**National Institute of General Medical Sciences: 2008-2012 Strategic
Plan**

The investments of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences
(NIGMS) in broad and diverse areas of basic research have built a strong
foundation of knowledge for biomedicine, and continued support of this
research is essential. Because science is an activity driven by human
insight, the Institute has always believed that providing career
stability and workforce diversity are key strategies for maintaining a
healthy research enterprise.

I, personally, have been fortunate to experience the benefits of these
investments throughout my scientific career. As an undergraduate,
graduate student, and postdoctoral fellow, my training and research were
supported through research grants to my advisors. When I started my
independent career, my research projects were funded through a then-new
program directed to beginning faculty members.

As with most basic scientists, my research followed a winding path of
discovery. Early in my career, I was fortunate to get to work on
grant-supported projects to explore a diversity of scientific topics.
These ranged from the development of new physical methods, to analyses
of the fundamental chemical basis of enzyme action, to the study of
metalloprotein structures, to biological approaches of understanding
gene regulation. Much of this research was greatly enhanced by the
molecular biology revolution, which itself had been driven substantially
by earlier NIGMS-funded studies.

As a faculty member, I saw first-hand the tremendous impact of
NIGMS-supported training grants at my academic institution, as well as
the influence of these and other programs on the recruitment of a
diverse group of students into research. Later in my career, I witnessed
how NIGMS-directed programs could bring together larger groups of
scientists to tackle important problems using emerging concepts and
technologies.

As Director of NIGMS, my job now is to look ahead. I have been entrusted
to assure that NIGMS makes its financial investments with a careful eye
toward their long-term impact on the research enterprise and the
scientists who do the research.

What lies ahead? The incredible complexity of biology is something that
tantalizes and challenges us. We recognize that most biological
processes involve large numbers of components, interacting directly and
indirectly. But we do not yet have all the tools, both technical and
intellectual, to understand such systems in a predictive sense.
Biological complexity, nuances of our genomic lexicon, and many other
mysteries of biomedicine are waiting to be solved to improve health and
fight disease.

Furthermore, we know that fundamental discoveries are yet to be made.
While no one can predict which basic findings will be the ones that
shift paradigms or create the medical breakthroughs of tomorrow, I am
confident that such discoveries will be made over the period of time
covered by this plan.

All of us see science evolving at an ever-increasing rate as new
advances build on those from the past, and it is critical that the
support of science adapts to this rapidly changing landscape. We must
take stock of the overall system of biomedical research funding and
examine how precious taxpayer resources allocated to NIGMS can be used
to support the scientific enterprise\--today and into the future,
harnessing the creativity of a broad group of scientists.

We developed the NIGMS 2008-2012 Strategic Plan through a comprehensive
consultation process that gathered perspectives and opinions from
scientists, policymakers, scientific and professional societies, the
general public, and Institute staff. The plan articulates the
Institute's core principles and shows it will make its strategic
investments to ensure that a stable basic research environment will
endure to provide the knowledge needed to prevent disease and improve
health.

Importantly, this plan is not a call for change for change's sake. In
developing it, we saw an opportunity to examine critically our own
values and progress, and we intend the plan to serve as a tool for
helping us map a course toward solving the great challenges facing
biomedicine. Through existing programs and new initiatives, NIGMS aims
to maximize the benefit of the public's basic research investments in
human health.

Jeremy M. Berg, Ph.D., Director, NIGMS

September 2007

TEXT BOX :

**Why Basic Research?**

NIGMS is committed to encouraging and supporting basic biomedical and
behavioral research in which scientists explore the unknown. Important
medical advances have grown from the pursuit of curiosity about
fundamental questions in biology, physics, and chemistry[^1]. For
example:

-   *A scientist studying marine snails found a powerful new drug for
    chronic pain.*

-   *Studying how electricity affects microbes led to a widely used
    cancer medicine.*

-   *A total surprise in a roundworm experiment yielded RNA
    interference, a gene-silencing method that has revolutionized
    medical research.*

-   *Basic research on how bacterial "scissors" chop up DNA from
    invading viruses spawned the biotechnology industry.*

At the outset, none of these discoveries related directly to a specific
medical or practical problem. While basic research sometimes leads
directly to health applications, the usual outcome of basic research is
knowledge, rather than a product. That knowledge is common currency for
all biomedical scientists---those researchers working on specific
diseases, as well as biomedical explorers who strive to understand basic
principles of the human body and mind.

