Courses for Skills Development in Biomedical Big Data Science (R25) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The NIH funding opportunity "Courses for Skills Development in Biomedical Big Data Science (R25)" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-HG-14-008) is a discretionary grant program designed to strengthen the biomedical research workforce by supporting targeted educational activities in big data science. It sits under the NIH Research Education Program (R25), which is specifically meant to fund research education efforts that are aligned with NIH mission areas. In practical terms, this opportunity is about creating and delivering short, skills-focused courses that help researchers and trainees gain the competencies they need to work effectively with large, complex biomedical, behavioral, and clinical datasets. The program is part of the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative, reflecting NIH's broader push to ensure the research community can keep pace with rapidly expanding data generation and the analytical, computational, and statistical challenges that come with it.

The core purpose of the opportunity is workforce development through education rather than traditional hypothesis-driven research. That typically means the emphasis is on well-structured curriculum design, high-quality instructional methods, and measurable outcomes such as improved participant skills, expanded access to training, and dissemination of course materials or models that others can reuse. While the announcement summary does not list specific required topics, the title and BD2K framing point toward training that can include areas like data management and stewardship, reproducible analysis practices, computational methods, statistics and machine learning, data integration, visualization, scalable computing, and domain-specific applications relevant to biomedicine. The intent is to complement and enhance existing training pathways, filling gaps where standard degree programs or lab-based apprenticeships may not provide enough dedicated instruction in modern data-intensive methods.

Financially, the opportunity lists an estimated total funding amount of $700,000, with an award ceiling of $150,000. This implies multiple awards may be made depending on NIH priorities and application quality. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement, which reduces barriers for institutions that may not have discretionary funds to contribute. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is listed under education, spanning multiple public interest domains (health, environment, nutrition, income security and social services), reflecting the cross-cutting relevance of biomedical data science skills to many research and public health problems.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations that can credibly develop and deliver educational programming. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and certain nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, excluding higher education institutions where specified). The eligibility section explicitly includes several institution types that NIH often highlights to encourage inclusive capacity-building, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). At the same time, the announcement is clear that foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and foreign components are not allowed. Non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible, consistent with NIH policy constraints for many education-focused programs.

The opportunity was posted on January 16, 2014, with key dates indicating it was active during that period and later archived. The original closing date is listed as April 1, 2016, while a current closing date is shown as September 18, 2015, and the archive date is October 18, 2015. Those dates suggest the solicitation is no longer open, but it remains useful as a reference point for institutions planning similar education proposals or tracking NIH priorities in biomedical data science training.

Administratively, the agency is the National Institutes of Health, and the opportunity is linked to a wide range of CFDA numbers across NIH institutes and centers, signaling broad NIH-wide relevance rather than being confined to a single disease area. For applicants and interested parties who need the full details, NIH points to the official announcement page (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HG-14-008.html). For technical access issues, the contact is the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) webmaster at FBOWebmaster@OD.NIH.GOV, which is a standard support contact for navigating or accessing the electronic posting.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as NIH support for practical, teachable, and scalable short-course training that helps current and future researchers handle the realities of modern biomedical big data, with a strong emphasis on education design, skill acquisition, and expanding the national capacity to conduct data-driven biomedical research.

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: National Institutes of Health

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Education Environment Food and Nutrition Health Income Security and Social Services

Next opportunity: Open Educational Resources for Biomedical Big Data (R25)

Previous opportunity: Alzheimers Disease Core Centers (P30)

USGrants.org Applicant Portal:

Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.

Apply for RFA HG 14 008

 

[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?

Applicants also applied for:

Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (RFA HG 14 008) also looked into and applied for these:

 

Grant application guides and resources

It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!

Apply for Grants

 

 

Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers

Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.

If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.

Subscribe to Leads

 

Request more information:

Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "RFA HG 14 008", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:

Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.