UTRGV Limited Submission Submission Manager

Limited Submissions are competitive funding opportunities in which the sponsor only allows an exact and limited number of proposals from a given institution. Extra submissions can result in rejection of all submitted by that institution. All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting an external funding proposal to the limited submission opportunity must submit their internal pre-proposal via Submittable.

2026 NIH: Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers Program (P30 Clinical Trials Optional)

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting a proposal to the Limited Submission opportunity must submit the internal pre-proposal via Submittable platform (using single PDF document) by the deadline. Please see OSP Handbook, page 8, for PI eligibility details. Internal pre-proposals must comply with all instructions and address the NIH review criteria referenced in this announcement.

Funding Opportunity Purpose: The NIEHS Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (EHSCC) Program uses a P30 grant mechanism to bring together investigators currently funded by NIH or other Federal or non-Federal sources to enhance the effectiveness of existing research and extend the focus of research for environmental health sciences. An EHSCC is expected to support innovation and be on the cutting edge of science. As such, research activities should cross a variety of disciplines to bring multiple perspectives and approaches to bear on significant environmental health research questions and health impacts. The interdisciplinary nature of an EHSCC should have a synergistic effect that results in greater depth, breadth, quality, innovation and productivity beyond what individual scientists would be likely to attain by working independently and as such lead to translational research opportunities. As intellectual hubs for environmental health research, the membership of EHSCC's is expected to include thought leaders from the field who are well-positioned to advance the goals of the 2025-2029 NIEHS Strategic Plan (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/strategicplan/.)

Opportunity Overview: The overall goals for the EHSCC Program are to enhance the capabilities of existing programs in environmental health sciences, assist with building programmatic and scientific capacity, lead in the development of novel research directions, recruit and prepare future leaders in the field, and pioneer efforts in community engagement. Ultimately the EHSCC should create a flexible structure that allows center members with different expertise to come together to answer complex and/or emerging questions, capitalize on the latest scientific trends, and accelerate the translation of research. NIEHS considers community engagement and multi-directional communication as essential activities to advance the goals and relevance of an EHSCC. Therefore, the structure of the Center should facilitate multi-directional interaction with communities (broadly defined) and EHSCC members through the required Community Engagement Core (CEC).  In addition, with the continued advancement of the NIEHS translational research (TR) framework for the environmental health sciences (https://www.niehs.nih.gov/translation), it is expected that an EHSCC facilitates translational research through the Translational Research Support Core by encompassing the resources within the EHSCC. Finally, EHSCC are expected to attract established and promising investigators into environmental health research and provide opportunities for career enhancement. In alignment with the 2025-2029 NIEHS Strategic Plan (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/strategicplan/.)

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique identifier (UEI) number or NIH IPF number) is allowed.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-25-002.html

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: February 27, 2026 at 11:59 PM

Internal Competition Results Announced: March 20, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: April 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

Change in application form: Since the limited submission process does not involve OSP assistance with budget development, we are now using a budget template in the Submittable form. This template is designed to capture a general overview of the budget. Additionally, we have included a budget justification section directly in the form, eliminating the need for applicants to upload separate budget documents with their pre-proposal materials.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu

Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the NIH criteria in the FOA.

Internal Review Process: The Research Division in consultation with a review committee, will decide which pre-proposals will continue to the full proposal submission stage. Anonymized reviewer feedback will be provided in a timely fashion to all PIs whose pre-proposals were considered by the review committee, following the announcement of the finalist selection.

2026 DOE: Energy Frontier Research Centers

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition

All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting a proposal to the Limited Submission opportunity must submit the internal pre-proposal via Submittable platform (using single PDF document) by the deadline. Please see OSP Handbook, page 8, for PI eligibility details. Internal pre-proposals must comply with all instructions and address the criteria referenced in this announcement.

Funding Opportunity Purpose: The DOE SC program in Basic Energy Sciences (BES) announces a re-competition of the Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) program. The purpose of this program is to bring together world-class teams of scientists from universities, DOE national laboratories, and other institutions to perform energy-relevant basic research with a scope and complexity beyond what is possible in single-investigator or small-group awards. These multi-investigator, multi-disciplinary centers accelerate transformative scientific advances for the most challenging topics in materials sciences, chemical sciences, geosciences, and biosciences. EFRCs integrate experiments, theory, computation, and AI/ML; develop innovative experimental and theoretical tools that illuminate fundamental processes in unprecedented detail; and create an enthusiastic, interdisciplinary, workforce of energy-focused scientists.

Opportunity Overview: BES’s mission is to support fundamental research to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels in order to provide the foundations for new energy technologies and to support DOE missions in energy, environment, and national security. The portfolio supports work in the natural sciences by emphasizing fundamental research in materials sciences, chemistry, geosciences, and biosciences. BES- supported scientific facilities provide specialized instrumentation and expertise that enable scientists to carry out experiments not possible at individual laboratories.

EFRCs conduct fundamental research to address grand challenges identified in the report Directing Matter and Energy: Five Challenges for Science and the Imagination (December 2007) and transformative opportunities identified in the report Challenges at the Frontiers of Matter and Energy: Transformative Opportunities for Discovery Science (November 2015). In addition, EFRCs perform use-inspired basic research to address emerging scientific challenges relevant to the DOE missions and fill scientific knowledge gaps identified by BES and the scientific community in major strategic planning efforts (see BES Reports below).

Further information about BES and the EFRC program can be found here:

• BES: https://science.osti.gov/bes/

• EFRC: https://science.osti.gov/bes/efrc/

Science Topics

BES is soliciting applications in two general categories: BES Report Topics and Special Topics. Applications may respond to topics in both categories. Topic areas are open to both new and renewal applications, unless noted below.

BES REPORTS TOPICS

In the BES Reports Topics, applicants must address priority research directions and opportunities identified in one or more of the following reports:

• Foundational Science to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Innovation – New and renewal applications may respond to all priority research opportunities.

• Controlling Subsurface Fractures and Fluid Flow: A Basic Research Agenda – New and renewal applications may respond to all priority research directions. Subsurface topics related to critical minerals and materials, hydrocarbons, and/or enhanced geothermal are emphasized.

• Basic Research Needs for Next Generation Electrical Energy Storage – Renewal applications may respond to all priority research directions. New applications may respond only to PRD 2: Link complex electronic, electrochemical, and physical phenomena across time and space and/or PRD 3: Control and exploit the complex interphase region formed at dynamic interfaces.

• Basic Research Needs for Transformative Manufacturing – New and renewal applications may respond only to PRD 1: Achieve precise, scalable synthesis and processing of atomic-scale building blocks for components and systems, and/or PRD 5: Co-design materials, processes, and products to revolutionize manufacturing.

• Basic Research Needs for Microelectronics – New and renewal applications may respond to all priority research directions.

• BES Roundtable on Opportunities for Quantum Computing in Chemical and Materials Sciences – New and renewal applications may respond to all priority research opportunities. Applications that do not provide a clear path to overcome scaling and noise limitations of quantum hardware are unresponsive.

• BES Roundtable on Opportunities for Basic Research for Next-Generation Quantum Systems – New and renewal applications may respond only to PRO 2: Enhance creation and control of coherence in quantum systems and/or PRO 3: Discover novel approaches for quantum-to-quantum transduction. Proposals whose primary aim is the discovery, synthesis, or characterization of new quantum materials, without a direct and measurable transformative impact for quantum information science, are unresponsive.

SPECIAL TOPICS

In the Special Topics, applicants must address one or more of the following topics:

a) Controlling Quantum Phenomena to Enable Unconventional Computing Paradigms

b) Development and Workflow Integration of AI/ML Models for Materials and Chemistry Discovery Science

c) Emergent Phenomena of Complex Chemical Systems

d) Fundamental Science for Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM)

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Applicant institutions are limited to no more than three pre-applications or applications as the lead institution.

FOA is available online at: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/361309

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 02, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: March 09, 2026

Sponsor (Pre-Application) Deadline: April 01, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: July 01, 2026 11:59 PM ET

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu

Internal Review Process: The Research Division in consultation with a review committee, will decide which pre-proposals will continue to the full proposal submission stage. Anonymized reviewer feedback will be provided to all PIs whose pre-proposals were considered by the review committee, following the announcement of the finalist selection.

