UPDATE: The March 21 Webinar slides and video, the eligibility flowchart and answers to frequently asked questions have been posted.
We just issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the second year of our Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) program. This FOA continues pilot testing of the MIRA concept with a small cohort of investigators. For this reason, the current FOA is for established investigators, although we’re working on plans to expand the program to allow all NIGMS-funded investigators to apply. Applications are due by May 20, 2016. The earliest start date is April 2017.
We have made a number of modifications to the FOA based on what we learned in the first round. In particular, we have clarified the text in a number of places to avoid confusion by applicants and their institutions. We have also broadened the MIRA eligibility window to include later R01 renewal dates to enable more investigators to apply and for more of them to have the possibility of submitting renewal applications for their R01s if their MIRA application is unsuccessful or if they choose to decline an award. Therefore, please read the new FOA carefully if you are considering applying for this opportunity.
We’ll hold a webinar on Monday, March 21, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. EDT to discuss this FOA, the status of the first group of awards and our future plans for the program. You’ll be able to access the webinar at https://face2face.nih.gov/anthony.eam/JGQLDQ9J and submit questions via the chat function.
As stated in the FOA, the amount of a MIRA award generally will be somewhat less than the sum of all recent concurrent NIGMS support. However, a MIRA grant will usually be awarded for 5 years instead of the current NIGMS average of 4 years.
For additional information, contact me by email or call me at 301-594-0828. We will post an updated eligibility flowchart and additional answers to frequently asked questions on the MIRA webpage.
Please help us get the word out by sharing this information with your colleagues and anyone else who might be interested in applying.
Will the webinar be available for viewing later?
We plan to record the webinar and post the archived video as well as the webinar slides as soon as they are available.
The webinar slides and video have been posted.