NIGMS GUIDELINES NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS 

NIH GUIDE, Volume 26, Number 4, February 7, 1997

 (see NOT-GM-03-109 for Update)

P.T. 22, 44



Keywords:

  Biomedical Research Training 

  Biomedical Research, Multidiscipl 

 

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

 

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) supports

predoctoral and postdoctoral research training in the biomedical

sciences under the auspices of the National Research Service Awards

(NRSA) Act and through the programs and mechanisms listed below.

This revision of the 1989 NIGMS training announcement describes, for

the first time, how applicants can seek support for predoctoral

programs that combine elements of two or more of the predoctoral

areas specified.  Several other recent changes in the predoctoral

programs are described.

 

INSTITUTIONAL TRAINING GRANTS (T32)

 

Predoctoral

 

The NIGMS accepts predoctoral research training grant applications

from eligible institutions for support of highly selected, promising

individuals who seek biomedical research training in the areas

specified below.  It is the NIGMS goal in its predoctoral programs to

provide trainees with broad access to research opportunities across

disciplinary and departmental lines while maintaining high standards

of depth and creativity.  Cooperative involvement of faculty members

from several departments or doctoral degree programs is one essential

aspect of this multidisciplinary emphasis.  Another is breadth in the

research training instruction, with regard to both the curriculum and

laboratory rotations.  Students are typically supported by the

training grant for one to three years of graduate studies in Ph.D.

programs or for two to six years in M.D.-Ph.D. programs.  The NRSA

limit of five years of support for predoctoral trainees can be

waived, if strongly justified, for trainees in M.D.-Ph.D. programs.

 

Following recent discussions on graduate education at meetings of the

National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council,  as well as at

the National Research Council and elsewhere, NIGMS offers the

following suggestions:

 

o  graduate programs supported by these training grants are

encouraged to offer opportunities for interested trainees to obtain

experience in teaching,

o  graduate programs are encouraged to offer opportunities for

interested students to take industrial or other internships outside

of the training institution,

o  graduate programs are encouraged to provide information to

trainees and prospective applicants about career outcomes of recent

graduates and to organize student seminars and workshops for

discussions of career opportunities and options.

 

As is currently the practice, predoctoral training grant applications

will continue to be accepted in the Medical Scientist Training

Program and in the seven Ph.D. support areas listed.  In addition,

the NIGMS recently has adopted a new option for the construction of

grant applications for predoctoral training support.  Training grant

applications will now be accepted for graduate programs that combine

two or more of the seven Ph.D. support areas listed.  This change

should facilitate the merger of existing training grant programs when

the applicant determines this combination will remove barriers or

improve access to multidisciplinary research training.  It will also

foster the development of new integrated programs from institutions

that lack sufficient numbers of faculty in any one of the individual

Ph.D. support areas.  Institutions interested in following this new

option should contact Dr. Norvell or other NIGMS staff as listed

below

 

Postdoctoral

 

The NIGMS provides support for a small number of postdoctoral

research training grants in more clinically related areas of research

training and emphasizes the selection of M.D. degree holders as

trainees for these programs.  These postdoctoral training grants are

limited to the support areas listed below.  For these postdoctoral

trainees, at least two years of rigorous research training should be

provided, usually in basic science departments.  For appropriate

Ph.D. postdoctorals, training should focus on advanced and

specialized areas of research and offer appropriate opportunities to

study problems of clinical relevance.  Programs for postdoctoral

trainees should offer a range of research training opportunities as

outlined below.

 

Application Details

 

All training grant applicants are expected to present detailed plans

of the training program organization, criteria for trainee

recruitment and selection, and mechanisms for evaluation of the

quality and success of the training effort.  Recruitment of trainees

with a variety of undergraduate science backgrounds (or doctoral

degree experiences for postdoctoral programs) is encouraged.  The

application should also give information on the qualifications of the

proposed faculty participants, including their experience as trainers

and their current research programs and support.  Applicants must

also describe their program plans and efforts to recruit individuals

from underrepresented minority groups as well as their success in

recruitment, retention, and graduation of these individuals and must

describe program plans to provide instruction in the responsible

conduct of scientific research.

