The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) advisory council Jan. 27 approved a “concept clearance” to revise the National Institutes of Health (NIH) flagship training program, the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award predoctoral training grant (T32), which makes awards to academic institutions for training biomedical scientists. The decision clears the way for NIGMS to revise the program, with a new “funding opportunity announcement” expected later this year.
The projected date for first awards is July 2019. Revised training grants will emphasize skills development in a diverse scientific workforce. Current T32 awards have emphasized the research environment. The new awards will emphasize student development. The council also learned about other Institute plans and activities that develop the biomedical research workforce, including physician scientists career development. The archived webcast of the NIGMS council meeting and summary are available on the NIH website.
Also on Jan. 27, the NIH Council of Councils, which oversees the NIH Common Fund, as well as infrastructure and other programs in the NIH Director’s office, discussed implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255) [see Washington Highlights, Dec. 9, 2016] and the status of NIH efforts to improve rigor and reproducibility in research results. The meeting presentation slides and webcast are available on the NIH website.