Participating Organization(s)	National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Components of Participating Organizations	National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) National Institute on Aging (NIA) National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) National Institute on Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Special Note: Applicants are cautioned that not all NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) participate in this program, and that consultation with relevant IC staff prior to submission of an application is strongly encouraged. The participating ICs have different emphases and program requirements for this program. Therefore, a prospective applicant is urged to consult the Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements and Staff Contacts to determine whether the planned research and training falls within the mission of one of the participating NIH ICs.
Funding Opportunity Title	Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD and Other Dual Doctoral Degree Fellows (Parent F30)
Activity Code	F30 Individual Predoctoral NRSA for M.D./Ph.D. Fellowships
Announcement Type	Reissue of PA-10-107
Related Notices	March 7, 2014 - This PA has been expired and reissued as PA-14-150. February 18, 2014 - See Notice NOT-OD-14-056. Notice of Intent to Publish the Reissuance of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD and Other Dual Doctoral Degree Fellows (Parent F30)" Funding Opportunity Announcement. February 7, 2013 - See Notice NOT-OD-13-032. Notice of Participation of Additional NIH Institutes and Centers. January 10, 2013 - See Notice NOT-HL-12-162. Notice of Participation of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. December 14, 2011 - See Notice NOT-OD-12-022 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) and Other Fellowship Applications: New Policy on Post-Submission Information on Sponsor’s Research Funding . April 1, 2011 - This Notice is being provided to clarify instructions in Section IV. Application and Submission Information. See NOT-OD-11-062.
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number	PA-11-110
Companion FOA	None
Number of Applications	See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility
Catalog of Federal Domestics Assistance (CFDA) Number(s)	93.273, 93.173, 93.279, 93.113, 93.282, 93.866, 93.847, 93.121, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.233, 93.172, 93.846, 93.273
FOA Purpose	The purpose of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (Kirschstein-NRSA) is to provide support to individuals for combined MD/PhD and other dual doctoral degree training (e.g. DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, AuD/PhD). The participating Institutes award this Kirschstein-NRSA individual fellowship (F30) to qualified applicants with the potential to become productive, independent, highly trained physician-scientists and other clinician-scientists, including patient-oriented researchers in their scientific mission areas. This funding opportunity supports individual predoctoral F30 fellowships with the expectation that these training opportunities will increase the number of future investigators with both clinical knowledge and skills in basic, translational or clinical research.

Posted Date	February 10, 2011
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)	March 13, 2011
Letter of Intent Due Date	Not Applicable
Application Due Date(s)	Standard dates apply
AIDS Application Due Date(s)	Standard dates apply
Scientific Merit Review	Standard dates apply
Advisory Council Review	Not applicable for Fellowships
Earliest Start Date(s)	Standard dates apply
Expiration Date	(Now Expired March 8, 2014 per issuance of PA-14-150), Orginally May 8, 2014
Due Dates for E.O. 12372	Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Individual Fellowship SF424 (R&R) Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise (in this FOA or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the FOA) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Part 1. Overview Information
Part 2. Full Text of the Announcement
Section I. Funding Opportunity Description
Section II. Award Information
Section III. Eligibility Information
Section IV. Application and Submission Information
Section V. Application Review Information
Section VI. Award Administration Information
Section VII. Agency Contacts
Section VIII. Other Information

The overall goal of the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. More information about NRSA programs may be found at the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) website.

The purpose of the F30 award is to support individual predoctoral MD/PhD and other dual doctoral degree students with the expectation that these training opportunities will increase the number of future physician and clinician investigators in basic, translational or clinical research.

The enormous complexity of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical science today prevents the standard course of study at most medical and other health professional schools from providing the experience necessary to develop researchers. Integrated curricula that combine training for the MD or other health professional degree (e.g., DO, DDS, AuD) with extensive research experience leading to a second advanced degree have been developed because individuals who are both physicians/clinicians and trained scientists play a vital role in basic biomedical, translational, clinical, behavioral, epidemiologic, prevention, and services research. There is a critical need for physician and clinician-scientists to study human disease through rigorous research.