 

The NIGMS training grant awards do not provide support for mixed

predoctoral and postdoctoral research training.  An application must

request support for either predoctoral or postdoctoral research

training.  In general, only one award in each of the areas listed

below will be made to an institution.  This includes predoctoral

applications from combined support areas.  Information regarding

dates of application and notification, trainee-related expenses,

trainee eligibility, required payback provision, and current stipend

information may be found in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts,

Vol. 23, No. 21, June 3, 1994.

 

For general information about these institutional NRSA programs,

contact:

 

Dr. John C. Norvell

Assistant Director for Research Training

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

45 Center Drive MSC 6200

Bethesda, MD  20892-6200

Telephone:  (301) 594-0533

Email, [email protected]

 

Before preparing an application, applicants are strongly urged to

contact Dr. Norvell and the staff member who is responsible for the

specific area of training.  The contact person for the financial and

grants management aspects of the training grant programs is Ms. Ruth

C. Monaghan, Deputy Grants Management Officer, NIGMS; telephone,

(301) 594-5135; email [email protected].

 

Predoctoral Support Areas

 

1.  Cellular, Biochemical and Molecular Sciences

 

Training programs should be of a cross-disciplinary nature and

involve in-depth study of biological problems at the level of the

cellular and molecular sciences.  The research training offered

should encompass related disciplines, such as biochemistry,

biophysics, chemistry, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics,

immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, molecular medicine,

neurobiology, and pathology.  These research opportunities should be

available in the represented disciplines with faculty mentors from

interacting departments and/or interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs.

 

Dr. Marion Zatz

Telephone:  (301) 594-0943

Email:  [email protected]

 

2. Genetics

 

Training programs in genetics should emphasize broad training in the

principles and mechanisms of genetics and related sciences.  Training

in a variety of areas such as classical genetics, molecular genetics,

population and behavioral genetics, and developmental genetics should

be included.  Programs may also include training and research

opportunities in related disciplines such as biochemistry, cell

biology, and statistics.  These programs are generally expected to

include faculty members in other disciplines, in addition to

genetics.

 

Dr. Marcus Rhoades

Telephone:  (301) 594-0943

Email:  [email protected]

 

3. Pharmacological Sciences

 

Training programs in this area should be multidisciplinary and should

emphasize exposure to the broadly-based field of pharmacological

sciences.  Individuals should receive training that will enable them

to conduct research on the biological phenomena and related chemical

and molecular processes involved in the actions of therapeutic drugs

and their metabolites.  Thesis research opportunities should be

available with faculty members in a variety of disciplines, such as

biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, cell biology, chemistry,

medicinal chemistry, toxicology, as well as pharmacology.  Students

trained in this program should be able to contribute to the design

and evaluation of therapeutic strategies based upon the competence

they have acquired through specialized training in the

pharmacological sciences.

 

Dr. Rochelle Long

Telephone:  (301) 594-1826

Email:  [email protected]

 

4.  Systems and Integrative Biology

 

Training in this area should be directed toward building broad

research competence required to investigate integrative, regulatory,

and developmental processes of higher organisms and their functional

components.  The training program should bring together varied

resources, approaches, and thesis research opportunities with faculty

mentors of such disciplines/departments as physiology, biomedical

engineering, and the neuro-and behavioral sciences, as well as

biochemistry and cell and developmental biology.  Graduates of the

program should be well-versed in quantitative approaches to biology.

 

Dr. Alison Cole

Telephone:  (301) 594-1826

Email:  [email protected]

 

5.  Molecular Biophysics

 

Multidisciplinary programs in this area are intended to provide

training which focuses on the application of physics, mathematics,

and chemistry to problems of biological structure, primarily at the

atomic level.  These programs should bring together faculty members

from departments such as chemistry, physics, and engineering with an

interest in biologically related research with those faculty in

biological science departments whose orientation is to the

application of physical methods and concepts to biological systems.

 

Dr. James Cassatt

Telephone:  (301) 594-0828

Email:  [email protected]

 

6.  Biotechnology

 

Training programs in this area should be multidisciplinary and focus

on the applications of engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics,

and biology to areas of basic biomedical research related to

biotechnology.  The programs should provide training that bridges the

life sciences with the other sciences, and should involve the

participation of faculty members from several departments/schools

whose research emphases are on the areas mentioned above.  Active

participation by faculty members in engineering is particularly

encouraged, as well as mechanisms to expose students to the

biotechnology industry.

