The Biomedical Engineering Program and Research to Aid Persons With Disabilities (BME/RAPD) Program encompasses the Biomedical Engineering (BME) program and the Research to Aid Persons With Disabilities (RAPD) program. The Biophotonics area is part of BME, but is broken out separately because of its rapid growth in size and scope. Biomedical Engineering supports research that, often with diagnosis or treatment-related goals, applies engineering principles to problems in biology and medicine while advancing the engineering knowledge base. Integration of engineering expertise with life science principles is an essential requirement for advances in this field. The RAPD program supports the development of technologies for new and improved devices or software for persons with disabilities. Current areas of particular interest in BME/RAPD are biomedical photonics; novel tissue characterization schemes; new cellular and tissue engineering concepts; the innovative integration of multidisciplinary technologies for new imaging and biosensing systems; and home care technologies related to chronic illness, persons with disabilities, and the aging.

Funding: It is expected that $3,000,000 will be available annually for this competition, subject to the availability of funds: $80,000 to $110,000 per research award annually for BME/RAPD; up to $200,000 annually for Biophotonics, and $2,000 to $25,000 per design project award annually.
Letter of Intent: Unspecified
Date of Proposal Submission: Unspecified

The major purpose of the Lasker Medical Research Awards is to recognize and honor individuals who have made significant contributions in basic or clinical research in diseases that are the main cause of death and disability. The Basic Medical Research Award honors the scientist or scientists who have made fundamental investigations that open new areas of biomedical science.

Funding: The award includes a $50,000 honorarium, a citation, and an inscribed statuette.

When the award is given to more than one individual, the honorarium will be divided among the winners, and each will receive a citation and a statuette.
Letter of Intent: Unspecified
Date of Proposal Submission: February 02, 2004

The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Branch of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) administers research training opportunities for faculty and students at four-year colleges that have a substantial enrollment of students from underrepresented minority groups. As part of its ongoing commitment toward enhancing the research and research training environment at these colleges, NIGMS provides support for faculty at these institutions to sharpen their research skills. This program announcement (PA) describes the Faculty Development Award from the NIGMS Minority Opportunities for Research (MORE) Division. This new program provides support for eligible faculty to spend the summer (or one academic term) every year for two to five years in full-time research in a research-intensive laboratory.

The purpose of the MORE Faculty Development Award program is to enhance the research and research training capabilities of the home institution by offering faculty the opportunity to update or retool their research skills through high-quality research experiences. The candidate will also have the opportunity to enroll in one course per academic term in fields directly related to the research in order to update his or her theoretical background. The expectation is that these new skills will enhance the research and teaching environment of the home institution. Ideally, the experience would lead to long-term collaborations between the candidate and the faculty of the research institution.

Awards under this program will use the Minority School Faculty Development Award (K01).

This PA replaces PAR-94-034, published in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guide for Grants and Contracts, February 18, 1994.

Funding: An applicant may request a salary equal to the candidate’s actual annual salary and appropriate fringe benefits prorated for the period of time during which the candidate is engaged in full-time research at the research institution; salary support will not be provided for the time the candidate is enrolled in an academic course. The applicant may also request up to $3,000 per year for supplies, equipment, and other expenses, which may include travel to scientific meetings or the research site, provided that these costs are directly related to the candidate’s full-time research experiences. In addition, an applicant may request funds to pay tuition and fees for one course per academic term to be taken at the research institution. No funds will be provided for housing at the research site. Direct costs requested may not exceed $50,000 in any year. Indirect costs will be provided at 8 percent of allowable direct costs. During the period of full-time research at the research institution, the candidate’s salary may be supplemented by either the home institution or the research institution using nonfederal sources of funds only.

Letter of Intent: Unspecified

Date of Proposal Submission: February 01, 2004

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Visiting Program provides opportunities for foreign scientists to train and conduct collaborative research at the NIH, the principal agency of the U.S. government responsible for conducting and supporting biomedical research. Each year, more than 2,000 scientists from other nations conduct research in the basic and clinical science laboratories on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and in several field units around the country.

The NIH includes 18 separate research institutes, the National Library of Medicine, the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, the Center for Information Technology, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the National Center for Research Resources, the Fogarty International Center, and the Center for Scientific Review. Working within and through these organizations, scientists investigate many aspects of the basic biomedical sciences as well as specific diseases. These range from heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes to influenza, tooth decay, arthritis, AIDS, and other disorders that afflict millions of people.

There are two categories of Visiting Program participants: visiting fellows, who receive awards for research training, and visiting scientists, who receive appointments to conduct research. Each participant works closely with a senior NIH investigator who serves as supervisor or sponsor during the period of award or appointment.

Funding: Visiting fellows receive a monthly stipend during the award period to cover living expenses. The stipend level is determined by the number of years of relevant postdoctoral research experience. Visiting fellows are not considered employees of the NIH.

Visiting scientists are considered employees of the NIH, receive a salary and, depending on the length of appointment, receive most of the benefits available to employees of the U.S. government.

Letter of Intent: Unspecified

Date of Proposal Submission: Continuous.