Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: June 4, 2025 (Application) | May 5, 2025 (Letter of Intent) | December 4, 2025 (Application) | November 4, 2025 (Letter of Intent) | June 4, 2026 (Application) | May 5, 2026 (Letter of Intent) | December 4, 2026 (Application) | November 4, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
Funding Amounts: Up to $300,000 direct costs over 3 years; max $200,000/year; salary support only, plus up to $2,500/year for travel.
Summary: Provides salary support for exceptional Research Software Engineers (RSEs) developing and disseminating biomedical, behavioral, or health-related software/tools and training users.
Key Information: RSE must be the PI; award is for non-tenure track RSEs supporting NIH-funded projects; no research expenses allowed.
Description
This opportunity supports exceptional Research Software Engineers (RSEs) who contribute to the development, dissemination, and user training of biomedical, behavioral, or health-related software, tools, and algorithms. The award is designed to provide salary support and protected time for RSEs who are not on a traditional independent investigator track but play a critical role in NIH-funded research projects. The goal is to foster a sustainable ecosystem of high-quality research software and to enhance the professional standing and retention of RSEs in academic and research settings.
The award uses the NIH Research Specialist Award (R50) mechanism and is intended for RSEs with significant experience and a demonstrated record of productivity in NIH-funded research. The funding is strictly for salary and limited travel; no research or project expenses are allowed.
Due Dates
- Letter of Intent Deadlines: 30 days prior to each application due date (e.g., May 5, 2025; November 4, 2025; May 5, 2026; November 4, 2026)
- Application Deadlines: June 4, 2025 | December 4, 2025 | June 4, 2026 | December 4, 2026
- All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization.
Funding Amount
- Total Direct Costs: Up to $300,000 over a three-year project period.
- Annual Direct Cost Limit: No more than $200,000 in any single year.
- Allowable Costs: Salary support for the RSE (commensurate with effort on NIH-funded research grants; minimum 6 person-months/year) and up to $2,500/year for travel to research meetings/conferences.
- No research/project expenses are allowed.
Eligibility
- Eligible Organizations:
- U.S.-based higher education institutions (public/private)
- Nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status, other than higher education)
- For-profit organizations (including small businesses)
- State, county, city, township, and special district governments
- Federally recognized and other Native American tribal governments/organizations
- Independent school districts, public housing authorities, faith-based/community-based organizations, regional organizations
- U.S. territories and possessions
- Ineligible: Non-U.S. organizations and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations (foreign components as defined by NIH are allowed).
- RSE Requirements:
- Must be the PI of the application.
- Must have a full-time, non-tenure track position at the applicant institution for at least 1 year.
- Must have a record of outstanding research software engineering accomplishments (publications, code samples, etc.).
- Must commit at least 6 person-months/year to NIH-funded research.
- Must not have served as contact PI on an independent NIH grant (R01, R21, R03, etc.) in the past 5 years.
- Project Requirements:
- Must be relevant to an existing NIH-funded biomedical, clinical, behavioral, or health-related research project.
- Must include a letter of support from an NIH-funded project PI (with at least one year of funding remaining) and two letters of recommendation from other research leaders.
Application Process
- Submission: Applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov, NIH ASSIST, or institutional S2S systems.
- Required Registrations: SAM, eRA Commons, Grants.gov (can take 6+ weeks).
- Application Components:
- Research Strategy (no Specific Aims page)
- Letters of Support (from NIH-funded PI and two additional recommenders)
- Biosketches
- Budget (salary and travel only)
- Documentation of RSE’s software engineering accomplishments (including code samples/URLs)
- Review Criteria: Emphasis on the RSE’s expertise, experience, and impact; commitment of the collaborating NIH-funded PI; and the RSE’s potential to contribute to the broader research software community.
- No clinical trials allowed.
- No cost sharing required.
Additional Information
- Award is not transferable to another PI.
- If the RSE receives independent NIH grant support, the R50 must be relinquished.
- Salary support may not exceed the NIH salary cap.
- Travel funds are for the RSE only.
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with NIH contacts before submission to ensure responsiveness.
- See the full NOFO for detailed requirements and instructions.
External Links
Contact Information