It is expected that the research training experience will provide:

• A strong foundation in research design, methods, and analytic techniques appropriate to the proposed dissertation research;
• The development or enhancement of the applicant's ability to conceptualize and think through research problems with increasing independence;
• Experience in conducting, presenting, and publishing independent research;
• The opportunity to interact with members of the scientific community at appropriate scientific meetings and workshops (including NIH-sponsored meetings, where available); and
• A well-conceived career plan to increase the applicant's ability to secure federal support for his/her research.

Special Note: Applicants are cautioned that not all NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) participate in this program, and that consultation with relevant IC staff prior to submission of an application is strongly encouraged. The participating ICs have different emphases and program requirements for this program. Therefore, a prospective applicant is urged to consult the Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements and Staff Contacts to determine whether the planned research and training falls within the mission of one of the participating NIH ICs.

Funding Instrument	Grant
Application Types Allowed	New Resubmission Renewal: Individual fellowship awards are generally not renewable. In rare cases in which fellowship awardees require further fellowship support, they should consult with NIH staff to obtain advice regarding submission of a renewal application. The OER Glossary and the SF 424 (R&R) Individual Fellowship Application Guide provide details on these application types.
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards	The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations, and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.
Award Budget	Award budgets are composed of stipends, tuition and fees, and institutional allowance, as described below.
Award Project Period	Individuals may receive up to 6 years of aggregate Kirschstein-NRSA support at the predoctoral level for dual degree training, e.g., MD/PhD), including any combination of support from institutional training grants (e.g., T32) and an individual fellowship award. Fellowship awards are often limited to 2-3 years.

Stipends	Kirschstein-NRSA awards provide stipends as a subsistence allowance to help defray living expenses during the research and clinical training experiences. The most recent stipend levels are described on the Kirschstein-NRSA webpage. NIH will adjust awards on the anniversary date of the award to ensure consistency with the stipend level in effect at that time. Visit NIH Grants Policy Statement: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for more information.
Tuition and Fees	NIH will contribute to the combined cost of tuition and fees at the rate in place at the time of award. The most recent tuition and fees levels are described on the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) webpage. Visit NIH Grants Policy Statement: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for more information.
Institutional Allowance	The application should include in the Award Budget the applicable Kirschstein-NRSA institutional allowance to help defray the cost of fellowship expenses such as health insurance, research supplies, equipment, books, and travel to scientific meetings. The most recent institutional allowance levels are described via a link on the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) site. Requests for additional costs (such as to accommodate the disabilities of a fellow) must be explained in detail and justified in the application. Visit NIH Grants Policy Statement: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for more information.
Indirect Costs	NIH does not separately reimburse indirect costs (also known as Facilitates & Administrative [F&A] Costs) for fellowships. Costs for administering fellowships are part of Institutional Allowance.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made in response to this FOA.

Higher Education Institutions:

• Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
• Private Institutions of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:

• Hispanic-serving Institutions
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
• Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
• Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For profit Organizations

• Small Businesses
• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Governments

• Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

Other

• None

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply. Foreign (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not allowed.

Before submitting a fellowship application, the applicant fellow must identify a sponsoring institution. The sponsoring institution must have staff and facilities available on site to provide a suitable environment for performing high-quality research. The research training should occur in a research-intensive environment that has appropriate human and technical resources and is demonstrably committed to research training in the particular program proposed by the applicant fellow. The sponsoring institution may be private (profit or nonprofit) or public, including the NIH Intramural Programs and other Federal laboratories.

Applicant organizations must complete the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. Applicants must have a valid Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in order to begin each of the following registrations.

• Central Contractor Registration (CCR) must maintain an active registration, to be renewed at least annually
• Grants.gov
• eRA Commons

All Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PIs) must also work with their institutional officials to register with the eRA Commons or ensure their existing eRA Commons account is affiliated with the eRA Commons account of the applicant organization.

All registrations must be completed by the application due date. Applicant organizations are strongly encouraged to start the registration process at least four (4) weeks prior to the application due date.

