Key Dates

Related Announcements

• March 1, 2023 - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office Request for Nominations for 2023 SGM Research Investigator Awards Program. See Notice NOT-OD-23-100.
• March 8, 2022 - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office Request for Nominations for 2022 SGM Research Investigator Awards Program. Se Notice NOT-OD-22-088.
• April 2, 2021 - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office Request for Nominations for 2021 SGM Research Investigator Awards Program. See Notice NOT-OD-21-099.
• March 13, 2020 - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office Request for Nominations for 2020 SGM Research Investigator Awards Program. See Notice NOT-OD-20-078.

Issued by

Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO)

Purpose

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO) requests nominations for NIH’s 2024 SGM Research Investigator Awards Program. The NIH Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Research Investigator Awards Program was developed to recognize promising and established investigators who are poised to or have made substantial, outstanding research contributions to the field of SGM health research. 

Awards are given to two early-stage investigators (ESI), and one mid-career investigator who are poised to become future leaders in the field.

The Distinguished Investigator Award is given to an established researcher leading the field of SGM health research, marked by the exceptional impact of their contributions to the health and well-being of SGM populations. The Distinguished Investigator Award will be nominated by NIH Staff.

National and foreign researchers at domestic and foreign institutions are eligible to apply.

DATES:  Final nomination submissions for the early-stage and mid-career investigator awards are due August 16, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. local time.

Supplementary Information
The SGMRO coordinates SGM health- and research-related activities across the NIH independently and by working directly with the agency’s Institutes, Centers, and Offices. The office was officially established in September 2015 within the NIH Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) in the Office of the Director. In 2020, NIH published the NIH Strategic Plan to Advance Research on the Health and Well-being of Sexual & Gender Minorities, FYs 2021-2025, which includes the following operational goals:

• Goal 1: Advance rigorous research on the health of SGM populations in both the extramural and intramural research communities
• Goal 2: Expand SGM health research by fostering partnerships and collaborations with a strategic array of internal and external stakeholders
• Goal 3: Foster a highly skilled and diverse workforce in SGM health research;
• Goal 4: Encourage data collection related to SGM populations in research and the biomedical research workforce.

This activity is in support of Goals 1 and 3 of the NIH SGM Health Research Strategic Plan.

2024 Award Details

Non-monetary awards of recognition will be offered to two early-stage investigators, one mid-career investigator, and one distinguished investigator who demonstrate both contemporary achievement in and a commitment to an area of SGM-related health research. The awardees will be invited to give a virtual lecture hosted by the NIH in late 2024. This event will be webcast live and the presentations will be archived for future viewing.

Eligibility Criteria

Early-Stage Investigator: An eligible early-stage investigator (ESI) is an individual who has completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award.  A list of NIH grants that a PD/PI can hold and still be considered an ESI can be found at https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-investigators/list-smaller-grants.htm.

• At the time of the nomination due date, August 16, 2024, nominees for the early-stage investigator award must meet the NIH’s definitions of an early-stage investigator (ESI) (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/glossary.htm#EarlyStageInvestigatorESI). 

Midcareer Investigator: An eligible midcareer stage investigator (e.g., at the Associate Professor level or functioning at that rank in an academic setting or equivalent non-academic setting) must have an established record of independent, peer-reviewed research and record of publications.

The following individuals are not eligible for the NIH Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Research Investigator Awards Program: NIH federal employees and interns/fellows; federal contractors; current members of the NIH SGM Research Working Group; and previous NIH SGM Research Investigator Awardees.

Nominees should have:

• Innovative and significant research accomplishments in SGM health research.
• Evidence of highly collaborative research projects, especially those that bridge disciplines to offer new approaches and ways of thinking in SGM health research.
• Evidence of working to build a more inclusive workforce through mentorship, outreach and education, or other workforce-related activities.

Nominations

Nomination packages may be submitted by the nominee or a nominee’s mentor or colleague. Before submitting the nomination, early-stage investigators should confirm ESI status is correctly marked in their eRA Commons (https://era.nih.gov/) profile. If the status designation is incorrect, please contact the NIH eRA Service Desk (https://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html) to correct this status before submitting a nomination. Nomination packages must be a single PDF file that includes:

• CV and NIH Biosketch including a link (URL) to the nominee’s My Bibliography in PubMed
  • If you do not have a My Bibliography in PubMed, refer to these simple step-by-step instructions to save your citations in PubMed to a “My Bibliography.”
  • Use the URL that PubMed automatically generates when you change your “My Bibliography” sharing setting to public.
• Letter of nomination (1,000 words or less) from a mentor or colleague familiar with the nominee’s research, addressing the nominee’s innovative contribution to the field of SGM health research, crosscutting and collaborative nature of that research, trajectory of career development, and leadership strengths. The strongest letters will demonstrate the lasting significance and impact of the nominee’s work to date.
• Two letters of endorsement from other mentors or colleagues. Letters of endorsement may be less encompassing than the letter of nomination but should address similar themes.
• A PDF of one key, peer-reviewed article published in the past 24-month period, which is first-authored by the nominee. If in press, please provide the accepted paper and the letter of acceptance from the journal.

Compile the above elements into a single PDF file, attach the PDF to an email, and send it to SGMRO@nih.gov with the subject line header “2024 NIH SGM Research Investigator Award Nomination” no later than 11:59 p.m. local time on August 16, 2024.

Review and Selection Process

• Stage 1: SGMRO assembles a review panel composed of NIH staff with relevant expertise (informed by the nominations received). These content-area specific panels perform the initial review of the ESI and midcareer stage investigator nomination packages and make recommendations to the SGMRO and DPCPSI Directors. Nominations for the Distinguished Investigator Award will be presented by NIH staff and evaluated by the review panel.
• Stage 2: The SGMRO and DPCPSI Directors review the recommendations and select the four awardees. 

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

SGMRO mailbox: SGMRO@nih.gov
Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office
Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives
Office of the Director
National Institutes of Health