2026 DOS: Feed the Future Innovation Labs

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition

Funding Opportunity Purpose: The U.S. Department of State recognizes the importance of research in enabling the global food system to increase agricultural yields and productivity, build resilience to shocks, meet nutritional needs, reduce food loss and waste, improve diets, improve food safety, and holistically manage risk for people, food, and agricultural systems.

The submission of the SOI is the first step of a two-step process. Applicants are invited to submit a concise (maximum of 8-page) Statement of Interest (SOI) that clearly communicates project ideas, objectives and approach. This is not a full proposal, and this phase will not result in a federal assistance award. Rather, the SOI process allows applicants to submit project ideas for evaluation prior to the development of a full application.

Upon a merit review of eligible SOIs, a subset of selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. Full proposals will go through a merit review before final funding decision(s) are made. Invitation to submit a full proposal is not a commitment to funding. Issuance of this SOI opportunity does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government, nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in preparation or submission of comments/suggestions or an application. Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicant. All preparation and submission costs are at the applicant’s expense.

Opportunity Overview: America First investments in agricultural research through the FtF Innovation Labs benefit the world’s poorest regions while also providing major benefits to the United States. The Department of State invites eligible applicants to advance global food security in alignment with U.S. policy through targeted research that meets one or both of the following core objectives:

1) Advances agricultural science and research to increase productivity, mitigate threats to production systems, and support food systems to reduce hunger and malnutrition through enhanced supply of nutritious and safe foods; and/or

2) Increases demand for individual and household consumption of nutritious, safe foods as part of healthy diets, and improves market pathways and opportunities for government and private sector actors to promote consumption of nutritious and safe foods.

The Management Entity of each respective FtF Innovation Lab is expected to help implement and communicate impact pathways from research to development outcomes via partnerships with other USG programs, national partners, private companies, community-based organizations, such as faith-based organizations, and other donors and their programs. Programs must ensure U.S. investments directly benefit American safety, strength, and prosperity. Proposals should clearly address how the research activities will support both global food security and U.S. national security and economic interests, reduce the need for repeated humanitarian assistance, expand market access for U.S. companies, and protect the U.S agriculture industry.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Applicants may submit up to two (2) applications as the Management Entity (ME).

FOA is available online at: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/361339

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 02, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: March 09, 2026

Sponsor (Statement of Interest) Deadline: April 03, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu

Internal Review Process: The Research Division in consultation with a review committee, will decide which pre-proposals will continue to the full proposal submission stage. Anonymized reviewer feedback will be provided to all PIs whose pre-proposals were considered by the review committee, following the announcement of the finalist selection.

2026 NIH: Collaborative Program Grant for Multidisciplinary Teams (RM1 - Clinical Trial Optional)

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Funding Opportunity Purpose: This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages Collaborative Program Grant applications from institutions/organizations that propose projects addressing complex and challenging biomedical problems within the mission of NIGMS. Multidisciplinary research teams must have a highly integrated approach for each of their project goals. The Collaborative Program Grant is designed to support research in which funding a team of interdependent investigators to achieve a unified scientific goal offers significant advantages over supporting individual research project grants..

This FOA is not intended for applications that are mainly focused on the creation, expansion, and/or maintenance of community resources, creation of new technologies, or infrastructure development.

Opportunity Overview:

Applications may address any area of science within the NIGMS mission. NIGMS supports generalizable, foundational basic research that increases understanding of biological processes at a range of levels, from molecules and cells, to tissues, whole organisms, and populations. NIGMS also supports research in a limited number of clinical areas that affect multiple organ systems. Truly new interdisciplinary ideas for approaching significant biological problems are encouraged. Applications that bridge the research interests of more than one area of science supported by NIGMS are also encouraged but must remain within the NIGMS mission.

Features of successful applications include:

Each PD/PI is committed to team science and willing to devote a major part of their research effort to the team project.
Achieving the goal(s) requires a team approach.
Each biological question posed requires a cohesive team with an integrated approach.
A team management structure is developed for achieving program goals.

Research with the overall goal of gaining knowledge about a specific organ or organ system, or the pathophysiology, treatment, or cure of a specific disease or condition will, in most cases, be more appropriate for another Institute or Center. Consultation with NIGMS staff (see below) prior to preparing an application is strongly encouraged.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Two applications per institution (with a Unique Entity Identifier ) and a unique NIH eRA Institutional Profile File (IPF) number) are allowed per review round. The same or a similar topic may be submitted for subsequent review rounds involving the same or a similar team, but must be presented as a New application, not a Resubmission.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-23-077.html#_Section_III._Eligibility

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 4, 2026

Internal Competition Results Announced: March 20, 2026 Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: May, 27 2026, at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals: Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu.

Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the NIH criteria in the FOA.

2026 NIH: Mentored Research Career Development Program Award in Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program (K12 Clinical Trial Optional)

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting a proposal to the Limited Submission opportunity must submit the internal pre-proposal via Submittable platform (using single PDF document) by the deadline. Please see OSP Handbook, page 8, for PI eligibility details. Internal pre-proposals must comply with all instructions and address the NSF review criteria referenced in this announcement.

Must have been awarded PAR-21-293 or currently applying to PAR-24-272 Clinical and Translational Science Award (UM1 Clinical Trial Optional) as well to be eligible to apply under this NOFO.

Adhering to the submission eligibility below, a set must contain 1 application to the UM1 NOFO above and 1 application to this K12 NOFO. It may also contain 1 application to the T32 predoc NOFO, 1 application to T32 postdoc NOFO, 1 application to the R25 NOFO (see our Limited Submission list for this opportunity as well), and/or up to 2 applications for the RC2 NOFO.

Funding Opportunity Purpose: This is a limited competition. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) will award Institutional Research Career Development (K12) programs through the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA). The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to encourage institutions to propose creative and innovative institutional research career development programs designed to prepare an outstanding broadly-experienced pool of promising later stage postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty scholars who have made a commitment to independent clinical and translational science research careers (i.e., tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions) to facilitate their timely career advancement and continued engagement in research (i.e., sectors including academia, industry, nonprofit and government). This NOFO is part of a required set of companion applications: the Clinical and Translational Science Award (UM1) and companion Institutional Career Development Award (K12). The remaining NOFOs in the suite are optional and include the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) institutional training programs (T32 predoctoral and T32 postdoctoral), the Research Education Grant (R25), and the Specialized Innovation Program (RC2). These optional NOFOs are only available to CTSA Program UM1 applicants and award recipients. Applications to the optional NOFOs cannot be awarded until an award has been issued for the UM1. (See Section III. Eligibility Information of this NOFO and the respective NOFOs for more information).

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) allows appointment of Scholars (K12) proposing to serve as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial; or proposing a separate ancillary clinical trial; or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial led by another investigator, as part of their research and career development.

Opportunity Overview: Applicants are expected to identify research career development needs and objectives (i.e., specific and measurable outcomes the program intends to achieve).

Funded programs are expected to implement the following:

Core Knowledge Expectations in Clinical and Translational Science Research: The institutional research career development (K12) program should be designed to ensure that by the end of the research career development training period, scholars are able to launch into independent research careers in clinical and translational science research areas, which include 1) pre-clinical research, 2) clinical research, 3) implementation science, and/or 4) population science/public health research. Scholars are expected to apply their cumulative experiential research training and knowledge in broad areas of research including, but not limited to: clinical and clinical trial research, regulatory science, biostatistics, epidemiology, health disparities, telehealth and telemedicine, dissemination and implementation science research, bioinformatics, community engagement and translational team science, entrepreneurship, scientific communication, project management, patents, Investigational New Drug (IND) filling process, FDA regulatory process, teaching pedagogy, leadership, and responsible conduct of research and rigorous research design.

The award may be used to support scholars with different levels of prior research training and at different stages in their mentored career development. For example, a scholar with limited experience in clinical and translational science may receive support in the career development experience that includes a designated period of didactic training followed by a period of closely mentored research experience. A scholar with previous research experience and training may not require extensive additional didactic preparation and may receive support in the form of career development experience that focuses on an intensive, mentored research experience in clinical and translational science.

