NITMB Research Trainee Program
(formerly called Internal Research Grants)

1. Funds cannot be used to purchase capital equipment. No more than $10,000 (direct costs) may be spent on experimental supplies and services. Funds cannot be used to purchase computer equipment or purchase/lease software.

2. The term of funding is 12 months. There is a competitive renewal process by which awardees may request another 12 months and commensurate funding. Renewal will depend on the Merit Review Criteria evaluated above as well as progress made towards project goals, and the engagement of the project’s investigators in NITMB activities (education, outreach, convenings, etc.).

3. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is required for all personnel funded on this award to be completed within the first 6 months of the award. RCR training completed within the last four years counts toward this requirement, but must not expire during the funding period. This includes faculty, senior personnel, undergraduate students, graduate research assistants, and postdoctoral researchers.

4. At the end of the funding period (i.e., at the end of the initial 12-month period or at the end of any renewal period):

   1. A final written progress report is required from the investigators, documenting research progress, key findings, new mathematical results and their impact on biology, any grant applications made as a consequence of the project, and future directions. This report must also provide information (level of support and research tasks) about any trainees supported by the funds for the NITMB evaluation process.

   2. Any software, datasets, or models resulting from supported research must be made publically available, well-documented, and easily accessible when published as preprint or paper; such materials will be posted on the NITMB web page, Github, Datajoint, Dryad, etc.

   3. Each team must also produce a publicly accessible blog, social media post and/or video abstract for each publication resulting from the proposed research. The above artifacts will be evaluated during the competitive renewal process if sought.

5. The principal investigators are required to present their project research at an NITMB convening activity (e.g., a workshop or conference).

6. All papers and conference presentations resulting from the funded work are expected to acknowledge the NITMB award, as detailed at https://www.nitmb.org/acknowledgements.

7. Research Trainee Awards funds can only be used at Northwestern and UChicago. However, external collaborators may apply to the NITMB Visitor Program to facilitate engagement with NITMB Research Trainee Program research projects. Short-term (less than 10 days) and long-term (10 days or more) visits are available.

8. If the project involves experiments on animals, all NSF protocols must be followed and appropriate forms must be submitted to the NITMB.

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Procedures

1. Timeline:

   1. Release call for applications Jan. 20, 2026

   2. Application deadline April 15, 2026

   3. Evaluation complete June 2, 2026

   4. Work start date Sept. 1, 2026

2. Submission should include a:

   1. 4-page research proposal. The proposal should address all the merit review criteria described above and list the names of the personnel to be supported (if known at the time of application).

   2. 1 each per PI/coPI: Budget using the provided template. If the included coPI is not requesting any funds from this project to support their group, they can be considered unfunded and do not need to submit a budget or justification.

   3. 1 each per PI/coPI: Budget justification. If supplies are requested, please include a short, itemized budget in the justification.

   4. 1 each per PI/coPI: Biosketch in the NIH or NSF format

3. Pre-screening of applications will occur to ensure that they are complete and conform to eligibility requirements. Please respond promptly to any requests for document updates so that all proposals may be reviewed in a timely manner.

4. Each application will be reviewed by two faculty experts from outside Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. A common rubric/scoring system will be used for all applications. The committee will meet to debate and rank the applications based on the merit criteria. Our evaluation criteria will be grounded in the principles outlined at https://seedfund.nsf.gov/resources/review/merit-review/, without the focus on commercial impact.

5. The committee recommends projects to be funded to the Deputy Director for Research. Once approved, the awarded applicants will be notified. Applicants who were not awarded funds will receive a summary of their review.

6. Funding recipients must otherwise contribute to NITMB training and/or programming efforts, as described under Merit Review Criteria.

7. Any changes in the project budget must be requested by the principal investigators for approval by the NITMB before changes are made.