Scientists conducting basic biomedical research often use model
organisms to answer questions. Many processes that are fundamental to
health and disease are very similar in humans, animals, and even
single-celled organisms such as bacteria and yeast. Studies directed at
addressing simple questions in these model organisms can often provide
insights that have considerable relevance to human health.

The power of this remarkable unity of biology\--a consequence of the
fact that all organisms on Earth are descendents of a common
ancestor\--has been greatly enhanced by the success of the Human Genome
Project and other genome sequencing projects that were enabled by many
years of NIGMS funding. Through the common language of DNA, results from
model organisms can be more readily, and rapidly, related to human
health than ever before.

Of the above examples, one in particular---the \$40 billion
biotechnology industry[^2]---has produced tangible economic benefit to
the nation through increased productivity and job creation.
Biotechnology has proven to be a major force in modern medicine, having
enabled drug manufacturers to create novel and effective treatments,
such as "therapeutic antibodies," that have few side effects and that
have revolutionized the way physicians treat lymphoma and some types of
breast cancer.

Through these and other dividends of the federal research investment,
scientists have made great strides in helping Americans live longer and
healthier lives. Yet our work is far from done. To attack complex
diseases of today such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis, depression,
diabetes, and many other chronic conditions, we need more knowledge. We
need basic research to understand the full complexity of disease
processes, including what happens in the body years before symptoms show
up.

Many of today's therapies have significant limitations. Treatments that
are applied after the onset of significant disease\--kidney transplants
and dialysis, bypass surgery for coronary artery disease, surgical
removal of tumors---though often lifesaving, are not optimal. Treating
disease before such interventions are needed would likely improve both
outcomes and quality of life. Basic biomedical research has the power to
move treatments in this direction, and in the coming years, emerging
biotechnology and nanotechnology tools will give researchers
unprecedented precision to detect and derail disease at its earliest
stages.

As an example of how basic research helps to fuel rapid progress in
developing new and safer treatments and prevention strategies, one
recent analysis[^3] suggested that a \$1.00 increase in public basic
research stimulated approximately \$8.00 of pharmaceutical research and
development investment in less than a decade.

In 2006, the NIH budget allocation totaled \$28 billion, roughly half of
the pharmaceutical industry's \$55 billion research and development
spending in the same period[^4]. Since the private sector spends the
vast majority of its research dollars on translational and clinical
research, NIH spending on basic research---roughly two-thirds of the NIH
budget\--is a critical balancing factor for the health of the overall
national research enterprise.

TEXT BOX: *"No matter how counter-intuitive it may seem, basic research
has proven over and over to be the lifeline of practical advances in
medicine."*

*\-- Nobel laureate Dr. Arthur Kornberg*

TEXT BOX: ***79 percent of Americans** agree that basic science research
should be supported by the federal government, "even if it brings no
immediate benefits."*[^5]

TEXT BOX: **The NIGMS mission** is to support research that increases
understanding of life processes and lays the foundation for advances in
disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. NIGMS-funded researchers
seek to answer important scientific questions in fields such as cell
biology, biophysics, genetics, developmental biology, pharmacology,
physiology, biochemistry, chemistry, bioinformatics, computational
biology, selected studies in the behavioral sciences, and specific
cross-cutting clinical areas that affect multiple organ systems. NIGMS
also provides leadership in training the next generation of scientists
to assure the vitality and continued productivity of the research
enterprise.