Any applicant fellow with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is invited to work with his/her sponsor and organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. Multiple Principal Investigators are not allowed.

By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card USCIS Form I-551, or other legal verification of such status).

Although a Kirschstein-NRSA award is not usually made for study leading to the MD, DO, DDS, AuD or similar professional degrees, or for study that is part of residency training leading to a medical specialty, the F30 program is specifically designed to support both the clinical and research training components of an accredited, combined MD/PhD, DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, or AuD/PhD program.

The applicant fellow must have a baccalaureate degree and show evidence of both high academic performance in the sciences and substantial interest in research in areas of high priority to the participating Institutes. In addition when the application is submitted, the applicant must be enrolled in a formally combined MD/PhD (or DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, or AuD/PhD) program, and be supervised by a sponsor for the research doctoral component.

This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. An individual may not have two or more competing NIH fellowship applications pending review concurrently.

Individuals may not exceed the aggregate limit of NRSA support shown above in the Award Project Period. Applicant fellows must consider any prior NRSA research training in determining the duration of support requested. Information regarding previous Kirschstein-NRSA support must be included in the application and will be considered at the time of award.

At the time of award, individuals are required to pursue their research training on a full-time basis, normally defined as 40 hours per week or as specified by the sponsoring institution in accordance with its own policies.

Before submitting the application, the applicant fellow must identify a sponsor (sometimes called a mentor) who will supervise the proposed training and research experience. See Section IV below for more specific requirements for the Sponsor and any co-sponsor(s).

Applicants must download the SF424 (R&R) application package associated with this funding opportunity using the Apply for Grant Electronically button in this FOA or following the directions provided at Grants.gov.

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Fellowship Application Guide, except where instructed in this funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

The forms package associated with this FOA includes all applicable components, mandatory and optional. Please note that some components marked optional in the application package are required for application submission. Follow the instructions in the SF 424 (R&R) to determine which components are required.

All page limitations described in the SF424 (R&R) Individual Fellowship Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Individual Fellowship Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Additional Educational Information Required (Uploaded via the Other Attachments Section)

This attachment must include: (see updated instructions per NOT-OD-11-062)

• Scores for all standardized exams such as MCAT, GRE, and other relevant exams.
• A listing of the applicant’s courses with grades from all undergraduate and graduate institutions in which the applicant is/has been enrolled must be included in the Fellowship Applicant Biographical Sketch Format Page. Do not include transcripts with the application (applicants may be asked to send transcripts prior to award).
• A description of the graduate or combined degree program in which the applicant is enrolled must be included in the application.

The filename provided for each Other Attachment will be the name used for the bookmark in the electronic application in eRA Commons.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Individual Fellowship Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy (Component of Research Training Plan)

Applicant fellows must describe a tailored research training plan, including a description of the research strategy (preferably hypothesis-driven) well-suited to the stage of his/her career development. Describe the skills and techniques that the applicant fellow will learn during the award period, and discuss the relationship of the proposed research training to the applicant fellow’s career goals. The applicant fellow must describe the background leading to the proposed research, the significance of the research, the research approach (design and methods) for achieving the Specific Aims, the rationale, and expected/alternative outcomes of the proposed studies. It is beneficial to include pertinent preliminary data obtained by the applicant fellow in the current or prior laboratory. The applicant fellow should describe how he/she expects to divide his/her time between medical (or other health professional) and graduate school, e.g., medical school courses, graduate school courses, research, research training, etc., during both the academic year and the summer for each year of the program.

Doctoral Dissertation and Other Research Experience (Component of Additional Information)

The applicant fellow should discuss how the proposed research training plan will add to the fellowship experience.

