MGH NIH Diversity Supplements Initiative
Overview
NIH-funded Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (i.e., “NIH Diversity Supplements”) are administrative supplements designed to provide support for research experiences for individuals from diverse backgrounds throughout the continuum from high school to the faculty level in order to increase the diversity of our research workforce. However, it is a rarely used mechanism among MGH researchers.
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The Mongan Institute’s NIH Diversity Supplements Initiative aims to increase the use of diversity supplements among MGH researchers by providing a mechanism that (1) identifies researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital who have NIH grants eligible for diversity supplements and (2) connects with scholars from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds who could potentially match with these researchers to collaborate on a diversity supplement application. We are seeking information about eligible NIH grants from principal investigators across MGH interested in supporting scholars via diversity supplements. After confirming your grant’s eligibility, please fill out the interest form.
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We are creating a repository of eligible grants accessible to the public, so that interested scholars may directly contact PIs with similar research interests. Through the MGH COVID Corps Biomedical Internship Program and other networks (e.g., via the Disparities Solutions Center), we’ve gained a strong network of diverse scholars ranging from high school to the faculty level.
Call for Interested PI Mentors
If you are a principal investigator (PI) at Massachusetts General Hospital interested in connecting with a candidate to apply for an NIH Diversity Supplement, please fill out the interest form below to add your grant(s) to the repository of eligible grants, which will be updated weekly and publicly accessible on our website. Please note that interested scholars will reach out to you directly and that we do not guarantee a match or connection with a scholar.
The Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard (NORCH) also runs a similar program with investigators at Harvard and affiliated institutions who focus on nutrition and obesity-related research. If you are a PI whose work falls into such categories, please submit your interest on their website.
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Please make sure to read the information below to confirm your eligibility before completing the form.
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About NIH Diversity Supplements
Fostering diversity in the scientific research workforce is a key component of the NIH strategy to identify, develop, support and maintain the quality of our scientific human capital. This administrative supplement is designed to provide support for research experiences for individuals from diverse backgrounds throughout the continuum from high school to the faculty level. It supports the research training of underrepresented trainees and faculty by providing training, mentorship, and career development.
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Supplements must support work within the scope of the original project.​​
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Budget requests for supplements must fall within the budget cycle of the existing grant and not extend beyond the grant’s project end date.
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Supplements are more quickly processed and do not go through a full review.
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Supplements can provide funding for summer internships, or for full-time 1-to-2–year projects, depending on the candidate’s level (student, post-bacc, post-doctoral, junior faculty), as well as a small amount for manuscripts and travel to international meetings.
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This supplement opportunity is also available to PD(s)/PI(s) of research grants who are or become disabled and need additional support to accommodate their disability in order to continue to work on the research project.
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PI Eligibility for NIH Diversity Supplements
We encourage you to consult the NIH Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements and Staff Contacts and to connect with your program officer to discuss your application further. In general, additional funds may be awarded as supplements to parent awards using the following Activity Code(s). Note, however, that not all participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) support all the activity codes listed
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R00, R01, R03, R15, R18, R21, R21/R33, R24, R33, R34, R35, R37, R41, R41/R42, R42, R43, R43/R44, R44, R61/R33, RC1, RC2, RC3, RC4, RF1, RM1, SC1, SC2, SC3, U01, U10, U13, U18, U19, U2C, U24, U41, U42, U44, U54, U56, UC2, UC4, UG1, UG3/UH3, UH3, UM1, UM2, UF1, DP1, DP2, DP4, DP5, G12, G20, P01, P20, P30, P40, P41, P50, P51, P60, P2C, PM1, PN2
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Scholar Eligibility for NIH Diversity Supplements
Below we've included a brief overview of eligibility for research scholars interested in applying for a NIH Diversity Supplement with an eligible PI. Please visit the NIH website and read the full funding announcement for more details.
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We are seeking to connect scholars at the following career levels with our PIs:
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Undergraduate students
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Post-baccalaureates
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Graduate students
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Post-doctoral trainees
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Junior faculty
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Candidates must meet at least one of the following criteria:
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Individuals from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group:
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Black or African American​
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Hispanic or Latino/a/x
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American Indian or Alaska Native, and/or
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Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander
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Individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as described in the ADA of 1990
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Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, defined as those meeting two or more of the following criteria:
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​Were or are currently homeless
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Were or are currently in the foster care system
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Were eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years
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Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree
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Were or currently are eligible for Federal Pell grants
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Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child, or
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Grew up in one of the following areas: i) a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer, or ii) a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas
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Scholar Opportunities
Click below to learn about potential research opportunities. Scholars who are interested in an opportunity should contact the PI directly via email with a research proposal and updated CV.
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