Clinical and Translational Science Research is a Cross-Disciplinary Team-Based Endeavor: The institutional research career development (K12) programs are encouraged to be personalized so that scholars can further refine their domain-specific knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) and effectively transition to full research independence in clinical and translational science. Scholars are expected to carry out independent research in their disciplinary mastered competencies, while also gaining complementary knowledge of other disciplines and operational principles underlying at least two sectors of the translational science ecosystem to improve their capacity to effectively lead, communicate, collaborate, and break down barriers across multidisciplinary teams and the translational process. Clinical and translational science research is a team-based endeavor that requires input from many different disciplines, sectors, and points of view to be successful. Programs should support partnerships that give scholars scientific practice outside of their area(s) of expertise, both within the research academic domain and with stakeholders and with sectors outside it, such as patients, non-profit organizations, regulatory agencies, and industry.

Building on Institutional Strengths in Clinical and Translational Science Research: Each institutional research career development (K12) program is to be innovative in its research career development program efforts. The goal is for the scholars to improve their core competencies so that they can conduct high quality independent clinical and translational science research. To achieve this, research-focused career development programs are encouraged to build on the local strengths and demonstrated translational innovations of their companion CTSA Program hub (e.g., health disparities, telehealth and telemedicine, community engagement, bioinformatics, dissemination and implementation, entrepreneurship, etc.) to effectively curate and foster research independence of clinical and translational science scholars. In this spirit, programs should identify research-focused career development strengths, needs and objectives (e.g., specific and measurable outcomes the program intends to achieve) that will lead the scholar’s transition to fully independent research careers while creating a community of clinical and translational science research scholars that extends beyond the career development program. Building on institutional strengths can include approaches on how to expose scholars to a larger cadre of mentors with a broad range of clinical expertise, experiences, resources, and backgrounds relevant to clinical and translational science and who can help the scholars launch into independent clinical and translational science research careers.

Optimizing Mentor Training: Effective mentoring is expected to increase self-efficacy, educational and career satisfaction, career advancement, and research productivity for individuals pursuing clinical and translational science research-focused careers. Institutional research career development (K12) programs are to describe how the participating faculty and preceptors are trained to use evidence-informed mentoring practices that launch scholars into independent research-focused careers. The evidence-informed mentor training assessments are expected to move beyond the faculty’s/preceptor’s participation satisfaction to self-reporting of perceived skills gained, self-reported changes in mentoring behaviors or self-reporting of effectiveness. The application is to include a plan to assess and monitor how well the faculty mentor/preceptor promotes a safe and supportive research training environment and to make adjustments if needed. Scholars are to corroborate the self-report of changes in mentoring behaviors of each mentor in the mentoring team. Institutions are encouraged to develop strategies to recognize and reward outstanding mentors, including mentor awards, and to create opportunities where effective mentoring practices pervade the education and clinical and translational science research landscape of the institution.

Leadership and Management: In addition to the above referenced Fundamental Characteristics of a Translational Scientist, leadership is another essential characteristic of clinical and translational science scientists. Leadership and management training should be infused into the research-focused career development program activities of the institutional research career development (K12) program in Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program so that scholars can develop professional and leadership skills (e.g., emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, job offers negotiation, laboratory management, balancing competing priorities) to be effective leaders in clinical and translational science.

Career Visibility and Enhancement: The career outcomes of scholars supported by the institutional research career development (K12) program in Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program include, but are not limited to, independent research-intensive careers in academia and industry. Research-focused career development programs must make available structured, career development advising and coaching which may include academic job search strategies, Individual Development Plans, workshops addressing grant-writing, and publishing aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the scholars to successfully transition, in a timely manner, to the next stage of their independent research career and become fully independent researchers. The career development activities should enhance the scholars’ scientific and professional network beyond the local institution.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique entity identifier (UEI) or NIH IPF number) is allowed.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-196.html#:~:text=The%20objective%20of%20the%20institutional,9b00022):

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 6, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: March 25, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: May, 28 2026 at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu

Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the criteria in the FOA.

2026 NIH: NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program Research Education Grants Programs (R25 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition

Adhering to the submission eligibility below, a set must contain 1 application to the UM1 NOFO and 1 application to the K12 NOFO (see our Limited Submission list for this opportunity as well) it may also contain 1 application to the T32 predoc NOFO, 1 application to T32 postdoc NOFO, 1 application to this R25 NOFO, and/or up to 2 applications for the RC2 NOFO.

Funding Opportunity Purpose: The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.

To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this NOFO will support educational activities with a primary focus on:

Research Experiences

This NOFO is part of a required set of companion applications: the Clinical and Translational Science Award (UM1) and companion Institutional Career Development Award (K12). The remaining NOFOs in the suite are optional and include the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) institutional training programs (T32 predoctoral and T32 postdoctoral), the Research Education Grant (R25), and the Specialized Innovation Program (RC2). These optional NOFOs are only available to CTSA Program UM1 applicants and award recipients. Applications to the companion NOFOs cannot be awarded until an award has been issued for the UM1. (See Section III. Eligibility Information of this NOFO and the respective NOFOs for more information).

Opportunity Overview: The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.

This is a limited competition. The overarching goal of this R25 program is to provide support to recipients of Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) for research experiences that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs. To accomplish this over-arching goal, this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on:

Research Experiences:

Research experiences are expected to be relevant to NCATS’ mission of studying translation on a system-wide level, agnostic to a specific disease, to better understand the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process. The goal is not to focus on specific diseases, but on what is common among them and the translational science process. Examples of research experiences appropriate for career levels include, but are not limited to:
- Undergraduates (including those at community colleges): to provide hands-on exposure to research that reinforces their interest in clinical and translational science and/or prepares them for graduate school matriculation and/or careers in clinical and translational science for graduate and medical, dental, nursing and other health professional students.
- Graduate Research and Clinical Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Medical Residents: to extend their skills, experiences, and knowledge base in order to engage in clinical and translational science research activities.
- Junior Faculty: to enhance their research skills, experiences, and knowledge base relative to clinical and translational science by working with faculty members at a partnering institution.

Proposed research experiences should involve an innovative approach to provide hands-on exposure to clinical and translational science research in a laboratory or a field setting for a full-time (40 hours per week) period of 10 to 15 weeks in order to stimulate the interest and advance the knowledge base of participants to consider further education and training for future careers as clinical and translational science researchers. The proposed programs should provide research experiences that are not available through formal NIH training mechanisms. R25 programs that propose at least 10 weeks, but fewer than 15 weeks, of full-time research experiences are allowed to request continued part-time support for the participants to work on their research projects, up to the equivalent of 15 weeks of full-time participation, as long as the entire research experience is completed within a 12-month period. Successful participants may be appointed for additional periods of short-term research experiences. If awarded, an R25 program is expected to provide training experiences to a cohort of participants in each year of the award, including year one. Research education programs may complement ongoing research training and education occurring at the applicant institution, but the proposed educational experiences must be distinct from those training and education programs currently receiving Federal support. R25 programs may augment institutional research training programs (e.g., T32, T90) but cannot be used to replace or circumvent Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) programs.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Applicant organizations may NOT submit more than one application. Only one R25 application per institution (normally identified by having a unique UEI number or NIH IPF number) is allowed.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-197.html

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 6, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: March 25, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: May, 28 2026 at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the criteria in the FOA.

2026 NIH: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Predoctoral Research Training Grant for the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program (T32 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting a proposal to the Limited Submission opportunity must submit the internal pre-proposal via Submittable platform (using single PDF document) by the deadline. Please see OSP Handbook, page 8, for PI eligibility details. Internal pre-proposals must comply with all instructions and address the NSF review criteria referenced in this announcement.

Adhering to the submission eligibility below, a set must contain 1 application to the UM1 NOFO above and 1 application to the K12 NOFO (see our Limited Submission list for this opportunity as well). It may also contain 1 application to this T32 predoc NOFO, 1 application to T32 postdoc NOFO, 1 application to the R25 NOFO (see our Limited Submission list for this opportunity as well), and/or up to 2 applications for the RC2 NOFO (see our Limited Submission list for this opportunity as well).

Funding Opportunity Purpose: The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) will award Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Predoctoral Institutional Research Training Grants for the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program (T32) to eligible institutions to create, provide, and disseminate clinical and translational science training and career support programs for individuals seeking a PhD or an equivalent research health professional degree and help ensure a pool of clinical and translational scientist trainees who are equipped with the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to advance diagnostics, therapeutics, clinical interventions, and behavioral modifications aimed at improving health and support meaningful translational science research projects that address demonstrable needs among stakeholder communities.

