Potential U.S. Federal Government Shutdown: Research Continuity Guidance

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), funds basic, translational, and clinical research in fields relevant to human health. In addition to research grants, support is also provided for research-related activities, including fellowships and training programs, career development, loan repayment, scientific conferences, and shared resources.

Congrats to the Cornell FIRST grant team! NIH grant will support strengthening faculty diversity.

Helpful resources include:


Additional Resources

Learn about NIH's Changes to Other Support and Biosketch Format and Instructions as of January 25, 2022.

NIH Minority Health and Health Disparities Strategic Plan 2021-2025

NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for 2021-2025

SciencvClick here to learn more about the SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae) format used by NIH for grant submissions. For tips and tricks on how to create and manage accounts, be sure to watch our OSP December Roundtable Zoom presentation

NIH ART

Discover NIH's Assisted Referral Tool (ART). The Assisted Referral Tool (ART) was developed by the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) to recommend potentially appropriate study section. The information you provide ART is only used to recommend study sections and is not stored or persisted. The recommendations made by ART are solely for the benefit of the user.

The Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT) provides access to reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities, including information on NIH expenditures and the results of NIH-supported research.

A powerful query interface associated with NIH RePORTER, Matchmaker allows you to identify NIH funded projects that are similar to your supplied abstracts, research bios, or other scientific text. Also included is a Program Official tab that identifies program officials associated with your matched projects. From the list of program officials, you are one click away from their contact information and matched projects in their portfolios. 

Using RePort to Understand Who and What NIH Funds slide presentation from NIH October 2020 conference. 

Click here for NIH RePORTER and NIH MATCHMAKER

The National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) hosted a presentation by the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) on strategies for developing successful applications for NIH grants. Additional NIH-related resources from NORDP may be found on their website.

The ECR Program aims to help early-career scientists (Assistant Professor level or equivalent) become more competitive as grant applicants through first-hand experience with peer review, and to enrich and diversify the Center for Scientific Review's (CSR) pool of trained reviewers. 

Learn more about the CSR Early Career Reviewer Program

NIH defines an Early Stage Investigator (ESI) as a Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) 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. Click here to learn more about NIH ESI Policies. 

ESI Status Has Its Benefits: 

  • NIH sets funding target ESIs and prioritizes R01 applications with meritorious scores for funding  (i.e., attempt to create greater parity in success rates among early-stage and established investigators). 
  • Peer reviewers look more at potential than advanced track record 
    • Weigh academic and research background 
    • Expect new R01 investigators to have fewer preliminary data/publications than more established researchers 
  • When feasible, early-stage investigator applications are not interspersed with those of established investigators at the review meeting

The purpose of NIH T32 grants is to enable institutions to recruit individuals selected by them for predoctoral and postdoctoral research training in specified shortage areas. The goal of this program is to prepare qualified predoctoral and/or postdoctoral trainees for careers that have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the Nation.

NIH Program Project/Center Grants

Program Project/Center Grants are large, multi-project efforts that generally include a diverse array of research activities. NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) issue funding opportunity announcements to indicate their interest in funding this type of program. ICs may vary in the way they use activity codes. Look closely at funding opportunity announcements to determine which ICs participate and the specifics of eligibility.

  • Support for integrated, multi-project research projects involving a number of independent investigators who share knowledge and common resources.
  • Each project contributes or is directly related to the common theme of the total research effort, thus forming a system of research activities and projects directed toward a well-defined research program goal.
  • Often used to support planning activities associated with large multi-project program project grants.
  • Support shared resources and facilities for categorical research by a number of investigators from different disciplines who provide a multidisciplinary approach to a joint research effort or from the same discipline who focus on a common research problem. 
  • The core grant is integrated with the center's component projects or program projects, though funded independently from them. 
  • Support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical.
  • May involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort.
  • The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area.
  • Receive continuous attention from staff funding IC. 
  • Centers may serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes.
  • In cooperation with schools of public health, medicine or osteopathy.
  • Support establishment and maintenance of interdisciplinary academic centers focused on health issues or themes of national importance and to promote translation of the results of the school’s research into improved public health practice.
  • Support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical.
  • May involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort.
  • The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area.
  • Receive continuous attention from staff funding IC.
  • Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes, with funding component staff helping to identify appropriate priority needs.
If you intend to apply for a Center Grant, please contact Research Development.
 
If you intend to apply for a Program Project/Center Grant, please contact Research Development

Photo: Chun Han, a Nancy M. and Samuel C. Fleming Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology studies the mechanisms of dendrite morphogenesis and neurodegeneration using Drosophila sensory neurons as a model system.