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TWD Programs GuideResearch training, explained

Program profile

What changed in NIGMS training programs, 2011 to 2026

If you last looked at NIGMS training programs a few years ago, most of the map has moved. This page puts the changes in order, with dates you can check.

By the TWD Programs Guide editors · Updated · 3 min read

Short answer

Between 2019 and 2021 NIGMS split RISE into U-RISE and G-RISE, renamed MARC U-STAR as MARC and moved IMSD to a T32. In spring 2025 many MARC, U-RISE, G-RISE, IMSD, PREP, Bridges, IRACDA and MOSAIC awards were reported terminated. By late 2026 NIGMS listed a new undergraduate program (BURT), the TURTLE program, the predoctoral T32 and MSTP, and had stopped taking postdoctoral T32 applications.

Why is the program map so different now?

Because NIGMS changed it twice: a deliberate restructuring between 2019 and 2021, then the termination of many diversity-focused awards in 2025 followed by new programs in 2026. The first round mostly renamed and re-tooled programs. The second removed most of them from NIGMS's list of current programs.

The timeline

When What happened
2011 NIGMS creates the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity (TWD), combining its research training programs with the diversity programs of the former MORE division.
2013–2019 Biennial TWD Program Directors' Meetings: Chicago 2013, Chantilly 2015, Baltimore 2017, Rockville 2019.
2014 The NIH Common Fund's Diversity Program Consortium starts funding BUILD and NRMN.
2017 NIGMS previews a modernized predoctoral T32 with rigor, career development and inclusive environments built in. NIGMS also takes over the SEPA K–12 program.
2019–2021 RISE is replaced by U-RISE (T34) and G-RISE (T32). IMSD becomes a graduate-only T32. MARC U-STAR continues as MARC (T34).
2023–2024 NIGMS reissues IMSD, G-RISE and MARC announcements, and moves Bridges to the Doctorate to a T32.
March–April 2025 Program directors report terminations of U-RISE, G-RISE, MARC, PREP, Bridges to the Doctorate, IMSD and IRACDA awards; MOSAIC is reported ended. Some termination letters say the awards "no longer effectuate agency priorities."
2025 Some terminations are challenged in court; outcomes vary by award and institution.
Early 2026 NIGMS opens the BURT T34 for undergraduate training at institutions under $50 million a year in NIH research project grants, with an informational webinar on February 9, 2026.
July 29, 2026 NIGMS announces that predoctoral basic biomedical T32 applications move to the Parent T32 from January 25, 2027, organized in eight program areas; postdoctoral clinician-scientist training moves from T32 to K12; MSTP is unchanged.
October 2026 NIGMS's current program list shows BURT, TURTLE, predoctoral T32, MSTP, K12, SEPA, parent R25s, fellowships and career awards. It notes that competing postdoctoral T32 applications are no longer accepted.

What should a program director do with this?

If you ran one of the ended programs, the practical questions are what you can still do for current students, and which open mechanism fits what you want to build next. The program finder maps career stages to open program types, and the eligibility quick-check flags rules such as BURT's $50 million funding line. For writing the next application, start with our training grant application guide.

If you're reading an old annual report, CV or evaluation that names these programs, the individual profiles explain what each program was meant to do and who it served at the time.

Questions people ask

Does TWD still exist at NIGMS?

Yes, as a division. NIGMS's training pages in 2026 call it the Division of Training and Workforce Development and still use the TWD abbreviation. When it was created in 2011 its name was the Division of Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity.

Were the 2025 terminations nationwide?

Reporting at the time said program directors believed cuts to MARC, PREP, Bridges to the Doctorate, IMSD and IRACDA were nationwide, while some institutions were allowed to spend down remaining funds and others were told to stop immediately. Individual awards had different outcomes, including in court, so check with the institution about a specific program.

Is BURT a replacement for MARC and U-RISE?

NIGMS's BURT pages do not describe it as a replacement for any earlier program. BURT is the undergraduate institutional training grant NIGMS lists now, and it covers similar ground, but its eligibility rules are its own.

Sources

  1. NIGMS: Current programs in the Division of Training and Workforce Development (page updated October 2026)
  2. NOT-GM-26-007: Changes to NIGMS institutional basic biomedical and clinician scientist training programs (July 29, 2026)
  3. The Transmitter: NIH nixes funds for several pre- and postdoctoral training programs (April 8, 2025)
  4. PAR-21-147: Maximizing Access to Research Careers (T34), expired
  5. PAR-21-026: G-RISE (T32), expired
  6. PAR-26-033: NIGMS Institutional Biomedical Undergraduate Research Training (BURT) Program (T34)

This profile is an independent summary, not an official NIH or NIGMS description. Eligibility and deadlines are set by the current funding opportunity; read it before you apply.