NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS FOR INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORALFELLOWSHIPS



NIH GUIDE, Volume 22, Number 3, January 22, 1993



PAR:  PAR-93-40



P.T. 22



Keywords:

  Biomedical Research Training 

  Behavioral/Social Studies/Service 



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



National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

National Institute on Drug Abuse

National Institute of Mental Health



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, nonprofit 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 have completed two or more years of

graduate work and be enrolled in a doctoral degree program 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., or similar

professional degrees.



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

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.  Policies of the three awarding

components limit periods of individual fellowship support at the

predoctoral level to three years.



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.  Upon request, an allowance of up

to $3000/per 12-month period will be provided to the non-Federal

sponsoring institution to help defray such expenses as tuition and

fees, research supplies, equipment, travel to scientific meetings,

and related items.



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.



SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS



Payback Requirement:  Recipients 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

requirement.



Awards must be activated within six months of receipt of award

notice.



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-93-40) should 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

5333 Westbard Avenue, Room 240

Bethesda, MD  20892**



Letters of reference in sealed envelopes must be attached to the

application.



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.



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

OSAPs National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information

P.O. Box 2345

Rockville, MD  20847-2345

Telephone:  (301) 468-2600 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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