NIGMS Feedback Loop Blog – National Institute of General Medical Sciences
A catalyst for interaction with the scientific community
You may be interested in this recently reissued funding opportunity announcement:
Academic Research Enhancement Award (Parent R15)
(PA-12-006)
Purpose: Stimulate research at educational institutions that have not been major recipients of NIH support
Application due date: Standard dates apply
NIGMS contact: Jean Chin, 301-594-0828
As we begin the new fiscal year, I’ve received questions about whether NIGMS plans to continue its diversity supplement program. The answer is a definite yes. We remain committed to this program, which addresses the important goal of increasing the diversity of the biomedical and behavioral workforce by providing supplemental support for research experiences and mentorship for students and fellows at a range of levels, from high school through postdoctoral training.
Diversity supplement requests may be submitted throughout the year and are reviewed within NIGMS on a rolling basis. Applicants should be aware that the program is competitive and we only fund meritorious applications that meet the program’s goals.
For more information, visit our diversity supplement Web site, which we have recently updated to reinforce the NIGMS philosophy for the program and to clarify eligibility and application requirements. In addition, we have added frequently asked questions and answers. Before submitting an application, I suggest that you contact either your program director or me at zatzm@nigms.nih.gov or 301-594-3833.
You may be interested in the following funding opportunities that were recently published in the NIH Guide:
Collaborations with National Centers for Biomedical Computing (R01)
(PAR-12-001)
Purpose: Use computational tools and biological and behavioral application drivers of the funded National Centers for Biomedical Computing as a foundation for building a biomedical computing environment
Application due date: Standard dates apply
NIGMS contact: Peter Lyster, 301-451-6446
More info: National Centers for Biomedical Computing Web site (no longer available)
Dynamics of Host-Associated Microbial Communities (R01)
(RFA-GM-13-001)
Purpose: Reveal basic principles and mechanisms that govern the symbiotic systems dynamics of host-associated microbial communities through genetic, physiological and ecological studies
Letter of intent due date: December 13, 2011
Application due date: January 13, 2012
NIGMS contact: Shiva Singh, 301-594-3900
Short Courses on Mathematical, Statistical, and Computational Tools for Studying Biological Systems (R25)
(PA-11-351)
Purpose: Conduct workshops and short courses to improve integration of mathematical, statistical and computational approaches into biological and/or behavioral research
Letter of intent due date: 30 days before application due date
Application due date: Standard dates apply
NIGMS contact: Irene Eckstrand, 301-594-0943
You may be interested in the following funding opportunities that were recently published in the NIH Guide:
NIH Director’s Transformative Research Awards (R01)
(RFA-RM-11-006)
Purpose: Support exceptionally innovative, high-risk, unconventional research
Letter of intent due date: December 12, 2011
Application due date: January 12, 2012
NIGMS contact: Laurie Tompkins, 301-594-0943
NIH contact: Ravi Basavappa, 301-435-7204
More info: This is an NIH Common Fund program; it replaces the NIGMS EUREKA and the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Project (TR01) initiatives
Mechanistic Pathways Linking Psychosocial Stress and Behavior (R01)
(RFA-HL-12-037)
Purpose: Investigate basic psychological, social and environmental mechanisms and processes linking psychosocial stressors and behaviors that may ultimately impact biological function, health and disease
Letter of intent due date: November 19, 2011
Application due date: December 19, 2011
NIGMS contact: Stephen Marcus, 301-451-6446
NHLBI contact: Catherine Stoney, 301-435-6670
More info: Issued by the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences Opportunity Network (OppNet)
Do unexpected results from your NIGMS-funded R01 or R37 project have you thinking about your research in a different way, or is there a new approach that will greatly advance the aims of your studies? Will you need a collaborator with appropriate expertise to proceed?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, you might consider applying for an administrative supplement for collaborative science (SCS). Now in its 4th year, the SCS program enables new collaborations that were not initially planned and therefore are not supported by the parent grant. Grants must be actively funded through at least July 31, 2013, to be eligible for the next submission deadline of January 15, 2012.
To be sure that your proposal is appropriate for this program, please read the NIH Guide notice, review the program description (no longer available) and discuss your plans with your NIGMS program director. For general questions about the program, e-mail me or Marion Zatz.
We’re trying something new! To keep you posted on funding opportunities, we’ll provide a digest of NIGMS-related announcements soon after they appear in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, typically every 1 to 2 weeks. (You also can subscribe to get a weekly list of all NIH Guide announcements.)
Similarly, we plan to post monthly digests of relevant highlights from the NIH Office of Extramural Research blog.
Here is the first digest of funding opportunities. Please let me know if you do or don’t like this format or if you have suggestions for ways to improve its usefulness to you.
