Limited Competition: Tribal Undergraduate and Graduate Research Training and Leadership Experiences (TURTLE) Program

The Tribal Undergraduate and Graduate Research Training and Leadership Experiences (TURTLE) Program supports eligible Tribal Entities to develop a pool of students who: • Have the skills required to conduct Tribal health research • Complete their degrees in a biomedical field, and • Transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce. NIGMS will provide support for a phased award to eligible Tribal Entities to develop and implement effective training and mentoring activities for research-oriented individuals earning baccalaureate or doctoral degrees in biomedical research fields at institutions across the United States and its territories. This is a Forecast for a Limited Competition that will invite applications from eligible organizations to apply. Please see the Eligibility Section for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the applications will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious applications will be considered.

Other Eligible ApplicantsA federally-recognized AI/AN Tribe, as defined under 25 U.S.C. 1603(14); orA Tribal college or university, a Tribal health program, or a Tribal organization as defined under 25 U.S.C. 1603 (24), (25), and (26), respectively; orA consortium of two or more of these Tribal Entities

All accepted applications are reviewed for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate initial review group and by a national advisory council. The goal of NIGMS funding policies is to maximize the scientific impact of investments in investigator-initiated biomedical research to drive fundamental scientific discoveries that advance understanding of human health and disease. To address this goal, the Institute strives to support a broad portfolio of research grants of high scientific and technical merit, as determined by peer review, in its mission areas. However, in deciding to fund any application, NIGMS staff also considers other factors, including (consistent with applicable law): the breadth of the Institute�s research portfolio; approaches, and investigators; the total amount of funding available to the investigator; the priority of the research area for the Institute�s mission; Early-stage investigator status; At-risk investigator status?;? and whether the PI would have more than one NIGMS funded R01 (including multi-PI R01s). Because these factors are considered, NIGMS does not have a �payline� or strict cutoff in scores that it will fund. It is important to understand that even applications with outstanding scores might not be funded if the investigator already has substantial other support. Because NIGMS prioritizes funding for meritorious investigators who otherwise would not have support over providing additional grants to already well-funded...