NCATS will not accept applications proposing combined predoctoral and postdoctoral training under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Applications proposing postdoctoral research training should apply to the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Postdoctoral Institutional Research Training Grant for the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program (PAR-25-195).

Applicants interested in providing short-term research experiences should apply to the companion NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program Research Education Grants Programs (R25) (PAR-25-197). A short-term research experience is one where the participant is full-time (40 hours per week) for a period of 10 to 15 weeks, or as specified by the sponsoring institution in accordance with its own policies.

The proposed institutional research training program may complement other ongoing research training and career development programs at the applicant institution, but must be clearly distinct from related programs currently receiving Federal support.

This NOFO does not allow appointed Trainees to lead an independent clinical trial, but does allow them to obtain research experience in a clinical trial on which the PI is a mentor or co-mentor. NIH strongly supports training towards a career in clinically relevant research and so gaining experience in clinical trials under the guidance of a mentor or co-mentor is encouraged.

This limited competition NOFO is part of a required set of companion applications: the Clinical and Translational Science Award (UM1) and companion Institutional Career Development Award (K12). The remaining NOFOs in the suite are optional and include the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) institutional training programs (T32 predoctoral and T32 postdoctoral), the Research Education Grant (R25), and the Specialized Innovation Program (RC2). These optional NOFOs are only available to CTSA Program UM1 applicants and award recipients. Applications to the companion NOFOs cannot be awarded until an award has been issued for the UM1. (See Section III. Eligibility Information of this NOFO and the respective NOFOs for more information).

Opportunity Overview: Applicants are expected to identify training needs and objectives (i.e., specific and measurable outcomes the program intends to achieve). Applicants are expected to develop plans to implement evidence-informed training and mentoring activities (i.e., approaches that are grounded in the literature and from evaluations of existing relevant training programs). The plans are to describe how the participating faculty and preceptors are trained to use evidence-informed mentoring practices that promote the development of trainees. The evidence-informed plans are to consider mentor training assessments that move beyond the faculty’s/preceptor’s participation satisfaction to self-reporting of perceived skills gained, self-reported changes in mentoring behaviors or self-reporting of effectiveness. The plan is expected to include a built-in planned strategy to assess and monitor how well the faculty mentor/preceptor promotes a safe, and supportive research training environment. To the extent possible, the development plan is to include information on how trainees in mentoring dyads/teams are to corroborate mentor’s self-report of changes in mentoring behaviors.

Funded programs are expected to implement the following:

Core Knowledge Expectations in Clinical and Translational Science Research: Ensure that by the end of the training period, trainees will have achieved sufficient breadth in clinical and translational science research areas to facilitate work that advances research along the translational continuum. These research areas include preclinical research, clinical research, implementation science, and population science/public health research. Trainees are expected to acquire knowledge in broad areas of research including, but not limited to: clinical research, regulatory science, biostatistics, epidemiology, telehealth and telemedicine, dissemination and implementation science research, bioinformatics, community engagement and training in translational team science, responsible conduct of research and rigorous research design, entrepreneurship, scientific communication, and leadership. It is expected that customized curricula will be personalized for trainees to achieve domain-specific KSAs depending on the trainee’s desired career role or focused area of research.

Clinical and Translational Science Research is a Cross-Disciplinary Team-Based Endeavor: Ensure that trainees have mastered core competencies in their own discipline, while gaining knowledge of other disciplines and knowledge of the operational principles underlying at least two sectors of the translational science ecosystem. These competencies and knowledge will confer the trainee’s ability and capacity to effectively communicate, collaborate, and break down barriers across multidisciplinary teams and the translational process. Clinical and translational science research is a team-based endeavor that requires input from many different disciplines, sectors, and points of view to be successful. Programs should support partnerships that give trainees experience outside of their particular discipline, both within the academic domain and with stakeholders and sectors outside it, such as patients, non-profit organizations, regulatory agencies, and industry.

Building on Institutional Strengths in Clinical and Translational Science Research: Each NRSA (T32) Training program is to be innovative in its research training and career development program efforts so to impart to trainees the KSAs required for high quality clinical and translational science research. To achieve this, programs are encouraged to build on the local strengths and demonstrated translational innovations of their companion CTSA Program hub (i.e., telehealth and telemedicine, rural health, community engagement, bioinformatics, dissemination and implementation, entrepreneurship, drug discovery, etc.) to effectively curate and foster the clinical and translational science researcher. In this spirit, programs should identify training strengths, needs and objectives (i.e., specific and measurable outcomes the program intends to achieve) that will lead to the creation of a community of clinical and translational science research trainees that extends beyond the training program and across multiple schools (i.e., nursing, dental, engineering) and departments at the institution. Building on institutional strengths can include approaches on how to expose trainees to a larger cadre of mentors with broad clinical expertise, experiences, resources, and backgrounds relevant to clinical and translational science and who can help the trainee transition to the next career phase.

Understanding Career Opportunities: The career outcomes of individuals supported by the NRSA Predoctoral Institutional Research Training Grant for the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program include both research-intensive careers in academia and industry and research-related careers in various sectors including academia, government, industry, and nonprofit. Training programs should make available structured, career development advising and learning opportunities (e.g., workshops, discussions, grant-writing, Individual Development Plans). Opportunities for trainees to gain direct experience with parts of the translational ecosystem outside academia are also important, such as research externships in industry, regulatory agencies, nonprofit patient-advocacy groups, or with other CTSA Program hubs and/or training programs with strengths different from their home hub. Through such opportunities, trainees are expected to obtain a working knowledge of various potential career paths that would make strong use of the clinical and translational science knowledge and skills gained during research training and the steps required to transition successfully to the next stage of their chosen career.

Leadership and Management: In addition to the above referenced Fundamental Characteristics of a Translational Scientist, leadership is another essential characteristic of clinical and translational science scientists. Leadership and management training should be infused into the research-focused career development program activities of the institutional research training (T32) program in Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program so that trainees can develop professional and leadership skills (e.g., emotional intelligence, eliminating barriers to participation including imposter phenomenon, conflict resolution, job offer negotiation, laboratory management, balancing competing priorities) to be effective leaders in clinical and translational science

This NOFO does not allow appointed Trainees to lead an independent clinical trial,but does allow them to obtain research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor. NIH strongly supports training towards a career in clinically relevant research and so gaining experience in clinical trials under the guidance of a mentor or co-mentor is encouraged.

Applications that do not contain all of the required attachments within the (R&R) Other Project Information form, Other Attachments section will be deemed incomplete and will not be reviewed.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Only one T32 predoctoral application per institution (normally identified by having a unique UEI number or NIH IPF number) is allowed. Only one predoctoral T32 application will be awarded if the UM1 application is awarded. If the UM1 is awarded and the initial predoctoral T32 is not awarded, the T32 application may be resubmitted. If the UM1 (A0) application is not awarded, then the T32 (A0) will not be awarded.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-194.html

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 6, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: March 25, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: May, 28 2026 at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu

Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the criteria in the FOA.

2026 NIH: High Impact Specialized Innovation Programs in Clinical and Translational Science (RC2 Clinical Trials Optional)

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting a proposal to the Limited Submission opportunity must submit the internal pre-proposal via Submittable platform (using single PDF document) by the deadline. Please see OSP Handbook, page 8, for PI eligibility details. Internal pre-proposals must comply with all instructions and address the NSF review criteria referenced in this announcement.

Adhering to the submission eligibility below, a set must contain 1 application to the UM1 NOFO above and 1 application to the K12 NOFO (see our Limited Submission list for this opportunity as well). It may also contain 1 application to the T32 predoc NOFO, 1 application to T32 postdoc NOFO (see our Limited Submission list for this opportunity as well), 1 application to the R25 NOFO (see our Limited Submission list for this opportunity as well), and/or up to 2 applications for this RC2 NOFO.

