research plan for postdoctoral fellowship

Feb 20 2023

• Writing a Winning Postdoctoral Research Proposal: A Guide and Template

Eddy Haminton

Career advice

If you are interested in pursuing a postdoctoral position, one of the first steps is to write a research proposal that outlines the project you plan to undertake. A postdoctoral research proposal is an important document that can help you secure funding, support, and a position at a university or research institution. In this blog post, we will provide a guide to writing a postdoctoral research proposal, as well as a template to help you get started.

The purpose of a postdoctoral research proposal is to demonstrate your research expertise, creativity, and vision, as well as to provide a clear plan for the research you plan to undertake. A good research proposal should be clear, concise, and well-organized, and should provide a strong rationale for the proposed research. It should also outline the research objectives, methods, and expected outcomes.

Here is a basic template for a postdoctoral research proposal:

I. Introduction

• Provide a brief overview of the research area and context for your proposed research
• State the research problem or question that your project will address
• Provide a rationale for the importance of the proposed research

II. Objectives and Research Questions

• Clearly state the research objectives of your project
• Provide a list of specific research questions that you plan to address

III. Background and Literature Review

• Provide a summary of the key literature in the research area
• Discuss how your proposed research builds on and contributes to the existing research

IV. Methodology

• Provide a clear and detailed description of the research methods you plan to use
• Explain how your methodology will help you achieve your research objectives
• Discuss any potential limitations of your proposed methodology and how you plan to address them

V. Expected Outcomes and Significance

• Clearly state the expected outcomes of your research
• Discuss the potential impact and significance of your research for the research area and beyond

VI. Timeline

• Provide a timeline for the completion of the proposed research
• Break the project into specific milestones and indicate the time required to complete each milestone

VII. Budget

• Provide a detailed budget for the proposed research
• Indicate the costs associated with equipment, materials, travel, and other expenses

VIII. Conclusion

• Summarize the key points of your research proposal
• Reiterate the importance and significance of your proposed research

When writing a postdoctoral research proposal, it is important to tailor your proposal to the specific research area and institution you are applying to. It is also important to be realistic about the feasibility of your proposed research, given the time and resources available.

In conclusion, a postdoctoral research proposal is a critical document that can help you secure a postdoctoral position and funding for your research. By following the template above and tailoring your proposal to the specific research area and institution you are applying to, you can increase your chances of success. Good luck with your postdoctoral research proposal!

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Postdoctoral Fellowship Research Statements: What I Wish I Knew Before Writing

Written by Andrew Feldman

Of course, the odds of receiving postdoctoral fellowships are not high (typically single digit percentages). Knowing these odds, I applied for eight fellowships: four through university departments and four through government agencies. I initially felt like I had no idea how to be successful, especially since I received none of the 12 doctoral fellowships I had previously applied for. I also had a rough start: my first postdoctoral fellowship application was rejected a month after submission for being slightly out of scope. It certainly required mental fortitude to continue through this application process.

After speaking with colleagues in my field, common themes emerged in how they approach proposals, especially in how to write a stand-out research statement. At this point starting the fifth year of my PhD, I understood the importance of conveying a strong vision in my research statement: it is essential for getting and staying funded regardless of how stellar one’s publication record is. While I knew the motivation and methodology well, my colleagues taught me that conveying my vision in a convincing, focused, and exciting way for other scientists is a different matter. I believe their collective advice was pivotal to improving my research statement and ultimately getting me on the “funded” pile for three of the eight fellowships. I share some of these insights here.

1) Why now? Why me? When formulating your idea, focus on ensuring that your proposal answers why this research should be completed right now, as opposed to anytime. Many committees strongly weigh how much of a priority your research question is. The best introductions will extend beyond an informative literature review and directly state why answering your question is necessary and urgent.

They also want to know: why are you the best person to address this problem as opposed to someone else? Explicitly sell your fit to your research problem and your vision. Lean on your PI choice here – PIs can fill in any technical knowledge gaps and provide complementary tools to those learned during your PhD.

Most surprising to me is how much focus you need place on “why now? why me?” in your motivation. There is no fixed number, but be sure you spend more real estate motivating why the problem and approach is so amazing rather than on addressing every pitfall with your research question and approach.

2) Your audience is broader than you think. Many proposal writers will incorrectly assume (like I initially did) that their committee will include that harsh reviewer of their journal articles who can identify all methodological shortcomings. Rather than trying to defend against this omniscient and unlikely reader, keep the focus on convincing a researcher of an adjacent field that your questions and approach are spectacular. An excellent research statement will ultimately excite any researcher enough to fund the work.

Another nuance to consider: postdoctoral fellowships are mainly offered through federal government agencies (i.e., NSF, NIH, etc.) and specific university departments. Government-based fellowships will be reviewed by researchers closer to your field (but not quite as close as that of a journal article review). In this case, lean slightly towards convincing them that you understand the limitations of the approach and that your background fits the problem. By contrast, university departmental fellowships will typically have committees of professors that will not be in your exact field. For this audience, lean towards exciting them with an accessible, clear problem motivation, provide only a broad overview of the methods you would use, and be very brief.

3) Spend time just thinking: resist the urge to open Microsoft Word and start typing. Spend time purely thinking and schematically charting out your research problem and anticipated results. If you sufficiently plan, the statement will write itself.

