NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL FELLOWS

Release Date:  July 25, 2000

PA NUMBER:  PA-00-125

National Institute of Mental Health
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

PURPOSE

This is a revision and expansion of program announcement PA-99-017 that was 
published in the NIH Guide on November 19, 1998 and will be active for 3 
years from the release date noted above.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National 
Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the National 
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Mental Health 
(NIMH), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 
(NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide National Research 
Service Awards (NRSAs) to individuals for doctoral-level training.  These 
Institutes award NRSA individual predoctoral fellowships (F31) to promising 
applicants with the potential to become productive, independent investigators 
in the scientific mission areas of these Institutes.  This program will 
provide predoctoral training support for doctoral candidates that have 
successfully completed their comprehensive examinations or the equivalent by 
the time of award and will be performing dissertation research and training.

Each Institute has a unique scientific purview and different program goals 
and initiatives, therefore, all potential applicants should consult the 
appropriate Institute website and contact the appropriate Institute office, 
both listed under INQUIRIES, prior to preparing an application to obtain 
current information about each Institute"s program priorities and policies 
with regard to fellowships.  This action is of utmost importance since 
applications with marginal or no relevance to NIAAA, NIDCD, NIDA, NIMH, or 
NINDS programs will not be accepted for review or funding by the 
participating Institutes.

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010

The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health 
promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2010," a PHS-
led national activity for setting priority areas.  This Program Announcement 
(PA), National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellows, is 
related to numerous priority areas in this initiative.  Potential applicants 
may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2010" at 
http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

It is important that prospective applicants consult "National Research 
Service Awards Guidelines," published in the NIH GUIDE, Volume 26, Number 21, 
June 20, 1997.  It can be found at the following URL:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not97-134.html.

Citizenship:  Applicants must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the 
United States, or have been lawfully admitted to the United States for 
permanent residence and have in their possession an Alien Registration 
Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551) at the time of award.  Individuals on temporary 
or student visas are not eligible for support from the NRSA.

Degree Requirements:  Applicants must have received, as of the activation 
date of the award, a baccalaureate degree and must be enrolled in a program 
leading to a research doctorate such as the Ph.D. or D.Sc., or a combined 
clinical and research degree such as M.D./Ph.D.  These awards support 
research training applied toward preparation of a dissertation and do not 
support study leading to the M.D., D.O., D.D.S., Psy.D., or similar 
professional degrees unless they are part of a combined degree program (for 
the latter see: Individual Predoctoral National Research Award for M.D./Ph.D. 
Fellowships - PAR-96-003, which may be obtained from:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-99-089.html).

Sponsorship:  The institutional setting may be a domestic or foreign (if 
clearly justified), private (profit or non-profit) or public institution, 
including the NIH intramural programs and other Federal laboratories.  The 
sponsoring institution must have staff and facilities available on site to 
provide a suitable environment for performing high-quality work.

An NRSA may not be held concurrently with another federally sponsored 
fellowship or similar Federal award (such as a Dissertation Research Grant) 
that provides a stipend or otherwise duplicates provisions of the NRSA.  An 
individual may not have more than one competing NRSA application pending with 
PHS concurrently.  An NRSA recipient may, however, accept concurrent 
educational remuneration from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and 
loans from Federal funds.  Receipt of non-Federal funds during the Fellowship 
is also allowable if it is in accordance with the sponsoring institution"s 
policy and does not detract from or prolong the approved research training 
program.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

The mechanism of support is the NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31) 
which is intended to provide biomedical or behavioral research training 
experiences to individuals committed to pursuing a career in biomedical and 
behavioral research within the scientific missions of the participating 
Institutes.  Women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities are 
encouraged to apply.

Period of Support

By law, an individual may receive no more than five years of support in the
aggregate at the predoctoral level under the NRSA program, including any
combination of support from individual fellowship and institutional training 
grant awards.  The applicant and the institution must observe this limitation 
of support when requesting the duration of the fellowship.  Accurate 
information regarding previous NRSA support must be included in the 
application and will be considered at time of award.  Requests for support 
and recommendations of review committees are generally for two or three years 
of support for individual fellows conducting dissertation stage research and 
training.

