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PAR-21-025: Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) (T32 – Clinical Trial Not Allowed

Slots: 1

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Contact ORIF.

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: January 30, 2023

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

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

Who May Serve as PI: The selected faculty should be active researchers in the biomedical sciences as demonstrated by recent publications and research support. When building a training team, programs should include faculty who are committed to training, mentoring, and providing supportive and inclusive research environments. Programs are encouraged to build a diverse team of preceptors/mentors that includes, for example, faculty from underrepresented groups (see Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity) and faculty at different career stages (i.e., early-career as well as established faculty).

Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-21-025.html

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Office of Research Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/.

Materials to submit include:

  • (1) Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
  • (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs and Co-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 goal of the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program is to develop a diverse pool of scientists earning a Ph.D., who have the skills to successfully transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) provides support to eligible, domestic institutions to develop and implement effective, evidence-informed approaches to biomedical graduate training and mentoring that will keep pace with the rapid evolution of the biomedical research enterprise. NIGMS expects that the proposed research training programs will incorporate didactic, research, mentoring, and career development elements to prepare trainees for careers that will have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the Nation. This program is limited to applications from training programs at research-intensive institutions (i.e., those with NIH Research Project Grant funding averaging greater than or equal to $7.5 million in total costs (direct and F&A/indirect) per year over the last three fiscal years).

This FOA does not allow appointed trainees to lead an independent clinical trial but does allow them to obtain research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor.

The Overarching Objective of this Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program is to develop a diverse pool of well-trained Ph.D. biomedical scientists, who have the following technical, operational, and professional skills:

  1. A broad understanding across biomedical disciplines and the skills to independently acquire the knowledge needed to advance their chosen fields;
  2. Expertise in a biomedical scientific discipline and the skills to think critically and independently, and to identify important biomedical research questions and approaches that push forward the boundaries of their areas of study;
  3. A strong foundation in scientific reasoning, rigorous research design, experimental methods, quantitative and computational approaches, and data analysis and interpretation;
  4. The skills to conduct research in the safest manner possible, and a commitment to approaching and conducting biomedical research responsibly, ethically, and with integrity;
  5. Experience initiating, conducting, interpreting, and presenting rigorous and reproducible biomedical research with increasing self-direction;
  6. 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;
  7. The skills to teach and communicate scientific research methodologies and findings to a wide variety of audiences (e.g., discipline-specific, across disciplines, and the public); and
  8. The knowledge, professional skills and experiences required to identify and transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce (i.e., the breadth of careers that sustain biomedical research in areas that are relevant to the NIH mission).
  9. Diversity at all levels—from the kinds of science to the regions in which it is conducted to the backgrounds of the people conducting it— contributes to excellence in research training environments and strengthens the research enterprise. This FOA is intended to support outstanding research training programs that will enhance diversity at all levels. As part of a larger initiative to enhance diversity, the IMSD program will support trainees earning a Ph.D. at research-intensive institutions.

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