Federal Cooperative Agreement Summary

Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) received a $554,945 Cooperative Agreement from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), awarded on March 18, 2026, with a completion date of February 28, 2031. This award supports AUM's institutional capacity-building initiatives to advance biomedical research infrastructure and increase federal grant competitiveness. The agreement funds three primary aims: (1) expansion of the sponsored research administrative capacity through hiring additional post-award management personnel, a full-time research compliance officer overseeing Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and Institutional Review Board (IRB) functions, and a part-time health and safety technician for research compliance inspections; (2) enhancement of the biomedical research environment through expanded faculty grant writing support; and (3) continued investment in student research training and development.

This award builds on AUM's previous NIGMS SPAD (Specialized Pre-Award Development) grant success, which catalyzed a 525 percent increase in federal grant applications since 2018, particularly in National Institutes of Health submissions. The current funding represents continued strategic investment in AUM's emerging biomedical sciences capabilities, complementing the institution's recent $37 million science building expansion, new graduate degree program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and recruitment of tenure-track faculty in biotechnology and human health research areas.