The CMS Office of Minority Health administers the Minority Research Grant Program (MRGP). The purpose of the grant program is to support researchers at minority serving institutions that are exploring how CMS can better meet the health care needs of racial and ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community, individuals with limited English proficiency, individuals residing in rural areas, and individuals adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.
Apply to the 2023 Minority Research Grant Program Funding Opportunity
The 2023 MRGP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is now open. If you are a researcher at one of the eligible minority-serving institutions, you could receive up to $333,000 to fund your health equity research. The goal of the program is to support research that will improve the quality of care by focusing on person-centered, affordable, and accessible care. To learn more about the program, review the FAQ document.
Eligible MSIs include:
- Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
- Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
- Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)
- Newly eligible in 2023:
- Predominantly Black Colleges (PBCs)
- Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTIs)
- Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNHSIs)
Apply for funding by visiting grants.gov and using the MRGP grant number CMS-1W1-23-001. The application deadline is July 12, 2023.
CMS OMH Research Grant Program Video
Are you a health equity researcher at a minority-serving institution who is looking for funding? View this video to learn about the MRGP’s benefits.
2022 Awardees
CMS has funded health equity research at minority-serving institutions through the MRGP for two decades. We recently announced our 2022 grantees, who will examine critical public health disparities.
CMS OMH is proud to award three recipients $333,000 each and expand our commitment to advancing health equity among the populations represented in CMS programs:
The Board of Trustees at the University of Illinois, Addressing Disparities in Access to Transplant: The ESRD Patient Evaluation Clearinghouse (EPEC), The University of Illinois, an Hispanic-Serving Institution, will engage patients at dialysis centers in Cook County’s low-resourced neighborhoods needing renal transplants. The goals of the project are to inform patients of their individualized characteristics impacting transplant ability and educate them regarding Cook County transplant tendencies, which provide the most utility to them and do so in a manner respectful of their culture and transplant knowledgeability. The intended outcome of the research is the efficient matching of participant characteristics to transplant program functionality in order to lessen the socioeconomic and demographic disparities in access to renal transplantation. Researchers expect significant per patient savings to the Medicare program each year.
Prairie View A&M University, Investigating the Combined Impact of Spatial Social Networks and Environmental Exposure on Minority Youths' Mental Health, One of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Prairie View A&M will use multiple research approaches to understand the individual, community, and environmental factors that impact racial and ethnic minority mental health symptoms. They will investigate the combined impact of social networks and environmental exposure. In addition, the researchers will adopt the life course framework to understand past and present risks and protective factors of mental illness among youths ages 18-29 in the US. The research findings have numerous benefits for bridging the gap in mental health disparity and can identify community-engaged points of intervention.
University of Hawaii, Improving Medication Use to Achieve Health Equity Among CMS Beneficiaries, The University of Hawaii, an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, seeks to develop a statewide infrastructure to support medication use health disparities research, with a focus on social vulnerabilities (including funding for Hawaii Health Information Exchange to enhance existing infrastructure). This will also include testing pharmacist-driven, scalable interventions to address the root causes of medication use disparities among vulnerable populations. Finally, they seek to disseminate models that reduce disparities and medication-related acute care among people in CMS programs.
Eligibility
Health equity researchers at the following types of institutions are eligible to apply:
- Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
- Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
- Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)
- Predominantly Black Colleges (PBCs)
- Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institutions (NASNTIs)
- Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNHSIs)
Where to Apply
The 2023 funding opportunity for the MRGP is now open. Ensure that your institution is eligible and submit your application to the funding opportunity CMS-1W1-23-001 on grants.gov by July 12, 2023.
Program Summary Report (PDF)
This report provides a snapshot of the MRGP from 2005-2021, in addition to the health disparities research projects of 51 MRGP grantees active during this time period. It includes an overview of the geographic distribution of their projects, their target populations and conditions, and key intervention outcomes. The research findings of MRGP-funded projects on African Americans and Hispanics have been cited in more than 190 publications.
For More Information
Download the MRGP Flyer (PDF)
Contact OMHGrants@cms.hhs.gov
Subscribe to the MRGP Listserv