NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS FOR INSTITUTIONAL TRAINING GRANTS

RELEASE DATE:  January 17, 1992  

PA AVAILABLE: PA-92-031

P.T. 44; K.W. 0720005, 0404003, 0404009, 0715095

Application Receipt Date: May 10

The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) announces the 
availability of a program announcement for National Research Service Awards for 
institutional Training Grants. 

AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE

Under authority of Section 487 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 
USC 288), the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) 
provides National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) to eligible institutions to 
develop or enhance predoctoral and/or postdoctoral alcohol, drug, and/or mental 
health (ADM) research training opportunities for individuals who are training 
for careers in specified areas of biomedical and behavioral research. 
The proposed training must be in areas that encompass concepts and methods of 
the relevant disciplines, including basic and clinical sciences, and be of 
sufficient depth to enable the trainees, upon completion of the program, to 
formulate research projects and pursue careers as investigators. The support of 
institutional NRSAs (T32s) is to help ensure that highly trained scientific 
personnel will be available in adequate numbers and in the appropriate research 
areas and fields to meet the Nation's alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health 
research needs. 

Each ADAMHA Institute has different program goals and initiatives; therefore, 
potential applicants must contact the appropriate Institute office, listed below, 
prior to preparing an application to obtain the full Program Announcement and 
current information about that Institute's interests with regard to T32s.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

Domestic public and private, non-profit institutions may apply. The applicant 
institution must have a strong, demonstrated research program in the area(s) 
proposed for research training. 

The NRSA legislation requires, in making NRSAs, that the Nation's overall need 
for biomedical and/or behavioral research personnel be taken into account by 
giving special consideration to physicians who agree to undertake a minimum 
of two years of training in biomedical and/or behavioral research.

TRAINING PROGRAM AND TRAINEE REQUIREMENTS 

The training program director at the institution will be responsible for 
selection and appointment of individuals to receive NRSAs and for the overall 
direction of the research training program. The training program must provide 
opportunities for individual trainees to carry out supervised research in the 
specified areas with the primary objective of extending their skills and 
knowledge in preparation for a research career. Special attention must be given 
to the appointment of minority students and women.

Trainee Requirements:
Individuals selected for NRSAs must be citizens 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 appointment to the training program. Predoctoral 
applicants must have received a baccalaureate degree and be enrolled in a 
doctoral degree program at the time of appointment. Postdoctoral individuals 
selected to receive NRSAs must have received a Ph.D., Psy.D., M.D., D.D.S., 
D. Pharm., D.N.S., D.S.W., or equivalent domestic or foreign degree from an 
accredited institution that all degree requirements have been met is also 
acceptable. NRSAs are not made for study leading to the M.D, D.O., D.D.S., or 
other similar professional degrees nor do they support residency training.

SPECIAL INTERESTS 

Research Recruitment: Support is available for three to four months of research 
involvement for clinicians and graduate students interested in exploring an ADM 
research career. Research recruitment candidates are not subject to the NRSA 
payback requirement. 

Short-term Research Training: This is a brief reference to a separate 
announcement titled, "Short-term National Research Service Awards for 
institutional Grants," presently being developed. Special conditions apply; 
therefore, potential applicants must contact one of the institute offices listed 
below for guidance. 

APPLICATION CHARACTERISTICS AND PERIOD OF SUPPORT

Applicants for institutional NRSAs must follow the instructions accompanying the 
current version of grant application form PHS 398 (revised 10/88) that contains 
special instructions for institutional NRSAs. Applicants for research training 
grants wishing to include a request for a research recruitment training program 
must also use the instructions for institutional Research Training Grants 
included with the form PHS 398. The number and title of this announcement 
"PA-92-31, NRSA for institutional Awards" must be typed on line 2. Requests for 
recruitment positions must be identified as a separate category on the budget 
page listing the number of candidates, the total stipend amount, and the total 
amount of the training-related expenses. The description of the research 
recruitment training program must be included in the application for the 
research training program but must be separated from the description of the 
research training program within each section of the application. The applicant 
must address the relationship of the proposed recruitment program to the 
research training program, providing assurance that the research recruitment 
program will not detract from the training program. Applicants must observe the 
page limits specified in the PHS 398 instructions.

The form PHS 398 is usually available from institutional offices of sponsored 
research or their equivalent. If not available locally, it may be obtained from 
the offices listed at the end of this announcement. Every application must 
include the following information about the training program: 

o All new research training grant applications are required to have a plan for 
recruitment of minority trainees. Competing renewal applications are required to 
include a list of accomplishments in recruitment, retention, and progress of 
minority students achieved in the prior project period in addition to 
recruitment plans in the next project period. Applications without a minority 
recruitment plan and, for the renewal applications, a report of accomplishments 
in recruiting minority trainees will not be reviewed until these items are 
received.

o All competing applications must include evidence that training in the 
principles of responsible scientific conduct will be incorporated into the 
research experience of each trainee. Applications without plans to provide such 
instruction will not be awarded until a plan is received.

o Applications must include discussion of the relevance of the proposed training 
program to the manpower needs of the relevant scientific area.

Funding Criteria: Awarding components select applications for funding primarily 
on the basis of scientific merit review results, but other factors may be 
considered such as: availability of funds, research program priorities specified 
in the Attachment to the full program announcement, balance among types of 
research training supported by the awarding component, and minority recruitment 
efforts.