4) Less is more: your reviewers are just as busy as you are. They want to see your main idea fast. You may see a ten page limit and feel an urge to cram in as much material as possible. I did this initially, but the statement will quickly become noisy. Instead, prioritize reader friendliness. This means more pictures and less walls of text. Reviewers are thankful for 1.5 spacing, 12 point font, and schematic figures with question marks and arrows that clearly convey your research questions. Use parsimony in discussing methods – mention only the essential methods and main anticipated challenges.

5) Start early: I started formulating my research statement in June 2020. My first deadline was in early August 2020. While this seems early to start, it was not! Give yourself at least two months before your first fellowship deadline to formulate a problem with your prospective PI (or any co-PIs) and write your statements. Provide adequate time for your PI(s) to provide feedback on your ideas and statements. If applying to multiple fellowships with different PIs and/or different project topics, start even earlier.

Lastly, I encourage asking your colleagues for help. Folks around you regardless of career stage have likely spent a significant portion of their time writing research statements. The MIT Communication Lab was a great source of help for me that I used multiple times! Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I was always glad I did.

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• Blog & Resources

How to Write a Postdoc Research Proposal | Lex Academic Blog

6 December 2021

By Dr Michelle Liu (DPhil Oxon)

In an increasingly competitive job market, securing a postdoc somewhere is probably the best option many recent graduates can hope for. In the UK, where I am writing from, there are postdoc positions tied to specific research projects with restricted areas of research. There are also postdoc positions (e.g., British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships, Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships, Mind/Analysis Studentships, various JRFs at Oxford/Cambridge colleges) where areas of research are unrestricted.

Writing a postdoc research proposal is almost nothing like writing a paper for journal publication. For a start, grant referees may not be in your subject area, in which case striking the right tone and level of technicality in your proposal is important. Moreover, some of funders may care a lot more about impact than your average journal reviewers. So, it may be essential to think about whether your research project has wider applications and ramifications.

In this blog post, I will discuss what I think might be helpful for someone writing a postdoc research proposal. Given my area is philosophy, what I am offering here is perhaps more pertinent to philosophy than other subject areas (though I hope the general tips will apply across different disciplines in the Humanities). I shall mainly focus on writing research proposals where areas of specialisation are open. Of course, two successful research proposals can look quite different. So, it’s worth looking at some successful samples, if you can, before you start.

First, what topic should you propose? You should definitely propose a topic that you are already very familiar with. This could be an extension of your PhD thesis. Alternatively, it could be a new area that you have already begun to research. Not everyone can sustain a passion for one topic for 3-4 years. It’s likely that some of you started working on other topics during your PhDs. But if it’s a new area, then it should be a topic you already formed plans to write papers on – or even better, have published in. It is not an understatement to say that writing a research proposal is often a retrospective process. Sometimes, you already have a good idea of what your research outcomes will be, though the details still need filling in. You are working backwards in your proposal, guiding your grant reviewers through how one should go about investigating the topic.

A catchy title is also a good idea.

In terms of the overall structure of the proposal, I tend to think it’s helpful to have three sections: the introduction, the main body, and the outcome.

The opening paragraph is where you introduce your research topic to your (very often) non-specialist audience. Make sure you avoid jargon and write in plain English, but in an engaging way that captivates your readers. Think about why your topic is worth pursuing.  Why should anyone care? It’s worth considering how your own research compares and contrasts with the existing research on the topic. Make sure you give the impression that your project is exciting and will make a new contribution to the field.

The main body of the proposal goes into details about your aims and methodology, and exactly how you will carry out the project. The first thing to consider is timeframe. How might you divide your research time? What issues do you want to investigate for each period? For a typical three-year research fellowship in the UK, you could, for instance, divide it into three one-year periods and focus on investigating one question for each period.

I find it very helpful to frame the research plan in terms of guiding questions, with one question naturally leading to the next. Framing it in this way helps bring out your research goals and outcomes. For each question, think how you might go about answering it. What kind of literature do you want to engage with? Is there a popular view in the literature that you would like to criticise? Is there a hypothesis you want to investigate? You might have already made up your mind that you want to argue for thesis T when answering the research question you pose. But in this case, it may still be helpful to frame T as a hypothesis that you want to investigate in order to give referees a future-orienting sense of the project. In my own experience, I often find myself unsure of how to answer a specific research question that I raised. The advice I have received is that it is better to be specific and clear about what you want to argue for, even if you are not quite sure of it. Sometimes, you might have to put things in a way that sounds more confident than you actually are. It’s okay to be speculative; you don’t necessarily need to stick to your research plan. Also, I think it is better to show ‘positive’ outcomes (e.g., arguing for a new theory T) rather than ‘negative’ outcomes (e.g., arguing against theory X).

Depending on the nature of the topic, it may be appropriate to investigate it using case studies. In my own Leverhulme-funded project on polysemy, I investigate three case studies:  gender terms, sensation terms, and emotion terms. It is worth thinking about why these case studies were chosen. How are they related to each other? What overall purpose do they serve? In my own work, the three case studies were carefully chosen to encompass three different classes of words, i.e. nouns, verbs, and adjectives, from which wider philosophical implications about polysemy are to be drawn.

In the final section of the proposal, you should lay out the specific results you aim to achieve through your project as well as its wider impact. If your research is divided in several periods, think about what your output is for each period. It might be a specific paper for each period, in which case state the provisional title of the paper and the journal you are aiming to publish in. Again, this might not be what you in fact achieve if you secure the grant. It is also worth considering where you want to disseminate your research. Are there conferences that you want to attend or organise?