Allowable Costs

Stipends:  The annual stipend for predoctoral individuals will remain fixed 
for the period of support, unless the stipend level is changed in the NIH 
annual appropriation.  Applicants may obtain information about current 
stipend levels and other policy guidelines for the NRSA program from the URL: 
http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm or should consult with Institute 
staff listed below.

The Tax Reform Act of 1986, Public Law 99-514, describes the tax liability of 
all persons supported under the NRSA program.  The stipend is not a payment 
for services performed, i.e., it is not a salary.  Further, NRSA fellows are 
not considered to be in an employer-employee relationship with the NIH or the 
sponsoring institution, and it is not allowable for institutions to seek 
funds for, or to charge individual award recipients for, costs normally 
considered employee benefits.  The stipend may be supplemented by the 
sponsoring institution without obligation to the trainee fellow.  PHS grant 
funds may not be used for this purpose.  An institution may also provide 
additional funds to a fellow in the form of compensation (as salary and/or 
tuition remission) for services such as teaching or serving as a laboratory 
assistant on a limited part-time basis apart from the normal training 
activities.  Under no circumstances may the conditions of stipend 
supplementation or the services provided for compensation interfere with, 
detract from, or prolong the fellow"s training, nor be for the same research 
program.

Institutional Allowance:  An allowance of up to $2,500 per predoctoral fellow 
per twelve month period will be provided to the sponsoring institution to 
help defray such expenses as research supplies, equipment, travel to 
scientific meetings, and related items for the individual fellow, and to 
otherwise offset, to the extent possible, appropriate administrative costs of 
graduate research training.  The allowance is provided only upon official 
activation of the award, and the sponsoring institution is expected to 
administer the allowance and disburse the funds.  In the event of an early 
termination, the stipend will be prorated according to the amount of time 
spent in training and the Notice of Research Fellowship Award will be 
revised.  The balance of any institutional allowance (at least 1/2) must be 
refunded if the training has been for six months or less.

Tuition and Fees:  Tuition and fees will be funded in accordance with the NIH 
Notice: OD-00-008  National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipend Increase 
and Other Budgetary Changes Effective for Fiscal Year 2000,  that was 
published in the NIH Guide on December 23, 1999 
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-008.html).  NIH 
will reimburse 100 percent of the cost of tuition up to $3,000 and 60 percent 
of tuition costs above $3,000 for the predoctoral fellow.  Tuition, for the 
purposes of this NRSA policy, means the combined cost of tuition, fees, and 
health insurance.

Health Insurance:  Beginning with NRSA awards made from FY 2000 funds, family 
health insurance is an allowable cost for fellows who have families and are 
eligible for family health insurance coverage at the awardee or sponsoring 
institution only if such family health insurance is required of all persons 
in a similar training status regardless of the source of support.  Self-only 
health insurance is an allowable cost for fellows without families only if 
such self-only health insurance is required of all persons in a similar 
training status regardless of the source of support.  Health insurance for 
predoctoral fellows who are eligible for this coverage is included in the 
calculation of the combined cost of tuition, fees, and health insurance.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This program will provide predoctoral training support for doctoral 
candidates that have successfully completed their comprehensive examinations 
or the equivalent by the time of award and will be performing dissertation 
research and training.  The applicant should provide evidence of potential 
for a productive research career based upon the quality of previous research 
training and academic record.  The applicant must propose a dissertation 
research and training program which falls into a research area within the 
scientific mission of the NIAAA, NIDCD, NIDA, NIMH, or NINDS.  The research 
training experience must enhance the applicant’s conceptualization of 
research problems and research skills, under the guidance and supervision of 
a committed mentor who is an active and established investigator in the area 
of the applicant"s proposed research.  The research training program should 
be carried out in a research environment that includes appropriate human and 
technical resources and is demonstrably committed to the research training of 
the applicant in the program he/she proposes in the application.

