Current Limited Submissions

Huo Family Foundation Special Projects

Slots: One proposal from each lead institution.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Monday, March 24th, 2025, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: May 23rd, 2025 by 23.59 (UK time), 18.59 (Eastern), 15.59 (Pacific)

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Anticipated Award Amount: The grant amount is up to £300,000 / $390,000 per year.

Who May Serve as PI: The applicant(s) must hold a PhD or equivalent degree in a relevant field, which may include but is not limited to neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, epidemiology, public health, computer science, social science, economics.

The applicant(s) must be based at colleges, universities and research institutes in the UK or the US. The college, university or research institute should have charitable status or a nonprofit status such as 501(c)(3).

The applicant(s) should have a permanent, open-ended or long-term rolling contract, or the guarantee of one. The contract should not be conditional on receiving this award.

The salaries of all applicants must be covered by their respective employing organisation(s) for the duration of the award.

Co-applicants are possible on this application, particularly if the proposal crosses discipline boundaries, and the co-applicants bring critical and complementary expertise. Collaborators can be included in this application and award.

Link to Award: https://huofamilyfoundation.org/our-grants/special-projects/

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

A long-standing interest of HFF has been the effect and impact of usage of digital technology on young people. The rapid rise and use of this technology has permeated much of society and transformed the way many humans interact.

There has been a broad array of research efforts that mostly have involved relatively crude measures of the amount of usage of digital technology (e.g. total screen time) and the observed effects and impact on health. Despite these efforts, the full implications – both positive and negative – on human physiology, psychology, behaviour, well-being and mental health remain unclear.  

We believe there is an opportunity to help advance the research and the field of knowledge in this area, both by strengthening existing as well as creating new methods and approaches to better model and unpick the complexities of this topic.

HFF is establishing a research portfolio on the Effects of the Usage of Digital Technology on Brain Development, Social Behaviours and Mental Health in Children and Young People.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

The Pew Charitable Trusts: 2026 Pew Biomedical Scholars

Slots: 1

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, March 28th, 2025, 5pm PT

LOI: May 14, 2025 – nomination form

External Deadline: September 3, 2025

Award Information

Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: Approximately 20-24

Anticipated Amount: $300,000; $75,000 per year for a four-year period

Link to Award: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-biomedical-scholars/program-details

Who May Serve as PI:

Candidates must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:
Hold a doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine, or a related field, including engineering or the physical sciences.
As of Sept. 3, 2025, run an independent lab and hold a full-time appointment at the rank of assistant professor. (Appointments such as research assistant professor, adjunct assistant professor, assistant professor research track, visiting professor, or instructor are not eligible).
- Current appointments such as research assistant professor, adjunct assistant professor, assistant professor research track, visiting professor, or instructor are not eligible to apply.
Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor and run an independent lab at any institution prior to June 11, 2021, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this four-year limit. Candidates who need an exception on the four-year limit should contact Pew’s program office to ensure that application reviewers are aware an exception has been given.
- Please note that the eligibility criteria above have been temporarily expanded to account for COVID-related lab shutdowns. This extension will end after this upcoming application cycle. Beginning next year, the eligibility window for the 2027 grant will revert to the three-year period. Please direct any questions to the program office at scholarsapp@pewtrusts.org.
May apply to the program a maximum of two times. All applicants must be nominated by their institution and must complete the 2026 online application.
If applicants have appointments at more than one eligible nominating institution or affiliate, they may not reapply in a subsequent year from a different nominating entity.
May not be nominated for the Pew Scholars Program and the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research in the same year.

Based on their performance during their education and training, candidates should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors in science relevant to human health. This program does not fund clinical trials research. Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic, translational, and applied biomedical research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from more diverse fields are encouraged to apply.

Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged. Selection of the successful candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards, and publications. In evaluating the candidates, the National Advisory Committee gives considerable weight to both the project proposal and the researcher, including evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has the skill set needed to carry out their high-impact proposal.

Funding from the NIH, other government sources, and project grants from nonprofit associations do not pose a conflict with the Pew scholars program. If you have questions concerning eligibility, please contact Pew Biomedical Programs (scholarsapp@pewtrusts.org) in advance of applying.

Investigator effort

It is expected that Pew scholars will spend at least 80 percent of their time in work or activities related to the accomplishment of their overall research goals (which are not restricted to the specific aims proposed for this award). However, Pew provides flexible support to the general research aims of the scholar and does not require effort reporting.

