National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

Mission Statement

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences’ (NCATS’) mission is to turn biomedical research discoveries into health solutions — including diagnostics, treatments, and interventions — through the application of translational science.


Interest Areas

General Topics

Our Extramural Scientific Divisions and Offices:

  • Division of Clinical Innovation (Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program)
  • Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation
  • Office of Special Initiatives (Interdisciplinary Programs)
  • Office of Strategic Alliances (Small Business Programs)

Together, they encourage bold and rigorous research approaches to build tools and technologies, support research here and beyond, train scientists, and so much more.

  • Prioritize Initiatives That Address Unmet Needs
  • Produce Generalizable Solutions for Common and Persistent Challenges
  • Emphasize Creativity and Innovation
  • Leverage Cross-Disciplinary Team Science and Boundary-Crossing Partnerships
  • Enhance the Efficiency and Speed of Translational Research

Assistance Listing

Assistance listings are detailed public descriptions of federal programs used across government agencies that provide grants, loans, scholarships, insurance, and other types of assistance awards. They are maintained in the System for Award Management (SAM) and can be used to search for opportunities in Grants.gov.

View NCATS Assistance Listing Numbers

  • 93.350 - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
  • 93.HAR - Office of AIDS Research
  • 93.THR - NIH Tribal Health Research Office (THRO)
  • 93.TR1 - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences - Clinical and Translational Science Awards
  • 93.TR3 - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences - Cures Acceleration Network
  • 93.TR4 - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences - Research Projects
  • 93.TR5 - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences - Small Business
  • 93.TR6 - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences - Research Centers
  • 93.TR7 - National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences - Other Research
  • 93.UDN - The Undiagnosed Disease Network

Highlighted Topics

Title Lead ICO Participating ICOs Posted Date Expiration Date

Funding Opportunities and Notices

Search for NCATS’s funding opportunities and notices


ICO Funding Policies and Considerations

Visit NIH Fiscal Policies for NIH-wide information on appropriations and other budgetary information (salary limits, stipends, tuition/fees) and Funding Decisions to learn about NIH's consistent and unified approach for making funding decisions.

NCATS Funding Policies and Considerations builds on that general information.


Additional Information by Funding Category

Administrative Supplements
In addition to our Administrative Supplements overview, consider the following NCATS-specific information.
Administrative Supplement Interest Areas:

•    Only in certain circumstances, NCATS may consider providing an administrative supplement to existing awards.
•    PDs/PIs are strongly encouraged to consult with their NCATS Program Official (PO) to confirm eligibility, discuss the scope and justification of the proposed supplement, and obtain technical guidance.
 

Administrative Supplement Due Dates:

Applications should be submitted at least 60 days prior to the anticipated need.  Applications received after June 30 will generally be considered for the next fiscal year.  
 

Administrative Supplement Contact:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss plans for administrative supplement applications prior to submission with the Grants Management Specialist and Program Official (PO) named on the parent grant Notice of Award.   

General questions regarding administrative supplements may be directed to:  [email protected].

Conferences and Meetings
In addition to our Conferences and Meetings overview, consider the following NCATS-specific information.
Conferences and Meetings Interest Areas:

NCATS supports scientific meetings, conferences and workshops within our mission of developing solutions that aid many translational research efforts (STAMTRE). Applications can be for any disease or therapeutic area, as long as the knowledge gained will be more broadly applicable to other areas of investigation. Examples include:

  • Drug Repurposing
  • Novel biologics technologies for better treatments of human disease
  • Building multidisciplinary networks to drive science and translation

Per the Rare Diseases Act of 2002, we support scientific meetings to identify research opportunities for rare diseases. We seek applications that:

  • Include the active participation of patient support groups in the planning
  • Leverage recent breakthroughs or support the advancement of new research endeavors
  • Establish clinical practice guidelines

Applications that buttress Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program goals will be considered for support by the CTSA Program.

Conferences and Meetings Budget Considerations:

Typically, we provide between $3,000 and $25,000 per award, but the amount of funding awarded is contingent upon availability of funds, programmatic priorities and recommendations by peer review and program staff. In general, we do not provide co-funding support in excess of the contribution made by the primary awarding NIH ICO.

Conferences and Meetings Key Date Considerations:

Conferences starting no earlier than December 1, April 1, and July 1 will be considered for the preceding April 12, August 12, and December 12 receipt dates, respectively.

Conferences and Meetings Project Period Considerations:

NCATS will consider the number of times a conference has been previously supported in making funding decisions.

Conferences and Meetings Contacts:

NCATS CONFERENCE GRANTS
[email protected] 

NCATS GMB NOFO
[email protected]  
 

Institutional Training
In addition to our Institutional Training, consider the following NCATS-specific information.
Institutional Training Interest Areas:

NCATS encourages institutions to propose CTSA Institutional National Research Service Award (T32) predoctoral and/or postdoctoral training programs that prepare trainees for careers in clinical and translational science (CTS). 

