Slots: 1
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Friday, December 13th, 2024, 5pm PT
LOI: N/A
External Deadline: January 25, 2025
Recurring Deadlines: January 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 submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
Anticipated Award Amount: The total direct costs for each award are limited to $400,000 annually.
Who May Serve as PI: The PD/PI should be an established investigator in the scientific area in which the application is targeted and capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program. The PD/PI will be expected to monitor and assess the program and submit all documents and reports as required.
Multiple PDs/PIs are allowed. Additional PD(s)/PI(s), including individuals with experience in the science of education, relevant social science disciplines, program evaluation, mentoring, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) work, or university administration may be included to achieve the program goals. Any of the PD(s)/PI(s) may serve as the contact PD/PI. The contact PD/PI is expected to have a full-time appointment at the applicant institution unless extremely well-justified. If the full-time status of the contact PD/PI changes after the award, the institution must obtain prior program approval to appoint a new PD/PI or request a deviation from the full-time rule.
Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-290.html
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
The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research educational activities that complement other formal training programs in the mission areas of the NIH Institutes and Centers.
The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies or careers in research.
To accomplish this goal, this NOFO will support research educational programs that focus on hands-on research experiences in the visual sciences to prepare recent baccalaureates from diverse backgrounds, including those from underrepesented groups, to be competitive for research-focused biomedical doctoral degree programs (e.g., Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D. or O.D./Ph.D.). NEI encourages applications from highly research-intensive institutions (i.e., those with an average of NIH funding greater than or equal to $20 million total costs per year over the last three fiscal years) that have a significant number of faculty mentors with active and extramurally funded research programs (e.g., R01, R35, or equivalent awards) and robust research education environments and that have strong biomedical Ph.D. degree programs in NEI mission areas. In addition to encouraging participants to pursue further studies in biomedical research, NEI also seeks to recruit individuals without prior opportunities to participate in research in vision science.
Need for Program
NEI is committed to the development of a diverse biomedical research workforce. NEI aims to promote diversity and encourage the participation of individuals from underrepresented groups in all of its training and research programs. Diversity among the biomedical research workforce is vital to our scientific enterprise and the NIH research mission.
A key requirement of graduate admissions, and potential barrier for some students, is prior research experience. Students at Research intensive (R1) universities with strong programs in their desired field, and who have the time and resources to dedicate to laboratory research, are often at an advantage when applying to graduate programs. Undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds, however, may not have the resources needed to dedicate to a full-time laboratory position, even if at an R1 university with research opportunities. Students at smaller colleges may not have the research infrastructure necessary to receive a meaningful research experience, and those schools may not offer research opportunities in a desired field. As part of NEI’s commitment to supporting a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible biomedical research enterprise, this program is intended to provide meaningful research opportunities to all potential students, regardless of background.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.