The National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute
Funding opportunities
The National Institutes of Health fund basic and translational research aimed at the nation’s highest-priority biomedical challenges; NIH grant funding annually ranks among the largest sources of external support for university researchers.
The National Cancer Institute (www.cancer.gov) is the largest entity within NIH (FY14 budget for NCI was more than $4.9 billion). Most of its budget is used to fund extramural grants and contracts, organized under several categories. Information about NCI’s priorities for research, funding opportunities, and links to resources for researchers are all available through the NCI website (www.cancer.gov/research and www.cancer.gov/grants-training).
NCI and NIH communications
NCI offices produce a number of blogs that keep researchers informed of program updates, priorities, and opportunities. Two of particular interest are:
- “Cancer Currents” located at http://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog ; subscribe there to stay in touch with NCI news and research updates
- “Dialogue on Disparities” produced by the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (http://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization/crchd/blog )
A blog that comes out of the NIH Office of Extramural Research provides a steady stream of highly useful tips and often fascinating reviews of the status of the entire grant proposal, review, and funding enterprise. Subscribe to “Extramural Nexus” at http://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/
Participating in proposal review and study sections
Becoming a reviewer, and therefore having the opportunity to read and compare proposals from other researchers and scientific teams, is exceptionally valuable for learning how to write competitive proposals for one’s own funding. NIH has several mechanisms for connecting scientists with appropriate review opportunities, including a special program for early career researchers or those who have not reviewed previously for NIH. Find this and other reviewing opportunities and connections at this link:
Mentoring connections
NIH supports the National Research Mentoring Network or NRMN, aiming to build support and networks that will further diversify the biomedical workforce. Register to participate at https://nrmnet.net