Sponsor(s) and Co-Sponsor(s)

Before submitting a fellowship application, the applicant must identify a sponsor (also called mentor or supervisor) who will supervise the training and research experience. The sponsor should be an active investigator in the area of the proposed research training and be committed both to the research training of the Fellowship Applicant and to the direct supervision the applicant’s research. The sponsor must document the availability of sufficient research support and facilities for high-quality research training. The sponsor, or a member of the mentoring team, should have a successful track record of mentoring. Applicants are encouraged to identify more than one mentor, i.e., a mentoring team, if this is deemed advantageous for providing expert advice in all aspects of the research and training program. In such cases, one individual must be identified as the principal sponsor who will coordinate the applicant’s research training program. The applicant must work with his/her sponsor(s) in preparing the application.

The sponsor should describe the research training plan for the applicant (coordinated with the applicant’s research strategy). The sponsor and any co-sponsors are also expected to provide an assessment of the applicant’s qualifications and potential for a research career. The research environment and the availability and quality of needed research facilities and research resources (e.g., equipment, laboratory space, computer time, available research support, etc.) must also be described. The description should include items such as classes, seminars, and opportunities for interaction with other groups and scientists. Training in career skills, e.g. grant-writing and presentation skills are strongly encouraged.

In Training Plan, Environment, Research Facilities, the sponsor(s) must provide a detailed description of the institution's combined MD/PhD or other dual degree program and the sequencing of the applicant's graduate research and medical school (or other health professional degree) training within this program.

Resource Sharing Plan

Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans (Data Sharing Plan, and Sharing Model Organisms) as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Appendix

Do not use the appendix to circumvent page limits. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Applicant fellows must carefully follow the SF424 (R&R) Individual Fellowship Application Guide, including the time period for when letters of reference will be accepted. Applications lacking the required reference letters may be delayed in review or not reviewed. Please note that the specified Fellowship Reference Form must be used. This is a separate process from submitting an application electronically. Reference letters are submitted directly through the eRA Commons Referee Information link and not through Grants.gov. Note that the sponsor and any co-sponsors may not submit a letter of reference.

Part I. Overview Information contains information about Key Dates. Applicants are encouraged to submit in advance of the deadline to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission.

Organizations must submit applications via Grants.gov, the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies. Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH’s electronic system for grants administration.

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission.

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The National Research Service Award (NRSA) policies apply to this program. A Kirschstein-NRSA fellowship may not be held concurrently with another federally sponsored fellowship or similar Federal award that provides a stipend or otherwise duplicates provisions of this award.

Pre-award costs are generally not allowable for Fellowships.

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit Applying Electronically.

Important reminders:
All PD/PIs must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF 424(R&R) Application Package. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH.

The applicant organization must ensure that the DUNS number it provides on the application is the same number used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Additional information may be found in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review. NIH. Applications that are incomplete will not be reviewed.

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in NOT-OD-10-115.

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. As part of the NIH mission, all applications submitted to the NIH in support of biomedical and behavioral research are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

For this particular announcement, note the following:

• Remember that the F programs are training awards and not research awards. Major considerations in the review are the applicant fellow's potential for a productive career, the applicant fellow's need for the proposed training, and the degree to which the research training proposal, the sponsor, and the environment will satisfy those needs.

Reviewers will provide an overall impact/priority score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood that the fellowship will enhance the candidate’s potential for, and commitment to, a productive independent scientific research career in a health-related field, in consideration of the scored and additional review criteria.

Reviewers will consider each of the review criteria below in the determination of scientific merit, and give a separate score for each. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged likely to have major scientific impact.

Fellowship Applicant

• Are the applicant fellow’s academic record and research experience of high quality?
• Does the applicant fellow have the potential for, and commitment to, becoming an important contributor to biomedical, behavioral or clinical science as a physician-scientist or clinician-scientist?

Sponsors, Collaborators, and Consultants

• Are the sponsor(s) research qualifications (including successful competition for research support) and track record of mentoring appropriate for the proposed fellowship?
• Are there (1) evidence of a match between the research interests of the applicant fellow and the sponsor (including an understanding of the applicant’s research training needs) and (2) a demonstrated ability and commitment of the sponsor to assist in meeting these needs?
• Are the qualifications of any collaborator(s) and/or consultant(s), including their complementary expertise and previous experience in fostering the training of fellows, appropriate for the proposed research project?