The application must include evidence that instruction in the principles of 
responsible conduct of research will be incorporated into the proposed 
research training plan.  Applications without plans for training in 
responsible conduct of research will be considered incomplete and may be 
returned without review.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Awards must be activated within six months of receipt of the award notice 
(see below for application receipt, review, and start dates).  No funds may 
be disbursed until the individual has started training as a doctoral 
candidate and an Activation Notice (PHS 416-5) has been submitted to and 
accepted by the NIH awarding component.

Individuals are required to pursue their research training on a full-time 
basis, devoting at least 40 hours per week to the training program.

INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and 
their subpopulations must be included in all NIH supported biomedical and 
behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and 
compelling rationale and justification is provided that inclusion is 
inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of 
the research.  This policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 
(Section 492B of Public Law 103-43).

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
"NIH Guidelines for Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical 
Research," which was published in the Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (FR 
59 14508-14513) and in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 23, No. 
11, March 18, 1994, available on the web at:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not94-100.html.

INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) 
must be included in all human subjects research, conducted or supported by 
the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them.  
This policy applies to all initial (Type 1) applications submitted for 
receipt dates after October 1, 1998.

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
"NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Children as Participants in 
Research Involving Human Subjects" that was published in the NIH Guide for 
Grants and Contracts, March 6, 1998, and is available at the following URL 
address: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html.

Investigators also may obtain copies of the policy from the program staff 
listed under INQUIRIES.  Program staff may also provide additional relevant 
information concerning the policy.

URLs IN NIH GRANT APPLICATIONS OR APPENDICES

All applications and proposals for NIH funding must be self-contained within 
specified page limitations.  Unless otherwise specified in an NIH 
solicitation, internet addresses (URLs) should not be used to provide 
information necessary to the review because reviewers are under no obligation 
to view the Internet sites.  Reviewers are cautioned that their anonymity may 
be compromised when they directly access an Internet site.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

SCHEDULE

(NOTE:  THE EARLIER START DATE MONTHS IN THE RANGE ACCOMMODATE THE NIDCD’s 
PLANNED EXPEDITED REVIEW/AWARD SCHEDULE)

Application Receipt Dates:   Apr 5      Aug 5        Dec 5
Initial Review Dates:        Jun/Jul    Oct/Nov      Feb/Mar
Earliest Start Dates:        Aug-Dec    Dec-March    April-June

Applications received after these receipt dates are subject to assignment to 
the next cycle or may be returned to the applicant.

Prospective applicants should contact the relevant Institute Program Staff 
listed under INQUIRIES, for information regarding the application process.  
The Individual National Research Service Award application kit PHS 416-1 
(rev. 12/98) must be used in applying for fellowships.  These forms are 
available on the WWW at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm and at most 
institutional offices of sponsored research.  They may also be obtained from 
the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National 
Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-
7910, Telephone: (301) 710-0267, FAX: (301) 480-0525, Email: 
[email protected].

The number and title of this program announcement must be typed in Item 3 on 
the face page of the application form.

At least three completed letters of reference in sealed envelopes must be 
attached to the application.  Applications without the required number of 
reference letters will be returned without review.

An original and two copies of the completed and signed application are to be 
submitted to:

CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040 - MSC 7710
BETHESDA, MD 20892-7710
BETHESDA, MD 20817 (for express/courier service)

Applicants submitting applications that are within the scientific purview of 
the NIDCD should send, at the time of submission, one of these copies to: 

Chief, Scientific Review Branch
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
6120 Executive Boulevard, Room 400-C - MSC-7180
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180
Telephone: (301) 496-8683
ATTN:  NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Applications will be assigned to the appropriate Institute on the basis of 
established PHS referral guidelines.  Applications that are complete and 
responsive to the purpose of this program will be evaluated for scientific 
and technical merit as well as for training potential by an appropriate peer 
review group convened in accordance with the standard NIH peer review 
procedures.  As part of the merit review, all applications will receive a 
written critique and will be assigned a priority score.  Staff within the 
assigned funding Institute will provide a second level of review.
 
