Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Educational Diversity (ESTEEMED) Research Education Experiences (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Funding Agency:
- National Institutes of Health
The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research educational activities that complement other formal training programs in the mission areas of the NIH Institutes and Centers.
The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies or careers in research.
With the ESTEEMED Program, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) focuses on early preparation of undergraduate students in bioengineering or STEM fields relevant to NIBIB’s scientific mission. Applicants should recruit prospective participants from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral sciences, and participants should be interested in ultimately pursuing a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. degree and a research career integrating engineering and the physical sciences with medicine and biology. Upon completion of the ESTEEMED program, student participants will be expected to enter an honors program that prepares STEM students for doctoral programs in biomedical research fields. Therefore, only institutions with an honors program that is open to students in the junior and senior years and that promotes STEM and entrance into a Ph.D. program are eligible to apply.
Programmatic Approach of the ESTEEMED Program
The ESTEEMED program seeks to facilitate the transition to college by providing research and educational experiences to early-stage undergraduates and to interest them in pursuing further studies as in bioengineering or other STEM fields relevant to NIBIB’s scientific mission. The over-arching goal is for student participants to ultimately pursue a doctoral degree and a subsequent research career in bioengineering or NIBIB-relevant field. To accomplish this goal, this FOA will support educational activities with a primary focus on:
- Research Experiences: For example, to provide hands-on exposure to bioengineering research or physical/computational sciences research within the scope of NIBIB’s scientific interest.
- Courses for Skills Development: For example, to provide preparation for hands-on exposure to research for freshmen and sophomores. At a minimum, this preparation must include a summer bridge program (or summer bootcamp) for incoming freshmen and additional activities during the freshman and sophomore academic years, including, but not limited to, seminars and/or workshops that enhance skills in the basic sciences, computation, and scientific communication as well as introduce students to the laboratory environment. Depending on the strength of the applicant institution, it is expected that academic and curriculum enhancement activities may vary in how they are formalized and integrated; various strategies, rooted in education research, may be utilized.
The program is open to incoming freshmen at the applicant institution or community college students starting their first or second year, if a collaboration with a community college is proposed. At the applicant institution, participation in ESTEEMED would begin with a Summer Bridge Program for incoming freshman and continue with two years of academic year activities followed by summer research experiences. Following the completion of the ESTEEMED program at the end of the summer after the sophomore year, participants are expected to join an honors program at the applicant institution that prepares students for graduate studies.
An applicant may request direct costs of up to $325,000 per year. Because the nature and scope of the proposed research education program will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size of each award will vary.
June 07, 2023; January 17, 2024
Tina Gatlin, Ph.D., National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Phone: 301-480-1608; Email: gatlincl@nih.gov