NIH Grant to Help CSUS Secure Funding

A five-year $375,000 grant from the National Institute of Health may put California State University, Sacramento in the driver's seat for obtaining future federal funds.

As part of the grant, nursing professor Bonnie Raingruber, director of the University's Center for Health and Human Services Research, was selected as one of four professors in the country who will take part in a five-month residency program to learn the rigorous process of applying for NIH grants. She'll then oversee a multi-year effort to increase College of Health and Human Services faculty and student participation in NIH-sponsored behavioral and biomedical research.

Raingruber will be in residence at NIH headquarters in Bethesda, Md., going to what she jokingly calls, "researcher kindergarten." It's a rare opportunity to sit in on scientific review sessions and go on site visits to see what the NIH looks for in awarding grants. Raingruber will then use the information to teach CSUS students and faculty how to develop proposals.

A second part of the grant will provide $37,000 per year in seed money for a faculty research fellows program. Each year, the program will help up to six faculty members obtain the data necessary to qualify for an NIH grant. The funding can be used to hire student research assistants, purchase equipment, travel or pay for statistical or qualified data analysis.

A third part of the grant will provide mentors for the faculty research fellows - researchers from other institutions who are nationally recognized in their fields. The mentors will receive a stipend to critique research proposals, as well as provide support to CSUS faculty members.

Raingruber expects to have her first faculty fellows in place by 2005.

For more information, contact Raingruber at (916) 278- 5417. Media assistance is available by contacting the CSUS public affairs office at (916) 278-6156.