**Institute Profile**

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences was established in
1962 to support basic biomedical research and training. NIGMS-sponsored
discoveries build a fundamental body of knowledge that underpins much of
the research conducted at other NIH institutes and centers. Most NIGMS
research grants fund investigator-initiated projects. NIGMS also
provides broad-based, multidisciplinary research training for thousands
of scientists nationwide via institutional training grants and
individual fellowships as well as in the context of individual research
project grants.

Currently, NIGMS-funded research and training spans a broad spectrum of
science, handled administratively by five components:

-   The *Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics* fosters the study of
    molecular and cellular structure and function. Significant physics-
    and chemistry-based technological advances have fueled progress in
    understanding life at the level of molecules and atoms. Fundamental
    research in structural biology is the basis for the development of
    precise, targeted therapies for a range of diseases.

-   The *Division of Genetics and Developmental Biology* promotes basic
    research that aims to understand mechanisms of inheritance and
    development. This research underlies more targeted projects funded
    by other NIH institutes and centers. A substantial number of these
    studies are performed in model organisms, an approach that continues
    to increase understanding of common diseases and diverse behaviors.

-   The *Division of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry*
    supports fundamental biology, chemistry, and biochemistry studies
    that deepen understanding of biomedicine and generate knowledge to
    improve the detection and treatment of disease. This research
    addresses several clinically relevant areas, including burns, wound
    healing, the effects of drugs and anesthesia on the body, and the
    total body response to injury. Investigations range from the
    molecular to the organismal level and can include clinical studies.

-   The *Division of Minority Opportunities in Research* sponsors a
    range of programs to increase the number of individuals from
    underrepresented groups engaged in biomedical and behavioral
    research. This investment aims to enhance the development of
    biomedical and behavioral researchers and help make the scientific
    workforce representative of the diverse U.S. population.

-   The *Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology* funds
    research in areas that join biology with computer science,
    engineering, mathematics, and physics. Major emphasis is placed on
    the development of computational tools, including methods for
    extracting knowledge from very large data sets routinely amassed by
    modern biomedical research laboratories.

SIDEBAR/TEXT FEATURE:

**Distribution of NIGMS Spending** (Fiscal Year 2007)

More than 70 percent of the NIGMS budget is devoted to research project
grants (RPGs). Within the RPG pool[^6], approximately 86 percent of the
budget goes to R01 and R37 grants, 1 percent to R21 grants, 1 percent to
R15 grants, 4 percent to P01 grants, 3 percent to R41/R42/R43/R44
grants, and 2 percent to U01 grants, including the Pharmacogenetics
Research Network and the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study.

![](media/image1.wmf){width="4.25in" height="2.8118055555555554in"}

About 10 percent of the budget is devoted to research training in the
form of institutional training grants and individual fellowships. Within
this category, 86 percent of the funds go to institutional training
grants while 14 percent go to individual fellowships. Like all NIH
institutes and centers, NIGMS also supports a substantial number of
students and postdoctoral fellows as part of research project grants.

Centers make up 9 percent of the budget. Most of these centers are
associated with initiatives such as the Protein Structure Initiative,
the Large-Scale Collaborative Award program, the National Centers for
Systems Biology program, the Chemical Methodologies and Library
Development program, and centers devoted to specific studies of trauma,
burn, perioperative injury, and wound healing.

Other research makes up 7 percent of the budget. The Minority Biomedical
Research Support program accounts for 74 percent of this category.
Research career awards represent another significant component.

The remaining categories include research management and support (RMS),
which contributes to administrative costs, such as NIGMS staff salaries
and scientific review expenses (2.5 percent of the budget); research and
development contracts (1 percent), which fund activities such as the
NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository; and intramural research (\<0.2
percent).

TEXT BOX: **NIGMS Authorizing Language**

**Public Law 87-838, October 17, 1962** states that, "The Surgeon
General is authorized, with the approval of the Secretary, to establish
in the Public Health Service an institute for the conduct and support of
research and research training in the general or basic medical sciences
and related natural or behavioral sciences which have significance for
two or more other institutes, or are outside the general area of
responsibility of any other institute, established under or by this
Act."

