The National Institutes of Health announced today some of the new funding opportunities made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). One billion dollars of the $10.4 billion provided to NIH under ARRA has been allocated for federal awards to institutions seeking to construct, renovate or repair biomedical or behavioral research facilities. The National Center for Research Resources, a part of NIH, will administer these categories of grants.

Signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, 2009, ARRA provides funds intended to stimulate the economy. Consistent with this legislative purpose, NIH is pleased to use ARRA-supported funding opportunities to help create or maintain American jobs, while advancing research.

"We are pleased to launch one of our agency's first efforts through grants that have exceptional potential to create new jobs and improve the economy while leading the way toward important medical discoveries that can benefit the health of Americans nationwide," said NIH Acting Director Raynard S. Kington, M.D., Ph.D. "NIH is well-positioned to fund the best science in pursuit of improving the length and the quality of the lives of American citizens, while at the same time stimulating the economy."

Institutions must apply for these ARRA funds under NIH's grant application process, in which applications undergo review by experts. Funding will be awarded using two categories of facility construction and improvement grants.

Core Facility Renovation, Repair and Improvement. This funding opportunity is designed to upgrade extramural core facilities to support biomedical and/or behavioral research, funded by the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS). Extramural research is conducted off the NIH campus, nationwide, by NIH-funded institutions and organizations. A core facility is defined as a centralized shared resource that provides access to instruments or technologies or services, as well as expert consultation to NIH-funded investigators. The deadline for applications is Sept. 17, 2009. Budgets between $1 million and $10 million may be requested. For more information, visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RR-09-007.html.

Extramural Research Facilities Improvement Program. This funding opportunity is designed to construct, renovate or repair biomedical or behavioral research extramural facilities. The major objective is to facilitate and enhance the conduct of PHS biomedical and behavioral research by providing the costs of improving non-federal basic research and clinical research to meet the research, research training or research support needs of an institution. Deadlines are May 6, June 17 and July 17, 2009, depending upon the funding amount requested. Amounts can range from $2 million to $15 million. For more information about applying, see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RR-09-008.html.

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