Period of Support: Awards for institutional grants may be made for project 
periods of up to five years. By law, an individual may receive no more than five 
years of NRSA support in the aggregate at the predoctoral level and three years 
of support in the aggregate at the postdoctoral level under the NRSA program, 
including any combination of support from individual and institutional awards. 

APPLICATION RECEIPT AND REVIEW SCHEDULE

ADAMHA institutional training applications have only one receipt date, May 1O. 
Applications received after the May 10 receipt date are subject to assignment to 
the next review cycle or may be returned to the applicant without review if 
requested by the applicant. The applications will receive an October peer review 
by the appropriate initial review group and review by the appropriate Advisory 
Council in January/February. 

Eligible Institutions desiring to request support under this program are 
encouraged to review the research areas specified in the Attachment to the full 
program announcement before requesting application kits. The complete 
announcement and the attachment are available from the offices listed below. An 
original and six copies of the completed and signed application are to be 
submitted to the Division of Research Grants, 5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 240, 
Bethesda, Maryland 20892 (applicants using express mail or courier services 
should use the 20816 zip code). 

REVIEW PROCESS AND CRITERIA, AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS 

institutional training grant applications are reviewed for scientific and 
educational merit by ADAMHA initial review groups composed primarily of 
nongovernment scientists and are also subject to the review and recommendations 
of the appropriate ADAMHA Advisory Council. 

Major considerations in the review are the following: the qualifications of 
participating faculty, their success in previous training endeavors and the 
research context in which the training program will be established; the 
breadth, depth, and quality of the training program; the plans for recruiting 
and selecting trainees; and the adequacy of the training facilities and 
resources. Detailed criteria are listed in the full announcement. 

CONDITIONS OF AWARD

Grants must be administered in accordance with the PHS Grants Policy Statement. 
Before a trainee can be appointed to an NRSA institutional grant, he or she must 
meet NRSA eligibility requirements and sign a Payback Agreement indicating his 
or her intent to meet the payback provisions required under the law. 
Institutions shall notify prospective trainees of these provisions prior to or 
at the time an appointment is offered. The Payback Agreement form must be 
completed and submitted to the awarding institute immediately upon appointment 
of a new trainee. 

Payback Requirement: Recipients of stipends under institutional NRSAs must agree 
to engage in health-related research and/or 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 requirements.

The institution must submit to ADAMHA a Statement of Appointment form (PHS 2271) 
along with the signed Payback Agreement each time a trainee is appointed or 
reappointed to the grant. At the end of the total support period for each 
individual trainee, the institution must submit a Termination Notice (PHS 416-7) 
to ADAMHA. Trainees are required to pursue their research training on a full-
time basis, devoting at least 40 hours per week as specified by the sponsoring 
Institution in accordance with its policies.  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 
awardee may accept concurrent educational remuneration from the Veterans 
Administration and Loans from Federal funds. 

STIPENDS AND  RELATED COSTS 

The annual stipend for predoctoral individuals at all levels, as of December 
1991, is $8,800. For postdoctoral individuals, a stipend is determined on the 
basis of the number of years of prior relevant postdoctoral experience.  This 
determination is made at the time of each appointment or reappointment of an 
individual. Postdoctoral stipends are: 

Years of            Annual            Years of               Annual
relevant            stipend           relevant               stipend
experience                            experience                            

    0               $18,600               4                   28,200
    1               $19,700               5                   29,500
    2               $25,600               6                   30,800
    3               $26,900           7 OR MORE               32,300

The Tax Reform Act of 1986, Public Law 99-514, describes the tax liability of 
all individuals supported under the NRSA program. The interpretation and 
implementation of the tax laws are the domain of the Internal Revenue Service 
(IRS) and the courts. The IRS should be consulted to clarify the applicability 
of the tax laws to individual trainee situations and to determine what steps 
must be taken to fulfill tax obligations. 

The institution may request funds for tuition, fees, and certain types of travel 
for trainees; actual indirect costs or 8 percent of allowable direct costs 
(whichever is less) to cover related institutional overhead; and up to $1,500 
per predoctoral individual and $2,500 per postdoctoral individual for other 
related costs (e.g., salaries, equipment, research supplies). Research 
recruitment positions will be prorated. Tuition at the postdoctoral level is 
limited to that required for specified courses in support of the approved 
training program.  Applicants may request additional trainee-related expenses 
(not to exceed $3,000 for predoctoral and $5,000 for postdoctoral trainees) when 
the nature of the program requires exceptional support.

Inquiries 

The full Program Announcement and Attachment, up-to-date policy guidelines, and 
the application forms may be obtained from any of the following offices: 

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 
Office of Scientific Affairs 
5600 Fishers Lane,  Room 16C20 
Rockville, MD 20857 
Telephone: (301) 443-4375 

National Institute on Drug Abuse 
Office of Extramural Program Review 
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-42 
Rockville, MD 20857 
Telephone: (301) 443-2755 

National Institute of Mental Health 
Division of Extramural Activities
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 9-105 
Rockville, MD 20857 
Telephone: (301) 443-3367 

Inquiries regarding grants management may be directed to: 
Grants Awards and Operations Section Grants Management Branch 
National Institute of Mental Health 
5600 Fishers Lane,  Room 7C05 
Rockville, MD 20857 
Telephone: (301) 443-4414

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