The University of the Virgin Islands has won a $616,844 continuation grant from the National Institutes of Health to strengthen its capacity for biomedical research and help faculty pursue additional federal funding.
On September 3, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded the funds to support UVI's Virgin Islands Advancing Biomedical Labs with Excellence program, known as VIABLE. This marks the second year of the initiative, which launched in September 2025 with an opening award of $569,575, bringing total federal support recorded so far to $1,186,419.
The latest grant comprises $489,013 in direct costs and $127,831 in indirect costs. The cooperative agreement extends through July 31, 2030, though current funding covers only the present budget period rather than guaranteeing full support for all remaining years.
VIABLE operates from UVI's 17,000-square-foot Biomedical Research Facility, built to enable research into health conditions affecting small-island populations. The program focuses on three main research areas: epidemiology and disease investigation; artificial intelligence and digital technologies applied to health and wellness in Caribbean and remote island settings; and health resilience paired with emergency medicine, disaster preparedness and violence prevention.
The epidemiology component leverages the Virgin Islands' Caribbean setting to examine how local geography and ecology influence human health, including the movement of disease vectors through the region. The digital health component targets wellness solutions designed for Caribbean, remote and insular communities. The third area merges biomedical and clinical research with public health, mental health and community initiatives.
Jatasha Haralson, director of UVI's Office of Sponsored Programs, oversees VIABLE. That office assists faculty and staff in securing research funding, preparing proposals, managing awards and ensuring compliance with funder requirements.
The award arrives as UVI works to rebuild its research funding base following substantial federal losses. In April 2025, the university announced that policy shifts had ended two grants, among them a five-year, $2.2 million NIH Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement program that had $1.4 million remaining when terminated. By July 2025, UVI President Safiya George reported to lawmakers that the institution had lost $3.5 million across six federal grants affecting biomedical research, STEM leadership, faculty development, international partnerships and climate resilience.
VIABLE draws funding through NIH's Biomedical Research Environment & Sponsored Programs Administration Development program, or BRE-SPAD, designed for institutions with limited resources that aim to expand their research capacity and strengthen their ability to manage sponsored research. Supported activities include grant-writing training, improvements to grants administration and internal pilot projects that enable faculty to build evidence for competing for external funding.
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