The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies or careers in research.
To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support educational activities with a primary focus on:
The ESTEEMED program is designed to foster the development of undergraduate freshmen and sophomores from diverse backgrounds to pursue further studies and careers in bioengineering or STEM fields relevant to NIBIB’s scientific mission. Applications are encouraged to propose integrated educational activities that include 3 elements: a summer bridge program for incoming freshmen, and in the freshman and sophomore years, academic year activities and summer research experiences. The ESTEEMED program is intended to expose students to bioengineering research early in their college careers while also providing students didactic, mentoring and career development opportunities. This will prepare students to join, in their junior and senior years, an honors program that promotes STEM and entrance into a Ph.D. program. The ultimate goal is for the participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a subsequent research career in bioengineering or NIBIB-relevant field.
Only one application per institution is allowed. Interested applicants from within Duke should contact fundopps@duke.edu as early as possible.
Deadlines:
PAR-23-114 Expiration Date January 18, 2025
The applicant institution must be an accredited public or non-profit private school that grants baccalaureate degrees in engineering or the physical/computational sciences. The institution must either have a bioengineering or biomedical engineering department (or concentration/track) or must have a critical mass of faculty with background in above areas and experience in the application of engineering and the physical/computational sciences in medicine and/or biology. At the time of application, the applicant institution must have an honors program promoting graduate studies and open to students in their junior and senior years. Community colleges (CCs) are not eligible to apply, however they may be supported via subaward as a collaborator/partner of the applicant institution.
The sponsoring institution must assure support for the proposed program. Appropriate institutional commitment to the program includes the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned program.
Institutions with existing Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) institutional training grants (e.g., T32) or other Federally funded training programs may apply for a research education grant provided that the proposed educational experiences are distinct from those training programs receiving federal support. In many cases, it is anticipated that the proposed research education program will complement ongoing research training occurring at the applicant institution.
The PD(s)/PI(s) should have a background in bioengineering or a closely related field in engineering or the physical/computational sciences and should have demonstrated experience in the applications of these fields in medicine and/or biology.? The PD(s)/PI)(s) should be capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program. The PD/PI will be expected to monitor and assess the program and submit all documents and reports as required.
The proposed PD(s)/PI(s) should hold a research or clinical doctoral degree (e.g., Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent), and have clearly demonstrated training/mentoring credentials, particularly of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including students from underrepresented groups. The PD/PI must have a regular, full-time appointment (i.e., not adjunct, part-time, retired, or emeritus) at the applicant institution.
An applicant may request direct costs of up to $325,000 per year. Because the nature and scope of the proposed research education program will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size of each award will vary.
The total project period for an application submitted in response to this funding opportunity may not exceed 4 years.
