Related Announcements

PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

NOT-MH-21-150 - Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): NIMH Administrative Supplement Program to Enable Continuity of Research Experiences of MD/PhDs during Clinical Training (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

Issued by

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Purpose

The purpose of the NIMH Administrative Supplement Program to Enable Continuity of Research Experiences of MD/PhDs during Clinical Training is to support advanced research opportunities for exceptional individuals holding the MD/PhD degree who are early in their research careers and thereby help these individuals transition efficiently and effectively from the period of clinical training to the next stage of their research careers. This administrative supplement program will provide focused, protected research time for eligible individuals during residency and/or clinical fellowship. The proposed research experience must have the potential to contribute significantly to the candidate's research career.

Background

Physician-scientists are believed to bring a unique perspective to research through the blend of clinical and research experiences they acquire during graduate and medical education, residency, and fellowship. Over the past three decades, there has been a steady decline in the number of physician-scientists actively pursuing research careers. In psychiatry, the decline has been more striking than in other clinical specialties.

At the time they enter residency training, MD/PhDs have already received substantial research training while conducting dissertation research and have demonstrated a strong interest in and commitment to research. During clinical training, limited opportunities exist for these individuals to continue to develop research expertise, document their research productivity, and gain exposure to the rapidly evolving scientific landscape. The limited availability of options to support research efforts during clinical training is a significant barrier to increasing the pipeline of outstanding MD/PhDs prepared to conduct innovative, NIMH-funded research. The 2008 National Advisory Mental Health Council Workgroup on Research Training recommended that the NIMH expand efforts to support research opportunities for MD/PhDs during residency and ensure flexibility of these opportunities so that MD/PhDs who are committed to research careers as physician-scientists may continue research during residency and transition efficiently and effectively to research independence.

Program Details

The goal of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to help MD/PhDs move more efficiently and effectively from the period of clinical training to the next stage of their research careers by supporting focused, protected research time during residency and/or clinical fellowship. The proposed research experience must be an integral part of the approved, ongoing research of the parent grant and must have the potential to contribute significantly to the candidate's research career. To ensure the flexibility of research opportunities, the specific plan and scope of the research experience may vary depending on such factors as the year in residency, the nature of the parent grant, the candidate's technical skill set and goals, and the candidate's available effort.

Plans that primarily involve clinical interviewing and/or conducting laboratory sessions with research participants would be considered a low priority for this NIMH administrative supplement program.

An application is expected to reflect the individual needs of the candidate who is being nominated for support and will document:

• the quality of the proposed research plan and its appropriateness for the candidate's current career stage;
• the merit and feasibility of the supplement's research and research didactic plan;
• the candidate's qualifications and potential as a physician-scientist conducting independent, mental health-related research;
• the alignment of the proposed research plan with the mission and strategic research priorities of the NIMH or, for AIDS-related applications, as exemplified in the research priorities of the most recent, annual Trans-NIH Plan for HIV-Related Research and the priorities of the NIMH Division of AIDS Research; and
• the commitment of the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) and other faculty (if applicable) to provide appropriate guidance and supervision of the candidate's research experience and facilitate his/her successful transition to the next career stage.

Eligible Candidates

At the time of application, each candidate: 1) must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence; 2) must have graduated from a combined MD/PhD program or must have graduated from independent MD and PhD programs (in either order of completion) with time between the awarding of the two degrees not to exceed 10 years; 3) must currently be in good standing in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited residency program or in good standing in a clinical fellowship program; 4) must be able to commit appropriate effort to the proposed research experience in any year; and 5) must not currently have support to obtain research experience from either federal or non-federal funds. Candidates during residency must commit no less than 1.8 person-months (15% of full-time professional effort) to the proposed research experience; at the time of award, such candidates must be in postgraduate year 2 of residency or beyond. During the fellowship, candidates must commit no less than 6 person-months (50% of full-time professional effort) to the proposed research experience.

MD/PhD candidates from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as those with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. Refer to Notice of NIH's Encouragement of Applications Supporting Individuals from Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups as well as Individuals with Disabilities, NOT-OD-22-019.

Budget

Only include funds requested for the additional supplement activities. The NIMH will provide salary support for the candidate in addition to other justified expenses, such as travel and supplies, to enable the candidate to participate fully in the proposed research experience. The requested salary and fringe benefits must be in accordance with the salary structure of the grantee institution for individuals in comparable positions, consistent with the level of effort, and may generally not exceed $75,000 per year. Funds up to $5,000 annually may be requested for justified expenses (e.g., research supplies, technical support, and travel) for residents who are committing less than 50% effort in a given post-graduate year. In years where candidate residents commit 50% or more effort to the supplement, up to $10,000 annually may be requested. Funds up to $15,000 annually may be requested during the clinical fellowship. No supplement funds may be used to purchase equipment. The amount requested should reflect the candidate's level of effort and should be well justified.

Administrative supplements must support work within the scope of the original project. All applicants are encouraged to discuss potential requests with the NIMH prior to submission (see Section VII. Agency Contacts).

Application and Submission Information

Refer to the Eligibility and Budget information above.

Applications for this initiative must be submitted using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent.

• PA-20-272 - Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and PA-20-272 must be followed, with the following additions:

Application Due Date(s) – NIMH accepts and reviews administrative supplement applications on a continuous basis until April 1 of each fiscal year, by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization.

For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-MH-22-060” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.

The parent award must be active when the supplement application is submitted (e.g., within the originally reviewed and approved project period).

The Research Strategy section of the application is limited to 6 pages.

Applicants must also provide the following:

• Candidate Statement: 2 pages
• Training/Didactic plan: 2 pages
• Mentoring Plan: 2 pages
• Applicant Eligibility Statement: 2 pages
• Letter from Research Residency Program (R25) PD/PI, if applicable: 1 page

Applicants are strongly encouraged to notify the program contact at the Institute supporting the parent award that a request has been submitted in response to this FOA in order to facilitate efficient processing of the request.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Ashley Smith, PhD
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Telephone: 301-496-4406
Email: ashley.smith2@nih.gov