It is almost obligatory to include a section in the research proposal about the wider implications of the project. What significant impact does the research promise? It would be ideal if your project has wider social ramifications, such as clarifying conceptual confusions in a popular debate or resolving issues in certain clinical or policy-making contexts. If social impact is hard to find, it is still important to talk about how the project can advance debates in your field and what potential it has for applications in related research areas.

Finally, don’t forget to include references at the end as you are bound to cite research in your proposal.

Getting Feedback, etc.

There are other aspects of a postdoc application besides writing a research proposal. Some funding bodies give generous research allowances, in which case you will need to draft a budget outlining how you want to spend the money. This can involve various things from purchasing books to organising workshops or conferences. If the latter, it is important to give a breakdown of the costs. Where do you want to host the conference? How many speakers do you want to invite? How much would it cost to host each speaker? The last question depends on whether the speaker is domestic or international.

Often, you will also be asked to summarise your past and current research experience in your application. Here, you will inevitably mention your doctoral work and the papers that you have already published, that are under review, or that are in preparation. It is important to give the impression that your existing research experience naturally leads to your proposed project. Try to convey the idea that you are ideally suited to conduct the proposed project.

If your project is tied to a host institute, it is vital to explain (either in your proposal or elsewhere) the reasons for choosing a particular institution. What are its areas of expertise and how are they related to your research project? Mention members of the department whose work is relevant to yours. Also, how does your research contribute to the teaching and research in the host department?

Now that you have a draft for your research proposal, it is important to get a second opinion. In most universities, there are research offices dedicated to helping academics secure grants. Writing a grant application is a meticulous and formal process that involves peer reviews – something I was utterly unaware of when I was fresh out of my DPhil. However, graduate students or graduates who have not yet secured a university position are unlikely to have access to the expertise in the research office. In these cases, it would be wise to seek help from your supervisors as they are likely to offer useful insights.

Just as there are general tips that one can give to improve one’s chances for journal publication, I believe there are patterns that converge in successful grant applications. Like others, I am slowly figuring out both cases through experience and the helpful advice I’ve received from others over the years. Of course, it is undeniable that luck often plays a decisive role in grant success. My Leverhulme project on polysemy didn’t make it through the internal selection round at one institution, but I was lucky enough to apply at the last minute and eventually secure funding with my current institution. I hope that what I offer here may be helpful to some recent graduates, and I welcome others to share their successful experiences.

Dr  Michelle Liu is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire. Her project is titled ‘The abundance of meaning: polysemy and its applications in philosophy’. Liu completed her DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2019 and was a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire from 2019 to 2021.

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How to Write a Research Proposal

When applying for a postdoc position, fellowship, or grant you will often be asked to submit a research proposal as part of your application. A good proposal will demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of the subject matter and a feasible research plan that will yield significant findings.

The requirements and length of a research proposal can vary widely depending on the field and institution you are applying to. While the following information is pertinent for most proposals, you should read each application’s guidelines carefully and include all the requested information.

Most proposals begin with an abstract. The abstract is a short summary (no more than a couple hundred words) of the entire proposal. It gives a brief overview of the key points of the proposal as well as the conclusions.

The main body of your research proposal should answer these four questions: Why is the research important? What is your goal? How you will do it? What are the expected outcomes?

Why Is the Research Important?

This section will cover the current state of research on your topic and any recent major findings by other researchers. You should then move onto your own proposed project, explaining the problem it will solve or gap it will fill in the current knowledge. Define the scope of the project and any theoretical approaches you will be using. It is key that you contextualize this project and explain how it will contribute to the field.

What Is Your Goal?

Once you have identified your research problem, you must clearly state your key research questions and the objectives of your project. This can take the form of a succinct hypothesis or a more open-ended line of inquiry.

How Will You Do It?

This question is answered by the methods section, which should be the longest section of your proposal. This section shows the reader that you have a realistic plan to answer your research questions. The exact approach you take will depend on your field, but broadly you should explain how you will collect your evidence and how you will analyze it. More specifically, this section will include some combination of what experiments you will conduct, techniques you will use, sources you will consult, evidence you will use, any ethical considerations, research strategies, controls, statistical analysis, data collection methods. Be sure to explain why you have chosen to use these research methods rather than others.

Immediately after the methodology, you will need to include an estimated research timetable that goes through what you will work on month by month and when you expect to complete each step of the project. This also includes publishing your results. Make sure to also include what book manuscripts and journal articles you will complete during the research proposal, as well as any conferences you plan to submit abstracts to about the project.

What Are the Expected Outcomes?

This next section covers the expected results and output of the research project. Understandably, you haven’t done the work yet so you don’t know what the exact outcomes will be. However, based on your previous research and this project’s literature review, you should be able to make some fairly accurate predictions. Then it’s time to zoom out and extrapolate the impact your results will have on the field as a whole.

The Big Picture

When put all together, a postdoc research proposal includes a table of contents, an abstract, an introduction, a problem statement and hypothesis/objectives, a literature review, the research methods, a timetable, the expected results, appendices (if necessary), and references.

Make sure that you get feedback early and often from your mentors and colleagues while working on your proposal. If possible, make an outline for them to review first so you don’t spend valuable time working on an underdeveloped idea. Once you have finished the proposal, spend some time carefully editing it so that there are no typos or grammatical errors. If the research proposal if for a grant application, ask someone familiar with that grant’s application format to look over your formatting. Ensure your proposal conforms to the formatting conventions since the application will be judged both on content and format.

