National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

On this page:

Mission Statement

The NIAMS Mission is to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.

Interest Areas

General Topics

NIAMS Division of Extramural Research consists of distinct scientific programs supporting arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases:


Arthritis Biology- biology and treatment of inflammatory and infectious arthritic diseases
Bone Biology, Metabolic Bone Disorders, and Osteoporosis- bone biology, bone quality, and metabolic bone diseases
Cartilage and Connective Tissue- cartilage, connective tissues, and related disorders
Clinical Osteoarthritis and Diagnostic Imaging- osteoarthritis, imaging, and human genetics of bone and cartilage
Clinical, Integrative Physiology, and Rare Diseases of Bone- bone disease mechanisms and interactions with other organs
Epidermis, Dermis and Skin Senses- skin structure, extracellular matrix biology, and related diseases
Muscle Biobehavioral Exercise Research- exercise research in the musculoskeletal system
Muscle Development and Physiology- muscle growth, regeneration, and stem cell biology
Muscle Disorders and Therapies- inherited and acquired skeletal muscle diseases
Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine- repair and regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues
Orthopaedic Implant Science- development, testing, and performance of orthopedic implants
Orthopaedic Research- orthopedic conditions, devices, and rehabilitation
Rheumatic Diseases Integrative Biology Research- genetics, pain, behavior, and precision medicine in rheumatic diseases
Scleroderma and Fibrosis in Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases- fibrosis, scleroderma, and autoinflammatory conditions
Skin Immunology and Diseases, Skin Microbiome- immune responses and microbiome interactions in skin disease
Skin Repair, Pigmentation and Appendages, Vasculature/Lymphatic Systems- wound healing, pigmentation, and skin appendages
Systemic Autoimmune Disease Biology- systemic autoimmune diseases such as lupus and inflammatory myositis


NIAMS administers the following Congressionally-mandated programs:

  • Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Research Network
     

Assistance Listing

Assistance listings are detailed public descriptions of federal programs used across government agencies that provide grants, loans, scholarships, insurance, and other types of assistance awards. They are maintained in the System for Award Management (SAM) and can be used to search for opportunities in Grants.gov.

View NIAMS Assistance Listing Numbers

  • 93.846 - Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research

Highlighted Topics

Title Lead ICO Participating ICOs Posted Date Expiration Date

Funding Opportunities and Notices

Search for NIAMS’s funding opportunities and notices

ICO Funding Policies and Considerations

Visit NIH Fiscal Policies for NIH-wide information on appropriations and other budgetary information (salary limits, stipends, tuition/fees) and Funding Decisions to learn about NIH's consistent and unified approach for making funding decisions.

NIAMS Funding Policies and Considerations builds on that general information.

Additional Information by Funding Category

Administrative Supplements
In addition to our Administrative Supplements overview, consider the following NIAMS-specific information.
Administrative Supplement Interest Areas:

Contact the grants management and program officials named on the parent grant Notice of Award to discuss the unforeseen circumstances and possible funding options available.

Administrative Supplement Due Dates:

NIAMS accepts and reviews applications on a continuous basis between October 1 and May 31 of each fiscal year. Applications received after May 31 generally will be considered for funding in the next fiscal year.

Administrative Supplement Contact:
Conferences and Meetings
In addition to our Conferences and Meetings overview, consider the following NIAMS-specific information.
Conferences and Meetings Interest Areas:

NIAMS supports scientific conferences including symposiums, seminars, workshops, or other organized formal meetings within its mission. Scientific Programmatic areas NIAMS supports can be found here. 

  • Rheumatic and Systemic Autoimmune diseases 
  • Muscle Biology and Diseases 
  • Bone Biology and Diseases 
  • Skin Biology and Diseases 
  • Joint Biology and Diseases and Orthopaedics

NIAMS prioritizes conferences whose efforts aim towards professional development activities, experiences, & travel assistance for early-stage researchers & enhances networking potential (i.e. networking or mentorship sessions).  