Research Training Plan

• Is the proposed research plan of high scientific quality, and does it relate to the applicant fellow’s training plan?
• Is the training plan consistent with the applicant fellow’s stage of research development?
• Will the research training plan provide the applicant fellow with individualized and supervised experiences that will develop research skills needed as a physician-scientist or clinician-scientist?

Training Potential

• Does the proposed research training plan have the potential to provide the applicant fellow with the requisite individualized and supervised experiences that will develop his/her research skills?
• Does the proposed research training have the potential to serve as a sound foundation that will lead the applicant fellow to a productive research careers as a physician or clinician scientist?

Institutional Environment & Commitment to Training

• Are the research facilities, resources (e.g. equipment, laboratory space, computer time, subject populations), and training opportunities adequate and appropriate?
• Is the institutional environment for the scientific development of the applicant fellow of high quality, and is there appropriate institutional commitment to fostering the applicant fellow’s training as a physician-scientist or clinician-scientist?

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact/priority score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the proposed protections from research risk relating to their participation according to the following five review criteria: 1) risk to subjects, 2) adequacy of protection against risks, 3) potential benefits to the subjects and others, 4) importance of the knowledge to be gained, and 5) data and safety monitoring for clinical trials.

For research that involves human subjects and meets the criteria for one or more of the six categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, the committee will evaluate: 1) the justification for the exemption, 2) human subjects involvement and characteristics, and 3) sources of materials. For additional information on review of the Human Subjects section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Children

When the proposed project involves clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for inclusion of minorities and members of both genders, as well as the inclusion of children. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Human Subjects Protection and Inclusion Guidelines.

Vertebrate Animals

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following five points: 1) proposed use of the animals, and species, strains, ages, sex, and numbers to be used; 2) justifications for the use of animals and for the appropriateness of the species and numbers proposed; 3) adequacy of veterinary care; 4) procedures for limiting discomfort, distress, pain and injury to that which is unavoidable in the conduct of scientifically sound research including the use of analgesic, anesthetic, and tranquilizing drugs and/or comfortable restraining devices; and 5) methods of euthanasia and reason for selection if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animal Section.

Biohazards

Reviewers will assess whether materials or procedures proposed are potentially hazardous to research personnel and/or the environment, and if needed, determine whether adequate protection is proposed.

Resubmissions

For Resubmissions, the committee will evaluate the application as now presented, taking into consideration the responses to comments from the previous scientific review group and changes made to the project.

Renewals

For Renewals, the committee will consider the progress made in the last funding period.

Revisions

Not Allowed.

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact/priority score.

Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research

Taking into account the circumstances of the fellow, including level of experience, the reviewers will address the following questions. Does the plan satisfactorily address the format of instruction, e.g. lectures, coursework, and/or real-time discussion groups? Do plans include a sufficiently broad selection of subject matter, such as conflict of interest, authorship, data management, human subjects and animal use, laboratory safety? Do the plans adequately describe the role of the sponsor/mentor or other faculty involvement in the fellow’s instruction? Does the plan meet the minimum requirements for RCR, i.e., eight contact hours of instruction every four years? Plans and past record will be rated as ACCEPTABLE or UNACCEPTABLE, and the summary statement will provide the consensus of the review committee. See also: NOT-OD-10-019.

Applications from Foreign Organizations

Not Applicable.

Select Agent Research

Reviewers will assess the information provided in this section of the application, including 1) the Select Agent(s) to be used in the proposed research, 2) the registration status of all entities where Select Agent(s) will be used, 3) the procedures that will be used to monitor possession use and transfer of Select Agent(s), and 4) plans for appropriate biosafety, biocontainment, and security of the Select Agent(s).

Resource Sharing Plans

Reviewers will comment on whether the following Resource Sharing Plans, or the rationale for not sharing the following types of resources, are reasonable: 1) Data Sharing Plan; and 2) Sharing Model Organisms.

