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Kenneth Gibbs to Direct Division of Training and Workforce Development

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Headshot of Kenny Gibbs. Dr. Kenneth Gibbs. Credit: NIGMS.

I’m pleased to announce that Kenneth Gibbs has been selected as the new director of our Division of Training and Workforce Development (TWD). Kenny is an immunologist by training and is currently chief of the Cross-Disciplinary Pathways Program Branch in TWD. He also oversees the Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) program, research grants on the “science of science” in the biomedical research enterprise, and scientific conference grants. He has also managed research grants in the areas of stem cell biology for the NIGMS Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.

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Virtual Office Hour for Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award for Early Stage Investigator Applicants

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UPDATE: The MIRA office hour has reached its capacity and registration is now closed.

We’re hosting a virtual question-and-answer “office hour” on Thursday, December 12, for Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) (R35) early stage investigator (ESI) applicants. This small group session is designed to help late-stage postdoctoral researchers and early career faculty plan their future applications. We’ll start with a brief presentation of key components of the ESI-MIRA application (research strategy, biosketch, budget, etc.) and spend the rest of the time in open discussion to answer your questions.​

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Virtual Question-and-Answer Office Hour for G-RISE/IMSD Program Applicants

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We’re hosting a virtual question-and-answer “office hour” on Monday, December 16, for the Graduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (G-RISE; PAR-24-032) and Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD; PAR-24-031) T32 training programs.

The goals of these programs are to strengthen research training environments and promote broader participation of scientists earning Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical research workforce.

Next application due date: January 29, 2025

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Funding Opportunity: Modules for Enhancing Biomedical Research Workforce Training

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We’ve released a new notice of special interest (NOSI) NOT-GM-24-039: Topics for Training Modules for Enhancing Biomedical Research Workforce Training (R25). The NOSI, associated with the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) PAR-24-040, requests applications to develop biomedical research training modules on one of the following topics:

  • Improving mentorship experiences
  • Improving trainee and employee mental health and well-being
  • Addressing equity in the biomedical research enterprise
  • Promoting laboratory safety in research environments 
  • Strengthening rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of biomedical research techniques  
  • Enhancing program evaluation capacity
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New Biomedical Research Environment & Sponsored Programs Administration Development Program and Upcoming Webinar 

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UPDATE: The first application due date for the BRE-SPAD program has changed to February 19, 2025. For more information, see NOT-GM-25-010.

The notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for our Biomedical Research Environment & Sponsored Programs Administration Development (BRE-SPAD) program is now available (PAR-24-268). The program aims to promote broad participation in biomedical research by supporting resource-limited institutions to conduct research, enhance their research environments, and increase sponsored programs’ administration capacity.

Applications should propose activities in at least two of the following areas:

  • Developing sponsored programs’ administration 
  • Cultivating growth in the research environment 
  • Administering pilot research projects 
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Areas of Special Interest for Predoctoral Basic Biomedical Training Grants

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We’ve published a notice (NOT-GM-24-056) to inform the community about areas of special interest for our Institute-specific predoctoral basic biomedical training grant program (PAR-23-228). NIGMS encourages more applications with a focus on these priority areas, which are:

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What Are the Chances of Getting More Than One NIGMS R01?

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Principal investigators (PIs) occasionally tell us they don’t plan to apply for the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) program because their institutions expect them to have multiple R01 grants and thus they need to stick with R01 funding. To address this issue, we thought it would be useful to examine the likelihood of getting more than one NIGMS R01.

Figure 1 shows the percentage of PIs who held more than one NIGMS R01 between fiscal years 2014 and 2024 (FY14 and FY24). The first MIRA grants were awarded in FY16, so FY14 and FY15 represent years prior to the beginning of the program. In FY14 and FY15, only 16% of PIs had more than one NIGMS R01. This percentage hovered around 14-15% until 2019, when it began declining. The decline was likely the result of an increasing number of PIs converting their R01s to MIRAs and an Institute policy that PIs could not have more than two NIGMS R01s. Importantly, even before the MIRA program started, only a small fraction of PIs had more than one NIGMS R01. These data are consistent with an analysis we performed previously of how many early stage investigators (ESIs) who were awarded NIGMS R01s between FY04 and FY15 obtained a second NIGMS R01.

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Webinar Series on Navigating NIGMS RPPR Essentials: A Guide to Reporting for Researchers and Administrators

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UPDATE: The first webinar video and slides [PDF] are available.

Progress reports are required at least annually from our grantees to document accomplishments, scientific progress, and compliance with the terms of an award. To help navigate this reporting process, we’re hosting a series of three webinars to guide awardees through the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). The first webinar planned is

Understanding the Basics of the NIGMS RPPR
Thursday, November 14, 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
Zoom link
Join by phone
Meeting ID: 160 044 6421
Passcode: 932913

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Upcoming Changes to NIH Applications for NIGMS Fellowships

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This post is part of a series outlining how NIH application and review changes will impact NIGMS training grants and fellowships.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is making a number of changes to the fellowship application and peer review process for due dates on or after January 25, 2025. For details, visit the Revisions to the NIH Fellowship Application and Review Process webpage. New funding announcements and application instructions will be released in the coming months.

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Upcoming Changes to NIH Applications for NIGMS Undergraduate Training Grants

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This post is part of a series outlining how NIH application and review changes will impact NIGMS training grants and fellowships.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is making a number of updates to training grant applications for due dates on or after January 25, 2025. For details, visit the Updates to NIH Institutional Training Grant Applications webpage. New funding announcements and application instructions for undergraduate (T34) training programs will be released in the coming months. 

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