Jun 1, 2025, 17:52

NIH Research Software Engineer (RSE) Award (R50 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

Supports exceptional Research Software Engineers by providing salary support (up to 3 years) to develop, maintain, and disseminate NIH-funded biomedical, clinical, behavioral, or health-related research software, tools, and algorithms. Aims to foster sustainable, high-quality research software and retain RSE talent in academic settings.

Eligibility Criteria:

Applicant (RSE/PD PI):
- Must be the Contact PD/PI.
- Full-time, non-tenure-track position at an eligible institution, with at least 1 year in that role.
- Documented evidence of outstanding software engineering accomplishments (publications, conference proceedings, and code samples via URLs).
- Must commit a minimum of 6 person-months/year to NIH-funded research activities.
- Must not have been Contact PD/PI on any independent NIH grant (e.g., R01, R21, R03) in the past five years.
Other Significant Contributor (NIH-funded PI):
- Must be PD/PI on an active NIH grant with ≥ 1 full funding year remaining at the time of award (excluding no-cost extensions).
- Provides a letter confirming:
  - Relevance of their NIH project to the RSE’s expertise.
  - Their commitment to the RSE’s role and career development.
  - Sufficient remaining funds on the NIH award to cover the RSE’s efforts.
Non-Responsiveness: Applications will not be reviewed if they:
- Omit the RSE as Contact PD/PI.
- Lack the required NIH-funded PI letter of support.
- Lack two letters of recommendation.
- Are unrelated to an existing NIH-funded biomedical, clinical, behavioral, or health research project.

Funding Details:

Mechanism: R50 Research Specialist Award (Clinical Trials Not Allowed).
Budget:
- Up to $300 000 direct costs over a maximum 3-year period.
- No more than $200 000 direct costs per year.
- Direct costs cover:
  - RSE salary support (commensurate with level of effort on NIH-funded grants; ≥ 6 person-months/year).
  - Up to $2 500/year for travel to scientific meetings.
- No other research expenses are allowed.
Project Period: Up to 3 years.
Anticipated Awards: NIH ODSS plans to commit up to $6 million in FY 2025 to fund approximately 18–20 awards.

Deadline:

Letter of Intent: 30 days before each application due date.
Application Due Dates (by 5:00 PM local time):
- June 4, 2025
- December 4, 2025
- June 4, 2026
- December 4, 2026
Expiration Date: December 5, 2026