One last piece of advice: Remember that your research proposal is not a binding document. It’s a proposal that can (and probably will) change during the course of the postdoc.

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Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Postdoctoral Fellowship

1 Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America

2 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America

Siu Ping Ngok

3 Division of Hematology, Oncology, Stem Cell Transplantation, and Cancer Biology, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America

4 Asian Liver Center and Department of Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America

Crystal M. Botham

5 Stanford Biosciences Grant Writing Academy, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America

Introduction

Postdoctoral fellowships support research, and frequently career development training, to enhance your potential to becoming a productive, independent investigator. Securing a fellowship sends a strong signal that you are capable of conducting fundable research and will likely lead to successes with larger grants. Writing a fellowship will also increase your productivity and impact because you will learn and refine skills necessary to articulate your research priorities. However, competition is fierce and your fellowship application needs to stand out among your peers as realistic, coherent, and compelling. Also, reviewers, a committee of experts and sometimes non-experts, will scrutinize your application, so anything less than polished may be quickly eliminated. We have drawn below ten tips from our experiences in securing postdoctoral fellowships to help as you successfully tackle your proposal.

Rule 1: Start Early and Gather Critical Information

Crafting a competitive fellowship can take 6–9 months, so it is imperative that you start early. You may even want to start looking for postdoctoral fellowships before you finish your doctoral degree. Compile a comprehensive list of fellowships that you can apply to. This list should include key information to organize your game plan for applying, including Sponsor (agency sponsoring the fellowship) name; URL for funding information; Sponsor deadlines; and any other requirements or critical information.

To find suitable fellowships, start by asking your faculty mentor(s), laboratory colleagues, and recent alumni about their experiences applying for fellowships. Federal agencies in the United States, such as the National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF); foreign governmental agencies; and other organizations, such as societies, foundations, and associations, often solicit fellowship applications. Additionally, many institutions offer internally supported fellowships as well as institutional research training grants.

Once you have an exhaustive list of fellowships you are eligible for, start gathering critical information that you can use to inform your writing. Read the fellowship instructions completely and identify the review criteria. Investigate the review process; NIH’s Center for Scientific Review reviews grant applications for scientific merit and has a worthwhile video about the Peer Review Process [ 1 ]. Sometimes Sponsors offer notification alerts about upcoming funding opportunities, deadlines, and updated policies, so make sure to sign up for those when offered. Also, gather previously submitted applications and reviewers’ comments for the fellowships you will to apply to. Both funded and unfunded applications are useful. Sometimes Sponsors make available funded abstracts like NIH’s Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT), and these provide critical information about the scope of funded projects.

Many institutions have internal policies and processes that are required before a proposal can be submitted to a Sponsor. These requirements can include waivers to assess eligibility and internal deadlines (five business day internal deadlines are standard), so make sure you also gather relevant information about any internal policies and processes required by your institution.

Rule 2: Create a Game Plan and Write Regularly

Writing a compelling fellowship takes time, a lot of time, which is challenging to balance with a hectic laboratory schedule, other responsibilities, and family obligations. To reduce stress, divide the fellowship requirements into smaller tasks by creating a detailed timeline with goals or milestones. Having a game plan with daily and/or weekly goals will also help you avoid procrastination. Make sure you are writing regularly (i.e., daily or every other day) to establish an effective writing practice. This will increase your productivity and reduce your anxiety because writing will become a habit. It is also important to make your writing time non-negotiable so other obligations or distractions don’t impede your progress.

Rule 3: Find Your Research Niche

It is crucial that you have a deep awareness of your field so you can identify critical knowledge gaps that will significantly move your field forward when filled. Keep a list of questions or problems inherent to your field and update this list after reading germane peer-reviewed and review articles or attending seminars and conferences. Narrow down and focus your list through discussions with your mentor(s), key researchers in your field, and colleagues. Because compelling projects often combine two seemingly unrelated threads of work to challenge and shift the current research or clinical practice paradigms, it is important to have a broad familiarity with the wider scientific community as well. Seek opportunities to attend seminars on diverse topics, speak with experts, and read broadly the scientific literature. Relentlessly contemplate how concepts and approaches in the wider scientific community could be extended to address critical knowledge gaps in your field. Furthermore, develop a few of your research questions by crafting hypotheses supported by the literature and/or preliminary data. Again, share your ideas with others, i.e., mentor(s), other scientists, and colleagues, to gauge interest in the significance and innovation of the proposed ideas. Remember, because your focus is on writing a compelling fellowship, make sure your research questions are also relevant and appropriate for the missions of the sponsoring agencies.

Rule 4: Use Your Specific Aims Document as Your Roadmap

A perfectly crafted Specific Aims document, usually a one-page description of your plan during the project period, is crucial for a compelling fellowship because your reviewers will read it! In fact, it is very likely your Specific Aims will be the first document your reviewers will read, so it is vital to fully engage the reviewers’ interest and desire to keep reading. The Specific Aims document must concisely answer the following questions:

• Is the research question important? Compelling proposals often tackle a particular gap in the knowledge base that, when addressed, significantly advance the field.
• What is the overall goal? The overall goal defines the purpose of the proposal and must be attainable regardless of how the hypothesis tests.
• What specifically will be done? Attract the reviewers’ interest using attention-getting headlines. Describe your working hypothesis and your approach to objectively test the hypothesis.
• What are the expected outcomes and impact? Describe what the reviewers can expect after the proposal is completed in terms of advancement to the field.