 

Dr. Norka Ruiz Bravo

Telephone:  (301) 594-0943

Email:  [email protected]

 

7.  Chemistry - Biology Interface

 

Training programs in this area should provide significant biological

training to students receiving in-depth training in

synthetic/mechanistic chemistry and provide significant training in

synthetic/mechanistic chemistry to students being trained in depth in

the biological sciences.  It is expected that these programs will

consist of faculty drawn from departments of chemistry, medicinal

chemistry, and/or pharmaceutical chemistry and faculty from the

biological disciplines, such as biochemistry, cellular biology, cell

biology, immunology.  Students trained at the chemistry-biology

interface should be well-grounded in a core discipline and

sufficiently well-trained in complementary fields to allow them to

work effectively in a multidisciplinary team.

 

Dr. Michael Rogers

Telephone:  (301) 594-3827

Email:  [email protected]

 

8.  Medical Scientist Training Program

 

Interdisciplinary programs in this training area should provide the

integrated medical and graduate research training required for

investigation relevant to diseases in man.  The combination of Ph.D.

and M.D. studies should be coordinated and should enhance both

degrees.  These programs should assure highly selected trainees a

choice of a wide range of pertinent graduate programs in the

biological, chemical, and physical sciences combined with training in

medicine leading to the combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree.  Programs are

encouraged to provide a breadth of doctoral research training

opportunities for MSTP trainees consistent with individual

institutional strengths.  In addition to the above disciplines,

support of trainees in other disciplines such as computer sciences,

social and behavioral sciences, economics, epidemiology, public

health, bioengineering, biostatistics, and bioethics is appropriate.

The proposed program should be flexible and adaptable in providing

each trainee with the appropriate background in the sciences relevant

to medicine and be rigorous enough to enable the individual to

function independently in both basic research and clinical

investigations.

 

Dr. Bert Shapiro

Telephone:  (301) 594-3830

Email:  [email protected]

 

Postdoctoral Support Areas

 

1. Medical Genetics

 

Training programs should provide advanced and specialized research

training in the principles of genetics with the goal of understanding

human genetic disorders.  Trainees, who will normally hold the M.D.

degree, should be drawn from diverse backgrounds and should be

offered opportunities for conducting research with faculty who

represent a variety of approaches to genetics ranging from molecular

genetics to human population genetics.  Programs should provide

rigorous training in basic or applied research, with an emphasis on

human or medical genetic problems.  For holders of the M.D. or other

professional degrees, the program should provide training and

research opportunities in areas of basic genetics.  This training

should build on, and complement, the trainee's clinical background.

For holders of the Ph.D. degree, the research and training should be

specifically designed to foster a career in human and medical

genetics.

 

Dr. Marcus Rhoades

Telephone:  (301) 594-0943

Email:  [email protected]

 

2.  Clinical Pharmacology

 

Individuals in these training programs should receive experience in

the methodology and in the conduct of basic and clinical research to

qualify them to investigate the effects and mechanisms of drug

actions in humans.  Trainees, most of whom would have the M.D.

degree, will be expected to spend at least two years in the training

program and should have the opportunity to acquire fundamental

scientific knowledge and research techniques in areas such as basic

pharmacology, biochemistry, physiology, molecular medicine and gene

therapy, biostatistics, and other biomedical subdisciplines.  For

trainees with an M.D. or other professional degree, this experience

should emphasize rigorous research training and complement their

clinical backgrounds.  For trainees with a Ph.D. degree, the research

and training should be specifically designed to promote a career in

clinical pharmacology.

 

Dr. Alison Cole

Telephone:  (301) 594-1826

Email:  [email protected]

 

3.  Trauma and Burn

 

Multidisciplinary research training should be offered to postdoctoral

trainees seeking to improve the understanding of the body's systemic

responses to major injury and to foster the more rapid application of

this knowledge to the treatment of trauma and burn-injured victims.

The supervisory staff should include trauma surgeons and/or burn

specialists as well as basic scientists. Trainees, most of whom would

hold the M.D. degree, will be expected to spend at least two years in

the training program and to apply such basic disciplines as

biochemistry, physiology, immunology, microbiology, cell biology,

molecular biology, biomedical engineering, or behavioral sciences to

the study of trauma.

