DER seeks Council approval for an initiative titled “NICHD Research Education Programs (R25, Clinical Trial Optional)”. This initiative will support short-term research education programs to improve the knowledge and research skills of biomedical and behavioral scientists conducting research in areas relevant to the NICHD mission.
This is a recurring initiative that follows a series of other NICHD funding opportunities for specialized education programs and short courses. Many of these programs are held during the summer and have durations of a week or less to a maximum of 12 weeks. Such courses continue to be of critical importance for students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty to remain at the cutting edge of research in areas relevant to NICHD’s branches.
The goal of these R25 programs is to provide focused scientific training for researchers at all career stages, so they may launch new research areas and master cutting edge experimental models, technologies, analytical techniques, data resources, and advanced approaches to clinical research.
Most of the NICHD Branches and NCMRR have benefited from the R25 funding opportunities. In the last iteration of the initiative, 10 of the Branches received applications and 7 Branches issued awards. The previous FOA explicitly included brief statements of the priorities of every Branch. The re-issued FOA will either follow this approach or modify the statements of interest based on the new Strategic Plan.
Although prior versions of the short-course FOAs have not supported any AIDS-related programs, the re-issued FOA will accommodate both AIDS and non-AIDS applications.
This initiative aligns with the NICHD Vision and the upcoming Strategic Plan because the R25 programs may be supported in virtually any research area relevant to NICHD’s mission.
Program Contact
Dennis Twombly
Office of Extramural Policy (OEP)
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