Review Criteria

The F31 individual predoctoral fellowship is designed to train future 
generations of outstanding scientists committed to pursuing research careers 
relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes.  The review of 
an application will focus on the following: the applicant, the research 
training plan, the sponsor, and the institutional environment/commitment.  
Information from the letters of reference will be used by the review 
committee in their consideration of these factors, and the final priority 
score will reflect the overall evaluation of the entire application.

Applicant:

o  the applicant"s potential for, and commitment to, a productive scientific 
career.  The reviewers may take into account the applicant"s history as a 
student, as well as past and current involvement in research activities.

Research Training Plan:

o  objectives, design, and direction of the proposed research program,

o  soundness and feasibility of the experimental approach and methodology 
proposed to carry out the research,

o  specificity and clarity of the description of the research skills and 
knowledge to be acquired,

o  overall coherence and potential of the research training plan to provide 
the fellow with individualized supervised experiences that will develop 
research skills,

o  clarity, completeness, originality, and significance of the goals of the 
proposed research training plan,

o  adequacy of knowledge and presentation of relevant literature and current 
methods in the proposed research area,

o  potential of proposed research training to serve as a sound foundation 
that will lead the applicant to a productive research career in scientific 
areas related to alcohol abuse and alcoholism, deafness and other 
communication disorders, drug abuse and addiction, mental health, or 
neurological disorders and stroke research,

o  adequacy of plans for the protection of human subjects, animals, or the 
environment, to the extent they may be adversely affected by the research 
proposed,

o  adequacy of plans to include women, children and minorities as subjects in 
research, if applicable,

o  adequacy of plans to provide training in the responsible scientific 
conduct of research.

Sponsor:

o  caliber of the sponsor as a researcher, including successful competition 
for research support,

o  evidence of the proposed sponsor"s understanding of and commitment to 
fulfilling the role of sponsor and mentor,

o  evidence of an understanding of the applicant"s research training needs 
and a demonstrated ability, on the part of the sponsor, to assist in meeting 
those needs,

o  past research training record of the sponsor in terms of the rate at which 
former predoctoral trainees obtain their doctoral degree and go on to 
postdoctoral or other scientific careers.

Institutional Environment/Commitment:

o  training environment, including the institutional commitment to research 
training and career development, the quality of the facilities and related 
resources (e.g., equipment, laboratory space, computer time, subject 
populations) and the availability of research support.

AWARD CRITERIA

The responsibility for award decisions resides solely with authorized program 
staff of the Institutes.  The following criteria will be used in making award 
decisions: (1) overall merit of the application, (2) relevance of the 
application to the research priorities and mission of the awarding institute 
and programs, and (3) availability of funds.

INQUIRIES

Inquiries are strongly encouraged.  Prospective applicants should visit each 
Institute"s website in order to obtain current information about the 
scientific missions, program priorities, research topics of interest, and 
policy guidelines:

NIAAA: http://silk.nih.gov/silk/niaaa1/grants/grants.htm
NIDCD: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/funding/
NIDA:  http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResTrainingSites.html
NIMH:  http://www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/training.cfm
NINDS: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/research_training.htm

Direct inquiries regarding specific programmatic issues to the appropriate 
institute representative listed bellow: 

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM

Tina Vanderveen, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Division of Basic Research
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
6000 Executive Boulevard, Room 402, MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD 20892-7003
Telephone: (301) 443-2531
FAX: (301) 594-0673
Email: [email protected]

Vivian B. Faden, Ph.D.
Division of Biometry and Epidemiology
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
6000 Executive Boulevard, Room 514, MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD 20892-7003
Telephone: (301) 594-6232
FAX: (301) 443-8614
Email: [email protected]

