NIGMS Institutional Biomedical Undergraduate Research Training (BURT) Program (T34)

Purpose and Background Information

The overall goal of the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) program is to help ensure that a pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. Each NIGMS-funded NRSA program is expected to provide a rigorous, well-designed research training program that includes mentored research experiences, courses, seminars, and additional training opportunities to equip trainees with the following skills required for careers in the biomedical research workforce:

• Technical (for example, appropriate methods, technologies, and quantitative/computational approaches).
• Operational (for example, independent knowledge acquisition, rigorous experimental design, interpretation of data, and conducting research in the safest manner possible).
• Professional (for example, management, leadership, communication, and teamwork).

Developing a highly skilled biomedical research workforce is essential to strengthening the nation’s economic competitiveness and improving public health. Undergraduate education is key to pursuing a career in the biomedical research workforce, and over 45% of undergraduate students begin their education at associate-degree granting organizations (that is, community colleges). Structured research training programs that provide financial support, high quality mentoring, robust networks, authentic research experiences and opportunities for skills development lead to improved biomedical degree completion rates and enhanced commitment to a research career. Therefore, there is a strong need to develop research training programs to effectively support the skills and career development of undergraduate students.

Program Goal

The goal of the Institutional Biomedical Undergraduate Research Training (BURT) program is to strengthen research training environments and develop a pool of well-trained students who:

• Complete their baccalaureate degrees in biomedically-related fields, and
• Transition into and complete biomedical, research-focused higher degree programs (such as Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D.).

Program Considerations

General Considerations: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact program staff before preparing an application to verify that the proposed program is eligible and in alignment with NIGMS priorities.Funded programs are expected to be tailored to the organizational context(s) and have clearly defined training goals and objectives. Awards should foster safe and supportive research training environments that maximize success for all individuals in the program, demonstrate effective oversight of trainee development, and promote the use of evidence-informed undergraduate mentoring practices. 

Programs should provide trainees with the following:

• Foundational skills for rigorous biomedical research: Broad exposure to biomedical disciplines and strong foundations in scientific reasoning, rigorous research design, experimental methods, data analysis and interpretation.
• Mentored research experiences: Well-designed, authentic research opportunities that enable trainees to conduct rigorous research safely, ethically, and with increasing self-direction. Authentic research experiences may take place through course-based research or in the context of a research group either at the applicant organization or at a partner organization with greater research activity. Training plans must include at least one trainee Summer Research Experience (SRE).
• Scientific Collaboration and Communication: Cohort development activities that allow trainees to work effectively in teams with colleagues from various scientific disciplines and communicate scientific advances to a wide variety of audiences.
• Career Development: The professional skills, knowledge, networks and experiences required to identify and transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce (the breadth of careers that sustain biomedical research in areas that are relevant to the NIH mission).

The BURT program will accept applications from eligible organizations in one of two tracks:

• Single Site: To support trainees from a single baccalaureate-degree granting organization.
• Community College Partnerships: To support community college trainee development through strong collaborations between at least one associate-degree granting organization (that is, a community college) and at least one baccalaureate-degree granting organization. To reinforce strong partnerships, NIGMS requires the participation of at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) from each partner organization.

BURT awards are intended to provide research training opportunities to students from the breadth of biomedical disciplines at the organization. Narrowly focused programs will be a low priority for funding (such as those focused on a single biomedical discipline or approach at an organization with multiple relevant departments). Awards should prepare trainees to pursue advanced research training to address important biomedical problems in a range of fields from basic science to addressing the burden of chronic disease.