Notice Number: NOT-OD-09-146

Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:

• December 8, 2010 - See Notice NOT-OD-11-026 Reminder: Beginning January 1, 2011, the NIH Will Require Use of xTrain for the Electronic Submission of Appointment Forms and/or Termination Notices for Institutional Research Training and Career Awards, Individual Fellowships and Research Education Awards.

Key Dates
Release Date: August 28, 2009

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)

Effective immediately, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invites all institutions registered with the electronic Research Administration (eRA) Commons to use the xTrain Commons module to prepare and submit appointment forms and other related documents for NIH institutional career development awards (K12s and KL2s) and NLM research training grants (T15s). xTrain is the electronic solution to submitting appointments using the PHS2271 Statement of Appointment form. For institutional career development awards, grantees should check with the NIH awarding Institute/Center to determine if the K12 or KL2 program requires the use of the PHS2271 and, therefore, are now eligible to submit such information via xTrain.

The xTrain system, which is also available for use by Kirschstein-NRSA research training grants, speeds up the NIH approval process and reduces the chance of data entry errors associated with paper appointment forms. Once a training grant appointment (or other action) has been initiated, xTrain allows institutional and NIH users to track its status, and allows NIH staff to review and approve appointments and other actions electronically.

To begin using xTrain, no registration or special steps are required. PD/PIs may wish delegate their xTrain authority to an assistant or department administrator. Additional information, resources, and an Institution User Guide for xTrain can be found on the eRA Commons page at: http://era.nih.gov/services_for_applicants/other/xTrain.cfm.

Inquiries

General questions concerning using the eRA Commons and xTrain should be directed to the eRA Commons Helpdesk at:

eRA Service Desk
Web : http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/eRA/ (Preferred method of contact)
Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552
Phone : 301-402-7469
TTY : 301-451-5939
Hours : Mon-Fri, 7a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time

General inquires about this Notice may be directed to:

Division of Grants Policy
Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration
National Institutes of Health
Email: [email protected]