The National Institutes of Health will provide support to institutions to recruit diverse groups or “cohorts” of early-stage research faculty and prepare them to thrive as NIH-funded researchers. Progress has been made to increase participation of historically underrepresented groups in biomedical research training stages, however, members of these groups are still less likely to be hired into positions as independently-funded faculty researchers, according to previous studies. These groups include underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, and women. Two new funding announcements were released as part of the NIH Common Fund’s Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) program to enhance inclusive excellence at NIH-funded institutions.

Inclusive excellence has diversity and equity at its core, building inclusion into all organizational functions and establishing hallmarks for successful operationalization of inclusion. The FIRST program will provide funds for faculty recruitment and to establish inclusive environments at participating institutions to help those faculty succeed. The program’s estimated budget is $241 million over nine years, pending the availability of funds.

• RFA-RM-20-022: NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program: FIRST Cohort (U54 Clinical Trial Optional)
• RFA-RM-20-023: NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program: FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Press Release: NIH to fund cohort recruitment and development program to enhance diversity and inclusion among biomedical faculty