***
You may be interested in the following funding opportunities that were recently published in the NIH Guide:
NIGMS Centers for HIV/AIDS-Related Structural Biology (P50)
RFA-GM-12-003
Purpose: Structure determination and dynamic characterization of macromolecular complexes among and between components of HIV and the components of host cells
Letter of intent due date: December 7, 2011
Application due date: January 6, 2012
NIGMS contact: Michael Sakalian, 301-594-0828
More info: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Research/SpecificAreas/
AIDSStructuralBiology/
Lab to Marketplace: Tools for Biomedical and Behavioral Research (SBIR [R43/R44])
PA-11-335
Purpose: Translation of technologies for biomedical or behavioral research from academic and other non-small business research sectors to the marketplace
Application due date: Standard dates apply
NIGMS contact: Scott Somers, 301-594-3827
More info: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Research/Mechanisms/Pages/SBIR.aspx
Development of Novel and Emerging Technologies for the Accurate Detection and Diagnosis of Polymicrobial Infections in Biomedical Laboratory Animal Models (SBIR [R43/R44]), (STTR [R41/R42])
SBIR: PA-11-340; STTR: PA-11-341
Purpose: Rapid and sensitive detection of infectious agents as a key requirement for microbial identification in laboratory animal models
Application due date: Standard dates apply
NIGMS contact: Stefan Maas, 301-594-0943
More info: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Research/Mechanisms/Pages/SBIR.aspx, http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Research/Mechanisms/Pages/STTR.aspx
The NIGMS program supporting research on the evolution of infectious diseases has merged with the ecology of infectious disease program that has been supported primarily by the National Science Foundation and NIH’s Fogarty International Center to create a new funding opportunity announcement.
Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID), also sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, recognizes that infectious disease systems offer a perfect model for studying how context (i.e., ecology) and change (i.e., evolution) interact as organisms adapt to each other. The intersection of ecology and evolution also is relevant to many real-world problems, such as finding new vaccines or understanding how pathogens emerge.
EEID research will advance broad, conceptual knowledge that reaches beyond specific systems and that may be useful for understanding public, agricultural or ecosystem health; natural resource use and wildlife management; and/or economic development.
NIGMS’ particular interest is in the integration of ecological and evolutionary dynamics to address, for example:
Applications should combine field and laboratory research with mathematical, statistical and computational modeling. We encourage proposals from collaborative teams with expertise from diverse disciplines. Applications are due by December 7 and will be submitted to and reviewed by NSF. NIGMS will consider funding those that score well and are within the Institute’s mission areas.
NIGMS is not re-announcing the EUREKA initiative this fall. However, we’re anticipating that NIH will publish a new initiative for exceptionally innovative, potentially transformative research in the NIH Guide soon. Stay tuned for details!
NIH recently conducted an evaluation of the short-term outcome of the NIH Director Pioneer’s Award program, which started in 2004 and is managed by NIGMS. The report was positive and confirmed that the research supported by the program truly has been pioneering, not only in pursuing highly creative and often unconventional approaches but also in leading to additional “high-risk, high-reward” programs at NIH and other funding agencies.
We hope to see many more highly innovative ideas submitted for the next Pioneer Award application cycle that is now under way. Applications are due October 7, 2011.
The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award program, also managed by NIGMS, is accepting applications until October 14, 2011. This program is designed for early stage investigators at U.S. institutions who have not yet obtained an NIH R01 or similar grant.
For more information and links to the requests for applications, see the Pioneer Award Web site and the New Innovator Award Web site.
As I’ve written before, one of my favorite elements of these programs is the annual symposium, scheduled this year for September 20-21 at the Doubletree Bethesda Hotel near the NIH campus. The meeting is free and doesn’t require registration, so if you’re in the area, I encourage you to join us for talks and poster sessions by Pioneer and New Innovator awardees. If you can’t make it in person, you can view the platform presentations after the meeting on the NIH Videocast site.
NIGMS supports a limited number of investigator-initiated clinical trials in selected areas related to its mission, including trauma, burn and peri-operative injury; wound healing; sepsis; and anesthesiology and peri-operative pain.
We will now offer planning grants (see PAR-11-287) to enable the assembly of the organizational elements and documentation needed for a clinical trial R01 application. This will also permit early peer review of the scientific rationale of a proposed trial.
Before applying for a planning grant, we strongly recommend consulting with the appropriate NIGMS program staff listed in the funding opportunity announcement to determine whether the goal of the proposed trial aligns with the NIGMS mission and scientific priorities.
Letters of intent for the planning grants are due by September 24, 2011, and applications are due by October 24, 2011. We will accept subsequent submissions on the same dates in 2012 and 2013.
As this planning grant program proceeds, we will assess its value to applicants, and we welcome your feedback at any time. For more information, please see the NIGMS Web site on Clinical Studies and Trials.