Process for Limited Submissions

RII-Limited-Submission-Application-Template.

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1.0” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences provides funding to young investigators of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health. The program makes grants to selected academic institutions to support the independent research of outstanding individuals who are in their first few years of their appointment at the assistant professor level.

Budgetary Requirements:

An award of $75,000 per year for four years will be provided to the sponsoring institution for use by the scholar, subject to annual review of the scholar’s progress. Grant agreements will be issued in August of the award year. The awarded funds may be used at the discretion of the Pew scholar, for personnel, equipment, supplies, or travel directly related to the scholar’s research and as to best advance his or her research and career.

The amount of the award that may be used for the principal investigator’s salary is limited to $12,500 per year (including benefits) or $50,000 over the duration of the grant. There are no limits on student or postdoctoral salaries.
Not more than 8 percent ($24,000) of the total award value may be allocated for facilities and administration (F&A) charges or indirect costs (IDCs).
Should the funds not be immediately required, they may be accumulated and carried over through the grant period and, with written approval of the program office, the grant may receive a no-cost extension for one additional year (without additional funds).
Subawards are allowed.

CLIR Recordings at Risk

Slots: 1

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Tuesday, February 18th, 2025, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: April 14, 2025, 11:59pm ET

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Anticipated Award Amount: Applicants may request between $10,000 and $50,000 per project.

Eligibility: Per CLIR policy, the same Principal Investigator may not be nominated to lead two concurrent or overlapping CLIR projects within the same program.

Link to Award: https://www.clir.org/recordings-at-risk/apply-for-an-award/

Process for Limited Submissions

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

CLIR is now accepting applications from collecting organizations for the digital reformatting of audio and audiovisual materials through the Recordings at Risk grant program. Generously funded by the Mellon Foundation, Recordings at Risk is focused on digitally preserving “at-risk” recorded content of high importance to researchers and the general public.

Awards will cover direct costs of preservation reformatting for aging audio, audiovisual, or visual time-based media by eligible U.S. nonprofit organizations working with experienced service providers. To make their determinations, CLIR’s independent review panel will assess the potential scholarly or public impact of proposed projects, the urgency of undertaking those projects, the viability of applicants’ plans for long-term preservation, and the appropriateness of the planned approach to creating access.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

DE-FOA-0003545 – EXPRESS: 2025 Exploratory Research for Extreme-Scale Science

Slots: 2 slots per research area specified in Section III. One slot taken for Topic E.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, February 7th, 2025, 5pm PT

LOI: February 25th, 2025

External Deadline: May 6, 2025

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 20

Anticipated Award Amount: $200,000 – $1,000,000

Who May Serve as PI: Standard DOE language.

Link to Award: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/358344

Process for Limited Submissions

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The DOE SC program in Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) hereby announces its interest in basic research to explore potentially high-impact approaches in scientific computing and extreme-scale science.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Exploratory Research for Extreme-Scale Science (EXPRESS) opportunities exist for the following research topics:

A) Quantum computation based on topological concepts B) Local and Campus-Area Quantum Networking for Next Generation Parallel Quantum

Computing

C) Neuromorphic Computing

D) Computational Physical Systems

E) Deep Understanding of AI Models

Applications submitted in response to this NOFO must substantially address one among the preceding list of research topics. Additional details about each topic are provided below.

A) Quantum computation based on topological concepts

Technical Contact/Program Manager: Marco Fornari, Marco.Fornari@science.doe.gov

The ASCR Workshop on Basic Research Needs in Quantum Computing and Networking [1] highlights the importance of enhancing the resilience of quantum systems to noise and errors suggesting that co-design techniques could contribute to error prevention, protection, mitigation, and correction. Topology studies the features of mathematical objects that are preserved through continuous transformations. In quantum science, uses of topology include understanding small perturbations affecting quantum states and special topological properties that can potentially protect quantum states from decay and decoherence. As a result, quantum states with specific topological characteristics lead to promising advances in qubit technologies, quantum memories, and quantum algorithms.

The principles of topological quantum computing have been extensively studied; practical implementations are, however, still in their infancy due to the difficulty of stabilizing and controlling anyons in physical systems. Nevertheless, algorithmic developments guided by topological considerations have been quite successful in developing efficient techniques to control quantum errors. In addition, topological quantum systems have motivated many applications on NISQ hardware to simulate effects and test theoretical conjectures.

