NIGMS Updates Guidelines for Investigators with Substantial Research Support

By: Yvette Seger
Thursday, July 22, 2021

During its May meeting, the Advisory Council of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) approved updated guidelines for funding investigators with substantial other research support. The new guidance defines substantial other research support as exceeding $1.5M annual total costs. Applications for NIGMS support from Principal Investigators exceeding this threshold will require Council review and approval.

Previously, NIGMS’s threshold for such review was $750,000 annual direct costs. However, the policy was updated to reflect updated National Institutes of Health (NIH)-wide expectations for investigators to report Other Support as total costs (direct plus indirect costs) for the full term of the award rather than annual direct costs.

The new NIGMS guidance went into effect on May 25, 2021, and will be applicable to applications considered for funding during the September 2021 NIGMS Council meeting. NIH-wide changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support pages of the grant application were introduced in March, with full compliance required for all applications submitted on or after January 25, 2022.