CS-IRG New Investigator Grant

About

CS-IRG New Investigator Grant (CS-IRG-NIG) is a sub category of the CS-IRG to cater for new clinical investigators. The CS-IRG-NIG is a step for the new investigator towards winning a first independent national level grant. Applicants with substantial research experience will not be accepted under this category.

Research themes

The CS-IRG-NIG is open to application on all research themes. Applications are assessed based on scientific merit and relevance to Singapore, but should prioritisation be required between meritorious applications, the following seven disease areas have been identified as national priorities for research:

• Cancers and neoplasms

• Cardiovascular

• Eye

• Infection

• Mental health

• Metabolic and endocrine

• Neurological

Evaluation criteria

Selection of successful proposals would be based on the following evaluation criteria:

• Scientific excellence

• Feasibility of study in local context

• Productivity

• Overall impact in local context

• Suitability of applicant to be an independent investigator and to assume the role of a PI

To be eligible for the CS-IRG-NIG, the following requirements apply:

1. Awardees of the following grants as PI/Co-PI* at the point of application will not be eligible for the NIG: A*STAR Investigatorship, NRF Fellowship, NMRC CSA and STaR, MOE Tier 2 and 3 grants, MOH/NMRC IRG-equivalent grants^.
   
   *Co-PIs refer to PIs whose projects are jointly led by other PIs (e.g. projects under NMRC’s Bedside & Bench grant). They are not the same as, and should not be confused with Co-Investigators (Co-Is).
   ^NIC Ageing Grants (with the exception of Health and Longevity Catalyst Awards) are considered IRG-equivalent grants.

2. Applicants must not have received external competitive funding exceeding $500,000 (direct costs only), to conduct their own research project as the PI.

Applicants who are applying under the new investigator category (CS-IRG-NIG) have to work with a mentor for guidance in their research. This mentoring will provide support for a period of supervised research leading eventually to the clinical investigators conducting larger scale research projects independently. Please note that the NIG is intended to fund a new investigator’s independent project, and not to provide additional funding for the mentor's project (or clinical trial).

Eligibility

Each CS-IRG-NIG application must be led by a Clinical Principal Investigator (PI) who has to fulfill the eligibility criteria listed below:

1. PI must be clinically qualified (i.e. with MD/MBBS/BDS) and preferably with post-graduate clinical training and experience.

2. Allied Health Professionals who meet the following conditions may apply:

   1. Non-medically trained PIs who are nurses, pharmacists or other allied health professions listed on this website in clinical practice, doing research in clinical settings or doing research with clinical and healthcare applications/relevance, are eligible to apply.

   2. Applicants who are working in human clinical research, including epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and whose research is clinically relevant and has potential health impact, will be considered as exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

   3. Non-medically trained applicants conducting wet laboratory based research are not eligible.

   4. Applicants must possess a minimum academic qualification of a PhD or the equivalent training.

   5. Recipients of NMRC Human Capital Awards, Transition Award and NMRC Research Training Fellowship are eligible to apply.

3. A*STAR CS scholar from the National Science Scholarship (NSS) (MBBS-PhD) or NSS (MD-PhD) schemes and who fulfil the following may apply:

   1. hold primary appointments in Academic Medical Centres (AMCs), public health institutions (PHIs) or medical schools; or

   2. hold primary appointments in A*STAR but (with mutual agreement of A*STAR and the AMC/PHI/medical school) also hold a joint appointment in the AMC/PHI/medical school, provided that any such grant application is supported by the AMC/PHI/medical school.The institution/school should also consider if these A*STAR CS scholars are able to demonstrate that they can act as a bridge between A*STAR and the healthcare system.

   3. submit the grant application through AMCs/PHIs/medical schools as host institutions.

4. For proposals involving patients, the clinical PI or co-I should be SMC registered; or should be able to demonstrate ability to access patients through SMC registered collaborators. For some CS-IRG-NIG proposals it is recognized that some studies may be pre-clinical and not require the PI to be SMC registered.

5. Only one PI is allowed per application. The number of applications by an individual (as PI) is capped at 1 grant application per grant type in a grant call.

Additional eligibility criteria include:

1. Hold a primary appointment in a local public hospital/public health institutions/national specialty centre/public universities/Academic Medical Centres and salaried by the institution.

2. Demonstrate relevant interest in research as evidenced by recent past work, including but not limited to clinical work, publications, participation in research studies etc.

3. Have access to a laboratory or clinical research program that carries out research in Singapore.

4. Hold a minimum of 9 months employment with a local public institution. Upon award, the PI must agree to fulfill at least 6 months of residency in Singapore for each calendar year over the duration of the grant award.

5. No outstanding reports from previous BMRC, NMRC grants and other national grants.

Funding quantum

The CS-IRG-NIG will provide a funding quantum of up to S$260,000 (inclusive of up to 30% indirect costs^) for up to 2 years. Projects involving prospective patient/subject recruitment may apply for a funding duration of up to 3 years, subject to the same funding quantum.

^Indirect costs is not applicable for research scholarship budget.

Grant call frequency

There will be two grant calls per year (Jan and Jul).

Submission

The RIE2025 CS-IRG grant call is closed.

Review Panel

The composition of the CS-IRG/NIG Review Panel 2024-2026 is listed in the table below.

Applicants are not allowed to approach any of the panel members to discuss or solicit information related to their application review or funding decisions. NMRC may impose a suspension and/or debarment on such applicants.