Research Area

This topic seeks to exploit topological concepts and strategies to advance models and algorithms toward the possible realization of universal quantum computing and quantum memories, including the integration of topological principles in current quantum computing approaches.
Basic research on ways to potentially exploit topological quantum computing, advancements aimed to expand on algorithms for topologically protecting quantum states, and proposals focused on designing quantum topological models relevant to quantum computation are central to this topic. Models and algorithms must be accompanied by sound theoretical and computational analysis, possibly including verification and validation strategies.

Out of Scope
Out of scope are pre-applications and applications that:

Fail to address the research area specified above; or
Research quantum security protocols; or
Focus on quantum simulation of topological models without addressing computing aspects; or
Solely focus on quantum materials; or
Propose to physically construct qubits.

Pre-applications and applications that meet the out-of-scope criteria described above will be declined without review.

B) Local and Campus-Area Quantum Networking for Next Generation Parallel Quantum Computing

Technical Contact: Kalyan Perumalla, Kalyan.Perumalla@science.doe.gov

Quantum networking involves effective communication of quantum information among geographically distributed quantum systems, separated by short or long distances. Sources of quantum information in the network communication include qubits used in different forms of quantum computing or output from various quantum sensing devices.

This topic seeks advancements in quantum networking over short distances to enable parallel quantum computing within a building and integration of quantum information sources to storage and quantum computing across a campus area. The interconnection of different co-located quantum computing systems is aimed at increasing the scale of quantum computation (e.g., aggregate number of qubits) and at progressing towards an architecture of flexible connectivity of quantum devices across a laboratory or university campus, potentially composing heterogeneous quantum computing hardware, including broadening of networking from exchange of physical qubits to logical qubits.

Research Area
The specific aim of this topic is to support quantum science needed to effectively scale quantum computing and enable flexible exchanges of coherent quantum information via locally networked heterogeneous quantum systems. Proposals must address one or more research advancements in the aforementioned directions in local and campus-area quantum networking. Research must be aimed at advancing our understanding of aspects, such as core concepts, devices, architectures, integration, and interfaces, that are necessary for a quantum counterpart to the current infrastructures of classical local and campus area networks within the scientific and other facilities.

Out of Scope
Topics that are out of scope include:

Research solely focused on quantum materials
Research involving wide-area quantum repeaters
Research involving wide-area quantum networking architectures and testbeds
Research primarily focused on coexistence of quantum and classical communication
Research in quantum security protocols.

Projects that fall within the out-of-scope areas described above will be declined without review.

References

ASCR Basic Research Needs in Quantum Computing and Networking” (Report), July 2023, https://doi.org/10.2172/2001045.

C) Neuromorphic Computing

Technical Contact: Robinson Pino, Robinson.Pino@science.doe.gov

Neuromorphic computing spans a broad range of scientific disciplines from emerging devices, engineering, computer science to neuroscience, all of which are required to solve the neuromorphic computing grand challenge. The aim of this topic is to support high risk and high reward research and development of computational neuroscience and biologically inspired computing architectures with emphasis on analog applications on energy-efficient emerging microelectronic circuitry. The aim is to investigate and prototype foundational neuromorphic computing architecture primitive circuits that will replicate neurobiological processes and accelerate AI for scientific research applications while delivering energy efficiency.

Research Area
This topic is specific to the modeling, fabrication, and prototyping of neuromorphic computing circuit primitives for generalizable applications emphasizing analog approaches, emerging devices, algorithms, and energy efficiency. Proposals must address state-of-the-art and propose to investigate basic research approaches beyond the state-of-the-art. In addition, pre-proposals and proposals must clearly articulate a computational neuroscience-based justification (beyond high level descriptions or representations of neuron and synapses), circuit primitive, and rationale for the proposed research approach through energy-efficient hardware implementations that leverage emerging devices and CMOS. This research topic focuses on demonstrating biologically realistic neuromorphic circuits primitives that capture the functionality of neural systems found in nature.

Out of Scope
Topics that are out of scope include:

Research that does not address the specific topic described above;
Statistical, probabilistic, reservoir, crossbar, hyper dimensional, mix-signal, cryogenic, quantum, or digital approaches to neuromorphic computing;
Projects that solely focus on materials-science research or software;
Projects that do not propose fabrication;
Projects that do not propose prototyping of emerging devices (non-CMOS) and CMOS.
Projects that fall within the out-of-scope areas described above will be declined without review.

