Research Opportunities to Promote Workforce Diversity

May 2023 Council

Lead Division/Office

KUH, DEM, DDN

Point(s) of Contact

Barbara Linder; Jenna Norton; Raquel Greer; Ivonne Schulman; Kristin Abraham; Miranda Broadney; Mary Evans; Peter Perrin; Robert Rivers; David Saslowsky; Katrina Serrano; Neha Shah; Lisa Spain

Executive Summary

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) recognizes the need to diversify the scientific workforce by enhancing the participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups identified as underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences research workforce (NOT-OD-20-031). NIDDK program staff have identified two high risk career points where investigators, especially those underrepresented in the workforce, would benefit from greater support: 1) recruiting diverse new investigators (NIs) and early-stage investigators (ESIs) into the NIDDK research community by supporting successful competition for a first R01, and 2) retaining diverse at-risk investigators by reducing gaps in funding that can put investigators and their trainees at risk of leaving the research workforce. To address these high-risk career points, this initiative proposes to fully fund meritorious R01 applications from new investigators, ESIs and at-risk investigators from diverse backgrounds that score beyond the payline. This initiative will complement the Small Grants for New Investigators to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (PAR-21-313), which supports diverse ESIs and NIs by funding R21s to develop preliminary data that will equip them to compete for subsequent, substantive funding such as an R01.