1. Funding Opportunities for Early Career Investigators at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Alison Cole, PhD
Chief, Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences Branch National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH

3. Topics Introduction to NIGMS NIGMS Support for Young Investigators
Tips for Young Investigators
May not get to “resources’ but if want to post or make available to you

4. National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Mission
Supports basic, fundamental research- “the NSF of NIH”
Supports research in clinical areas that span several institutes, or involve multi-organ systems
Anesthesiology and Peri-operative Pain
Sepsis
Trauma and Burn Injury (including wound healing)
Clinical Pharmacology
Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity
Wide range research topics in anesthesiology: basic mechanisms of anesthetics, effects on multi-organ systems, peri-operative pain; includes fellowships, career development and training mechanisms

5. Data from NIH RePORTer

6. NIH Support by Institute of Active Grants from Departments of Anesthesiology (FY2016)
Where does your research fit in?
Data NIH RePORTer

7. NIGMS Support at Different Career Stages
NIH Diversity Fellowship (F31)
NIH Predoctoral Fellowship (F31)
NIH MD/PhD Fellowship (F30)
NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32)
Pathways to Independence (K99/R00)
NIH Diversity/Re-entry Supplements
Training Grants (T32) Predoc
Career Development (K08/K23)
Individual
Grad/Med Student
Postdoctoral/Residency/Fellowship
Junior Faculty
Institution
Mentor
Applicant
Career Stage
Loan Repayment (L)
Research Project (RPG):
R01
MIRA
New Innovator Award (DP2)
Training Grants (T32) Postdoc
Message: there are NIH funding mechanisms for all career stages..can be confusing..5 Fs, 14 Ks,
Some you can apply for, some institution applies for – there are resources to help

8. There are resources to help: Redesigned NIH Training Page
Helps you find the right grant for your career stage
Redesigned NIH Training Page
Helps you find the right grant for your career stage
Good news- NIH has redesigned Training web page to make easier to find funding opportunities by career stage

9. Find Which NIH Institute Offers Which Mechanism

10. NIGMS Fellowship Support
NIGMS provides support for the following types of individual NRSA fellowships:
Predoctoral Fellowships (Parent F31)
Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (F31)
Predoctoral MD/PhD or Other Dual-Doctoral Degree Fellowships for Students at Institutions Without NIH-Funded Institutional Dual-degree Training Programs (MSTP) (F30)
Postdoctoral Fellowships (F32)
Because of the strong commitment to supporting predoctoral students through institutional training grants, NIGMS anticipates funding only a very limited number of the F30 and Parent F31 fellowships in any given year.
F30/F31 highly competitive since we provide majority of predoc support through T32

11. NIGMS Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)
Goal: Help speed transition to independence
No citizenship requirement
Available to all NIGMS research areas
2 Phases: 1 to 2 years postdoc support (K99)
plus up to 3 years of independent research (R00) support when a faculty position is obtained
No more than 4 years of postdoc research experience
Compelling rationale for additional mentoring
Clinician-scientists can apply but not always best fit
NIH considering similar mechanism tailored to clinician-scientists
Clinical training time with no research involvement (e.g., residency training) is not counted against the 4 year limit
Are a few other mentored K awards: K01=mentored research scientist development award, k25= mentored quantitative research dev, K22= Transition Career Dev Award (varied)

12. NIGMS K08 and K23 Mentored Research Career Development Awards - Eligibility
Citizenship requirement (at time of award)
Must have clinical doctoral degree
Require 75% protected time
Salary $100K; supplies $50K; 3-5 year award
NIGMS: Candidate must be in a junior tenure-track or equivalent position (at time of award)
Available for all NIGMS clinical research areas
Reviewed in Center for Scientific Review (CSR) Study Sections
Other new policies to make more flexible (allow other federal funding, etc)

13. NIGMS Institutional Research Training Grants in Anesthesiology (T32)
Awards to institutions- programs appoint trainees
To train clinician-scientists: MD, MD-PhDs
Rigorous postdoctoral research training
Research relevant to anesthesiology
Full-time research training
Programmatic activities (professional development, RCR, etc)
Supported by NIGMS since 1970s

14. Mechanism used successfully by anesthesiology community – double number of programs in past ten years!
2016= 52 trainee slots

15. NIGMS-Funded Institutional (T32) Training Grants in Anesthesiology FY2016
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
DUKE UNIVERSITY
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
YALE UNIVERSITY
Most all these also have research residency programs – if a med student looking for an anesthesia residency in research supportive environment, consider these

16. NIGMS Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award MIRA (R35)
The goals:
Increase the stability of funding for NIGMS-supported investigators, enhance their ability to take on ambitious projects
Increase flexibility for investigators to follow important new research directions as opportunities arise
Distribute funding more widely among the nation's highly talented and promising investigators
Reduce the time spent by researchers writing and reviewing grant applications, spend more time conducting research.
Change gears, talk briefly to those of you ready to apply for first research grant; Address concern of the sustainability of current funding situation; goals are…Two flavors: one for established, currently must have at least one NIGMS R01; and one for ESI

17. NIGMS Early Stage Investigator MIRA (R35)
Early stage investigators (ESI) only
Research relevant to NIGMS mission
Support “person not project” – no specific aims, increased flexibility
MIRA will be only NIGMS support (some exceptions)
Must commit at least 51% research effort
Up to $250,000 direct costs/year for 5 years
Success rates are expected to be similar to the R01 success rate for new and early stage PIs
Renewable
Could replace R01 for many investigators

18. ESI MIRA Application Guidelines
PAR
Requires letter from Dean or Chair: describes institutional commitment to development of the investigator
mentoring plan
start-up packages and other institutional research support
space available to the investigator
salary support commitment
Receipt dates: October 3, 2017
October 3, 2018
October 3, 2019

19. Tips for Young Investigators

20. Ten Tips for Young Investigators
1. Find a compelling topic, a question with impact
2. Contact NIH program staff/institute website to find:
the right “home” for your proposal - which institute?
the right funding mechanism – which FOA?
the right study section for review
3. Propose a “do-able” project, not overambitious
4. Fill scientific expertise gaps with appropriate collaborators/training
Do a self analysis: find your weaknesses and address them

21. Ten Tips for Young Investigators
5. Develop logical, clear aims/hypotheses/approach
6. Strong premise, rigorous approach
7. ESI status on R01: don’t waste it!
8. Start EARLY! Get feedback from others EARLY! Set up an “Application Committee” or “K committee” in your department – good applications take time
“think like a reviewer”, easy to disguise a good idea with poor writing/grantsmanship

22. Ten Tips for Young Investigators
9. Learn about peer review:
Center for Scientific Review (CSR) videos, Early Career Program
Get experience reviewing (for journals, meetings, foundations, NIH)
Mock study sections
10. Persevere!

23. Questions ?