**Strategic Goals**

[**GOAL I:** Enhance the basic biomedical research enterprise through
grant support for competitive investigator-initiated
research.]{.underline}

NIGMS recognizes the need to provide scientists sufficient latitude to
explore biomedicine in order to improve health. Although many important
advances have occurred in a manner that could not have been anticipated,
most scientific advances are more deliberate and require years of
persistent work. While good research depends on a balance of
ingredients, among the most important are adequate financial support and
access to state-of-the-art resources and equipment.

NIGMS will pursue this strategic goal through the following objectives:

-   *Maintain a balanced research portfolio that reflects scientific
    excellence and variety.*

> By funding a wide spectrum of scientific topics, the Institute will
> encourage flexibility to allow emerging areas to be pursued promptly.
> Investigator-initiated research project grants---mostly R01s---will
> continue to remain the main focus of the overall NIGMS research
> portfolio. However, coordinated research programs will also provide an
> important and responsive avenue for addressing biomedical problems and
> creating resources for use by the scientific community at large.

-   *Facilitate career stability in the biomedical workforce.*

> NIGMS recognizes that scientific investigation, as a human endeavor,
> requires career stability enabled through steady research funding. The
> Institute will protect the talent pipeline, especially by addressing
> the vulnerability of career transition times, as a way to encourage
> continuity in the research enterprise. While the Institute recognizes
> that obtaining NIH funding will always be a very competitive process,
> NIGMS considers it very important that all investigators have a
> reasonable chance of success. In particular, NIGMS will make a
> deliberate effort to fund adequate numbers of new investigators. These
> actions are especially relevant in limited funding climates that can
> disadvantage applicants who are new to the NIH system. NIGMS will also
> continue to provide bridge funding for highly meritorious
> investigators who are especially at risk during constrained budget
> periods.

-   *Provide support for innovative, high-risk biomedical research
    initiatives with the potential for achieving significant health
    impact.*

> NIGMS will continue to encourage scientists to pursue innovation and
> risk in biomedical research. For science to move forward in leaps
> rather than in incremental steps, scientists need opportunities to
> test unconventional ideas and to try novel methods for solving
> difficult technical and conceptual problems that stall a field's
> progress. One current effort initiated by NIGMS is the EUREKA
> ([E]{.underline}xceptional [U]{.underline}nconventional
> [R]{.underline}esearch [E]{.underline}nabling [K]{.underline}nowledge
> [A]{.underline}cceleration) award program, in which review criteria
> focus on potential impact and exceptional innovation in research
> and/or technology. Through EUREKA and other programs, NIGMS will
> identify research proposals with the potential to have a significant
> impact on scientific knowledge and on human health.

-   *At the Institute level, initiate enhancements to the peer review
    process.*

> In addition to supporting NIH-wide enhancements to the peer review
> system[^7], NIGMS will continue to develop alternative in-house review
> practices and criteria that address review challenges, especially
> those that affect interdisciplinary research, quantitative biology,
> new scientific fields, and the entrance of new players into the
> biomedical research community. As part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical
> Research, NIGMS administers the NIH Director's Pioneer Award and the
> NIH Director's New Innovator Award programs. Each of these programs
> employs a novel, individualized peer review approach. NIGMS will pilot
> approaches that streamline administrative requirements for research
> project grants, always striving to ensure quality and consistency in
> the review of applications.

-   *Support research that analyzes fundamental mechanisms that traverse
    multiple organ systems.*

> NIGMS will continue to fund research on clinically related problems,
> addressing several selected areas, including burns, wound healing, the
> effects of drugs and anesthesia on the body, and the total body
> response to injury. These areas of inquiry will remain an important
> element of the Institute's research portfolio since they focus on
> biological phenomena on a systems-wide, organismal level and they are
> not funded in a comprehensive way by other NIH institutes and centers.
> Some of these NIGMS-funded research efforts will involve clinical
> studies, but the Institute will not fund purely outcomes-based
> research, nor will it systematically examine issues related to health
> access and delivery.