Funding Opportunity Purpose: This is a limited competition. The purpose of the High Impact Specialized Innovation Programs (SIPs) is to support the development and demonstration of unique hub capabilities, research platforms and/or resources to address in a timely manner critical gap areas and/or roadblocks in clinical and translational science at awarded UM1 Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program Hubs (PAR-24-272). Successful programs supported through this funding opportunity are expected to lay a strong foundation for future adoption and/or dissemination of capabilities to additional CTSA Program Hubs.

Opportunity Overview: Research Objectives and Purpose:

The development and implementation of clinical interventions is a complex, iterative, and time-consuming process that takes years before discoveries in biomedical research result in health benefits for patients and communities. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) has the unique charge of examining the translational research ecosystem at a systems level to determine where common pitfalls exist in the translational process and developing innovative solutions that will ultimately benefit research across a range of diseases and conditions. This disease-agnostic approach to enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of all translational research is known as translational science, which focuses on building the evidence base for effective scientific and operational approaches in translational research. NCATS conducts and supports research in the science of translation to discover the scientific, mechanistic, and operational principles of the intervention development and dissemination processes, thereby providing the scientific foundation for improvements in translational efficiency that will accelerate the realization of interventions that improve human health.

The purpose of the High Impact Specialized Innovation Programs (SIPs) is to support unique activities, resources, capabilities and/or expertise at awarded CTSA UM1 (PAR-24-272) hubs to help advance one or more of the NCATS CTSA Program goals. The SIPs initiative is envisioned as part of the current innovation ecosystem to support the generation of a research resource and/or foster discovery-based or hypothesis-generating science that can have a significant impact in Clinical and Translational Science (CTS). Specifically, this limited competition Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeks to support novel approaches in areas that address specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies/platforms, data generation and/or analysis, or novel research methods that will advance clinical and translational science (CTS) and research (CTR) at CTSA UM1 hubs . Resources, activities, and expertise supported through the RC2 mechanism are expected to be available to enhance the development and demonstration activities or projects within a CTSA hub. These include utilization of resources, expertise, tools and platforms for pilot projects, research projects and other CTS activities within hubs. Examples of SIPs areas in clinical and translational science include but are not limited to digital health, decentralized clinical trials, pragmatic trials, artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms, point-of-care clinical decision support systems, data science and statistical methods, real-world data and real-world evidence, innovative clinical trial designs, genetics and genomics. In addition, novel strategies and/or approaches for dissemination and implementation, rural health, clinical informatics, biostatistics, community outreach and engagement, regulatory science, telehealth, and other areas of need for specialized programs.

Scope and Specific Requirements:

Through the RC2 mechanism, SIPs should address one or more of the following objectives:

Groundbreaking, innovative, high impact and cross-cutting research, resources and/or activities that address one or more of the CTSA Program Goals and have the highest potential to improve and accelerate biomedical research at UM1 hubs.
Programs in Clinical and Translational Science that could fundamentally enhance the research enterprise and that require the participation, interaction, coordination, and integration of activities within a CTSA UM1 hub .
Creation of unique resources and/or development of transformative technologies and/or platforms that can benefit a wide range of projects and/or activities related to CTS at CTSA UM1 hubs.
High-impact discovery-based projects or hypothesis-generating science.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Only the primary UM1 CTSA program hub organization is eligible to apply (not partner or collaborator institutions).

RC2 companion optional applications may be submitted under the following scenarios:

-concurrently with the UM1

-while the UM1 application is under review consideration

-after the UM1 application is funded

-while the UM1 is under consideration for funding

RC2 applications will only be awarded if there is an awarded UM1 application from the RC2 applicant organization.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-156.html

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 6, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: March 25, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: May, 28 2026 at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu

Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the criteria in the FOA.

2026: NSF 25-544- Integrated Data Systems & Services (IDSS)

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting a proposal to the Limited Submission opportunity must submit the internal pre-proposal via Submittable platform (using single PDF document) by the deadline. Please see OSP Handbook, page 8, for PI eligibility details. Internal pre-proposals must comply with all instructions and address the NSF review criteria referenced in this announcement.

Funding Opportunity Purpose:

Scope. The IDSS program supports national-scale performant operational systems and services that broadly facilitate open, data-intensive and artificial intelligence-driven science and engineering research, innovation, and education. IDSS projects should be aimed to broadly impact the science and engineering research and education community in a transdisciplinary and demonstrably multi-disciplinary way, enabling researchers and educators from diverse domains and disciplines to utilize research data, integrate data, and connect data sources with other scientific resources such as computing resources, facilities, instrumentation and repositories. Projects that aim to primarily benefit a single science discipline, domain, project, or application are not supported.

Emphasis on integration. The IDSS program supports projects that demonstrably contribute to the vision of an integrated, federated and accessible advanced research cyberinfrastructure ecosystem that meets the Nation’s foundational needs for world-leading data, computing, and networking capabilities.  Projects are expected to leverage and interconnect with other existing operational cyberinfrastructure systems and services and other data and relevant facilities, whether supported by NSF or by other entities, as appropriate to project objectives. Inline with this emphasis, all proposed projects, including collaborative projects, must be submitted as a single proposal in which a single award is being requested (PAPPG Chapter II.E.3.a). The involvement of partner organizations should be supported through subawards administered by the submitting organization.

Scientific data lifecycle. The IDSS program aims to develop a portfolio of projects that collectively enable data utilization pathways and workflows across the end-to-end scientific data lifecycle. The IDSS program has an inclusive and flexible view of the scientific data lifecycle that may include stages and functionalities such as acquisition, transfer, management, exploration, analysis, curation, sharing, synthesis, discovery, and archiving, as may be defined by a project or community. A given IDSS project need not support all stages of a reference data lifecycle but must be clear about how the project enables one or more scientific pathways through all or few stages of a lifecycle.

Storage and curation. The IDSS program supports integrated resources, services and environments to enable hosting, manipulation of, and workflows for research data. The IDSS program does not support costs for permanent long-term hosting, storage, archival, and curation of the research data itself. Projects that involve partnerships, fee-based models, or other such mechanisms to support these long-term data storage and curation costs are encouraged.

Innovation and adaptability: A portion of an IDSS project is expected to be dedicated to innovation and improvement of operational services over the lifetime of the award. Proposed projects designed to enable research communities to build customized tools and capabilities upon the IDSS-supported project infrastructure are also encouraged. Projects that have the goal of cyberinfrastructure innovation without operations expectations and plans are not supported.

Relationship to other funding programs. Proposed IDSS projects should not be appropriate for funding by any other current NSF programs or solicitations. The IDSS program is complementary to other production/operations-oriented national-scale cyberinfrastructure programs supported by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) including the Advanced Systems and Services Program (ACSS) and the ACCESS coordinated services program. ACSS and ACCESS address advanced computing needs of the broad S&E community; the IDSS program focuses on data infrastructure. The IDSS program is also complementary to the OAC CSSI and CC* programs. CC* emphasizes institutional and regional capabilities and CSSI primarily supports data and software infrastructure development; IDSS supports national-scale operational projects. Prospective proposers of pilot- and prototype-stage projects should consider other OAC programs such as CSSI or other relevant NSF programs.

Opportunity Overview:

Programmatic areas of interest

Current areas of particular interest to the IDSS program include, but are not limited to and may involve a combination of:

Projects that facilitate the connection of data sources with advanced computing resources and analytic environments in integrative ways for an appropriately broad array of use cases.
Projects that address the emerging data-intensive workflows and data integration needs of artificial-intelligence (AI)-driven research (including research about AI and research using AI capabilities).
Projects that focus on enabling one or more specific points in the data lifecycle applied at a national scale.

Projects that enhance the ability of the research and education community to access and utilize open research data supported by other federal agencies are welcome, provided that such projects are not primarily benefitting a single science discipline, domain, project, or application, and are complementary to, not overlapping with investments being made by those other agencies for similar purposes.

Proposal categories and descriptions

IDSS offers the following three categories of proposals:

Category I. Development, deployment, and operation of novel national-scale integrated data systems and services, which may include interfacing with or leveraging other existing capabilities, systems and services as appropriate to the project. Between $10 million to $30 million for up to 5 years. Potentially renewable.
Category II. Transition of established smaller scale, regional, pilot, or prototype data-focused systems and services to national-scale production/operational quality/level. This may also include enhancement and expansion of existing national-scale data-focused operational systems and services. Up to $9 million for up to 3 years. Potentially renewable.
Category III. Planning grants for future potential development/deployment or transition/enhancement IDSS projects. Up to $500,000 for up to 2 years. Not renewable.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization:

An organization may submit only one proposal as lead institution for each of Category I and Category II for each solicitation deadline but may be a subawardee on other Category I and II proposals responding to this solicitation. The restriction to no more than one submitted proposal as lead institution is to help ensure that there is appropriate institutional commitment necessary for responsible oversight, by the potential recipient institution, of a national data infrastructure resource. This restriction does not apply to Category III proposals.

