NIH recently released three notices of special interest (NOSIs) announcing three funding opportunities supporting research on improving women’s health, maternal health, preventing maternal morbidity and mortality (MMM), developing new maternal health technologies, and understanding and addressing the impact of COVID-19 on maternal health. We describe these opportunities below.
Small Business Initiatives for Innovative Diagnostic Technology for Improving Outcomes for Maternal Health (NOT-EB-21-001)
NIH invites Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) applications that propose to develop technologies or tools to predict quantitatively or indicate an increased risk for MMM. This funding opportunity is part of the IMPROVE initiative (Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone), which supports research to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths and to improve health for women before, during, and after delivery. More information on this NOSI is available here. Applications will be accepted from April 5, 2021, to April 6, 2023.
Administrative Supplements and Urgent Competitive Revisions for NIH Grants to Add or Expand Research Focused on Maternal Health, Structural Racism and Discrimination, and COVID-19 (NOT-OD-21-071)
This funding opportunity—for investigators with relevant, active NIH-supported grants—addresses the following scientific priorities of the IMPROVE initiative in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for women who are pregnant or up to 1 year postpartum: (1) understanding the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health, well-being, functioning, and quality of life; (2) identifying psychosocial and behavioral health risk factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic that affect maternal mental health and functioning outcomes; and (3) addressing the impact of structural racism and discrimination on maternal health outcomes in the context of COVID-19. More information is available here. Applications will be accepted April 14–21, 2021.
Administrative Supplements for Research on Women’s Health in the IDeA States (NOT-GM-21-018)
The Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program, a congressionally mandated program that builds research capacity in States that historically have had low levels of NIH funding, supports competitive basic, clinical, and translational research, faculty development, and infrastructure improvements. Current IDeA awardees may apply for these funding supplements to expand research and research capacity in the IDeA States to address important issues of women’s health across the lifespan. The proposed research must address at least one of the strategic goals of Advancing Science for the Health of Women: The Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Women’s Health Research. Research on maternal and infant morbidity and mortality is of particular interest. More information is available here. Applications will be accepted April 19–20, 2021.