NLM Research Grants in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 25 238

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 25 238

The National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is offering an R01 grant opportunity titled "NLM Research Grants in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-25-238). The program is aimed at supporting innovative research and development in biomedical informatics and data science, with a strong emphasis on approaches that advance biomedical discovery and data-powered health. Projects are expected to bring together complex, interconnected streams of research outputs and turn them into outcomes that matter in real settings, such as new scientific insights, improved clinical care, stronger public health practices, and tools or knowledge that can support personal wellness.

A central theme of the opportunity is building work that is scalable, reproducible, and generalizable. In practice, that means NLM is looking for methods, systems, and frameworks that can handle real-world complexity (large, messy, multi-source data and digital artifacts), can be reliably re-run and validated by other teams, and can transfer across problems, institutions, and populations rather than being overly tailored to one dataset or one site. The scope is intentionally broad across biomedical informatics and data science, but the emphasis is on new and innovative methods that enable data-driven discovery in biomedical and clinical health sciences. NLM also highlights interest in domain-independent approaches, meaning tools and methods that can be reused across different biomedical areas, and that support the full lifecycle of data and digital objects: discovery, curation, analysis, organization, and management. This includes not only analytic techniques, but also the infrastructure and practices that make data and digital resources findable, usable, and integrable at scale.

The funding instrument is a discretionary grant using the NIH R01 mechanism, and clinical trials are optional under this announcement. The activity category is listed under Education and Health, and the CFDA number associated with the opportunity is 93.879. The opportunity includes a listed award ceiling of $250,000. The original closing date provided is January 7, 2026, and the opportunity record shows a creation date of November 25, 2024.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. and non-U.S. applicants. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (in both cases, other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible groups such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal government agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations). Overall, this opportunity is designed for teams proposing forward-looking biomedical informatics or data science research with clear pathways to broad impact and reuse, rather than narrow, one-off solutions.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NLM Research Grants in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.879.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-01-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 25 238

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