A draft of your Specific Aims document is ideal for eliciting feedback from your mentor(s) and colleagues because evaluating a one-page document is not an enormous time investment on part of the person giving you feedback. Plus, you don’t want to invest time writing a full proposal without knowing the proposal’s conceptual framework is compelling. When you are ready to write the research plan, your Specific Aims document then provides a useful roadmap.

As you are writing (and rewriting) your Specific Aims document, it is essential to integrate the Sponsor’s goals for that fellowship funding opportunity. Often goals for a fellowship application include increasing the awardee’s potential for becoming an independent investigator, in which case an appropriate expected outcome might be that you mature into an independent investigator.

We recommend reading The Grant Application Writer’s Workbook ( www.grantcentral.com ) [ 2 ] because it has two helpful chapters on how to write a persuasive Specific Aims document, as well as other instructive chapters. Although a little formulaic, the Workbook’s approach ensures the conceptual framework of your Specific Aims document is solid. We also advise reading a diverse repertoire of Specific Aims documents to unearth your own style for this document.

Rule 5: Build a First-Rate Team of Mentors

Fellowship applications often support mentored training experiences; therefore, a strong mentoring team is essential. Remember, reviewers often evaluate the qualifications and appropriateness of your mentoring team. The leader of your mentoring team should have a track record of mentoring individuals at similar stages as your own as well as research qualifications appropriate for your interests. Reviewers will also often consider if your mentor can adequately support the proposed research and training because fellowship applications don’t always provide sufficient funds. It is also useful to propose a co-mentor who complements your mentor’s qualifications and experiences. You should also seek out other mentors at your institution and elsewhere to guide and support your training. These mentors could form an advisory committee, which is required for some funding opportunities, to assist in your training and monitor your progress. In summary, a first-rate mentoring team will reflect the various features of your fellowship, including mentors who augment your research training by enhancing your technical skills as well as mentors who support your professional development and career planning.

As you develop your fellowship proposal, meet regularly with your mentors to elicit feedback on your ideas and drafts. Your mentors should provide feedback on several iterations of your Specific Aims document and contribute to strengthening it. Recruit mentors to your team who will also invest in reading and providing feedback on your entire fellowship as an internal review before the fellowship’s due date.

You also want to maintain and cultivate relationships with prior mentors, advisors, or colleagues because fellowships often require three to five letters of reference. A weak or poorly written letter will negatively affect your proposal’s fundability, so make sure your referees will write a strong letter of recommendation and highlight your specific capabilities.

Rule 6: Develop a Complete Career Development Training Plan

Most fellowships support applicants engaged in training to enhance their development into a productive independent researcher. Training often includes both mentored activities, e.g., regular meetings with your mentor(s), as well as professional activities, e.g., courses and seminars. It is important that you describe a complete training plan and justify the need for each training activity based on your background and career goals.

When developing this plan, it is helpful to think deeply about your training needs. What skills or experiences are missing from your background but needed for your next career stage? Try to identify three to five training goals for your fellowship and organize your plan with these goals in mind. Below are sample activities:

• Regular (weekly) one-on-one meetings with mentor(s)
• Biannual meeting with advisory committee
• Externship (few weeks to a few months) in a collaborator’s laboratory to learn a specific technique or approach
• Courses (include course # and timeline) to study specific topics or methods
• Seminars focused on specific research areas
• Conferences to disseminate your research and initiate collaborations
• Teaching or mentoring
• Grant writing, scientific writing, and oral presentation courses or seminars
• Opportunities for gaining leadership roles
• Laboratory management seminars or experiences

Rule 7: STOP! Get Feedback

Feedback is critical to developing a first-class proposal. You need a wide audience providing feedback because your reviewers will likely come from diverse backgrounds as well. Be proactive in asking for feedback from your mentor, colleagues, and peers. Even non-scientists can provide critical advice about the clarity of your writing. When eliciting feedback, inform your reviewer of your specific needs, i.e., you desire broader feedback on overall concepts and feasibility or want advice on grammar and spelling. You may also consider hiring a professional editing and proofreading service to polish your writing.

Some fellowships have program staff, such as the NIH Program Officers, who can advise prospective applicants. These individuals can provide essential information and feedback about the programmatic relevance of your proposal to the Sponsor’s goals for that specific fellowship application. Approaching a Program Officer can be daunting, but reading the article “What to Say—and Not Say—to Program Officers” can help ease your anxiety [ 3 ].

Rule 8: Tell a Consistent and Cohesive Story

Fellowship applications are often composed of numerous documents or sections. Therefore, it is important that all your documents tell a consistent and cohesive story. For example, you might state your long term goal in the Specific Aims document and personal statement of your biosketch, then elaborate on your long term goal in a career goals document, so each of these documents must tell a consistent story. Similarly, your research must be described consistently in your abstract, Specific Aims, and research strategy documents. It is important to allow at least one to two weeks of time after composing the entire application to review and scrutinize the story you tell to ensure it is consistent and cohesive.

Rule 9: Follow Specific Requirements and Proofread for Errors and Readability

Each fellowship application has specific formats and page requirements that must be strictly followed. Keep these instructions and the review criteria close at hand when writing and revising. Applications that do not conform to required formatting and other requirements might be administratively rejected before the review process, so meticulously follow all requirements and guidelines.

Proofread your almost final documents for errors and readability. Errors can be confusing to reviewers. Also, if the documents have many misspellings or grammar errors, your reviewers will question your ability to complete the proposed experiments with precision and accuracy. Remove or reduce any field-specific jargon or acronyms. Review the layout of your pages and make sure each figure or table is readable and well placed. Use instructive headings and figure titles that inform the reviewers of the significance of the next paragraph(s) or results. Use bolding or italics to stress key statements or ideas. Your final documents must be easy to read, but also pleasing, so your reviewers remain engaged.