[**GOAL II**: Address selected scientific needs and opportunities
through coordinated research programs.]{.underline}

The Institute recognizes that multiple approaches are needed to solve
complex research problems. Modern biomedical research is a collaborative
enterprise that may involve one or a few laboratories or a large group
of researchers.

NIGMS will pursue this strategic goal through the following objectives:

-   *Identify and develop large-scale research programs that offer the
    value, insight, and broadest applicability to the scientific
    community.*

> The NIGMS portfolio currently includes the Large-Scale Collaborative
> Award program, the National Centers for Systems Biology, the
> Pharmacogenetics Research Network, and the Protein Structure
> Initiative. These endeavors conjoin the efforts of multiple
> institutions working in a common area of major biomedical
> significance. Advantages of large-scale science initiatives include
> their economies of scale and synergy, as well as the capacity to build
> new communities. NIGMS will continue to fund these efforts while
> assuring the proper evaluation of their outcomes. For
> Institute-directed large-scale efforts, NIGMS will determine whether
> project goals have been met in a timely fashion and assess the
> projects' impact on the broader scientific community. The Institute
> will strive to ensure that instrumentation, data, and resources
> developed at NIGMS-funded large-scale science facilities are made
> broadly available to all scientists.

-   *Facilitate team science along a continuum of scales to advance
    multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiry.*

> NIGMS endorses the scientific community's recognition of the value of
> team science for some challenges in modern biomedical research. Novel
> combinations of researchers broaden the canvas of biomedical inquiry
> and encourage diversity in thinking. NIGMS will continue to fund
> cross-cutting research in the basic biomedical, behavioral, and
> clinical sciences through collaborative programs among researchers
> from a wide range of disciplines, including the clinical, social, and
> quantitative sciences. One example is the Models of Infectious Disease
> Agent Study, which is using computational tools to simulate how
> infectious diseases emerge and spread through communities, countries,
> and even continents. NIGMS will encourage use of the recently
> established NIH multiple-principal investigator mechanism as a method
> to extend the scope of the Institute's funded research. A key NIGMS
> strategy will be to accommodate the evolution of new fields that
> emerge at the interface of existing disciplines. The Institute will
> nurture the talent pipeline in emerging fields through its support of
> cutting-edge, rigorous training environments that accompany basic
> research pursuits.

-   *Create programmatic linkages in support of NIH-wide translational
    initiatives.*

> The NIH Roadmap has begun to address translational gaps through the
> Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA) program. NIGMS will
> consider possible linkages to CTSA institutions through NIGMS efforts
> such as the Medical Scientist Training Program. In tandem with other
> NIH institutes and centers, NIGMS will also seek opportunities for
> enhancing workforce diversity through the nationwide CTSA network of
> clinical and translational investigators.

-   *Seek collaborative and shared research opportunities with other
    agencies and NIH institutes and centers in areas that show
    particular promise.*

> NIGMS will continue to communicate regularly, and to partner when
> appropriate, with other federal components that fund basic research,
> such as the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of
> Energy Office of Science. NIGMS will also join with the NIH community
> in several ways to achieve its mission of funding outstanding basic
> biomedical and behavioral research. A key partnership includes the NIH
> Roadmap*.* NIGMS grantees already benefit significantly from this
> shared, trans-NIH investment. Current NIH Roadmap initiatives that
> fund a substantial number of NIGMS grantees include chemistry,
> computational biology/bioinformatics, imaging, nanomedicine,
> proteomics, and structural biology. In addition, several new NIH
> Roadmap initiatives will benefit the Institute's grantee pool,
> providing funding and collaborative opportunities in epigenetics,
> microbial ecology, and other areas of science relevant to the NIGMS
> mission.

