Author: Mercedes Rubio

Headshot of Mercedes Rubio.

Mercedes oversees the Institute’s predoctoral basic biomedical training programs, which includes the Medical Scientist Training Program. She also manages the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (T32), scientific conference grants (R13), and the National Research Mentoring Network.

Posts by Mercedes Rubio

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Virtual Resources from the National Research Mentoring Network

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As institutions continue to work with virtual learning modalities and in honor of National Mentoring Month, we’d like to share some useful resources from the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). Supported by the NIH Common Fund and managed by NIGMS, the network offers free online mentoring tools and learning resources for individuals ranging from undergraduate students to faculty.

After signing up for an NRMN account through an easy, online process, you can access the network’s mentoring tools and resources, including MyNRMN. The MyNRMN platform allows you to browse and connect with other scientists, and it can match you with a mentor or mentee with similar research interests. Through video chats, instant messaging, and file sharing between mentors and mentees, you can design a mentorship program that fits your needs.  

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Funding Opportunity: Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA) Program

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We’re pleased to announce that the Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA) (K12) funding opportunity announcement (PAR-19-366) has been reissued with some minor changes. IRACDA combines a mentored postdoctoral research experience at a research-intensive institution with an opportunity to develop critical teaching and mentoring skills at a teaching-intensive partner institution that has a diverse student population. The primary goal of the program is to develop an inclusive pool of well-trained biomedical scientists who have the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue independent academic teaching and research careers. An additional goal of IRACDA is to benefit the teaching-intensive partner institutions by:

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New Bridges Training Programs Announced

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UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 1.5MB] from the 2019 Webinar for Bridges Applicants have been posted.

In September 2018, we presented our plans to reorganize the Bridges training programs, part of a larger effort to reorganize the undergraduate and graduate programs in the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity. We’re now pleased to announce two new Bridges funding opportunities aimed at developing and implementing effective, evidence-based approaches to biomedical training and mentoring. The goal of these funding announcements is to enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce and to encourage applications from training programs that:

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Funding Opportunity: Diversity Program Consortium Dissemination and Translation Awards (DPC DaTA) and Webinar

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UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 590KB] from the DPC DaTA Webinar have been posted.

On behalf of the NIH Common Fund, we’ve just released a new funding opportunity announcement soliciting applications for the Diversity Program Consortium Dissemination and Translation Awards (DPC DaTA) (U01).

This initiative is designed to broaden the DPC’s national impact. It provides an opportunity for institutions not currently part of the DPC to apply for funding to employ the consortium’s experimental methods to understand the effectiveness of biomedical research training, mentoring, or research capacity building interventions.

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Webinar for Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) Program Applicants

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UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 1.04MB] and video Link to external web site from the PRAT Program Applicant Webinar have been posted.

We recently reissued the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for the Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) Program and will host a webinar for interested students and fellows:

Wednesday, June 19, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

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Webinar for Bridges Applicants

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UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 1.2MB] from the Bridges Applicants Webinar have been posted.

Are you preparing an institutional Bridges to the Baccalaureate or Bridges to the Doctorate grant application? If so, you may have questions about the funding opportunity announcements, data tables, and FORMS-E application package required for the upcoming September 25 receipt date.

We’re offering a webinar to discuss these topics:

Thursday, August 16, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET

You may send questions to us (Mercedes Rubio or Patrick H. Brown) before the webinar or post them live in the chat box during the event. If you’re away from your computer, you can access the webinar from a mobile device or listen to a voice-only option by dialing 1-800-857-5163 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and entering the participant passcode 2222558.

NIGMS Staff Participating in the August 16 Webinar:

Mercedes Rubio, Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program Director
Patrick H. Brown, Bridges to the Doctorate Program Director
Rebecca Johnson, Scientific Review Officer
Justin Rosenzweig, Grants Management Specialist

We look forward to talking to you about the Bridges programs. Slides will be posted on the Bridges to the Baccalaureate and Bridges to the Doctorate websites following the event.

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Webinar for NRMN Coordination Center and NRMN Resource Center Applicants

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UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 671KB] from the Webinar for NRMN Program Applicants have been posted.

If you’re preparing a grant application for either the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Coordination Center (U24) or the NRMN Resource Center (U24) for the June 11 receipt date, don’t miss our upcoming webinar:

Monday, April 30, 1:00 p.m. ET

During the webinar, we’ll provide an overview of the NRMN Coordination Center and the NRMN Resource Center funding announcements and answer your questions. You may send questions before the webinar or post them in the chat box during the event.

To access the webinar, visit the WebEx Meeting page (link no longer available) and enter the meeting number (access code) 622 059 858 and the password PxH2Dy3Q. If you are unable to attend online, you can call 1-650-479-3208 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and enter the meeting number above.

We look forward to talking to you.

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Webinar for NRMN: The Science of Mentoring, Networking, and Navigating Career Transition Points Grant Applicants

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UPDATE: The slides [PDF, 719KB] from the Webinar for NRMN Program Applicants have been posted. 

If you’re preparing a National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN): The Science of Mentoring, Networking, and Navigating Career Transition Points (U01) grant application for the June 11 receipt date, don’t miss our upcoming webinar:

Monday, April 23, 1:30 p.m. ET

During the webinar, we’ll provide an overview of the NRMN: The Science of Mentoring, Networking, and Navigating Career Transition Points (U01) announcement and answer your questions. You may send questions before the webinar or post them in the chat box during the event.

To access the webinar, visit the WebEx Meeting page (link no longer available) and enter the meeting number (access code) 628 857 139 and the password WCkku5qx. If you are unable to attend online, you can call 1-650-479-3208 from anywhere in the United States or Canada and enter the meeting number above.

We look forward to talking to you.

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Take Charge of Your Scientific Journey With a New iBiology Course

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UPDATE: Enrollment for the course is open until October 15.

The path to a successful career as a biomedical scientist is rarely direct: There can be stops along the way, and each person has different motivations, opportunities, and challenges. The path also depends, in part, on the institution, program, or department where the student is training, and finding the right scientist, mentor, or coach to help guide that journey isn’t the same for everyone. A new online training program supported through an Innovative Programs to Enhance Research Training (IPERT) grant to iBiology can help participants navigate this process.

“Planning Your Scientific Journey Link to external website,” provides training for undergraduate and graduate students on successfully navigating the path to a research career. The interactive lessons may be useful for postdocs and early career scientists, too. Topics include:

  • Developing a good scientific question
  • Establishing a plan of action
  • Asking for advice and developing collaborations

The free 6-week course will take place October 2 to November 13. The course can accommodate nearly 20,000 participants. New course content will be released on a weekly basis to allow students time to focus on each week’s lessons. The course is expected to be offered again in either the spring or fall of 2018. Ultimately, iBiology plans to make this course available in a self-paced format—further enhancing students’ ability to benefit from the course offering, and to revisit the course content at any time.

iBiology is just one of the awardees in our IPERT program. IPERT R25 grants support creative and innovative research educational activities that are designed to complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical research needs. Each IPERT grant must also address the NIGMS goal of creating a highly skilled and diverse biomedical workforce, and integrate three required elements: short courses/workshops for skill development, mentoring, and outreach. To learn more, visit the IPERT webpage. The next receipt date for applications is January 23, 2018.