Conferences and Meetings Budget Considerations:

NIAMS may provide primary support up to $15,000 or secondary support up to $3,000 per meeting for mission-relevant scientific conferences. Due to limited fund availability, not all applications assigned to NIAMS will be considered for funding. Awards will be made to meritorious applications contingent upon availability of funds, programmatic priorities, and recommendations by program staff. 

Conferences and Meetings Project Period Considerations:

NIAMS will accept applications for conferences up to 5 years. It is recommended to contact the appropriate Program Officer before submission. 

Conferences and Meetings Contacts:
Individual Career Development
In addition to our Individual Career Development, consider the following NIAMS-specific information.
Individual Career Development Interest Areas:

NIAMS supports a variety of mentored and non-mentored career development award programs designed to foster the transition to independence of basic, translational, and clinical scientists to carry out research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis, musculoskeletal, rheumatic, and skin diseases. 

For Research Scientist Development Award (K01) applications, NIAMS prioritizes applications where the applicant 1) demonstrates a significant change in scientific focus or 2) has a significant departure (greater than 1 years) from research. Excluding the Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24), applicants must demonstrate a clear need for additional mentored research time. 

It is recommended to contact the appropriate Program Officer before submission. For general career development award information, see the contact information below. 

Individual Career Development Project Period Considerations:
NIAMS may limit project periods as follows:

The project period may not exceed five years. 

Individual Career Development Salary Fringe Benefits:
  • Clinical Investigator Award (K08) and Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23): NIAMS will provide support up to $100,000 in salary/year plus fringe benefits 
  • K01: Up to $75,000 in salary/year plus fringe benefits. 
  • Career Transition Award (K99/R00): up to $75,000 per year for stipend in the K99 portion of the award.  
  • K24: Up to the maximum legislative salary cap plus fringe benefits per year. 

 

Individual Career Development Research Effort Considerations:
  • NIAMS expects a minimum of 75% of full-time professional effort (i.e., 9 person-months) from applicants for awarded mentored career development projects. 
  • For any mentored K award, NIAMS allows for a minimum of 50% full-time professional effort (i.e., 6 person-months) for orthopedic surgeons.
  • For K24, NIAMS expects a minimum of 25-50% of full-time professional effort (i.e., 3 person-months).
Individual Career Development Contacts:

Program Contact: 
Email:  [email protected] 

Grants Management Contact 
Email: [email protected]  

Individual Fellowship
In addition to our Individual Fellowships Overview, consider the following NIAMS-specific information.
Individual Fellowships Interest Areas:

NIAMS participates in the following Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowships: 

  • Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (Parent F31) 
  • Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions Without NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30) 
  • Postdoctoral Individual Fellowship (Parent F32) 

NIAMS also participates in the Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00). NIAMS will prioritize applications where both the predoctoral and postdoctoral training are expected in NIAMS-relevant areas or where the postdoctoral research training is expected to be in NIAMS mission-relevant areas.  

NIAMS does not participate in the NRSA Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions With NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30) nor the Senior Fellowship (F33). 

Individual Fellowships Key Date Considerations:

For F99 to K00 transitions, NIAMS requests K00 transition package at least 2 months before planned transition date. 

Individual Fellowships Project Period Considerations:
NIAMS may limit project periods for specific education activities, as follows:

F99/K00: NIAMS supports a minimum of 1, maximum of 2 years, of F99 support and up to 4 years of K00 support.   

NIAMS will not support postdoctoral applicants for greater than 4 years combined across K00, F32, or T32s.  

NIAMS will prioritize predoctoral applicants earlier in their predoctoral career for NRSA F30 and F31 awards. 

Individual Fellowships Budget Considerations:
In addition to current NRSA stipends, tuition/fees, and other budgetary levels, NIAMS may apply the following limits to applicable awards:

NIAMS will support the predoctoral portions of the F30, F31, and F99 at NRSA stipend levels.  

NIAMS will support the K00 portion of the F99/K00 up to $75,000 or NRSA stipend level, whichever is higher. 

