The program aims to facilitate institutions in their building of a self-reinforcing community of scientists, through recruitment of a diverse cohort of early-career faculty who have a demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence. The program seeks to have a positive impact on faculty development, retention, progression, and eventual promotion, as well as develop more inclusive environments. The program’s estimated budget is $241 million over nine years, pending the availability of funds.

With the launch of FIRST comes two FY2021 funding opportunities from the Common Fund:

RFA-RM-20-022: NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program: FIRST Cohort (U54 Clinical Trial Optional)

RFA-RM-20-023: NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program: FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

In addition, a technical assistance webinar will be held on January 25, 2021, from 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern Time. Please use this link to join: https://nci.rev.vbrick.com/#/webcasts/nihfirst. The application due date for these FOAs is March 1, 2021.

Learn more about FIRST and access FAQs at https://commonfund.nih.gov/first. We encourage you to pass on this announcement to your networks.

      • New NINDS MOSAIC K99/R00 (June 2021 first receipt date, will replace the existing Diversity K22 (last date for new applications is Feb 2021)

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Funding/Training-Career-Development/Award/K99R00-MOSAIC-Postdoctoral-Career-Transition-Award-Promote

      • Second Season of the NINDS “Building up the Nerve” Podcast!

Listen to the trailer now: https://ninds.buzzsprout.com/558574/6693857-season-2-trailer

On season two of Building up the Nerve, we are focusing on the components of a grant application with a particular emphasis on fellowship and career development awards. This season we’ve invited successful awardees to speak about their experiences and give advice for navigating the NIH system.