 

Dr. Scott Somers

Telephone:  (301) 594-5560

Email:  [email protected]

 

4.  Anesthesiology

 

Training programs should offer training support to individuals with

the M.D. degree who seek a better understanding of the fundamental

mechanisms of anesthetic action.  Trainees will be expected to spend

at least two years in such basic science departments as pharmacology,

physiology, or biochemistry to enable them to study the effects of

anesthetic agents on the body at the level of the organ system as

well as at the molecular and cellular level.

 

Dr. Alison Cole

Telephone:  (301) 594-1826

Email:  [email protected]

 

INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIPS

 

Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards (F32)

 

The NIGMS is currently accepting individual NRSA pre- and

postdoctoral fellowship applications from eligible individuals who

seek advanced biomedical research training in broad areas related to

the scientific programs of the NIGMS.  Individuals holding an M.D.

degree, as well as those holding a Ph.D. degree, are encouraged to

apply.  Information regarding dates of application and notification,

tenure, stipend, eligibility, and payback requirements may be found

in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 23, No. 15, April 15,

1994.

 

For additional general information about the individual National

Research Service Postdoctoral Awards, contact:

 

Dr. Michael Martin

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

45 Center Drive MSC 6200

Bethesda, MD  20892-3910

Telephone:  (301) 594-7753

Email:  [email protected]

 

For information specific to the listed program areas, call the

indicated staff member.

 

Anesthesiology:

Dr. Alison Cole

Telephone:  (301) 594-1826

Email:  [email protected]

 

Biochemistry:

Dr. Peter Preusch

Telephone:  (301) 594-1832

Email:  [email protected]

 

Biomedical Engineering:

Dr. James Cassatt

Telephone:  (301) 594-0828

Email:  [email protected]

 

Bio-related Chemistry:

Dr. Peter Preusch

Telephone:  (301) 594-1832

Email:  [email protected]

 

Dr. Pamela Marino

Telephone:  (301) 594-5560

Email:  [email protected]

 

Biotechnology:

Dr. James Anderson

Telephone:  (301) 594-0943

Email:  [email protected]

 

Cell Biology:

Dr. James Deatherage

Telephone:  (301) 594-3832

Email:  [email protected]

 

Clinical Pharmacology:

Dr. Alison Cole

Telephone:  (301) 594-1826

Email:  [email protected]

 

Genetics and Developmental Biology:

Dr. James Anderson

Telephone:  (301) 594-0943

Email:  [email protected]

 

Dr. Paul Wolfe

Telephone:  (301) 594-0943

Email:  [email protected]

 

Molecular Biophysics:

Dr. James Cassatt

Telephone:  (301) 594-0828

Email:  [email protected]

 

Pharmacological Sciences, Physiological Sciences, and Trauma and Burn

Dr. Alison Cole

Telephone:  (301) 594-1826

Email:  [email protected]

 

Predoctoral Fellowship Awards for Minority Students (F31)

 

The MORE Division administers and manages the NIGMS portfolio of

Predoctoral Fellowship awards for Minority Students.  These trans-NIH

fellowships are individual National Research Service Awards made to

minorities who are underrepresented in the biomedical research arena

to help them pursue a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences.  Support is

not available for individuals enrolled in medical or other

professional schools unless they are enrolled in a combined

professional degree-Ph.D. program such as the M.D.-Ph.D.  A maximum

of five years of support may be requested.  NIGMS will also provide

tuition allowance, fees, and trainee-related expenses such as

research supplies and equipment.  (See the NIH Guide for Grants and

Contracts, Vol. 24, No. 5, February 10, 1995.)

 

Predoctoral Fellowship Awards for Students with Disabilities (F31)

 

The NIGMS has a portfolio of Predoctoral Fellowship awards for

students with disabilities.  These trans-NIH fellowships are

individual NRSAs made to students with disabilities to help them

pursue a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences.  support is not available

for individuals enrolled in medical or other professional schools

unless they are enrolled in a combined professional degree-Ph.D.

program such as the M.D.-Ph.D.  A maximum of five years of support

may be requested.  NIGMS will also provide tuition allowance, fees,

and trainee-related expenses such as research supplies and equipment.