-   *Expand support for resources and database development to facilitate
    biomedical research advances.*

> Advances in genomics and computer science have created incredible
> opportunities to systematically explore biomedical problems related to
> human health. NIGMS will continue to play a key role in supporting
> research resources including sample repositories, databases, and
> interoperable software and hardware tools that enhance data exchange
> among diverse groups of researchers. As part of this involvement,
> NIGMS will develop policies to ensure the broad availability and
> interoperability of publicly developed resources. The Institute will
> continue to play a leadership role through oversight of the Biomedical
> Information Science and Technology Initiative Consortium, which
> consists of senior-level representatives from each of the NIH
> institutes and centers plus representatives of other Federal agencies
> concerned with biocomputing.

[**GOAL III:** Identify innovative approaches among individuals and
institutions to foster training and the development of an inclusive and
effective scientific workforce.]{.underline}

A key aspect of the NIGMS mission is nurturing the biomedical research
workforce, and achieving a workforce that accurately reflects the U.S.
population remains an Institute priority. The NIGMS training investment
will continue to set a high standard for students' acquisition of both
research skills and important career-related knowledge beyond specific
research training. The positive effects of NIGMS-funded training grants
and fellowships are extended through collaborative interactions with
students and faculty within and across academic departments.

NIGMS will pursue this strategic goal through the following objectives:

-   *Support a broad range of high-quality institutional training
    programs across the biomedical sciences.*

> The Institute views a rigorous, yet nurturing, training environment as
> a key element of a healthy research enterprise. NIGMS recognizes the
> broader effects of its institutional training grants in that these
> programs impact many students and faculty beyond those supported by
> the grants. NIGMS will leverage its training investment by encouraging
> institutional training grant recipients to continually improve their
> existing practices while also welcoming new approaches. NIGMS is
> keenly aware of the need for more trained investigators in
> quantitative disciplines as well as the integrative sciences like
> physiology, pharmacology, and the clinical sciences. The Institute
> will consider approaches that provide institutional incentives that
> encourage students to interact with investigators in more than one
> discipline.

-   *Provide funding for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
    through investigator-initiated research project grants.*

> The NIGMS research training investment is multifaceted and tightly
> linked to the Institute's workforce development efforts. Independent
> of its institutional training grant activities, the Institute will
> continue to support the training of students and fellows working in
> individual-investigator (mostly R01grant-funded) laboratories. NIGMS
> considers this an important avenue for research training. The
> Institute also acknowledges the reality that one size does not fit
> all, and NIGMS will remain open to both distinct training mechanisms
> and alternative career outcomes that depend on "marketplace"
> influences.

-   *Expand and extend the NIGMS commitment to facilitating the
    development of a diverse and inclusive biomedical research
    workforce.*

> NIGMS acknowledges the special circumstances faced by various segments
> of society in accessing career opportunities and recognizes that
> dimensions of diversity include ethnicity, gender, disability,
> socioeconomic status, and national origin. The Institute is also aware
> of the low representation of women in leadership positions in the
> basic sciences and aims to close these gaps. The Institute will
> examine the purpose, intent, and desired outcomes of NIGMS-sponsored
> training as it relates to workforce diversity.

-   *Address diversity and workforce development in all programs
    administered by NIGMS Divisions and units as a matter of both policy
    and practice.*

> Fostering diversity cannot be separated from the broader challenges of
> future workforce development. The Institute is committed to the
> regular and rigorous review of all of its training efforts, including
> special diversity and career development programs, as well as to
> achieving closer coordination among the Institute's various programs.
> NIGMS will continue to evaluate its efforts to promote biomedical
> research workforce diversity, seeking the most productive ways to
> distribute funding, and will continue to integrate diversity efforts
> across the Institute's programs. The Institute will consider
> implementing a "broader aims" application-review component that
> explicitly evaluates an investigator's training, mentoring, and
> diversity activities on his or her research project grant application.

