Notice Number: NOT-NS-16-012

Key Dates
Release Date: May 2, 2016
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: August 2016
First Estimated Application Due Date: December 2016
Earliest Estimated Award Date: May 2017
Earliest Estimated Start Date: June 2017

Issued by
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Purpose

The National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) intends to restructure its support of postdoctoral researchers by publishing two Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) to solicit applications for support of postdoctoral research training and career development. The FOA described in this Notice will utilize the F32 activity code and another FOA will utilize the K01 activity code (see NOT-NS-16-013)

The NINDS F32 FOA is intended to facilitate the early planning of creative, innovative projects and well-designed training experiences conceived by discussions between excellent candidates and outstanding mentors. To aid in the early planning and support of highly significant, creative and innovative projects, no preliminary data will be expected in the application.

Starting with the first application due date for this FOA (estimated to be December, 2016), NINDS will only accept F32 applications from candidates who, at the due date, are within the year prior to joining a postdoctoral laboratory or are within the first year of their research experience in the laboratory in which training is proposed. This F32 will only support postdoctoral fellows while they are within the first 3 years of research training in any specific laboratory or research environment (candidates may apply for an F32 for a second postdoctoral laboratory experience, but must apply prior to, or within the first year of, joining the second postdoctoral laboratory). Simultaneously with the first due date of this FOA, NINDS will cease accepting F32 applications in response to the omnibus NIH F32 FOA.

NINDS also intends to issue an FOA to solicit K01 applications from candidates with a Ph.D. or equivalent research doctoral degree (see NOT-NS-16-013 for details). Candidates will be eligible to apply for this K01 anytime within the second through fourth year of cumulative postdoctoral research experience, and may be supported by the NINDS K01 within the first 6 years of cumulative postdoctoral research experience.

This Notice is being provided to allow potentially eligible applicants sufficient time to develop plans for their upcoming postdoctoral training. Similarly, this Notice informs postdoctoral fellows who will have been in their current postdoctoral laboratory for more than a year by December, 2016 that their final opportunity to apply for support by an NINDS F32 in that laboratory, in response to PA-14-149 or its reissue , is expected to be the August, 2016 receipt date.

The new NINDS F32 FOA is expected to be published by the fall of 2016, with an expected initial application due date in December, 2016.

Research Initiative Details

This Notice encourages graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who have identified a postdoctoral research mentor and who are within the time window that spans one year before to one year after entering their postdoctoral laboratory by the December 2016 application due date to begin to consider applying for this new FOA. All research areas within the NINDS mission, and all types of research (fundamental basic research, disease-related basic research, clinical research and translational research), are encouraged.

A key aspect of the F32 FOA is the expectation that NO preliminary data will be required. NINDS will seek applications that propose highly significant and highly innovative projects from excellent candidates working with outstanding mentors. Consequently, applications should contain carefully planned, well-integrated research and training plans, devised and prepared by close collaboration between applicant and mentor(s). Applications should contain clearly described plans to accomplish highly significant research and critical training goals. A unique aspect of this FOA is the goal of supporting innovative, creative and perhaps bold research ideas without the delay associated with the need for the applicant to collect high quality data prior to obtaining support.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Stephen Korn, Ph.D.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone:301-496-4188
Email: korns@ninds.nih.gov