References

DOE Workshop: Neuromorphic Computing for Science, September 2024, https://www.orau.gov/2024NeuromorphicComputing.

D) Computational Physical Systems

Technical Contact: Hal Finkel, Hal.Finkel@science.doe.gov

Analog computing, which involves computation using continuous quantities, has been an essential aspect computing technology from the earliest eras to the present day. However, unlike the regimes of digital computing, which involves computing using discrete quantities and operations, both the theory of, and techniques for, analog computing remain underdeveloped.
Fortunately, work over the past decade has opened new avenues for the development of computer-science and mathematical techniques that are applicable to the design of complex chemical and physical systems, with applications ranging from the construction of data storage and computing systems to synthetic biology and nanotechnology. Thus, progress in analog computing might not only prove essential to the creation of future energy-efficient computing technologies, but can also drive innovation across many other domains that aim to create complex physical devices and systems. In the summer of 2024, the research community and other stakeholders gathered for the ASCR Analog Computing for Science Workshop [1] to explore recent advancements and future research opportunities.

Research Area
Each pre-application and application must propose fundamental research that aims to advance our understanding of how complex physical systems can be created whose evolution in time can be characterized as analog computation. The specific focus of the proposed research should include exploring the mathematical frameworks, programming paradigms, or creation of novel devices needed to design, co-design, and/or enable programmatic use of, analog computing systems, especially at large scale. The proposed work must include an aim to characterize the properties of the systems needed to support articulated relevant classes of algorithms and programming constructs. The techniques investigated should be scalable to use cases of non-trivial complexity, account for the inherent parallelism of the relevant physical systems, and account for the constraints implied by the targeted class of physical systems while optimizing relevant objectives which may include, but are not limited to: minimizing the number of dependent variables, maximizing the execution speed, minimizing the execution energy, or maximizing resilience.

Out of Scope
Out of scope are pre-applications and applications that:

Fail to address the research area specified above; or
Investigate materials physics without a clear focus on novel devices for analog computation; or
Fail to describe the class of physical systems applicable to the techniques under investigation; or
Propose work applicable only to a single application domain.

Pre-applications and applications that meet the out-of-scope criteria described above will be declined without review.

References

2024 Analog Computing for Science Workshop. See the pre-workshop document, accepted position papers, and other posted materials.
https://www.orau.gov/2024AnalogComputingWorkshop.

E) Deep Understanding of AI Models

Technical Contact: Steve Lee, Steven.Lee@science.doe.gov

AI has a critical and growing impact on nearly all aspects of modern science [1], and advancement in AI has been driven by both significant advancement in practical techniques for the creation and use of large-scale AI models and by a solidifying, but still relatively nascent, theoretical understanding of the AI training process and the models that emerge from that process. To enable the creation and use of AI models for science, many aspects of the AI training and inference processes require optimization, including speed, energy efficiency, memory and data usage, and accuracy of the predicted values and the characterized uncertainty of those values.

Research Area
Each pre-application and application must propose computer-science or applied-mathematics research that aims to advance our understanding of the AI-model training process and the representations that are developed by the training process within the resulting models. Of particular interest is the study of training dynamics [2], which views the AI model-training process as the evolution of a dynamical system, and allows building on the decades of advancement in applied mathematics for the evolution, characterization, and optimization of dynamical systems to improve the process of training large-scale AI models. Of particular interest is also the study of the representations of scientific concepts developed within AI models, including the generalizability and stability of those representations, the emergence of in-context learning and other reasoning capabilities, grokking [3] and other potential phase-
transition phenomenon, and the interplay between those representations and properties of AI training algorithms.

This research area includes both the study of scientifically relevant aspects of large-language models, models that are trained on non-language scientific data, and models that are trained using a combination of both language and non-language scientific data.

Out of Scope
Out of scope are pre-applications and applications that:

Fail to address the research area specified above; or
Fail to focus on fundamental advances in AI for science; or
Focus on purely empirical studies of AI models or their scaling properties; or
Do not have computer-science or applied mathematics research as the primary focus of the proposed work; or
Provide discipline-specific and/or application-specific solutions that do not generalize to multiple applications; or
Focus on the development of applications or approaches for quantum computers.

Pre-applications and applications that meet the out-of-scope criteria described above will be declined without review.

Program Goals, Objectives, and Priorities

The Office of Science’s (SC) mission is to deliver scientific discoveries and major scientific tools to transform our understanding of nature and advance the energy, economic, and national security of the United States (U.S.). SC is the Nation s largest Federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and the lead Federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for our Nation s energy future.

