ATS Diversity Grant

Target audience: Early-career investigators from underrepresented populations in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences research enterprise. Investigators may be working in basic science, translational, or clinical research in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. International researchers are welcome to apply.

Definition of diversity:
We use the NIH definition of Underrepresented Populations in the U.S. Biomedical, Clinical, Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Enterprise:

A. Individuals from racial and ethnic groups that have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis (see data) and the report Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering). The following racial and ethnic groups have been shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research: Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.  In addition, it is recognized that underrepresentation can vary from setting to setting; individuals from racial or ethnic groups that can be demonstrated convincingly to be underrepresented by the grantee institution should be encouraged to participate in NIH programs to enhance diversity. For more information on racial and ethnic categories and definitions, see the OMB Revisions to the Standards for Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.

B. Individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.  See NSF data.

C. Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, defined as those who meet two or more  of the following criteria:

1. 1. 1. Were or currently are homeless, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (See definition)
      2. Were or currently are in the foster care system, as defined by the Administration for Children and Families (See definition);
      3. Were eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years (See definition);
      4. Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree (see   https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018009.pdf);
      5. Were or currently are eligible for Federal Pell grants (Definition);
      6. Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child (Definition).
      7. Grew up in one of the following areas: a) a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer,   or  b) a   Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas (qualifying zipcodes are included in the file). Only one of the two possibilities in #7 can be used as a criterion for the disadvantaged background definition.

Students from low socioeconomic (SES) status backgrounds have been shown to obtain bachelor’s and advanced degrees at significantly lower rates than students from middle and high SES groups (see more here), and are subsequently less likely to be represented in biomedical research. For background see Department of Education data: Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education and https://nces.ed.gov/.

D. Literature shows that women from the above backgrounds (categories A, B, and C) face particular challenges at the graduate level and beyond in scientific fields. (See, e.g., From the NIH: A Systems Approach to Increasing the Diversity of Biomedical Research Workforce).

In 2026 the Research Program will award one diversity grant of $40,000/one year for salaries, supplies, or a combination of these two. This research for this grant is unrestricted as long as it is in the areas of pulmonary, critical care, or sleep medicine. Indirect costs will not be paid to the sponsoring institution.

Award-specific eligibility:
• Must meet one of the NIH criteria above 
• Recognizing that underrepresentation varies by context, applicants who identify with a group that is not included in the NIH criteria, but is underrepresented in their institutional or local research context (e.g. outside the U.S.) may be considered for the diversity grant. 
• Early-career investigators (as defined here)
• Must meet eligibility requirements for all grants found here