The National Institutes of Health (NIH) fund a variety of research connected to health, primarily biomedical and behavioral research. The Office of Research Development is happy to assist JMU faculty and staff with preparing NIH proposals. We have built a resource toolkit to help you with the process.
Not sure where to start with applying for NIH funding? Below you'll find information on finding the right funding program for your project and how to access ASSIST, NIH's online proposal submission system.
Are you preparing an NIH proposal? We offer personalized assistance, including developing checklists for your particular solicitation and a suggested timeline. As time and staffing allows, we also can review proposal materials. Let us know how we can assist via our request assistance form. Your college-based Research Development Associate or Manager will follow up with you.
Determining What Grant to Apply To
NIH grants are classified into a few types, labelled by activity codes. The first bit of the code, the letter, tells you what funding category the opportunity is.
The most common activity codes are:
- R: Research and Development
These awards fund research work done by PIs. The most common activity codes we see are R01 (Research Project), R03 (Small Projects), R15 (Research Enhancement Awards), and R21 (Exploratory/Developmental Research)
NIAID Guide to R Grants.
NIAID Comparison of Popular R Grants. - T: Training
Provides funds to institutions for training researchers. The proposal is developed the senior investigator who oversees the trainees. For some grants, trainees "pay back" the costs of their training by continuing to work on the project after their training is finished.
NIAID Guide to T Grants - F: Fellowship
Individual fellowship grants provide research experience to students and scientists at various stages of their careers. The person seeking the fellowship applies to these grants. Generally speaking, these are targeted at early career researchers and involve a strong mentorship component throughout the award.
NIAID Guide to Fellowships - K: Career development
These are similar to fellowships, but generally aimed at more established researchers. These may have a mentorship component, but generally the focus is on becoming an independent researcher. Like fellowships, the person who would receive the award is the applicant.
NIAID Guide to K Grants
The first step is determining what type of program of program you want to apply to, and then ideally, which specific activity code (R01, R03, K08, etc.). Note that there's not a 1-to-1 match between activity codes and NOFOs; there are multiple R01 NOFOs, for example.
If you need assistance determining an appropriate activity code, reach out to ORD.
NIH proposals must be directed to one of the institutes and centers that make up the NIH, each focusing on a different area of biomedical or behavioral research. The next step is to identify which institute(s) your project fits best with.
Not sure? Try using the NIH RePORT Matchmaker. Put in a short description of your project, select the button for "Similar Projects", and search. The next page will bring up a list of similar projects and the column "Funding IC" will tell you which institute or center funded that work.
If you need assistance determining an appropriate institute or center, reach out to ORD.
After that, go to the NIH Grant Opportunities page. Select the type of grant you're interested in under "Funding Category", as well as the institute(s) you identified above (in funding organizations). You may narrow it down further using the program type filter.
This will bring up all the NOFOs that your institute(s) participate in that funding category. Pay attention to the activity code if you are looking for something specific (e.g., R15).
We recommend that PIs take care when using the keyword search. This can be useful in identifying specific funding opportunities tailored to your project, but it also tends to remove general opportunities that researchers in diverse fields can apply to (such as AREA, REAP, Stephen I Katz Early Stage Researcher Project Grant, etc.).
Don't be afraid to consider general (broad) funding opportunities!
Parent announcements are broad funding opportunities that applicants can use to submit investigator-initiated applications for a range of popular programs. These announcements do not specify any particular area of scientific interest. They simply provide the standard forms and instructions needed to apply. Parent announcements are open for up to three years and are typically reissued to ensure continuity. They use standard due dates with three application, review, and award cycles each year. These exist in all of the four primary funding categories.
For some agencies, these investigator-initiated proposals are a significant portion of the work they fund. At NIAID, they historically have been the majority. If you are going this route, we strongly recommend reaching out to a program officer to make sure your project is within scope of the research they fund; see "Next Steps" below.
If you need assistance finding a funding opportunity, reach out to ORD.
Following the above procedures, you've hopefully identified a list of promising NOFOs to apply to. If you are unsure which NOFO to apply to (include, for example, whether or not your activities are a clinical trial), we strongly recommend reaching out to a program officer with a draft of your Specific Aims. Even if you have identified a specific NOFO, it's still a good idea to reach out to a program officer to confirm that your idea is a good fit.
You can find appropriate program officers using the NIH RePORT Matchmaker. Put in a short description of your project, select the button for "Similar Program Officers", and search. This brings up a list of program officers with their email addresses. If you know which institute or center you are directing your proposal to, make sure to select someone rom that institute.
If you need assistance, reach out to ORD.
ASSIST Account
Proposals are submitted to the NIH through ASSIST. eRA Commons credentials are required to use ASSIST. PIs must request eRA Commons accounts through OSP by contracting grants@jmu.edu. More information is on OSP's website.
Identifying Type of Research (Human Subjects, Clinical Trial, Etc.)
The NIH's Decision Tool can help you determine whether your research is human subjects research. The NIH has extensive resources on human subjects research, including inclusion policies. If your project involves human subjects, you will need to work with JMU's Office of Research Integrity and Compliance.
If your project is human subjects research, this has impacts for your:
The NIH distinguishes between three types of human subjects research:
- Clinical trials
- Basic Experimental Studies Involving Humans (BESH)
- Obsevational Study Involving Humans
The NIH has resources to help you determine which of these your project is. This page includes a checklist as well as several case studies.
There is a separate NIH decision tool specifically to assist you with determining whether your study is a clinical trial or not.
Regardless of what type of human subjects research you are doing, please make sure to consult with JMU's Office of Research Integrity and Compliance to ensure all institutional requirements are met.