NIH Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (R25) Solicitation

Program Summary 

The over-arching goal is to support educational activities that enhance the diversity of the biomedical research workforce. This FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on

  • Courses for Skills Development: For example, advanced courses in a specific discipline or research area, clinical procedures for research, or specialized research techniques.
  • Research Experiences: For example, for undergraduate students: to provide hands-on exposure to research, to reinforce their intent to graduate with a science degree, and/or to prepare them for graduate school admissions and/or careers in research.
  • Curriculum or Methods Development: For example, to improve biomedical science education, or develop novel instructional approaches or computer-based educational tools; to provide supplemental instruction for gateway courses; to develop "CURE" courses in community college first and second year classrooms.

A program application must include each activity, and describe how they will be synergized to make a comprehensive program. The program is intended to provide these activities to community college students to increase transition to and completion of Bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences. This program requires partnerships between community colleges or other two-year post-secondary educational institutions granting the associate degree with colleges or universities that offer the baccalaureate degree. Additionally, recruitment and retention plans are required as part of the application.

Deadlines

CU Internal Deadline: 11:59pm MST July 17, 2018

Sponsor Application Deadline: 5:00pm MST September 25, 2018

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

  • Project Summary (2-3 pages): Please describe the proposed research education program. Identify partner institution(s), program faculty, and program participants.
  • PI CV/Biosketch
  • Budget Overview (up to 1 page): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.

To access the online application, visit: https://colorado.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/home/5218

Eligibility

Institutions with existing Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) institutional training grants (e.g., T32) or other federally funded training programs may apply for a research education grant provided that the proposed educational experiences are distinct from those training programs receiving federal support. In many cases, it is anticipated that the proposed research education program will complement ongoing research training occurring at the applicant institution.

Applicants must designate a PD/PI from each participating institution (lead/grantee and partner institutions). The PDs/PIs must have a regular full-time appointment (i.e., not adjunct, part-time, retired, or emeritus) at their respective institutions, and should have student counseling, academic administrative and/or scientific research experience.

The 2-year institutions in the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program must offer programs in scientific fields that either lead to an associate degree or facilitate transfer to a baccalaureate degree program in biomedical sciences. Institutions offering both associate and baccalaureate degrees may not form partnerships within their own institution for graduates of or transfers from their own associate degree programs to enter their own Baccalaureate Programs, even if a student is moving to another department, school, or college. The program seeks to promote and enhance partnerships between institutions. Each proposed Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program must consist of a partnership composed of at least two institutions, including the lead applicant institution. One must be an institution that offers the associate degree as the primary degree in the relevant (e.g., biomedical) sciences. Another institution must be a college or university granting the baccalaureate degree in biomedical sciences. Two different scenarios are anticipated for these partnerships: a) one baccalaureate degree-granting institution as the lead applicant institution partnering with one or more associate degree-granting institutions, or b) one associate degree-granting institution as the lead applicant institution partnering with one or more baccalaureate degree-granting institutions. An eligible applicant or partner institution may participate in more than one Bridges to the Baccalaureate partnership if such multiple partnerships are strongly justified by the potential to magnify the programs' and institutions' outcomes. However, an institution may be the lead in only one Bridges to Baccalaureate grant at one time.

Limited Submission Guidelines

Applicants may not submit more than one application as the lead institution.

A lead institution may also partner on one or more applications submitted by other lead institutions.

Award Information and Duration

Award Amount: Application budgets are limited to $300,000 direct costs per year.

Award Duration: The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is 5 years.