that will broaden a trainee’s exposure to scientific topics, perspectives, and techniques and enhance their ability to contribute to an increasingly multidisciplinary research environment. Trainees should have opportunities to work in interdisciplinary teams with colleagues from different backgrounds through promotion of inclusive and supportive scientific research environments. Programs that aim to capitalize on unique research capabilities or to enhance their collaborative infrastructure, through interdisciplinary training, are welcome.

Rooted in chemistry, a program’s training plan should provide a strong foundation in scientific reasoning, rigorous research design, experimental methods, quantitative approaches, as well as data analysis and interpretation. Trainees should develop in-depth knowledge of a primary research topic and also have broad exposure to multiple areas beyond their faculty mentor’s laboratory. Training involving advanced instrumentation and techniques should include the physicochemical basis of the analysis and an understanding of common pitfalls.

Regularly occurring programmatic activities that augment the Ph.D. training are encouraged to build program cohesion, provide valuable opportunities for interactions with faculty mentors, and inspire the continued participation of trainees throughout their graduate training. Such activities might include a seminar series, student presentations, journal clubs, career development activities, workshops, retreats, or a mix of all the above. Most programs include at least one interfacial core course that ties together the concepts and techniques from chemistry and biology necessary for interdisciplinary research. Programs are strongly encouraged to offer a meaningful research experience outside of the mentor's laboratory that provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary research. This experience may integrate with the trainee’s Ph.D. research or be used by the trainee to delve into new research areas.

Funded Predoc Training in Chemistry-Biology Interface Grants

Applications for a training grant in computational biology, bioinformatics, and data science should address the challenges of melding two disparate cultures, computing and biology, at both the faculty and student levels. These challenges include:

• Creation of a collaborative infrastructure: Evidence for this infrastructure could include coauthored publications, collaborative research projects, joint service on dissertation committees, team teaching of courses and regular interactions in journal clubs and seminar series.
• Training of graduate students from diverse scientific backgrounds: The proposal should address at least two scenarios for student success, involving students coming either from a biological background (with strong quantitative skills) or from a bioinformatics/computational/data science background.
• Degree requirements: A successful training program should have a plan for tailoring the requirements in computational biology, bioinformatics, and data science training to avoid extending the time to degree.

Funded Predoc Training in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Data Science Grants

The existing genetics predoctoral training grants all share a number of features that are now fairly common among biomedical graduate programs. In addition to dissertation research and in-depth didactic training in genetics, all require the trainees to participate in various journal clubs, retreats and seminars, and virtually all require that first-year students rotate through two or more laboratories. Other nearly universal features include qualifying examinations, thesis committee meetings, and teaching opportunities. In contrast, the size and organizational aspects of the existing programs are variable. The number of awarded positions, which is determined primarily by the size and quality of the applicant pool, can range from 2 to over 20.

Similarly, some programs are interdepartmental in nature, frequently spanning multiple departments and schools and serving as vehicles for uniting geneticists across an entire institution. Other programs are based in single departments, although virtually all include faculty from more than one academic unit. While all of the programs offer comprehensive training in genetics, some have developed strengths in particular aspects of genetics, such as population genetics or human genetics.

Funded Predoc Training in Genetics Grants

Typical programs bring together departments of chemistry, physics and those offering training in the various areas of biology. Students commonly work in several areas, including structural biology, the biophysical characterization of biological macromolecules, single molecule detection and electron microscopy. To successfully bridge the gap between the biological and physical disciplines, interaction among faculty and students through planned activities is essential. These activities commonly include rotations among a variety of disciplines and departments, journal clubs and seminar series. Mobility of students among the participating departments is an important feature, as is career guidance and monitoring throughout the students' education, even beyond participation on the training grant.

A key feature of the molecular biophysics training program is the identification of a pool of students with strong quantitative backgrounds. Hence many of the students supported in the program have majors in physics and chemistry. A particular challenge faced by the funded programs is to bring students from different educational backgrounds to the point where they speak a common language. Meeting this challenge often means developing a flexible, customized curriculum for each student.

Funded Predoc Training in Molecular Biophysics Grants

The goal is to train a cadre of scientists prepared to work at the interface of basic biomedical science and clinical research, an area sometimes referred to as translational research. This training opportunity should be primarily designed for Ph.D. candidates; M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. doctoral candidates may be interested in such a program and could participate but should not be the ones for whom a training program in molecular medicine is designed and should not be appointed as trainees to the training grant. A program in molecular medicine should attract a distinct pool of students and the training should clearly be differentiated from training offered by other T32 training programs. Potential applicants are strongly urged to contact NIGMS staff before submission of a proposal.

