NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORALFELLOWSHIPS



NIH Guide, Volume 22, Number 12, January 22, 1993



PAR NUMBER:  PAR-93-040



P.T. 22



Keywords:

  Biomedical Research Training 

  Behavioral/Social Studies/Service 

  Alcohol/Alcoholism 

  Drugs/Drug Abuse 

  Mental Disorders 



National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

National Institute on Drug Abuse

National Institute of Mental Health



Application Receipt Dates:  April 5, August 5, December 5



THIS IS A REVISION OF THE PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WAS PUBLISHED IN

THE NIH GUIDE, VOL. 22, NO. 3, JANUARY 22, 1993.



PURPOSE



The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute

of Mental Health (NIMH) provide National Research Service Awards

(NRSAs) to individuals for research training in specified areas of

behavioral and biomedical research in order to help ensure that

highly trained scientists will be available in adequate numbers and

in appropriate research areas and fields to meet the nation's

alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health research needs.



Each Institute has different program goals and initiatives;

therefore, potential applicants should contact the appropriate

Institute office, listed below, prior to preparing an application, to

obtain the full announcement and current information about the

Institute's interests with regard to fellowships.



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS



Applicants must be citizen or noncitizen 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

application.  Prior to formal submission of a fellowship application,

an applicant must arrange for appointment to an appropriate

institution and acceptance by a sponsor to supervise the research

training experience.  The institutional setting may be a domestic or

foreign, non-profit private or public institution, including a

Federal laboratory.  The sponsoring institution must have the

availability of staff and facilities 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 that provides a stipend or

otherwise duplicates provisions of the NRSA.  An individual may not

have more than one NRSA competing application pending with PHS

concurrently.  An NRSA recipient may, however, accept concurrent

educational remuneration from the Veterans Affairs Department and

loans from Federal funds.



MECHANISM OF SUPPORT



The mechanism of support is the NRSA Individual Fellowship (F31 for

predoctorals), intended to provide research training to individuals

in specified areas of behavioral and biomedical research.  Women and

minorities are encouraged to apply.



Predoctoral applicants must be enrolled in a program leading to a

research doctorate such as the Ph.D. or D.Sc. by the proposed

fellowship activation date.  Research training applied toward

preparation of a dissertation is permitted.  NRSAs are not made for

study leading to the M.D., D.O., D.D.S., Psy.D., or similar

professional degrees.



Period of Support:  By law, an individual may receive no more that

five years of support in the aggregate at the predoctoral level under

the NRSA program, including any combination of support from

individual and institutional awards.  Recommendations of review

committees are generally for two or three years of support for

individual fellows. However, up to five years of support can be

considered with adequate justification.



Stipends and Related Costs:  The annual stipend for predoctoral

individuals at all levels is $8,800.  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.  The stipend may be

supplemented by the sponsoring institution without obligation to the

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.  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.



An allowance of $3,000 per predoctoral fellow per 12-month period

will be provided to the non-Federal sponsoring institution to help

defray such expenses an tuition and fees, self-only health insurance,

research supplies, equipment, travel to scientific meetings, and

related items.  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.  An allowance of

up to $2,000 per 12-month period for scientific meeting travel

expenses and appropriate medical insurance is available for the

predoctoral fellow sponsored by a Federal laboratory.  The allowance

may be used only for training related expenses for the individual

awardee, and may not be used for any other purpose.



If an individual fellow is not enrolled or engaged in training for

more than six months of the award year, any amount remaining in the

grant must be refunded to the PHS.



TRAINING OBJECTIVES



The applicant should provide evidence of demonstrated potential for a

productive research career based upon the quality of previous

research training and academic record.  The applicant must propose a

research training program, which falls into one of the research areas

described in detail in the attachment to the announcement.  The

research training experience must provide enhancement in

conceptualization of research problems and in research skills, under

the guidance and supervision of a committed sponsor who is an active

and competent investigator in the area of the applicant's proposed

research.  The research training program should be carried out in an

environment rich in the resources, human and technical, and which is

demonstrably committed to research training and to the particular

program proposed by the applicant to enable the applicant to grow as

a creative scientist.



The application must include evidence that training in the principals

of responsible scientific conduct will be incorporated in the

research experience of each fellow.



SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS



Payback Requirement:  Recipients must agree to engage in

health-related research and/or health related teaching for a period

equal to the period of NRSA support in excess of 12 months.

Activities carried out while supported by NRSAs may not be used to

fulfill the payback requirement.



Awards must be activated within six months of receipt of award

notice.  No funds may be disbursed until the individual has started

training under the award and an Activation Notice (PHS 416-5) and a

Payback Agreement (PHS 6031) have been submitted to PHS.



STUDY POPULATIONS



Applicants for fellowships that involve human subjects are required

to include minorities and both genders in study populations.  This

policy applies to all research involving human subjects and human

materials, and applies to males and females of all ages.



APPLICATION PROCEDURES



Prospective applicants should contact the relevant Institute office

(see below) for a copy of the complete program announcement and for

information regarding preapplication consultation and the application

process.  The special Individual National Research Service Award kit,

(PHS 416-1 rev. 10/91) must be used in applying for fellowships.

These forms are normally available from the institutional office of

sponsored research or its equivalent.  If not available locally,

forms may be obtained from the offices listed at the end of this

announcement.



The number of this Program Announcement (PAR-93-040) must be typed in

Item 3 on the face page of the application form. Applications will be

accepted on April 5, August 5, and December 5.  Applications received

after these receipt dates are subject to assignment to the next cycle

or may be returned to the applicant.  An original and two copies of

the completed and signed application are to be submitted to:



Division of Research Grants

National Institutes of Health

Westwood Building, Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892



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.



REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS



Individual NRSA fellowship applications are reviewed for scientific,

technical, and educational merit by Institute initial review groups

composed primarily of nongovernment scientists.  Major considerations

in the review are the applicant's potential for a productive

scientific career, the need for the proposed training requested, and

the probability that the research training proposal will meet that

need.  The individual applicant, the research training plan, the

sponsor and institutional environment, and the sponsor's endorsement

and letters of reference are all considered in the review.  Detailed

review criteria are listed in the full announcement.  A second level

of review is provided by a committee of Institute staff members.



AWARD CRITERIA



The responsibility of 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 of the

awarding institute and program balance; (3) availability of funds.



INQUIRIES



The full Program Announcement and the application kit may be obtained

from any of the following offices:



National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information

P.O. Box 2345

Rockville, MD  20847-2345

Telephone:  (301) 4468-2600 or 1-(800)-729-6686



National Institute on Drug Abuse

Grants Management Branch

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 8A-54

Rockville, MD  20857

Telephone:  (301) 443-6710



National Institute of Mental Health

Grants Management Branch

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 7C-05

Rockville, MD  20857

Telephone:  (301) 443-4414



Inquiries regarding grants management may be directed to the National

Institute of Mental Health address given above.



AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS



This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance No. 93.272, 93.278, 93.282.  Awards will be made under the

authority of Section 487 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended

(42 U.S.C. 288) and administered in accordance with the PHS Grants

Policy Statement revised October 1990.



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