SC accomplishes its mission and advances national goals by supporting:

The frontiers of science-exploring nature s mysteries from the study of fundamental subatomic particles, atoms, and molecules that are the building blocks of the materials of our universe and everything in it to the DNA, proteins, and cells that are the building blocks of life. Each of the programs in SC supports research probing the most fundamental disciplinary questions.
The 21st Century tools of science providing the nation s researchers with 28 state-of-the-art national scientific user facilities, the most advanced tools of modern science, propelling the U.S. to the forefront of science, technology development, and deployment through innovation.
Science for energy and the environment paving the knowledge foundation to spur discoveries and innovations for advancing the Department s mission in energy and environment. SC supports a wide range of funding modalities from single principal investigators to large team-based activities to engage in fundamental research on energy production, conversion, storage, transmission, and use, and on our understanding of the earth systems.

SC is an established leader of the U.S. scientific discovery and innovation enterprise. Over the decades, SC investments and accomplishments in basic research and enabling research capabilities have provided the foundations for new technologies, businesses, and industries, making significant contributions to our nation s economy, national security, and quality of life.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

PAR-24-128: Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) (T32)

Slots: 1

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, February 28th, 2025, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: May 25, 2025

Recurring Deadlines: September 25, 2025; January 25, 2026; May 25, 2026; September 25, 2026; January 25, 2027

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the number of meritorious applications submitted.

Anticipated Award Amount: Application budgets are not limited but must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.

Who May Serve as PI:

To provide research training leadership for the program, at least one of the training PDs/PIs should have a record of using rigorous and transparent methods in experimental design, data collection, analysis, and reporting in a biomedical research field applicable to the program.
Additional PDs/PIs may be included to strengthen the expertise of the PD/PI team. Examples include individuals such as program directors who regularly interact with students, or individuals with expertise in education, relevant social sciences, program evaluation, mentoring, or university administration.

Any of the PDs/PIs may serve as the contact PD/PI. The contact PD/PI is expected to have a full-time appointment at the applicant organization unless extremely well-justified. If the full-time status of the contact PD/PI changes after the award, the organization must obtain prior program approval to appoint a new PD/PI or request a deviation from the full-time rule. The PD(s)/PI(s) will be responsible for:

The overall direction, management, administration, and evaluation of the program.
The day-to-day administration of the program, including direct involvement with trainees.
The selection and appointment of trainees to the research training program.
The selection of faculty mentors for the program, assessment of mentor performance, and ensuring the program deals appropriately with substandard mentor performance.
Monitoring and assessing the program and submitting all documents and reports as required.
Appointing members of the Advisory Committee (when applicable) and implementing their guidance as appropriate.

Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-128.html

Process for Limited Submissions

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The overall goal of the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. More information about NRSA programs may be found at the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award website. The NRSA program has been the primary means of supporting predoctoral and postdoctoral research training programs since enactment of the NRSA legislation in 1974.

Each NIGMS-funded MSTP award is expected to provide a rigorous, well-designed research training program that includes mentored research experiences, courses, seminars, and additional training opportunities that equip clinician scientists with the following skills required for careers in the biomedical research workforce:

Technical (for example, appropriate methods, technologies, and quantitative/computational approaches).
Operational (for example, independent knowledge acquisition, rigorous experimental design, interpretation of data, and conducting research in the safest manner possible).
Professional (for example, management, leadership, communication, and teamwork).

Through this funding announcement, NIGMS encourages changes in integrated clinical and graduate research training to keep pace with the rapid evolution of the biomedical research enterprise, which is increasingly complex, interdisciplinary, quantitative, and collaborative. Other changes in the biomedical research enterprise include greater diversity in the backgrounds of people participating in biomedical research, the approaches utilized to investigate clinically relevant research questions, and the range of careers that dual-degree recipients are pursuing. Additionally, there is an increasing recognition of the need to enhance reproducibility of biomedical research results through scientific rigor and transparency, and to promote a culture where the highest standards of practice are used to ensure the safety of all individuals in the research environment. This funding opportunity is intended to encourage and enable the scientific community to develop and implement evidence-informed approaches to biomedical research training and mentoring that will effectively train future generations of rigorous clinician scientists to become leaders in biomedical research and clinical medicine.