Rule 10: Recycle and Resubmit

Fellowships applications frequently have similar requirements, so it is fairly easy to recycle your application or submit it to several different funding opportunities. This can significantly increase your odds for success, especially if you are able to improve your application with each submission by tackling reviewers’ comments from a prior submission. However, some Sponsors limit concurrent applications to different funding opportunities, so read the instructions carefully.

Fellowship funding rates vary but, sadly, excellent fellowships may go unfunded. Although this rejection stings, resubmitted applications generally have a better success rate than original applications, so it is often worth resubmitting. However, resubmitting an application requires careful consideration of the reviewers’ comments and suggestions. If available, speak to your Program Officers because he or she may have listened to the reviewers’ discussion and can provide a unique prospective or crucial information not included in the reviewers’ written comments. Resubmitted fellowships are many times allowed an additional one- to two-page document to describe how you addressed the reviewers’ comments in the revised application, and this document needs to be clear and persuasive.

The ten tips we provide here will improve your chances of securing a fellowship and can be applied to other funding opportunity announcements like career development awards (i.e., NIH K Awards). Regardless of funding outcomes, writing a fellowship is an important career development activity because you will learn and refine skills that will enhance your training.

Funding Statement

Dr. Ke Yuan is supported by American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant (15SDG25710448) and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association Proof of Concept Award (SPO121940). Dr. Lei Cai is supported by Stanford Neuroscience Institute and NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellowship (1F32HL128094). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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FAS Office of Research Administration

Funding opportunities for postdoctoral scholars.

Below is a listing of notable funding opportunities available to postdoctoral scholars. If you are aware of an internal or external opportunity for postdocs but do not see it posted here, please email [email protected] . Current Harvard FAS and SEAS postdoctoral fellows with questions about any of these opportunities may contact their department using the contact information listed below. If your department is not listed here, please email [email protected] with  questions related to funding opportunities for postdoctoral scholars .

• Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB): Delia Bardales ( [email protected] )  
• Department of Human Evolutionary Biology (HEB): Kristin Pennarun ( [email protected] )
• Department of Mathematics: Anna Kreslavskaya ( [email protected] )
• Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB): Kristin Pennarun ( [email protected] )
• Department of Physics: Adam Ackerman ( [email protected] ) 
• Department of Psychology: Jennifer Perry ( [email protected] )
• Department of Statistics Laverne Martinez ( [email protected] )
• Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (SCRB): Doris Drake ( [email protected] ) 