Budget and Period of Support

Reviewers will consider whether the budget and the requested period of support are fully justified and reasonable in relation to the proposed research.

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate Scientific Review Group (assignments will be shown in the eRA Commons), in accordance with NIH peer review policy and procedures, using the stated review criteria.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications:

• May undergo a committee process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific and technical merit (generally the top half of applications under review), will be discussed and assigned an overall impact/priority score.
• Will receive a written critique.

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this FOA. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:

• Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
• Availability of funds.
• Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access his or her Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

If the application is under consideration for funding, NIH will request "just-in-time" information from the applicant as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

A formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA) will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA signed by the grants management officer is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the grantee business official.

Awardees must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.5. Funding Restrictions. Selection of an application for award is not an authorization to begin performance. Any costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the recipient's risk. These costs may be reimbursed only to the extent considered allowable pre-award costs.

Any application awarded in response to this FOA will be subject to the DUNS, CCR Registration, and Transparency Act requirements as noted on the Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants website.

All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the NoA. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities. More information is provided at Award Conditions and Information for NIH Grants.

The taxability of stipends is described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Fellowships funded primarily for educational purposes are exempted from the PHS invention requirements and thus invention reporting is not required. More details, including exceptions for fellows training at NIH are provided in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The NIH Grants Policy Statement: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards describes NRSA leave policies. Applicant fellows may receive stipends for parental leave as described in NOT-OD-08-064.

In carrying out its stewardship of human resource-related programs, the NIH may request information essential to an assessment of the effectiveness of this program. Accordingly, recipients are hereby notified that they may be contacted after the completion of this award for periodic updates on various aspects of their employment history, publications, support from research grants or contracts, honors and awards, professional activities, and other information helpful in evaluating the impact of the program.

When multiple years are involved, awardees will be required to submit a Kirschstein-NRSA Individual Fellowship Progress Report for Continuation Support (PHS 416-9) annually. The report is due two months before the beginning date of the next budget period and must include information describing the current year's progress as well as the research and training plans for the coming year.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act), includes a requirement for awardees of Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY2011 or later. All awardees of applicable NIH grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.fsrs.gov on all subawards over $25,000. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information on this reporting requirement.

• The fellowship award recipient has up to six months from the issue date on the Notice of Award to activate the award using the Kirschstein-NRSA Individual Fellowship Activation Notice (PHS 416-5). Under unusual circumstances, NIH may grant an extension of the activation period upon receipt of a specific request from the fellow. Such a request must be countersigned by the sponsor and an authorized institutional official.
• For the individual's initial 12 months of Kirschstein-NRSA postdoctoral support, a signed, original Payback Agreement Form (PHS 6031) must accompany the Activation Notice.
• Individuals admitted to the United States as Permanent Residents must submit notarized evidence of legal admission prior to the award.
• At the conclusion of a fellowship, the fellow must submit a Termination Notice (PHS 416-7) via xTrain to the NIH within 30 days of termination. Fellows with service payback requirements must notify the NIH of any change in address and submit Annual Payback Activities Certification Forms (PHS 6031-1) until the payback service obligation is satisfied.

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants.

Special Note: Applicants are cautioned that not all NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) participate in this program, and that consultation with relevant IC staff prior to submission of an application is strongly encouraged. The participating ICs have different emphases and program requirements for this program. Therefore, a prospective applicant is urged to consult the Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements and Staff Contacts to determine whether the planned research and training falls within the mission of one of the participating NIH ICs.

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and submission, downloading or navigating forms)
Contact Center Phone: 800-518-4726
Email: [email protected]

GrantsInfo (Questions regarding application instructions and process, finding NIH grant resources)
Telephone 301-710-0267
TTY 301-451-5936
Email: [email protected]

eRA Commons Help Desk(Questions regarding eRA Commons registration, tracking application status, post submission issues)
Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
TTY: 301-451-5939
Email: [email protected]

Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements and Staff Contacts

Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears two weeks after the submission due date).

Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements and Staff Contacts

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Awards are made under the authorization of Section 487 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 288) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR 66.