Programs are encouraged not to simply layer additional activities onto existing structures but to instead use creative and transformational approaches to integrate clinical and biomedical graduate training, including curricular reform, that preserve the best elements of current programs, while enhancing the focus on the development of trainee skills.

NIGMS strives to ensure that future generations of researchers will be drawn from the entire pool of potential contributors and seeks to expand opportunities to support individuals from a variety of backgrounds at multiple training and career stages in a variety of organizations and educational settings across the country. The Overarching Objective of the MSTP is to develop a diverse pool of well-trained clinician scientists (that is, a Ph.D. combined with a clinical degree, such as an M.D., D.O., D.V.M., D.D.S., Pharm.D., etc.) who have the following:

A broad understanding across biomedical disciplines.
The skills to independently acquire the knowledge needed to advance their chosen fields and careers.
The ability to think critically and identify important biomedical research questions and approaches that push forward the boundaries of their areas of study.
A strong foundation in scientific reasoning, rigorous research design, experimental methods, quantitative and computational approaches, and data analysis and interpretation.
The skills to conduct research in the safest manner possible, and a commitment to approaching and conducting biomedical research responsibly, ethically, and with integrity.
Experience initiating, conducting, interpreting, and presenting rigorous and reproducible biomedical research with increasing self-direction.
The ability to utilize clinical experience and observations to identify biomedical research questions and to develop impactful research programs that push forward the boundaries of their areas of study.
The skills necessary to integrate research and clinical activities and the capacity to translate scientific research findings into clinical practice.
The ability and skills to lead changes that promote health equity, reduce health disparities and improve the health of those medically underserved across diseases, disorders, and conditions.
The ability to work effectively in teams with colleagues from a variety of cultural and scientific backgrounds, and to promote inclusive and supportive scientific research environments.
The skills to teach and communicate scientific methodologies and findings to a wide variety of audiences (for example, discipline-specific, across disciplines, and for the public).
The knowledge, professional skills and experiences required to identify and transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce that utilize the dual-degrees (for example, the breadth of careers that sustain biomedical research in areas that are relevant to the NIH mission).

Program Considerations

NIGMS will accept predoctoral training grant applications supporting integrated clinician and graduate research training through this MSTP funding announcement and subsequent reissuances (graduate research training in basic biomedical sciences is supported through PAR-23-228 and subsequent reissuances). Applicants are strongly encouraged to read information about NIGMS predoctoral training grant programs, including the MSTP and Leading Equity and Diversity in the Medical Scientist Training Program (LEAD MSTP) (PAR-23-030), found on the NIGMS website and to contact program staff before preparing or submitting an application to verify that the proposed program is eligible and in alignment with NIGMS funding priorities.

General Considerations. NIGMS intends to fund applications that propose feasible, rigorous, well-designed and integrated dual-degree research training programs that will build on the most effective elements of successful programs, while encouraging creative and transformational approaches to clinician scientist research training, ranging from curricular reform to changes in the research training environment. Funded programs should implement plans to optimize the time required to earn the dual degree. Programs are expected to limit appointments to individuals committed to research careers that utilize the dual-degree qualifications.

NIGMS encourages programs to devise and test alternative entry pathways in addition to or instead of the direct application and admission to the first year of the dual-degree training program, thus providing opportunities to recruit students from clinician-only or from Ph.D.-only programs. NIGMS encourages institutions to offer MSTP trainees the opportunity to earn the Ph.D. in a broad range of biomedical, physical, and social and behavioral sciences, and engineering to meet the needs for clinician scientist researchers in all areas of the biomedical workforce. Programs that provide interdisciplinary research training, incorporate training in data science, or take advantage of clinical research opportunities within nationwide networks and infrastructures such as the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award program are encouraged to apply. NIGMS encourages applicants to offer training across the landscape of medical fields and scientific disciplines related to health, and to promote opportunities for the exploration of clinician scientist career options. Funded programs are expected to:

