Montana INBRE at Montana State University is accepting proposals for its 2027-2028 Developmental Research Project Program (DRPP) Faculty Research RFP, including Pilot Research Projects, Major Research Projects, and Community Advisory Board (CAB) Planning Grants.
Letter of Intent deadline: October 5, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. Mountain. A simple plain-text LOI is submitted through the Montana INBRE Piestar proposal portal.
Full proposal deadline: November 2, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. Mountain, through the same Montana INBRE proposal portal.
Funding: Pilot Research Projects are funded at $10,000 to $50,000 in direct costs per year. Major Research Projects are funded at $50,000 to $100,000 in direct costs per year. CAB Planning Grants provide up to $10,000 in direct costs per year. The initial grant year is May 1, 2027 through April 30, 2028, contingent on continued NIH funding.
Eligible research: basic biomedical science, infectious disease, chronic disease, environmental health, public health, community wellness, and health-related challenges facing rural or Native American communities.
Applicant eligibility: faculty in biomedical, social, behavioral, economic, agricultural, computational, and engineering sciences may apply. The prospective Project Leader typically must hold a Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., or similar terminal degree, have a regular full-time faculty appointment at the applicant institution, and be eligible to apply for NIH R-type grants. Priority is generally given to new, junior, and early-stage investigators. Only one proposal per Project Leader will be considered, and overlapping support from other NIH IDeA programs is restricted.
Core requirements: applicants must consult relevant Montana INBRE Core staff or facility managers during proposal development. Major and Pilot Project Leaders must identify a primary mentor. Human-subjects projects generally require IRB documentation at proposal submission. Native, tribal, rural community-engaged, and community-based participatory research projects may require specific community support letters.
Full proposal components: signed Face Page, Project Summary, Specific Aims, Research Strategy, Bibliography, applicable Human Subjects and IRB documentation, applicable animal-research documentation, one-year Budget and Budget Justification, NIH Biosketches, and applicable Letters of Support or Collaboration.
Match/cost share: the controlling Montana INBRE RFP does not state a mandatory applicant match or cost-share requirement.
Atlas Opportunity Score: 86/100.
N9+ Fit Score: 30/100 conditional. A scientifically justified research project could potentially incorporate the Nonagon N9+ device and platform when its capabilities are directly necessary to approved research aims and budget, but the RFP does not establish N9+ procurement or general device acquisition as an automatic allowable use.
Dr. Miltie direct-applicant fit: 0/100 under the published faculty eligibility rules. Any potential role would need to be through an eligible faculty-led research project and institution, subject to scientific necessity, NIH/Montana INBRE allowability, institutional procurement, and research-compliance requirements.