Key Dates

None

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) intends to publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the NIH Medical Scientist Partnership Program (FM1, Clinical Trial Not Allowed). The overarching goal of the NIH Medical Scientist Partnership Program (MSPP) is to support highly promising predoctoral students during their mentored dissertation research and clinical training who are matriculated in either a (a) combined MD/PhD or other combined-doctoral degree training (e.g., DO/PhD, DNP/PhD, DDS/PhD, AuD/PhD, DVM/PhD), or (b) clinical doctoral program with the option to pursue a PhD during clinical degree training. The MSPP will provide the knowledge, professional skills, and experiences required to identify and transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce that utilize the combined degree.

MSPP Scholars will conduct their clinical degree training at their desired clinical degree school and will conduct the PhD portion of their training in research laboratories in the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) and receive their research degree from their clinical degree school or one of the partnership institutions affiliated with the NIH. The IRP is the internal research program of the NIH, known for its synergistic approach to biomedical science. Potential areas of research within the IRP include, but are not limited to: biological chemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, cellular and molecular biology, computational biosciences, epidemiology, developmental biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, oncology, biomedicine, pharmacology, physiology, bioethics, and technology development. MSPP Scholars will conduct their work with sponsors who have relevant experience in these areas of research in any of the participating NIH Institutes or Centers with an IRP.

The objective of the MSPP is to develop a diverse pool of well-trained clinician scientists, who have the following technical, operational, and professional skills:

• The skills necessary to integrate research and clinical activities in support of a productive research career;
• The ability to utilize clinical experience and observations to identify important biomedical research questions and develop impactful research programs;
• A broad understanding across biomedical disciplines and the skills to independently acquire the knowledge needed to advance their chosen fields;
• Expertise in a biomedical scientific discipline and the skills to think critically and independently, and to identify important biomedical research questions and approaches that push forward the boundaries of their areas of study and that enable the translation of basic research findings into clinical practice;
• A strong foundation in scientific reasoning, rigorous research design, experimental methods, quantitative and computational approaches, and data analysis and interpretation;
• The skills to conduct research in the safest manner possible, and a commitment to approaching and conducting biomedical research and clinical practice responsibly, ethically, and with integrity;
• Experience initiating, conducting, interpreting, and presenting rigorous and reproducible biomedical research with increasing self-direction;
• The ability to work effectively in teams with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds and scientific disciplines, and to promote inclusive and supportive scientific research environments;
• The skills to teach and communicate scientific research methodologies and findings to a wide variety of audiences (e.g., discipline-specific, across disciplines, and the public); and
• The knowledge, professional skills and experiences required to identify and transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce (i.e., careers that utilize the dual degree).

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

Nature of the Research Opportunity

The MSPP award will provide up to four years of support during the extramural clinical degree training depending on how many years of clinical research education the applicant has completed prior to the award, as described below. NIH intramural funding will support the Scholar while they are engaged in their doctoral research at NIH. Scholars may combine clinical degree training with the MSPP via two academic tracks:

• Track 1 is for undergraduate students and graduates who have completed the Bachelor’s or Master's degree(s) and are applying to clinical degree schools and the NIH IRP. Upon acceptance, usually Track 1 Scholars begin their training by completing the first two (pre-clinical) years of clinical degree education at the desired clinical degree school (or other eligible clinical degree institution) with MSPP funding. They will then take a leave of absence from the home clinical degree school to pursue PhD training through the NIH IRP. Upon completion of the PhD degree requirements, the student returns to the home institution to complete the clinical degree and resume MSPP funding. Track 1 will therefore provide these MSPP Scholars with four years of support during their clinical degree education.

• Track 2 is for students who have recently been accepted to a clinical degree school and are applying to (or already accepted to) the NIH IRP. Interested candidates will apply to the MSPP at the start of the first year of clinical degree training. Upon acceptance, Track 2 Scholars will receive one year of MSPP funding for year two of their pre-clinical education. They will then take a leave of absence from the home clinical degree school to pursue PhD training through the NIH IRP. Upon completion of the PhD degree requirements, the student returns to the home institution to complete the clinical degree and resume MSPP funding. Track 2 will therefore provide these MSPP Scholars with three years of support during their clinical degree education.

Details on how to apply will be described in the published FOA. Importantly though, the application process for the MSPP does not include any of the steps needed for an applicant to apply to the IRP Graduate Partnership Program (GPP). Acceptance into the GPP and selection of an IRP mentor is not a prerequisite for applying to the MSPP, but is required before an award can be made. For more information on how to apply to the GPP, see: https://www2.training.nih.gov/apps/publicForms/gpp/forms/login.aspx

TBD

Applications are not being solicited at this time. 

Please direct all inquiries to:
NIHMSPPQuestions@niaid.nih.gov