Jump to: › External Opportunities › Harvard Internal Opportunities

External Opportunities
	Must have completed doctoral degree within the past 4 years; scientists and scholars of all nationalities and disciplines may apply	Rolling	A Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers allows long-term research (6-24 months) in Germany. Applicants choose their own topic of research and their academic host. In recent years, between 25% and 30% of all applications have been successful.
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required; must have received doctoral degree no more than 4 years before the application deadline date	October	The Academy’s Visiting Scholars Program provides residential fellowships to postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences. Housed at the headquarters of the Academy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Visiting Scholars participate in Academy-sponsored conferences, seminars, and informal gatherings while advancing their scholarly research. The annual stipend is $60,000, plus health insurance.
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required for the American Postdoctoral Fellowship	November	AAUW American Fellowships ($6,000–$30,000) support women scholars who are pursuing full-time study to complete dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research full time, or preparing research for publication for eight consecutive weeks.
	unrestricted	November	International Fellowships ($18,000–$30,000) provides support for women pursuing full-time graduate or postdoctoral study in the U.S. who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and who intend to return to their home country to pursue a professional career. A limited number of awards are available for study outside of the U.S. (excluding the applicant’s home country) to women who are members of Graduate Women International (see the list of GWI affiliates).
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required; researchers must be within 3 years of receiving a doctoral degree	April & October	This award is to support the training of researchers who have received a doctoral degree to provide initial funding leading to an independent career in cancer research (including basic, preclinical, clinical, cancer control, psychosocial, behavioral, epidemiology, health services and health policy research). Awards may be for 3 years with increased progressive stipends of $52,000, $54,000, and $56,000 per year, with additional fellowship allowance and parental leave benefits.
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required; must have no more than 18 months of cumulative postdoctoral research experience, or no more than 3 years from PhD; must pursue postdoctoral training in an area of chemical sciences that would likely not be eligible for funding by traditional chemical biology, biochemical or biological science mechanisms	September	This invited program supports postdoctoral scholars who have the highest potential for success in an independent academic career in chemistry and the life sciences, and to assist in their transition from "mentored yet independent" postdoctoral projects to an independent, tenure-track position. The award amount is $180,000 over 2 years for salary, fringe benefits and research expenditures; instrumentation fellowships will receive an additional one-time amount of up to $100,000. Fellows receiving year 3 renewal award will receive additional $90,000.
	For the 2023-24 program, PhD must have been earned between September 15, 2020 and September 30, 2024 and before the start date of the award; Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada and foreign citizens are eligible to apply	September	The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program provides funding to the very best postdoctoral applicants, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to Canada's economic, social and research based growth. The program funds the following areas of research: health, natural sciences and/or engineering, and social sciences and/or humanities. The Fellowship provides $70,000 per year (taxable) for 2 years.
	Ph.D. must have been completed within the last 10 years	March	Three postdoctoral fellow programs that support outstanding scientists offer a unique opportunity for selected scholars to engage in a three-year fellowship of interdisciplinary research at the Beckman Institute. The fellowship appointment provides an annual stipend of $54,000, plus benefits and a research budget.
	This grant is intended to support advanced post-doctoral fellows, instructors and assistant professors (or equivalent). Pre-doctoral students, first year post-doctoral fellows, faculty who serve(d) as a P.I. on a NIH R01 grant are not eligible.	March	These grants are intended to facilitate innovative research opportunities and supports basic, as well as translational and/or clinical investigators. All research must be relevant to understanding, treatment and prevention of serious psychiatric disorders such as: schizophrenia; bipolar; mood and anxiety disorders; or early onset brain and behavior disorders. The BBRF Young Investigator program offers up to $35,000 a year for up to 2 years to enable promising investigators to either extend their research fellowship training or to begin careers as independent research faculty.
	Unrestricted	October	Postdoctoral fellowship awards are intended for young researchers in their final stages of mentored training. These awards fund projects in an established laboratory that will serve as the basis for the applicant's own independent research career.
	Limited to citizens or permanent or temporary residents of Canada and the U.S; candidates must be no more than 13 years past their clinical doctorate degree. Candidates who hold a junior faculty appointment  may be eligible if they have been in non-tenure track faculty positions for two years or less at the time of application	October	This award supports physician-scientists, who are committed to an academic career, to bridge advanced postdoctoral/fellowship training and the early years of faculty service. Proposals must be in the area of basic biomedical, disease-oriented, or translational research. Proposals in health services research or involving large-scale clinical trials are not eligible.
	Limited to citizens or permanent or temporary residents of Canada and the U.S.; must have completed at least 12 months but no more than 60 months of postdoctoral research experience (in a research laboratory) at the time of application	September (pre-proposal); January (full proposal)	These grants are intended to foster the early career development of researchers who have transitioned or are transitioning from undergraduate and/or graduate work in the physical/ mathematical/ computational sciences or engineering into postdoctoral work in the biological sciences, and who are dedicated to pursuing a career in academic research.
	Limited to citizens of Canada and the U.S.; candidate must have no more than 36 months of postdoctoral research experience (in a research laboratory) at the time of application and must not be more than 5 years from his/her Ph.D.	January	The Postdoctoral Enrichment Program (PDEP) provides a total of $60,000 over three years to support the career development activities for underrepresented minority postdoctoral fellows in a degree-granting institution (an institution includes its affiliated graduate and medical schools, hospitals and research institutions) in the United States or Canada whose training and professional development are guided by mentors committed to helping them advance to stellar careers in biomedical or medical research.
	Applications will be considered from early career scientists, which includes graduate students and post-doctoral researchers. Only one person per laboratory may apply for funding, per funding round, per journal.	March, May, August, & October	The Company of Biologists' journals – Development, Journal of Cell Science, The Journal of Experimental Biology, and Disease Models & Mechanisms – offer fellowships of up to £2,500 or currency equivalent to graduate students and post-doctoral researchers wishing to make collaborative visits to other laboratories. These are designed to offset the cost of travel and other expenses.
	Foreign nationals may apply to conduct their research only in the U.S. Basic and physician-scientists must have received their degrees no more than 18 months prior to the application deadline. Applicants must not have been in their Sponsors' labs for more than one year prior to the application deadline.	March & August	The Foundation encourages all theoretical and experimental research relevant to the study of cancer and the search for cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies and prevention. Awards are made to institutions for the support of the Fellow under direct supervision of the Sponsor. Candidates who have already accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship award are not eligible.
	Recent Ph.D. graduates (within five years of receiving a doctorate) and active-duty military with STEM degrees may apply. U.S. citizenship is required for the fellowship, and selected candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a security clearance.	December (Stage 1); March (Stage 2 - if invited)	DARPA is broadening the scope of its commitment to talented young scientists, engineers, and mathematicians through this fellowship program focused specifically on postdoctoral researchers in the field of computer science. DARPA invites submissions of innovative basic or applied research concepts in areas of interest to I2O as listed in the Research Announcement.