In the event that any organization exceeds this limit, any proposal submitted to this solicitation from an organization after the first proposal is received at NSF will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made.

Category III. There are no restrictions or limits.

FOA is available online at: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/idss-integrated-data-systems-services/nsf25-544/solicitation

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 13, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: April 1, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: July 28, 2026 @ 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu

Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the NSF criteria in the FOA.

2026 NSF 26-503: Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Education Innovation and Scholarship for Service (Scholarship Track)

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting a proposal to the Limited Submission opportunity must submit the internal pre-proposal via Submittable platform (using single PDF document) by the deadline. Please see OSP Handbook, page 8, for PI eligibility details. Internal pre-proposals must comply with all instructions and address the NSF review criteria referenced in this announcement.

Funding Opportunity Purpose: The goals of the CyberAI SFS Program are to: (1) increase the number of CyberAI experts and support their placement and retention in the mission of government organizations; and (2) enhance the national capacity for the education and training of AI and cybersecurity professionals, educators, and researchers.

Proposals must include discussion of how the proposed project will address one or more of the following measures of success: (1) improvements in student educational outcomes, (2) support undergraduates, graduates, and postdoctoral fellows, (3) training for undergraduate and graduate students in a specific critical area, (4) curriculum developed and shared, (5) participants hired into a STEM related field, and (6) publications from research. Opportunity Overview: Scholarship Track

The Scholarship Track funds academic institutions to award scholarships to students. In return students agree to work in the AI or cybersecurity mission of a government agency. This post-graduation work period must be at least as long as the scholarship. All scholarship recipients must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Proposals submitted to this track must clearly specify one of two focus areas in the proposal summary:

Focus Area–Cyber: prepares cyber experts to use AI in cybersecurity operations. The scholars must complete a formal cybersecurity program (major, minor, concentration, track, certificate, etc.) with at least four cybersecurity courses and a minimum of two AI courses.
Focus Area–AI: prepares AI professionals to protect the security of AI systems and infrastructure. The scholars must complete a formal AI program (major, minor, concentration, track, certificate, etc.) with at least four AI courses and a minimum of two cybersecurity courses.

All proposals must include meaningful opportunities for scholars to engage in informal learning experiences (competitions, service learning, etc.), mentored research, and applied projects in AI and cybersecurity. Proposals may address the security of emerging domains such as quantum computing, aerospace, energy, or other high-impact sectors where AI and cybersecurity are converging.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: For the Scholarship Track, each performing organization is limited to one (1) proposal submitted for the same competition date.

FOA is available online at: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/cyberai-sfs-cyberaicorps-scholarship-service/nsf26-503/solicitation

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: March 13, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: April 3, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: July 21, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

Please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu for assistance

Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the NSF criteria in the FOA.

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Funding Opportunity Purpose: This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites eligible institutions to seek funds to transform or improve the operations of existing shared research facilities through the purchase and installation of latest equipment that enable and enhance a broad range of research-supporting activities. Any equipment supported by this NOFO must be substantially used in a laboratory research core facility, animal facility, or similar shared-use research space to ensure broad benefits for the institutional research community. Moreover, any request must be justified by research-related demands for the modernization of research-supporting functions or for the advancement of facility operations. This NOFO does not support the purchase of scientific instruments or their components, nor components of building-level infrastructure equipment that indirectly support research activities (such as HVACs or power generators).

NIGMS will co-fund applications from higher education institutions that award undergraduate (B.S. or B.A.) and/or graduate degrees in biomedical sciences and have received no more than $6 million dollars per year (total costs) from NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) in each of the preceding two fiscal years, calculated using NIH RePORTER, at the time of the application. Applications to be considered must support research aligned with the NIGMS mission. Applications for research capacity building in Institutional Development Award (IDeA)-eligible states will be considered.

NIH recognizes that modern physical infrastructure that supports the scientific enterprise is indispensable for the advancement of biomedical research. Laboratory spaces or animal facilities are considered eligible if the space/facility: i) employs a wide range of advanced technical solutions to create well-controlled environments, ii) provides research spaces with equipment to facilitate and optimize research-supporting activities, and iii) provides tools that assist in facility operations and monitoring.

Opportunity Overview: The objective of this NOFO is to support the acquisition of latest, technologically advanced equipment needed to advance the operational efficacy, productivity, and throughput; improve energy efficiency, enhance, or streamline operating processes and procedures in core laboratories, animal research facilities, or other shared-use research support space. Providing access to such equipment can also expand the capacity of essential support services for evolving and emerging research programs. Maintaining current functions, replacing broken equipment, and routine upgrading are not supported by this NOFO. This NOFO does not support the acquisition of scientific research instruments that acquire experimental data or any other instrument directly involved in experimental processes that lead to data collection. Some examples of such excluded instruments include, but are not limited to, spectrometers, microscopes, biomedical imagers, cell analyzers, sequencers, PCR machines, chromatography equipment, and metabolic cages. Computer and data storage systems supporting scientific data collection, storage, and analysis are also not supported by this NOFO. These instruments may be requested through ORIP’s shared instrumentation programs.

Animal research facilities are one of the targeted research areas of this NOFO. Examples of supported equipment for animal facilities include, but are not limited to:

Multi-functional ventilated cages and/or cage racks for small animals
Specialized caging system for large animals
Aquatic animal systems equipped with water quality assessment sensors
Automated feeding or watering systems to aid in consistency and accuracy of animal care
Robotics and automations for animal facility operation
Advanced, environmental-friendly, high performing or high-throughput cage, rack, bottle, and tunnel washer systems
Veterinary care devices and veterinary diagnostic systems
Telemetry equipment to monitor cage conditions and/or animal well-being for purposes of animal husbandry (not experimental data collection)
Environmental management devices that assist in the monitoring and customizing of environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, air flow, and lighting.

Core laboratories and specialized facilities are other spaces targeted by this NOFO. Without access to modern research facilities with well-controlled environments and furnished with specialized support equipment, many research functions are not feasible. Examples of supported modern laboratory research equipment include, but are not limited to:

Modern biobanking or cryopreservation equipment
Freezers assisted by robotic arms or other forms of automation
Biosafety cabinets
Fume hoods
Incubators
Centrifuges
Autoclaves or other sterilizers
Cryogenic gas recovery/recycling equipment (servicing two or more instruments)
Environmental chambers, isolators, or other chambers designed to create specialized environments
Bioreactors
Lyophilizers
Liquid dispensers or other automated sample preparation equipment (single piece of equipment)
Cryostats or other tissue sectioning equipment
Single piece, integrated slide staining equipment (multiple pieces for single steps in the process are not allowed)
Nucleic acid extraction equipment
Peptide or oligonucleotide synthesizers
3D Printers
Automated cell processing equipment
Water purification/treatment equipment (in lab, not for an entire building)

Other equipment that modernizes, streamlines, or improves the operating efficiency of the facility is also supported. Computers or other electronics that are built into the equipment with specialized software may also be a part of the equipment request if and only if they are inseparable from the requested equipment.