Funded Predoc Training in Molecular Medicine Grants

NIGMS encourages PIs who wish to have a training program in the pharmacological sciences to emphasize training in quantitative approaches to drug discovery and development. Programs must emphasize training in various -omic technologies, quantitative molecular models, and the connections of these -omic technologies and models to animal and human physiology and pathophysiology. Furthermore, trainees should receive fundamental training in the principles of pharmacokinetics as well as the basics of chemistry to understand structure-activity relationships. Training in additional areas of pharmacology that may contribute to the greater understanding or improvements in therapeutic efficacy or reduction in adverse effects, such as pharmacogenomics, are encouraged. Involvement of students in human clinical pharmacology and translational research is also highly encouraged. Because of the reliance of pharmacology on physiological principles, formal instruction or a background in organ physiology is required. Since pharmacology is an interdisciplinary science, areas in which students may conduct research include, but are not limited to: biochemistry, chemistry, structural biology, neurobiology, immunology, microbiology, cancer biology, developmental sciences, experimental therapeutics and various medical specialties (e.g., anesthesiology, psychiatry, cardiovascular research, gastroenterology, etc.).

The program should provide students with broad exposure to cutting-edge research relevant to the discovery and development of therapeutic agents and to the basic understanding of drug receptors and mechanisms of drug action at and beyond the ligand receptor interaction. As part of this training program, students who are or were supported by the training grant award are expected to participate in activities such as seminar series, journal clubs and/or annual research retreats, which augment their Ph.D. program and provide valuable opportunities for interactions among participating students who typically come from a various departments or programs. During their training period, students may perform short-term training experiences in pre-arranged internships with biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies or with government regulatory agencies. It is expected that students who receive support from the training award will continue to interact with the program after they leave the program by attending training grant supported seminars, annual meetings, and other activities. It is important that training programs have clear expectations and measurables for students and faculty to have a successful training grant program. It is expected that graduates of these training programs should find positions in academic and government research labs, the pharmaceutical or biotech industry, and in government regulatory agencies.

The administrative center of a PS program may be in a school of medicine, a school of pharmacy, a school of veterinary medicine or any other appropriate academic unit. However, the program should be interdisciplinary and interdepartmental in its recruitment of potential students and faculty mentors. It may be appropriate for training grant programs to define multiple tracks that meet the different needs of students with varied backgrounds and objectives. The focus of any particular PS training program will depend on faculty research strengths and the existence of other training programs at the institution. If an institution has other training grants (e.g., chemistry-biology interface, molecular medicine, and cellular and molecular biology), it is important to explain how the pharmacology training program is unique and clearly meets a training need for faculty and students. The presence of other training grant awards should not automatically exclude any faculty on these awards from participating in the PS training program, but it is important that their inclusion as mentors or participating faculty meet the mission and objectives of the PS training program.

Funded Predoc Training in Pharmacological Sciences Grants

Programs may offer a curriculum designed to reinforce a systems and integrative perspective, including, for example, courses on organ/systems physiology or courses with a broad focus on human disease. In addition, the training experience should be enhanced by various programmatic activities, such as seminars, journals clubs and annual retreats, as well as training in the responsible conduct of research. The graduates of the program should be well versed in quantitative approaches to biology. Trainees may be drawn from a broad pool of students with varied backgrounds who have a desire to acquire training in the systems/integrative approach to biology. The training program should bring together varied resources, approaches, and thesis research opportunities with faculty mentors of such disciplines/departments as physiology, biomedical engineering, the behavioral sciences, biochemistry, clinical sciences, and cell and developmental biology. Training programs centered on the neurosciences should apply to the Jointly Sponsored Institutional Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences (JSPTPN), which is co-funded by NIGMS.

Funded Predoc Training in Systems and Integrative Biology Grants

• Eligibility: Applicants may not have an active NIGMS predoctoral T32 in any of the 12 Basic Biomedical Sciences areas, at the time of the Trans-Departmental T32 award. Organizations with an NIGMS Medical Sciences Training Program (T32), but no predoctoral basic biomedical T32 program, are eligible to apply.
• Additional information:
  • Organizations with a single or limited number of basic biomedical disciplines or approaches relevant to the NIGMS mission will be considered.
  • Organizations with a single existing NIGMS basic biomedical T32 award can apply prior to the award end date to convert and broaden their training program through the trans-departmental track.
  • Organizations with multiple NIGMS basic biomedical T32 awards can apply to combine their awards into a single trans-departmental training award.

Funded Predoc Training in Transdisciplinary Basic Biomedical Sciences Grants