UVI faculty members are invited to participate in the development of a promising grant opportunity being pursued by the University’s College of Science and Mathematics. UVI has been invited to submit a proposal for a major grant that could result in up to $25 million in funding over a five-year period.
The effort is based on a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiative that seeks to stimulate transformative, innovative and broad-based approaches to training students in the field of biomedical research. The goal is to exponentially increase the diversity of human capital in the biomedical research enterprise. It is intended to support faculty, as well as institutional, development, the establishment of relationships with partner universities, and improvements in research infrastructure.
UVI is among 15 institutions that received $150,000 planning grants from the NIH to fund the preparation of proposals seeking full NIH BUILD Initiative grants. BUILD stands for: Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity. Ten BUILD grants, of up to $25 million each, are expected to be awarded. Among its planning activities, UVI held an Ideas Workshop in January. It was attended by a diverse group of representatives from UVI’s colleges of Science and Mathematics, Liberal Arts and Social Studies, and Nursing. The group also met with UVI students and alumni, and colleagues from a dozen institutions, including Boston University, Brown University, Carnegie Mellon Institute, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Howard University, Morehouse College, and the University of Illinois.
That workshop resulted in a UVI BUILD Initiative Framework. Faculty members are now working to develop and finalize that framework. BUILD Initiative grant proposals are due by April 2.
Information on the funding opportunity can be found at this NIH Link. Anyone in the UVI community who would like to participate in this promising opportunity is asked to contact Dr. Romano via e-mail at: sromano@uvi.edu.