Equipment supported by this NOFO differs in its functionality from scientific research instruments, but such equipment is critically needed to advance and accelerate the operations of research facilities and, as a result, contributes indirectly to the overall advancement of scientific research. Any equipment acquired under this NOFO must benefit the larger biomedical research enterprise at the applicant institution and represent a technological step forward. The application narrative should demonstrate that the request for the equipment is driven by the demands of active areas of biomedical research at the institution. The facility may serve investigators whose research is supported by NIH, other Federal agencies, private foundations, institutional funds, or other sources. Current NIH research funding is not a requirement for submission of an application. Once installed, the requested equipment should enable new and advanced capabilities, offer innovative technological solutions, or enhance support operations, as well as benefit the user community and multiple research projects of many investigators. Maintaining current functions, replacing broken equipment, and routine upgrading are not supported by this NOFO. Likewise, equipment that is normally considered to be a component of building infrastructure is not supported, e.g., HVAC systems, building-level water treatment systems, or back-up power supplies of any type. Any application that proposes general outfitting, clusters of equipment, scientific instruments or their components, and/or other non-allowed expenses will be deemed unresponsive to this NOFO and subject to withdrawal from review or consideration for funding. The acquisition of a single piece of latest equipment necessary to support specialized research-supporting activities is the goal of this NOFO. Moreover, only one facility can be supported; this NOFO does not support the upgrading of multiple facilities at a single institution. Only one type of equipment may be requested. Auxiliary items required for the physical operation of the major equipment piece are also permitted, e.g., a centrifuge with a rotor. Such auxiliary items must be dedicated to the main equipment piece, required for the main equipment piece to function, and not be capable of stand-alone operation. Multiple items of the same type of equipment are also permitted, e.g., cages racks with cages, but any request must be justified by the research-related demands on the facility and the operational capacities therein. Clusters of equipment serving a single or multiple support function(s) are not permitted, e.g., incubators, biosafety hoods, and centrifuges for cell culture. General outfitting of the support space, e.g., purchasing multiple pieces of different equipment is also not permitted under this NOFO.

Moreover, it is encouraged that all requested equipment adheres to the highest level of energy efficiency available to reduce environmental impacts.

All applicants are strongly encouraged to reach out to the Scientific/Research Contact(s) before submission of an application to discuss equipment requests and eligibility criteria. In addition, there is an FAQ and (archived) webinar providing additional guidance that can be viewed at ORIP's Equipment web page.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique entity identifier (UEI) or NIH IPF number) is allowed. An institution that received an award under this NOFO in the immediate past fiscal year is not eligible to apply for this NOFO unless the previous award has been fully closed out by the date of submission. Specifically, an institution that received an award under PAR-24-028 is not eligible to apply for this NOFO for the September 25, 2024 due date. In other words, only one active equipment award is permitted at a time.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-259.html

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: July 10, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m. 

Internal Competition Results Announced: July 31, 2026 Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: September 25, 2026, at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu.

Internal Review Process: The Research Division in consultation with a review committee, will decide which pre-proposals will continue to the full proposal submission stage. Anonymized reviewer feedback will be provided to all PIs whose pre-proposals were considered by the review committee, following the announcement of the finalist selection.

2026 NIH: Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Centers (T42)

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Funding Opportunity Purpose: The United States Public Health Service (USPHS) is committed to achieving a society in which all people live long, healthy lives. The vision, mission, and goals are found in Healthy People 2030, a USPHS-led national activity to achieve better health in the United States by the year 2030. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is linked to the goals of Healthy People 2030, that are intended to prevent work-related diseases, injuries, and deaths while improving worker health, safety, and well-being.

As noted by Healthy People 2030, the health and well-being of the U.S. workforce is central to the strength of the economy. Because people spend so much time working, their work environment has a major impact on their health. Many people get injured or die on the job, and develop health conditions from exposure at work, such as hearing loss, skin diseases and lung problems. Tailored interventions can help reduce work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths, and promote worker well-being.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 mandates that NIOSH provide an adequate supply of qualified personnel to carry out the purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. NIOSH ERCs have a key role in meeting this mandate and contribute to the Institute’s core mission of preventing workplace injuries and illnesses.

In 1977, NIOSH supported 9 ERCs in 9 states and 5 Health and Human Services (HHS) Federal Regions. Presently, NIOSH supports 18 ERCs across all 10 HHS Regions. Over 20,700 individuals graduated from ERCs in the core and allied disciplines in occupational safety and health (OSH) from 1977 - 2023. As capacity in OSH practice and research has increased, the number and rates of work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities have decreased (BLS, 2021).

The far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the vital role OSH has in the United States and beyond. From occupational exposures that led to illness and death to the mental and economic stressors the pandemic placed across individuals, workplaces and communities, ERCs responded rapidly to the needs of their students, staff and faculty and regional stakeholders by providing broad-based approaches to protection from the virus. This included guidance on proper use and decontamination of personal protective equipment, respirator fit testing, social distancing for worksites, and the use of physical protective barriers. Many ERCs developed communication products, resource guides, online courses, and webinars on safe work practices during the pandemic.

ERCs will continue to train OSH practitioners and researchers with the knowledge and skills to respond to natural, man-made, environmental, and public health disasters. Historically, ERCs have provided expertise in worker health and safety following events such as hurricanes (Katrina, Maria, and Harvey), the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, illicit drug exposures to law enforcement and emergency medical services, and Ebola and influenza outbreaks. ERC's responses have included outreach activities and research training opportunities that highlighted the expertise of ERC's faculty, staff, and trainees.

Opportunity Overview:

Centers will have different strengths, focus areas, experiences and capacities. NIOSH ERCs are essential to moving the OSH field forward. Developing highly skilled and knowledgeable OSH practitioners and researchers to advance worker health, safety and well-being is crucial to address issues that are multi-regional, national, and global in scope.

ERCs focus on the core OSH disciplines of IH, OHN, OM, and OS and must support at least 2 of the core disciplines through their academic training program. Allied disciplines are also offered through many of the ERCs. Allied disciplines include, but not limited to, occupational health psychology, Total Worker Health, mining safety, agricultural safety and health, and ergonomics.

ERCs serve as resources for our nation's workforce through continuing education and outreach in their region. ERCs have strong collaborations with professional associations, worker advocacy groups, businesses, industries and public health agencies.

ERCs may also support research training programs through Pilot Project Research Training Programs and Targeted Research Training. ERCs conduct research on priorities in NORA and emerging issues.

The applicant must provide an overall description of the ERC addressing the burden of occupational injuries and illnesses within the region, the regional and national need to an ERC in their region and the ERC's impact or potential for impact to improve worker health, safety, and well-being. The narrative should address significance, investigators, innovation, approach, and environment. Applicants may indicate this in the Research Strategy of their application.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Only one is allowed.

A current recipient or applicant of the NIOSH T03, Occupational Safety and Health Training Project Grants award is not eligible to apply for an award or a sub-award under this Funding Opportunity Announcement.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OH-25-002.html

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: July 23, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m

Internal Competition Results Announced: August 13, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: October 22, 2026, at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu.

Internal Review Process: The Research Division in consultation with a review committee, will decide which pre-proposals will continue to the full proposal submission stage. Anonymized reviewer feedback will be provided to all PIs whose pre-proposals were considered by the review committee, following the announcement of the finalist selection.

2026 NIH: National Center for Construction Safety and Health Research and Translation (U54)

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Funding Opportunity Purpose: This funding opportunity provides support for a National Center for Construction Safety and Health Research and Translation (National Construction Center) to address the significant and varied burden of work-related injuries and illnesses in the U.S. construction industry. The NIOSH National Construction Center serves as a national leader in construction research, implementation, and dissemination of scientific discoveries to benefit construction workers by working to prevent or reduce work-related injuries and illnesses. The NIOSH National Construction Center recipient will address both regional and national construction worker safety and health issues and prioritize the creation, dissemination, and widespread use of evidence-based solutions to address the most critical safety and health problems in the construction industry. Furthermore, the NIOSH National Construction Center will establish a publicly accessible online repository for research data, indicators, and research-to-practice materials and products. The overarching goal of the National Construction Center is to reduce adverse construction worker health and safety outcomes by studying, developing, and implementing evidence-based practices and solutions.

Applications for this funding opportunity should have a national scope for research, implementation, dissemination, and related activities described in this announcement. The proposed projects should aim to achieve the following objectives: 1) reducing and preventing construction worker exposures to safety and health hazards, 2) improving the safety culture and safety climate within the construction industry, 3) applying prevention through design, the hierarchy of controls, and emerging technologies where appropriate to address industry hazards, and 4) widely disseminating best practices and other information for use by workers, employers, contractors, and site owners. The National Construction Center is expected to work closely with NIOSH construction program leadership, academic and research partners, and other organizations to advance research integration and inform best practices and effective worksite solutions in the U.S. construction industry. Applicants should clearly describe how the intended outcomes of the proposed work will contribute to the specified goals in NIOSH's Strategic Plan and, in the NIOSH Priority Goals for Extramural Research.

