Last week, I attended the Midwest Consortium’s annual conference. The goal was to network with other scholars in the region to facilitate collaboration and development of potential grant proposals. I got to meet Dr. Joyce Hunter, Deputy Director of the NIH National Center (soon to be Institute) on Minority Health and Health Disparities. She gave a presentation on different funding mechanisms available at NIH, and described a timeline for applying for those mechanisms depending on where you are in your career. Dr. Hunter emphasized that NIH is moving away from the path of R03 > R15/R21 > R01, and more toward career development awards (F32, K30, K99/R00) as a means of becoming an independent researcher. She noted that her center now has a few R01 funding opportunities available, and that NIH has adopted a streamlining process for new investigators, so that they form a separate pool of applications. Of the 20 R01 grants funded by NCMHD last cycle, 10 were from new investigators. Of those, 8 had had previous NIH funding (many through the Loan Repayment Program).
For those still trying to familiarize themselves with the seemingly Byzantine workings of the nation’s top funding agency, here are two videos from the NIH Center for Scientific Review on what happens at a review panel and advice for new applicants.
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Also, check the NIH Office of Extramural Research for current funding opportunities, grant application basics, and information on forms and deadlines.