-   *Adopt a comprehensive, systems-based approach to address future
    workforce development issues.*

> The challenge of scientific workforce diversity is fundamentally a
> systems problem, and NIGMS will approach it in this fashion. The
> Institute will investigate the issue of workforce diversity in a
> data-driven, scientifically rigorous manner. Developing effective
> approaches will require that NIGMS continually acquire evidentiary
> data, even if those data do not lead to concrete solutions in the
> near-term. NIGMS will also expand its investment in research to
> understand the efficacy of interventions designed to increase
> diversity. NIGMS will assess the feasibility of developing computer
> models that will reflect key trends in workforce development and
> related career path issues, incorporating pivotal demographic,
> societal, and behavioral variables. The Institute will also continue
> to identify and use early predictors of longer term outcomes for
> enhancing workforce diversity at research institutions.

[**GOAL IV:** Advance awareness and understanding of the basic
biomedical research enterprise, including its value, requirements, and
potential impact.]{.underline}

NIGMS values transparency and positive relations with the scientific
community and the public as critical to carrying out its mission. The
Institute also believes that it is important to contribute to
improvements in science education at the K-12 and other levels as a
distinct diversity and workforce development strategy.

NIGMS will pursue this strategic goal through the following objectives:

-   *Continue to foster an open dialogue with the scientific community
    about evolving scientific trends, gaps, and opportunities.*

> NIGMS will communicate with its grantees and other members of the
> scientific community directly and through partnerships with
> universities, research institutes, scientific and professional
> societies, and organizations. The Institute will continue to issue
> regular programmatic updates to these constituents and seek input and
> feedback from them. NIGMS will also enhance efforts to empower its
> approximately 4,000 grantees and advisory council members to serve as
> a highly visible group of ambassadors who can effectively and broadly
> communicate Institute programs and policies to multiple audiences.
> Additionally, the Institute will explore ways to increase
> communication among scientists working in diverse fields, potentially
> leading to new interactions and discoveries.

-   *Raise public awareness and understanding about the value and impact
    of basic biomedical research.*

> NIGMS will continue its efforts to communicate with the public about
> its goals and research results, as well as about NIH and its
> contributions to the nation\'s health. In our increasingly
> technology-driven society, knowledge of science\--as well as how
> science is done\--is important for making personal health and
> community decisions as well as for succeeding in a wide variety of
> careers. Toward this end, NIGMS will team with NIH institutes and
> centers and/or other organizations to increase scientific literacy.
> The Institute will also work to diminish misperceptions about
> biomedical science and scientists that stem from outdated stereotypes
> and lack of information. NIGMS will continue to provide students,
> teachers, and the general public educational materials that illustrate
> the value of basic research and encourage the pursuit of scientific
> careers. In support of its efforts to foster workforce diversity, the
> Institute will partner with organizations and institutions to target
> the distribution of NIGMS educational and career-focused resources to
> students who belong to groups that are underrepresented in the
> biomedical research workforce.
>
> **Inside NIGMS**

Strategic planning at NIGMS has always focused on identifying broad
research themes and opportunities in the biomedical sciences that are
either currently available or are likely to emerge in the coming years.
In some cases, NIGMS issues a program announcement or request for
applications when needed to extend or enhance the Institute's research
portfolio. In addition to periodic discussions with the scientific
community to identify broad research themes, NIGMS routinely sponsors
scientific workshops to focus on particular areas of opportunity. The
results of these workshops are documented in reports presented to the
National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council, which must give
approval for Institute-proposed initiatives.

Proposed new NIGMS research and training programs are made public at the
open session of advisory council meetings. Council approval of new
initiatives (and major changes to existing initiatives) is called
\"concept clearance.\" Concept clearance authorizes NIGMS staff to
develop plans, publish funding opportunity announcements in the [*[NIH
Guide for Grants and
Contracts]{.underline}*](http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/), and
award grants. During the initiative planning stages that follow concept
clearance, NIGMS welcomes comments and suggestions from the community.