Opportunity Overview:

consider the required and optional components essential to the National Construction Center function, detailed below, in providing an overall description of the proposed Center, addressing 1) the burden of occupational injuries and illnesses for the construction sector, 2) the national need for the Center’s proposed programs and projects, and 3) the Center’s impact, or potential for impact, on construction worker health and safety.

To effectively address the purpose and scope of this NOFO, the following required components will enable the Center to cohesively address established goals and objectives for providing impact:

Planning, Administration, and Evaluation Core
Construction Industry Data and Statistical Core
Communication, Outreach, and Education Core
Research-to-Practice Core
Applied Research Projects (collectively, the Applied Research Core)

Planning, Administration, and Evaluation Core (up to 20% of total costs/year). The purpose of this core is to 1) provide oversight, leadership, and management for the Center, including establishment and maintenance of advisory committees; 2) engage in long-range planning, coordination, and implementation of work that crosses multiple cores, programs or projects; and 3) develop and assist in implementing evaluation efforts at the Center, core, program and project levels.

Construction Industry Data and Statistical Core (up to 10% of total costs/year). This core acquires, analyzes, interprets and disseminates data, indicators, and important changes/trends within and impacting the construction sector. The types of data can include construction related injury, illness, disability, deaths, industry characteristics, advances in methods, equipment, or technologies, as well as indicators such as employment and demographic economic variables.

Communication, Outreach, and Education Core (up to 10% of total costs). The purpose of this core is to ensure that evidence-based approaches, technologies, guidelines, policies, best practices, or similar activities that are known to be effective are promoted and disseminated to benefit workers and their associated work environments. This core develops partnerships with a diverse group of stakeholders to help ensure that research outputs, outcomes, and impacts can be disseminated widely. A variety of pathways should be used, such as live meetings, webinars, websites, and social media.

Research-to-Practice Core (up to 30% of total costs/year). This core ensures a systematic approach focused on the use, adoption, and adaptation of interventions and technologies that translate research findings into practice to reduce and eliminate occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in the construction sector. The purpose of this core is to bridge the gap between research and practice by effectively integrating knowledge, interventions, and technologies into workplace policies, procedures, and practices.

Applied Research Core (up to 30% of total costs/year). This core consists of a variety of individual research projects that address burden, need, and impact to improve occupational safety and health in the construction sector. Applied research builds the evidence base for effective prevention and intervention practices.

Guidance has been provided for the approximate budget allocation expected for each core. Applicants may request, with justification, more or less funding for any of the cores, provided they do not exceed the total costs allowed under this NOFO.

Applicants are encouraged to propose a pilot studies subprogram as part of the Planning, Administration, and Evaluation Core or the Research-to-Practice Core. Provide a clear description of the program within the appropriate core and fully justify the requested budget. All laws and regulations related to federal funding will apply. NIOSH will neither peer-review individual pilot project proposals nor make available an institutional review board for that purpose.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization: Only one application per institution (normally identified by having a unique UEI number) is allowed.

FOA is available online at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OH-24-001.html

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: July 24, 2026 @ 11:59 p.m

Internal Competition Results Announced: August 14, 2026

Sponsor Full Proposal Deadline: October 30, 2026, at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

Submitters will complete and submit a form providing the following:

Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.
Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format);
List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

*If assistance is needed, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu.

Internal Review Process: The Research Division in consultation with a review committee, will decide which pre-proposals will continue to the full proposal submission stage. Anonymized reviewer feedback will be provided to all PIs whose pre-proposals were considered by the review committee, following the announcement of the finalist selection.

2026 NSF 24-608: Safety, Security, and Privacy of Open-Source Ecosystems (Safe-OSE)

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Announcement of UTRGV Limited Submission Internal Competition All PI-eligible UTRGV faculty/staff interested in submitting a proposal to the Limited Submission opportunity must submit the internal pre-proposal via Submittable platform (using single PDF document) by the deadline. Please see OSP Handbook, page 8, for PI eligibility details. Internal pre-proposals must comply with all instructions and address the NSF review criteria referenced in this announcement.

Funding Opportunity Purpose: Vulnerabilities in an open-source product and/or its continuous development, integration and deployment infrastructure can potentially be exploited to attack any user (human, organization, and/or another product/entity) of the product. To respond to the growing threats to the safety, security, and privacy of open-source ecosystems (OSEs), NSF is launching the Safety, Security, and Privacy for Open-Source Ecosystems (Safe-OSE) program. This program solicits proposals from OSEs, including those not originally funded by NSF's Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program, to address significant safety, security, and/or privacy vulnerabilities, both technical (e.g., vulnerabilities in code and side-channels) and socio-technical (e.g., supply chain, insider threats, etc.).

Although most open-source products are software-based, it is important to note that Safe-OSE applies to any type of OSE, including those based on scientific methodologies, models, and processes; manufacturing processes and process specifications; materials formulations; programming languages and formats; hardware instruction sets; system designs or specifications; and data platforms. The goal of the Safe-OSE program is to catalyze meaningful improvements in the safety, security, and privacy of the targeted OSE that the OSE does not currently have the resources to undertake. Funds from this program should be directed toward efforts to enhance the safety, security, and privacy characteristics of the open-source product and its supply chain as well as to bolster the ecosystem's capabilities for managing current and future risks, attacks, breaches, and responses.

Opportunity Overview:The term "open source" usually refers to software for which the original source code is publicly distributed to anyone and for any purpose, including for further development and refinement in a collaborative manner. Open-source software (OSS) is ubiquitous: a 2022 report from GitHub estimated that 97% of software relies on OSS, and 90% of companies apply or use OSS in some way. OSS is also increasingly important to commercial enterprises, with 30% of Fortune 100 companies running open-source program offices (OSPOs) to coordinate their OSS strategies.

Increasingly, however, the term open source also refers to a range of publicly distributed products that transcend OSS, including scientific methodologies, models, and processes; manufacturing processes and process specifications; materials formulations; programming languages and formats; hardware instruction sets; system designs or specifications; and data platforms. Academic and industrial scientists, engineers, researchers, and other professionals worldwide use distributed, collaborative open-source development methods to make a wide variety of products openly available with a goal of enabling nimble development and catalyzing further innovation.

Although open-source development methods accelerate and catalyze innovation, they can also create safety, security, and privacy risks and unintended harms. Adversaries can leverage the pillars of the open-source development philosophy - the democratization of development and broad opportunities for reuse - to insert and exploit vulnerabilities in open-source products. For OSS, even code written in memory-safe languages can be compromised because code re-usability and modularity can introduce dependencies, complexity, and liabilities to the software development life cycle. A recent study found that 82% of OSS components present risks due to vulnerabilities, security issues, and code quality or maintainability concerns. Furthermore, as noted in the report of a recent workshop sponsored by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NSF, and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) on the Open-source Software Security Initiative, the dynamics of complex, distributed organizations pose unique challenges in the creation and maintenance of a secure open-source ecosystem.

Thus, the characteristics of openness that make open-source such a powerful driver of innovation also enable many avenues of attack by adversaries using combinations of technical, social, and socio-technical approaches.

Maximum Number of Applications Allowed Per Organization:Up to two (2) preliminary proposals per lead organization are allowed. NSF will review the preliminary proposals and provide a binding "Invite" or "Do Not Invite" response for each preliminary proposal. Invited organizations will be allowed to submit a full proposal on the project described in the preliminary proposal by the full proposal submission deadline.

FOA is available online at: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/safe-ose-safety-security-privacy-open-source-ecosystems/nsf24-608/solicitation

Internal Competition Submission Deadline: August 25, 2026  @ 11:59 p.m

Internal Competition Results Announced: September 15, 2026 

Sponsor Preliminary Proposal Deadline (Required): January 12, 2027 at 5:00 PM

Documents Needed for the Preproposals:

· Draft project summary/abstract of up to 2 pages; References do not count toward the 2-page limit.

· Biographical sketches for the PIs and Co-PIs (any format)

· List of collaborators and any other senior/key personnel, if any.

If assistance is needed to create the PDF, please contact Salvador Arellano III at salvador.arellano01@utrgv.edu

Review Criteria: Internal review criteria shall mirror the NSF criteria in the FOA.