Interest areas include:

  • Research across the CTS spectrum, including preclinical, clinical, and implementation phases 
  • Studies that advance the science of translation, including methods to improve the efficiency, quality, and impact of translational research
  • Development and testing of diagnostics, therapeutics, devices, and behavioral interventions
  • Innovations in research methods, including study design, data science, informatics, and use of real-world data
  • Clinical research innovations, including trial design, recruitment strategies, real-world data, and advanced analytics
  • Research addressing barriers and inefficiencies in the translational process
  • Team-based, interdisciplinary approaches to translational research problems
  • Research leveraging CTSA infrastructure, resources, and collaborative networks
  • Projects that provide trainees exposure to multiple stages of translation and CTS principles  

NCATS does not prioritize:

  • Research limited to basic discovery without a defined translational relevance
  • Projects lacking integration within the CTS framework
  • Disease-specific studies that lack broader translational science applicability 
Institutional Training Participants:
NCATS prioritizes funding for the following trainees:
  • Predoctoral appointments provide ~2-3 years of support. One-year appointments are allowed for students who are interrupting their clinical studies.
  • Postdoctoral appointments provide ~2 years of support. Clinical trainees must pause training for full-time research and must have completed residency. Ph.D. trainees should be within ~2 years of degree. 


     
Institutional Training Project Period Considerations:
NCATS may limit project periods as follows:
  • The project period duration may be up to 5 years.
Institutional Training Budget Considerations:
  • NCATS will provide up to $1,500 per trainee to travel to scientific meetings. 
Institutional Training Contacts:

CTSA Training NOFOs Questions
[email protected]

Research Education
In addition to our Research Education overview, consider the following NCATS-specific information.
Research Education Interest Areas:

Research experiences are expected to be relevant to NCATS’ mission of studying translation on a system-wide level, agnostic to a specific disease, to better understand the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process.
Examples of research experiences appropriate for career levels include, but are not limited to:

  • Undergraduates (including those at community colleges): to provide hands-on exposure to research that reinforces their interest in clinical and translational science and/or prepares them for graduate school matriculation and/or careers in clinical and translational science for graduate and medical, dental, nursing and other health professional students.
  • Graduate Research and Clinical Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Medical Residents: to extend their skills, experiences, and knowledge base in order to engage in clinical and translational science research activities.
  • Junior Faculty: to enhance their research skills, experiences, and knowledge base relative to clinical and translational science by working with faculty members at a partnering institution.
Research Education Key Date Considerations:

Applications are considered for funding after January and October councils. Although applications are accepted for all opportunity due dates, we recommend submitting to due dates that align with those councils.

Research Education Participants:
NCATS prioritizes funding for participants in the following areas:
  • Undergraduate
  • Predoctoral
  • Postdoctoral/Residency
  • Early Career
Research Education Project Period Considerations:
NCATS may limit project periods for specific education activities, as follows:

The maximum project period is 5 years.

Research Education Budget Considerations:
NCATS may limit budgets for specific education activities, as follows:

The maximum budget is $100,000 direct costs/year. Awarded budgets will reflect any yearly fluctuations in the project workload. NCATS expects recipients to provide training experience to a cohort of participants in each year of the award. 

Research Education Personnel, Participant, and Other Program-Related Costs:
NCATS may limit awarded budgets for personnel, participant, and other costs, as follows:

Personnel Costs: Total allowable personnel (including consultants) cost should be proportional to the number of participants in the program. For each participant, up to $3,500 (Direct Cost) is allowed for personnel (including consultant) costs per year.
Participant Costs
Allowable participant costs include: 

  • Round-trip travel to and from the R25 research experience site for non-local participants. 
  • Research education-related expenses. 
  • Salary and fringe benefits. 
  • A housing allowance. 

Other Program related Expenses: Note that consultants may include individuals serving in a variety of roles, such as faculty, lecturers, advisors, etc., and that consultant costs are capped, depending on the personnel costs and the number of participants in the research experiences program. See Personnel Costs section above for details.
 

Research Education Funding Instruments:
NCATS does not award Research Education Cooperative Agreements (UE5)
NCATS awards Research Education Grant Projects (R25)
Research Education Contacts:

CTSA Training NOFOs Questions 
[email protected]
 

Small Business
In addition to our Small Business overview, consider the following NCATS-specific information.
Small Business Interest Areas:

NCATS supports research including, but not limited to, clinical technology, instruments, devices, and related methodologies that may have broad application to clinical research and better patient care. Our interests are in four main categories- (1) Preclinical Drug Discovery and Development; (2) Biomedical, Clinical and Health Research Informatics; (3) Clinical, Dissemination and Implementation Research and (4) Rare Diseases and Unmet Needs.
 

Phase IIB & Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP):
NCATS accepts Phase IIB SBIR projects
NCATS accepts Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) projects
Clinical Trials:
NCATS does not accept clinical trials through the SBIR programs
NCATS does not accept clinical trials through the STTR programs
NCATS does not accept clinical trials through the Phase IIB SBIR program
NCATS does not accept clinical trials through the Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP)
Small Business Contact:

NCATS-SBIRSTTR
[email protected]
 


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