Bioethics in Research
As a publicly funded research agency, NIH has a responsibility to make sure we – and the people and work we fund – support ethically grounded research. Being at the intersection of research and policy, OSP works across NIH to integrate ethical principles into the design, conduct, and dissemination of biomedical research.
Bioethics and OSP
To enable the rapid translation of research discoveries into practice, OSP works to ensure good science and robust ethics go hand in hand. Bioethics is foundational to the entirety of OSP’s policy work, which seeks to anticipate and plan for potential ethical implications for the research NIH supports.
Integrating bioethics into biomedical and behavioral research can enhance the translation of research into practice; increase the inclusion of participant, stakeholder, and societal values; and engender greater trust in the biomedical research enterprise. Additionally, using a bioethical lens to consider biomedical and behavioral research can strengthen individual research studies and the scientific enterprise more broadly, enabling researchers and institutions to anticipate and avoid practices that could erode the trust of research participants and the general public. Therefore, OSP supports efforts to integrate bioethics research across the NIH portfolio, to improve biomedical and behavioral science and to better inform research policies.
OSP-Supported Bioethics Awards
Research into bioethical issues can provide an evidentiary basis to guide conduct, content, and/or application of the biomedical and behavioral sciences and their associated policies. Ethical questions and challenges are interlinked with many of NIH’s general areas of scientific priority, such as responding to public health needs (e.g., COVID-19, the opioid crisis, desire for precision medicine interventions) and emerging scientific opportunities (e.g., new data sharing infrastructure, innovative technologies).
OSP has partnered with NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices to fund administrative supplements to support 1) research on bioethical issues to develop or support the development of an evidence base that may inform future policy directions, and/or 2) certain efforts to develop or augment bioethics research capacity. Applicants may propose to supplement parent awards focused on bioethics or to address a component related to bioethics in a biomedical or behavioral research study. Note that applications must be within the general scope of the parent award. Topics addressed by funded projects have been broad in scope. They include bioethical issues related to the development and use of emerging technologies, data sharing, the inclusion of populations underrepresented in research, participant representation in research, and return of research results to study participants. Information about past awards can be viewed below.
- FY2022 Administrative Supplements for Research and Capacity Building Efforts Related to Bioethical Issues
- FY2021 Administrative Supplements for Research and Capacity Building Efforts Related to Bioethical Issues
- FY2020 Administrative Supplements for Research on Bioethical Issues
- FY2019 Administrative Supplements for Research on Bioethical Issues
Funding Opportunities Across NIH
Bioethical issues span the NIH portfolio and, accordingly, there are numerous efforts across the agency to promote research, training, and service related to bioethical issues. The list below includes funding opportunities that, at least in part, explicitly support bioethics or research on ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) research.
This list is not necessarily comprehensive. To search for all active NIH funding opportunities, please visit the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. Note that multiple NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices may participate in these opportunities—see the specific opportunities for more details.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Agency-wide
| Title | FOA/ Notice Number | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Interest in High Priority Research in Bioethical, Legal, and Societal Implications of Biomedical Research | NOT-LM-17-001 |
BRAIN Initiative
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health
| Title | FOA/ Notice Number | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Innovative Screening Approaches and Therapies for Screenable Disorders in Newborns (R01 – Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR-21-353 | 11/6/24 |
| Innovative Screening Approaches and Therapies for Screenable Disorders in Newborns (R03 – Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR-21-354 | 11/17/24 |
| Innovative Screening Approaches and Therapies for Screenable Disorders in Newborns (R21 – Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR-21-355 | 11/17/24 |
Fogarty International Center
| Title | FOA/ Notice Number | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Emerging Global Leader Award (K43 Independent Clinical Trial Required) | PAR-21-251 | 12/12/23 |
| Emerging Global Leader Award (K43 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR-21-252 | 12/12/23 |
National Cancer Institute
| Title | FOA/ Notice Number | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Modular R01s in Cancer Control and Population Sciences (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR-21-190 | 3/8/24 |
National Human Genome Research Institute
| Title | FOA/ Notice Number | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Small Research Grant (R03 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR-20-257 | 7/20/2023 |
| Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR-20-254 | 7/20/2023 |
| Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR-20-255 | 7/20/2023 |
| Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Clarification of the Objectives and Program Elements in NHGRI Applications Submitted in Response to the “Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Institutional Resarch Training Grants (Parent T32)” | NOT-HG-21-032 | 5/8/2023 |
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
| Title | FOA/ Notice Number | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Research on Bioethical Issues Related to Bionic and Robotic Device Development and Translation (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Co-issued by the Office of the Director |
RFA-EB-23-001 | 10/3/23 |
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
| Title | FOA/ Notice Number | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Reporting Back Environmental Health and Non-Genomic Research Results Co-issued by the Office of the Director |
NOT-ES-23-003 |
Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office
| Title | FOA/ Notice Number | Expiration Date |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Special Interest in Research on the Health of Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Populations | NOT-MD-19-001 |
CLOSED FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Please note, this is not an exhaustive list of expired bioethics funding opportunities. For a record of all expired opportunities, please search the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.
Integrating Bioethics and Biomedical Research Symposium
“A Match Made in Science: Integrating Bioethics and Biomedical Research” was held on July 20, 2021. The symposium highlighted the integral role that bioethics plays in advancing science. Panelists discussed concrete examples of how integrating bioethics into biomedical research has strengthened research outcomes, and they shared practical advice for initiating and sustaining successful collaborations between bioethicists and biomedical researchers.
Resources
- NIH Bioethics Points of Contact
- Relevant Links
- International Compilation of Human Research Standards
- World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki 2013
- 2016 CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans Guidelines
- Georgetown University Bioethics Research Library
- Previous Bioethics Commissions
- Study and Evaluation of the Use and Disclosure of Protected Health Information for Research Purposes