Be a well integrated dual-degree program that exerts a strong, positive influence at the organizational level on research training and mentoring practices.
Have clearly defined training objectives and show evidence of meeting the objectives in progress reports and in renewal applications.
Implement evidence-informed training and mentoring activities (for example, approaches that are grounded in the literature and evaluations of existing relevant dual-degree research training programs). Programs are expected to be responsive to evaluations, particularly with respect to trainee feedback.
Provide rigorous, well-designed mentored research experiences, and additional opportunities that will build a strong cohort of dual-degree research-oriented individuals. Training grant funds may not be used solely as a vehicle to provide financial aid for trainees to conduct research.
Demonstrate effective oversight of dual-degree trainee development and promote retention for the entire time the dual-degree trainee is in the training program. Retention efforts are activities designed to sustain the scientific interests and participation of trainees from all backgrounds. Retention and oversight activities might include monitoring academic and research progress, building strong trainee cohorts, as well as increasing science identity, self-efficacy, and a sense of belonging within research training environments. Programs are expected to make efforts to identify individuals who may need additional academic and social supports to successfully complete the program, and ensure they receive the needed support.
Promote inclusive, safe, accessible, and supportive research training environments to maximize success for all individuals in the training program. Specifically, funded programs should have organizational and departmental environments where individuals from all backgrounds are welcomed, feel integrated into, and supported by the biomedical research community. Safety in research training should encompass (1) environments free from harassment, discrimination, and intimidation, in which all are treated in a respectful and supportive manner, (2) laboratory and clinical settings where individuals exercise the highest standards of practice for chemical, biological and physical safety, and (3) practices at the organizational leadership and research community levels that demonstrate core values and behaviors to emphasize safety over competing goals.

Trainee Support. The training grant defrays the cost of stipends, tuition and fees, and training related expenses, including health insurance, for the appointed trainees in accordance with the approved NIH NRSA support levels. NIGMS typically provides full-time support for approximately 25% of the trainees in the training program during any given year. Individuals may receive up to six years of aggregate Kirschstein-NRSA support at the predoctoral level for dual-degree training, including any combination of support from institutional training grants (for example, T32) and an individual fellowship award (for example, F30 or F31 awards). Many dual-degree training programs guarantee enrolled students full support for the duration of the dual-degree program (through combinations of federal support, institutional funds, other fellowships, and grants). Training programs may implement institutional policies regarding payback of non-NRSA institutional sources of funds by students who start training but do not complete one or both degrees. NIGMS does not require nor permit institutions to receive payback NRSA funds from trainees who are appointed to NIH training grants, but do not complete training.

Synergies of Federally Funded Training Programs. Funded research training programs are encouraged to complement and synergize with other ongoing federally supported predoctoral research training programs at the applicant organization (for example, in the development of skills needed for careers in the biomedical research workforce that are not discipline-specific); however, the scientific training goals must be distinct from related programs at the same organization currently receiving federal support. In cases where an organization has multiple NIGMS predoctoral training grants, it is expected that these programs will work together to create administrative and training efficiencies to reduce costs and improve trainee services and outcomes.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

NEA FY26 Research Labs

Slots: 1

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: ~~Friday, February 7th, 2025, 5pm PT~~ Contact RII.

LOI (Grants.gov deadline): March 24, 2025, 11:59pm ET

External Deadline: April 3, 2025, 11:59pm ET

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 20

Anticipated Award Amount: $100,000 – $300,000

Link to Award: https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/FY26-Research-Labs-Program-Guidelines.pdf

Process for Limited Submissions

Materials to submit include:

(1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The NEA Research Labs program is a funding opportunity under the NEA’s Research Awards portfolio. The program funds projects (referred to herein as NEA Research Labs, or Labs) that support transdisciplinary research teams to build public knowledge about the arts and their contributions to individuals, communities, and society at large. Recipients will develop a multiyear research agenda, conduct multiple research studies, and develop a suite of products or services (e.g., a website, research papers, workshops, or evidence-based tools) of value not only to arts researchers, but also to practitioners in the arts and other sectors such as healthcare, education, and business or management. NEA Research Lab awards may have a period of performance of between 24 and 30 months, with the possibility of one subsequent renewal award, subject to agency priorities, the availability of funds, recipient performance, and the
agency’s regular review process. As part of the multi-year research agenda, applicants must propose a plan for sustaining the research after the conclusion of the NEA supported activities. The NEA welcomes proposals that align with the following priority research area and one or more detailed questions within it, as suggested by the agency’s FY 2022-2026 research agenda.

The priority research area is:

What are measurable impacts of the arts on the following outcome areas: health and wellness for individuals; cognition and learning; and U.S. economic growth and/or civic or business innovation? Under what conditions do such impacts occur, through what mechanisms, and for which populations and/or sectors?
Institutions of higher education and/or nonprofit organizations with a history of conducting or commissioning research may submit applications to be NEA Research Labs. See the Eligibility section for more information.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.