Well Told Grants

Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

Biomedical Research and Research Training (93.859)

Biomedical Research and Research Training (Assistance Listing 93.859) is run by the National Institutes of Health, part of the Department of Health and Human Services. It awarded $15 billion in 11,631 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $1.3 million per award on average. 65 funding opportunities are open or forecast now.

The typical award was $911,823. Half of the 11,631 awards fell between $401,110 and $1.6 million, and they ranged from $0 to $28.9 million.

Key findings

What the program funds

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) supports basic research that increases our understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. NIGMS also supports research in specific clinical areas that affect multiple organ systems: anesthesiology and peri-operative pain; clinical pharmacology common to multiple drugs and treatments; and injury, critical illness, sepsis, and wound healing. NIGMS-funded scientists investigate how living systems work at a range of levels—from molecules and cells to tissues and organs—in research organisms, humans, and populations. Additionally, to ensure the vitality and continued productivity of the research enterprise, NIGMS provides leadership in supporting the training of future scientists and developing research capacity throughout the country.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open and forecast opportunities

40 more opportunities are listed with all open grants from Department of Health and Human Services.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

NIGMS trainees must be U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents.

What the money can and cannot pay for

NIGMS is organized into divisions that support research, research training, and research capacity building in a range of scientific fields. Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences: Facilitates advances in basic biomedical research by supporting the development of experimental and computational methods and tools for understanding biology; implementation of novel technologies and approaches in the study of macromolecular, organelle, and cellular structure and function; and application of innovative physical and theoretical methodologies, bioinformatics tools, and quantitative approaches to lay a foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Division of Genetics and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology: Supports research to understand the structure and function of cells and cellular components and the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie inheritance, gene expression, and development. In most cases, research whose overall goal is to gain knowledge about a specific organ or organ system or the pathophysiology, treatment, or cure of a specific disease or condition is not supported by this division. Division of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry: Supports a broad spectrum of research aimed at improving the molecular-level understanding of biological processes and approaches to their control.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Application due dates are provided in each notice of funding opportunity.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

$20,000 to $10,000,000.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Funding history and past recipients

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Biomedical Research and Research Training (93.859) awarded $15 billion across 11,631 grant awards, an average of $1.3 million per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Leland Stanford Junior UniversityCalifornia186$290 million
Regents of the University of MichiganMichigan226$268 million
University of California, San DiegoCalifornia198$264 million
Yale UnivConnecticut195$250 million
University of Wisconsin SystemWisconsin169$241 million
The Johns Hopkins UniversityMaryland187$234 million
The Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania163$220 million
The Regents of the University of California, San FranciscoCalifornia173$217 million
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillNorth Carolina151$206 million
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterTexas140$186 million
The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCalifornia165$184 million
The University of ChicagoIllinois149$178 million
Cornell UniversityNew York109$171 million
The Washington UniversityMissouri121$161 million
University of WashingtonWashington135$161 million
University of Pittsburgh - of the Commonwealth System of Higher EducationPennsylvania116$144 million
University of California, DavisCalifornia107$139 million
University of California, Los AngelesCalifornia116$138 million
Duke UniversityNorth Carolina115$132 million
President and Fellows of Harvard CollegeMassachusetts98$130 million

Top states: California ($2.1 billion), New York ($1.4 billion), Massachusetts ($971 million), Texas ($833 million), Pennsylvania ($680 million), Illinois ($569 million), North Carolina ($511 million), Michigan ($403 million), Maryland ($373 million), Connecticut ($338 million).

Who usually wins

Colleges and universities received 80% of the money, nonprofits 12% and small businesses 3.5%.

Recipient typeAwardsAmountShare
Colleges and universities9,342$12 billion80%
Nonprofits1,210$1.8 billion12%
Other422$519 million3.5%
Small businesses612$507 million3.5%
Tribal governments and organizations24$16.8 million0.1%
State and local governments18$11.5 millionless than 0.1%
Businesses3$3.1 millionless than 0.1%

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Grants by recipient's state, fiscal 2021 to 2025
StateAwardsAmount
California1,811$2.1 billion
New York1,116$1.4 billion
Massachusetts881$971 million
Texas791$833 million
Pennsylvania589$680 million
Illinois447$569 million
North Carolina458$511 million
Michigan373$403 million
Maryland332$373 million
Connecticut267$338 million
Wisconsin240$311 million
Washington258$289 million
Georgia287$285 million
Ohio276$281 million
Florida263$274 million
Colorado246$259 million
New Jersey208$257 million
Tennessee234$256 million
Missouri206$240 million
Nebraska83$213 million
Rhode Island85$207 million
South Carolina105$204 million
Oklahoma85$196 million
Virginia183$191 million
Indiana178$189 million
Louisiana76$174 million
Delaware57$162 million
Oregon130$155 million
Kansas75$151 million
Kentucky72$151 million
New Hampshire67$150 million
Minnesota134$150 million
Arkansas57$135 million
Utah140$135 million
Arizona124$126 million
Maine54$121 million
West Virginia36$116 million
New Mexico69$115 million
Mississippi39$101 million
North Dakota31$99.9 million
Montana43$87.7 million
Puerto Rico57$84.5 million
Nevada35$79.0 million
Alabama85$78.9 million
Hawaii19$78.9 million
Iowa72$76.6 million
Vermont27$69.3 million
Idaho37$66.7 million
District of Columbia56$47.1 million
Alaska11$41.7 million
Wyoming9$39.8 million
South Dakota10$34.0 million
U.S. Virgin Islands3$1.6 million

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.