National Institute of
General Medical Sciences

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) funded 36 Institutional Development Award (IDeA) grants in fiscal year 2018. The IDeA program builds research capacity in states that historically have had low levels of NIH funding by supporting biomedical research, researcher career development, and infrastructure improvements. The program also enhances the ability of investigators to compete successfully for additional research funding and serves the research needs of medically underserved communities.

These grants are expected to total approximately $422.5 million over the next 5 years. The grants were issued to 28 institutions in 19 states and territories across the nation.

The IDeA program has three main components:

• Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE)—thematic, multidisciplinary research centers that support competitive research, develop faculty, and strengthen institutional research capabilities. COBRE support comes in three sequential phases.
• IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE)—statewide networks of institutions that expand research capabilities and increase access to biomedical resources.
• IDeA Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR)—an initiative that supports the development of infrastructure and other resources needed to conduct clinical and translational research on diseases affecting medically underserved populations and diseases prevalent in IDeA states.

Below is information about new COBRE and CTR awards made in fiscal year 2018. For more details about an award, search NIH RePORTER by the project number.

COBRE Phase I

• Clemson University (South Carolina)—Hai Yao, P20GM121342
• Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport—Christopher G. Kevil, P20GM121307
• Marshall University (West Virginia)—Uma Sundaram, P20GM121299
• Miriam Hospital (Rhode Island)—Eleftherios Mylonakis, P20GM121344
• Rhode Island Hospital—Josiah D. Rich, P20GM125507
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences—Charles A. O'Brien, P20GM125503
• University of Hawaii at Manoa—Margaret McFall-Ngai, P20GM125508
• University of Louisville (Kentucky)—Richard J. Lamont, P20GM125504
• University of Nebraska Medical Center—Robert E. Lewis, P20GM121316
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas—Martin R. Schiller, P20GM121325
• University of Vermont and State Agricultural College—Beth Kirkpatrick, P20GM125498
• West Virginia University—Paul R. Lockman, P20GM121322

COBRE Phase II

• Brown University (Rhode Island)—Jerome N. Sanes, P20GM103645
• Dartmouth College (New Hampshire)—Margaret Rita Karagas, P20GM104416
• Mississippi State University—Stephen Pruett, P20GM103646
• Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (Maine)—Kevin Strange, P20GM104318
• Ocean State Research Institute, Inc. (Rhode Island)—Sharon Rounds, P20GM103652
• Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation—Linda Thompson, P20GM103636
• Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Stillwater—Lin Liu, P20GM103648
• Sanford Research/University of Sound Dakota—David Pearce, P20GM103620
• University of Hawaii at Manoa—Robert Alan Nichols, P20GM103466
• University of Mississippi Medical Center—John Hall, P20GM104357
• University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center—Danny Dhanasekaran, P20GM103639
• University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences—Jose Lasalde-Dominicci, P20GM103642
• University of South Carolina at Columbia—Prakash Nagarkatti, P20GM103641
• University of Southern Mississippi—Mohamed Omar Elasri, P20GM103476
• University of Vermont—Stephan Higgins, P20GM103644

COBRE Phase III

• The Mind Research Network (New Mexico)—Vince D. Calhoun, P30GM122734
• University of Kentucky—Lisa A. Cassis, P30GM127211
• University of Louisville (Kentucky)—Aruni Bhatnagar, P30GM127607
• University of Mississippi—Soumyajit Majumdar, P30GM122733
• University of Nebraska Medical Center—Tatiana K. Bronich, P30GM127200

IDeA-CTR

• University of Delaware—Stuart A. Binder-Macleod, U54GM104941
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas—Parvesh Kumar, U54GM104944
• University of North Dakota—Marc D. Basson, U54GM128729
• University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center—Judith A. James, U54GM104938

IDeA Co-Funding

In addition, the IDeA program co-funds, together with other NIH institutes and centers, investigator-initiated research project grants and instrumentation grants at institutions in IDeA-eligible states. In FY2018, the IDeA program provided 17 NIH institutes and centers with approximately $9.7 million in co-funding to support 37 new or competing renewal research (R01 and R15) grants in 18 IDeA-eligible states. IDeA also provided approximately $3 million to the NIH Office of the Director to co-fund 4 S10—Shared Instrumentation Grants and High-End Instrumentation Grants in four IDeA-eligible states.

This fiscal year, NIGMS also funded four STTR Regional Technology Transfer Accelerator Hubs for IDeA States to support commercialization of innovative technologies and methodologies through the use of accelerator hubs that provide infrastructure and build an entrepreneurial culture at the IDeA institutions in their region. The NIGMS press release, NIH Grants Will Spur Innovation in Under-Resourced States, describes these awards.

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To arrange an interview with an IDeA spokesperson, contact the NIGMS Office of Communications and Public Liaison at 301-496-7301 or through our contact form.