National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Funding Policies and Considerations

Through investment in investigator-initiated biomedical research, NIGMS aims to drive fundamental scientific discoveries that reveal the underpinnings of human health and disease. The Institute strives to support a broad research grant portfolio of high scientific and technical merit in its mission areas.

NIGMS staff consider multiple factors in making funding decisions, including but not limited to (consistent with applicable law):

• the outcome of the peer review process
• the breadth of NIGMS’ research portfolio, scientific approaches, and investigators
• the total amount of funding available to the investigator
• the priority of the research area for NIGMS mission
• Early-stage investigator status
• At-risk investigator status
• NIGMS is unlikely to award more than one NIGMS R01 to a PI (including multi-PI R01s),​ and NIGMS generally prioritizes funding the MIRA program over R01 awards.
• If an investigator with substantial other support is included as a member of a multi-principal investigator team on a grant application, it could adversely affect the chances that the application will be funded. In addition, although NIGMS encourages collaborations, principal investigators with substantial other support are strongly encouraged to participate in collaborations using their current funding rather than requesting additional support. 
• If NIGMS funding of a grant to an investigator would result in annual total costs from all sources exceeding $1.5 million, Council approval is required.

The following grant categories are not included for the purposes of calculating an investigator’s other support: training grants, support for educational programs, resource grants, conference grants, SBIR/STTR and clinical trial grants. 

PIs should not assume that grants will be awarded the amount recommended by the study section:

To fund a broad ​portfolio of meritorious investigators and to improve overall returns on investments, NIGMS pays close attention to budget levels and gives large budget increases only in highly compelling cases. NIGMS staff examines each budget carefully, considering the science being conducted, other support for the PI’s lab, the Institute’s budget, and other factors. 

 Investigators with Substantial, Long-Term Unrestricted Support:

Investigators with substantial, long-term, unrestricted support (“unrestricted investigators”) have at least $400,000 in unrestricted support (direct costs per year excluding the principal investigator’s salary and direct support of widely shared institutional resources, such as NMR or Mass Spectrometry facilities) that extends at least 2 years beyond the onset of funding the NIGMS grant. Awarding R01s and other research grants to unrestricted investigators requires careful consideration to sustain the research enterprise that has limited funds while maximizing opportunities for significant scientific advances. 

• An unrestricted investigator with no other significant research support may be awarded one new or renewal NIGMS research project grant (e.g., R01 or R35).
• Except in rare, well-justified situations within the sole discretion of NIGMS (such as highly unique scientific opportunities or research in areas that NIGMS considers to be of very high priority that would otherwise not be supported), an unrestricted investigator who has additional significant research support (NIH or other grant) will not be awarded a new NIGMS research grant.
• If an NIGMS-funded investigator who has two or more NIGMS research grants becomes an unrestricted investigator, the investigator can renew no more than one of the existing NIGMS grants. At the time the earliest competing continuation application is due, the investigator will need to choose which grant(s) to terminate.