The research priorities identified by scientific experts in planning
meetings such as those convened by NIGMS influence future research
activities in several ways. The reports of these meetings are widely
disseminated among the community of biomedical scientists who are keenly
aware of and attentive to emerging opportunities and the stated
priorities of funding agencies. The mere communication of these research
opportunities can be a major influence on the direction of
investigator-initiated research, as scientists seek to develop
successful proposals for research funding.

These stated priorities also influence the Institute's grant funding
decisions. While the results of peer review are always a major
consideration in the funding of research proposals, the peer review
score is not the only factor considered when Institute staff and
advisory council members recommend specific grant applications for
funding. Among the other factors taken into account is scientific
program need. Meritorious proposals, but with somewhat poorer peer
review scores, may still be funded if they are designated as being of
high program priority. Investigators who have not received prior NIH
funding are also given special consideration.

**The NIGMS 2008-2012 Strategic Planning Process**

NIGMS developed the 2008-2012 draft Strategic Plan as a result of a
comprehensive consultation process that began in the fall of 2006 and
solicited perspectives, opinions, and other input from scientists,
policymakers, professional scientific societies, the general public, and
Institute staff. NIGMS Director Dr. Jeremy M. Berg appointed a strategic
planning committee, composed of NIGMS staff and broadly representing the
Institute, to develop the procedures, format, and timetable for the
overall strategic planning process and to define some of the key issues.
Following an announcement in the *Federal* *Register*, NIGMS posted
questions on its Web site between February 20 and March 20, 2007. These
included:

-   What factors should NIGMS consider in deciding how to set its
    priorities with respect to new and existing areas of support?

-   What factors should NIGMS consider in deciding how to set its
    priorities with respect to research training?

-   What new and emerging areas, approaches, or technologies in basic
    biomedical research should NIGMS pursue?

-   As part of its efforts to maintain a balanced research portfolio,
    how can NIGMS best encourage and support research that is highly
    innovative and/or risky?

-   Are there areas of current NIGMS research activity that should
    receive less emphasis?

-   How can NIGMS enhance its communications with the scientific
    community and the public?

-   How can NIGMS more effectively promote and encourage greater
    diversity in the biomedical research workforce?

Following the Internet comment period, NIGMS convened a 2-day conference
in April 2007. About 50 participants were invited to represent all the
dimensions of the NIGMS extramural scientific community. The
participants met in both breakout and plenary sessions to discuss
Institute plans and priorities. Discussion was framed around the same
set of questions and issues presented in the Internet comment period.

NIGMS staff worked at length to distill input from both the posted
questions and the conference, and this information was used to formulate
the current draft plan, which was posted on the NIGMS Web site for
public comment in September 2007.

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[^1]: Koshland DE Jr. Philosophy of science. The Cha-Cha-Cha Theory of
    Scientific Discovery.\
    2007 *Science* 317:761-2.

[^2]: Hildreth M. Resilience: America's Biotechnology Report 2003, Ernst
    & Young, July 2003

[^3]: Toole AA. Does Public Scientific Research Complement Private
    Investment in Research and Development in the Pharmaceutical
    Industry*?* 2007 *J. Law Econ*. 50:81-104.

[^4]: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America,
    *Pharmaceutical Industry Profile 2007* (Washington, DC: PhRMA, March
    2007)

[^5]: Research!America. America Speaks: Poll Data Summary. Vol 6.
    December 2004. Available at:
    http://researchamerica.org/publications/AmericaSpeaks/AmericaSpeaksV6.pdf.
    Accessibility verified July 30, 2007.

[^6]: R01: NIH Research Project Grant; R37: Method to Extend Research in
    Time (MERIT) Award; R21: Exploratory/Developmental Grant (currently
    being phased out at NIGMS); R15: Academic Research Enhancement Award
    (AREA); P01: Research Program Project; R41-44: Small Business
    Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer
    (STTR) Grants; U01: Research Project\--Cooperative Agreement.

[^7]: <http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/>