(See NIH Guide, Vol. 24, No. 5, February 10, 1995)  For additional

information, contact:

 

Dr. Tony Rene

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

45 Center Drive, MSC 6200

Bethesda, MD  20892-3910

Telephone:  (301) 594-3833

Email:  [email protected]

 

MINORITY ACCESS TO RESEARCH CAREERS PROGRAM

 

The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Program supports

several research training programs.  Its goals are to increase the

number and capabilities of scientists from underrepresented

minorities who are engaged in biomedical research.  These training

programs are intended to strengthen science curricula and student

research opportunities at institutions with substantial minority

enrollment in order to prepare minority students for research

careers.  For additional information on all MARC Program grants,

contact Dr. Adolphus Toliver, Chief, MARC Branch; telephone (301)

594-3900; e-mail, [email protected].

 

1.  MARC Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research Grants

 

MARC's new Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research

(U*STAR) grant replaces the MARC Honors Undergraduate Research

Training Program.  The emphasis of the U*STAR program is on the goals

and specific measurable objectives which the applicant institution

sets for itself in fulfilling the objectives of the program.  These

grants are offered to 4-year colleges, universities, and health

professional schools with substantial enrollment of such ethnic

minorities as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native

Americans, and Pacific Islanders.  These grants support research

training for undergraduate honors students in their third and fourth

years and are intended to prepare these students to compete

successfully for entry into graduate programs leading to the Ph.D.

degree in a biomedical science.  Honors programs should be designed

to augment and enhance science curricula, faculty skills, and student

laboratory experiences.  In addition to a stipend, tuition, and

limited travel costs for trainees, funds are provided for

consultants, personnel, staff travel, and essential research training

equipment and supplies.  Arrangements should be made for special

training during the summer recesses at research universities and

laboratories other than those of the grantee institution.  (See the

NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 25, No. 6, March 1, 1996.

Current stipend information may be found in Vol. 23, No. 21, June 3,

1994.)

 

2.  MARC Predoctoral Fellowships

 

These fellowships are individual National Research Service Awards

made to outstanding graduates of the former MARC Honors Undergraduate

Research Training Program and the current MARC U*STAR Program to help

them to pursue a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences.  Support is not

available for individuals enrolled in medical or other professional

schools unless they are enrolled in a combined professional

degree/Ph.D. program such as the MD/Ph.D.  A maximum of five years of

support may be requested.  NIGMS will also provide tuition, fees, and

trainee-related expenses to the predoctoral fellow's sponsoring

institution to help defray such trainee expenses as research supplies

and equipment.

 

3.  MARC Predoctoral Faculty Fellowships

 

Fellowships are made to eligible faculty at minority or minority-

serving institutions who lack the Ph.D. degree.  These awards may

provide support for a maximum of five years.  Fellows may train at

any private or public institution (the training institution) in the

United States with suitable research facilities, which is not the

Fellow's home institution.  After completion of their training,

Fellows are expected to return to their home institutions.  Stipends

are based on the current salary of the applicant, but not to exceed

the stipend of a level 1 postdoctoral fellow.  (See the NIH Guide to

Grants and Contracts, Vol. 23, No. 7, February 18, 1994.)

 

4.  MARC Faculty Senior Fellowships

 

Fellowships are made to eligible faculty at minority or minority

serving institutions to provide them the opportunity to update their

research skills and/or move into new areas of research through a year

long period of intensive research in a state-of-the-art research

environment.  Fellows are expected to return to their home

institutions after completion of their training period. Annual

stipends are equal to the applicant's actual annual salary, but

cannot exceed the stipend of a level seven postdoctoral fellow.  (See

the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts, Vol. 23, No. 7, February 18,

1994.)

 

5.  MARC Visiting Scientist Fellowships

 

The MARC Visiting Scientist Program provides funds for a

scientist-teacher from a major research institution to spend up to

one year working at an eligible minority institution.  Awards may

range from one academic quarter to a full year.  Salary support is

determined on an individual basis.  (See the NIH Guide for Grants and

Contracts - Vol. 18, No. 12, April 7, 1989.)

 

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

 

NRSA Institutional Research Training Grants made under the authority

of Section 487 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act as amended and

administered under Title 42 of the Code

of Federal Regulations, Part 66.

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