NIAMS will support up to NRSA institutional allowance + $1500 for trainee travel for all predoctoral fellowships or portions.  

For individual postdoctoral fellowships or portions, NIAMS will support up to NRSA research expenses. 

Individual Fellowships Contacts:

Program Contact:    
Email:  [email protected] 

Grants Management Contact:  
Email: [email protected]   

Institutional Training
In addition to our Institutional Training, consider the following NIAMS-specific information.
Institutional Training Interest Areas:

NIAMS encourages institutions to propose programs which will prepare predoctoral, postdoctoral and clinical fellows to conduct rigorous and cutting-edge basic, translational, and clinical research in rheumatological, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases.  

NIAMS expects proposed programs to work in conjunction with institutional resources and other NIH-supported programs. We expect programs to provide appointees training in relevant scientific and career knowledge and skills. 

Institutional Training Participants:
NIAMS prioritizes funding for the following trainees:

NIAMS prioritizes funding for the following trainees: 

  • Predoctoral 
  • Postdoctoral 
  • Clinical fellows 

 NIAMS will consider short-term training slots only in conjunction with strong, established programs for predoctoral, postdoctoral, or clinical appointees. 

Institutional Training Key Date Considerations:

NIAMS will make funding decisions after the January Council for applications received that fiscal year. NIAMS recommends submission for the May T32 submission deadline.  

NIAMS recommends contacting the Program Official before submission. 

Institutional Training Project Period Considerations:
NIAMS may limit project periods as follows:

Program Project period support for up to 5 years.

Institutional Training Budget Considerations:

NIAMS provides travel costs up to $1500 per non-short-term trainee per year. 

Institutional Training Contacts:

Program Contact:    
Email:  [email protected] 

Grants Management Contact:  
Email: [email protected]   

Small Business
In addition to our Small Business overview, consider the following NIAMS-specific information.
Small Business Interest Areas:

The NIAMS small business program supports research and development of products and services for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic, musculoskeletal and skin diseases. The research topics include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  1. Rheumatic Diseases.  The NIAMS supports research on rheumatic and related diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), Lyme arthritis, viral arthritis, gout, calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPDD), spondyloarthropathies, and systemic autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic scleroderma (SSc), and autoimmune myositis. 
  2. Musculoskeletal Diseases.  The musculoskeletal system is composed of the skeleton, the muscles, and connective tissues such as cartilage, tendon, and ligament. The NIAMS supports research aimed at improving the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system and its component tissues. The topics in this area include research on musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, muscular dystrophy, and osteogenesis imperfecta; tissue engineered products; orthopedic devices and implants; and sports medicine and fitness.   
  3. Skin Diseases. The NIAMS supports research on chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, rosacea, acne vulgaris, atopic dermatitis; autoimmune skin diseases such as pemphigus, vitiligo, and alopecia areata; skin repair and regeneration in treatment of chronic wounds and reducing scar formation; and skin cancer prevention such as products preventing skin cancer in early-stage development.
Approved Topics for Awards Over Statutory Budget Guidelines:

A. Research and development of new therapies using small molecules or biologics for arthritis, musculoskeletal and skin diseases.
B. Research and development of novel biomedical devices or tissue engineered products for arthritis, musculoskeletal and skin diseases.
C. Research and development of new biomarkers or novel imaging technologies for arthritis, musculoskeletal and skin diseases.
D. Research and development of innovative AI technologies to manage arthritis, musculoskeletal and skin diseases.
 

Phase IIB & Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP):
NIAMS does not accept Phase IIB SBIR projects
NIAMS accepts Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) projects
Clinical Trials:
NIAMS does not accept clinical trials through the SBIR programs
NIAMS does not accept clinical trials through the STTR programs
NIAMS does not accept clinical trials through the Phase IIB SBIR program
NIAMS does not accept clinical trials through the Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP)
Small Business Contact:

NIAMS does not accept clinical trials through any SBIR/STTR programs.

 

See Also

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

For technical issues E-mail OER Webmaster