Wendy Smith, Ph.D.
Division of Clinical and Prevention Research
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
6000 Executive Boulevard, Room 505, MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD 20892-7003
Telephone: (301) 443-8771
FAX: (301) 443-8774
Email: [email protected]

Benedict Latteri
Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Building 31, Room 1B58, MSC 2088
Bethesda, MD 20892-2088
Telephone: (301) 402-1227
FAX: (301) 402-0016
Email: [email protected]

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

Daniel A. Sklare, Ph.D.
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
6120 Executive Blvd., Room 400C, MSC-7180
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180
Telephone: (301) 496-1804
FAX: (301) 402-6251
Email: [email protected]

NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE

Cindy Miner, Ph.D.
Research Training Coordinator
National Institute on Drug Abuse
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5230, MSC 9591
Bethesda, MD 20892-9591
Telephone: (301) 443-6071
FAX: (301) 443-6277
Email: [email protected]

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

Mary F. Curvey
Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7211, MSC 9647
Bethesda, MD 20892-9647
Telephone: (301) 443-3107
FAX: (301) 443-1731
Email: [email protected]

Walter L. Goldschmidts, Ph.D.
Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7200, MSC 9645
Bethesda, MD 20892-9645
Telephone: (301) 443-3563
FAX: (301) 443-1731
Email: [email protected]

Della Hann, Ph.D.
Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6219, MSC 9621
Bethesda, MD 20892-9621
Telephone: (301) 443-9700
FAX: (301) 443-6000
Email: [email protected]

Fred Altman, Ph.D.
Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6220, MSC 9621
Bethesda, MD 20892-9621
Telephone: (301) 443-9700
FAX: (301) 443-6000
Email: [email protected]

Enid Light, Ph.D.
Division of Services and Intervention Research
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7160, MSC 9635
Bethesda, MD 20892-9635
Telephone: (301) 443-3599
FAX: (301) 594-6784
Email: [email protected]

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE

Henry Khachaturian, Ph.D.
Division of Extramural Research 
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 
6001 Executive Blvd., Room 2154
Bethesda, MD 20892-9531
Telephone: (301) 496-4188 
FAX: (301) 402-4370
Email:  [email protected]

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:

Linda Hilley
Grants Management Branch
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
6000 Executive Boulevard, Room 504, MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD 20892-7003
Telephone: (301) 443-4704
FAX: (301) 443-3891
Email: [email protected]

Sharon Hunt
Grants Management Branch
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Executive Plaza South, Room 400C
6120 Executive Blvd., MSC-7180
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180 (for regular mail)
Rockville, MD 20852 (for express/courier mail)
Telephone: (301) 402-0909
FAX: (301) 402-1758
Email: [email protected]

Gary Fleming
Grants Management Branch
National Institute on Drug Abuse
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 3131, MSC 9541
Bethesda, MD 20892-9541
Telephone: (301) 443-6710
FAX: (301) 594-6849
Email: [email protected]

Diana S. Trunnell
Grants Management Branch
National Institute of Mental Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 6115, MSC 9605
Bethesda, MD 20892-9605
Telephone: (301) 443-2805
FAX: (301) 443-6885
Email: [email protected]

Maurice Johnson
Grants Management Branch
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
6001 Executive Blvd., Room 3290
Bethesda, MD 20892-9537
Telephone: (301) 496-9231
FAX: (301) 402-0219
Email: [email protected]

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Nos. 
93.173 (NIAAA), 93.272 (NIDCD), 93.278 (NIDA), 93.282 (NIMH), and 93.853 
(NINDS).  Awards are made under authorization of the Public Health Service 
Act, Title IV, Part A (Public Law 78-410, as amended by Public Law 99-158, 42 
USC 241 and 285) and administered under PHS grants policies and Federal 
Regulations 42 CFR 66 and 45 CFR Part 74.  This program is not subject to the 
intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health 
Systems Agency review.

PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-
free workplace and promote the nonuse of all tobacco products.  In addition, 
Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in 
certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which 
regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or early 
childhood development services are provided to children.  This is consistent 
with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of 
the American people.

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