	U.S. citizenship required; Ph.D. received within five years of the application deadline	February	Offers scientists and engineers from a wide variety of disciplines unique opportunities to conduct research in a wide range of topics relevant to the Intelligence Community. The research is conducted by the postdocs, while working in partnership with a research advisor and collaborating with an advisor from the Intelligence Community. This is a unique opportunity which allows the postdoc to continue their research at any university or government lab of their choice.
	Applicants must hold a doctorate degree or equivalent at the start of the fellowship. Applicants who already hold a PhD degree at the time of application are eligible to apply only if they obtained their PhD degree during the two years prior to the application date.	February & August	EMBO Long-Term Fellowships are awarded for a period of up to two years and support post-doctoral research visits to laboratories throughout Europe and the world. International exchange is a key feature in the application process. Applications to go to the country in which the PhD was obtained will not be considered.
	U.S. citizenship required	Various, announced February	Postdoctoral/early career grants are open to U.S. scholars who have recently completed their doctoral degrees – typically within the five previous years. Postdoctoral awards are available in STEM fields, the arts, humanities and social sciences. These grants present an excellent opportunity for recently minted scholars to deepen their expertise, to acquire new skills, to work with additional resources and to make connections with others in their fields.
	Unrestricted	January	This program offers fellowships to help increase knowledge in the fundamental sciences and to encourage research careers in the sciences by women.
	By the funding start date, applicants must hold a PhD, MD, DMD, MD/PhD, or comparable degree and work in an academic or medical research institution in Massachusetts, and have completed at least three years and no more than five years of full-time postdoctoral research.	March	The Charles A. King Trust was created to “support and promote the investigation of human disease and the alleviation of human suffering through improved treatment.” In keeping with these principles, the King Trust today supports postdoctoral fellows in the basic sciences and clinical and health services research.
	Foreign citizens are eligible if they intend to work in a laboratory within the U.S; candidates must have no more than one year of postdoctoral research experience by the application deadline, and must have completed their PhD no more than two years before the deadline or MD no more than three years before the deadline.	July	The Foundation supports early postdoctoral research training in all basic biomedical sciences. The Whitney Fellowship is for a period of three years. Attendance at the two-day Annual Meeting of Fellows, held in November of each year, is expected as a condition of acceptance of the fellowship.
	Applicants must have been accepted to join a lab in the U.S., and have no more than 16 months of postdoctoral research experience at the time of the application due date. Non-U.S. citizens and applicants with other nationalities must have a degree from a research institution in the U.S.	January	Seeks to increase diversity in the biomedical research community by recruitment and retention of individuals from groups underrepresented in the life sciences. The competition is open to those dedicated to basic research from both doctoral and/or medical training paths in the biomedical and life science disciplines, including plant biology, evolutionary biology, biophysics, chemical biology, biomedical engineering, and computational biology. Fellows will receive funding for their postdoctoral training and, if eligible, in their early career years as independent faculty. The program includes opportunities for career development, including mentoring and active involvement in the HHMI scientific community.
	Unrestricted	September	Support is foreseen for individual, trans-national fellowships awarded to the best or most promising researchers of any nationality, for employment in EU Member States or Horizon 2020 Associated Countries. It is based on an application made jointly by the researcher and the beneficiary in the academic or non-academic sectors.
	A research doctorate (PhD) or a doctoral-level degree comparable to a PhD with equivalent experience in basic research must have been conferred in the 3 years prior to the submission deadline.	May	Long-Term Fellowships (LTF) are for applicants with a Ph.D. in a biological discipline, who will broaden their expertise by proposing a project in the life sciences which is significantly different from their previous Ph.D. or postdoctoral work. Cross-Disciplinary Fellowships (CDF) are for applicants with a Ph.D. from outside the life sciences (e.g. in physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering or computer sciences), who have had no exposure to biology during their previous training.
	U.S. citizenship required	March	The IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program produces state-of-the-art research in disciplines relevant to the Intelligence Community while mentoring a new generation of American scientists. Postdocs who have completed their Ph.D. within the last 5 years are invited to identify a Research Advisor and collaborate in order to submit a research proposal that responds to the published research topics.
	Unrestricted	June	This Postdoctoral Fellowship supports PhD students within 18 months of anticipated completion of graduate training. It provides $200,000 expended in no less than 2 and no more than 3 years. Proposals furthering the science of complex systems and/or proposals intending to apply complex system tools and models to problems where such approaches are not yet considered usual or mainstream are appropriate.
	Applicants may be citizens of any country. Foreign nationals awards will be made only for study in the United States. American citizens may hold a fellowship either in the United States or in a foreign country.	February	The JCC Fund works for the furtherance of research into the causes, origin, and treatment of cancer. Applicants must hold either the MD degree or the PhD degree in the field in which they propose to study or furnish evidence of equivalent training and experience. Postdoctoral applicants should not have more than one year of postdoctoral experience and the degree must not have been conferred more than 18 months prior to the deadline date. MDs should not have received their degree more than three years from the date the application is due.
	Candidate must be a citizen of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan.	September & April (Standard); October, January, April, & June (Short Term)	To promote international scientific cooperation, the JSPS encourages highly qualified researchers from around the world to come to and conduct joint research activities with colleagues at Japanese universities and research institutes. JSPS offers five postdoctoral fellowship programs, each with different eligibility requirements.
	Non-U.S. citizens must work in a U.S. laboratory. Individuals who have held a PhD or MD degree for more than 5 years at the time of application are not eligible.	October	The Foundation supports fellows in the life sciences, focusing on training the next generation of exceptional biologists. The award amount is $62,000/year for three years.
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required	January	The L’Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship program awards five women postdoctoral scientists annually with grants of $60,000 each for their contributions in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields and commitment to serving as role models for younger generations.
	Individuals are not eligible if they have more than 4 years of related postdoctoral research at the time of initial or resubmission application. There is no citizenship requirement for K99 applicants.	February, June, & October	This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers from mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions, and to provide independent NIH research support during the transition that will help these individuals launch competitive, independent research careers.
	Applicant must hold an active grant, and the research proposed in the supplement must be accomplished within the competitive segment of the active award. Recipients of the following activity codes are eligible for the award: K01, K07, K08, K22, K23, K25, K38, K43, K76, and K99/R00 (on the mentored K99 portion of the K99/R00).	Varies by awarding institute or center	This supplement program is intended to ensure continuity of research among recipients of mentored career development (K) awards by providing supplemental research support to help sustain the investigator’s research during critical life events. Childbirth, adoption, and primary caregiving responsibilities of an ailing spouse, child, partner, or a member of the immediate family during the project period are critical life events that would qualify for consideration. The administrative supplement budget is limited to 1 year. The application budget cannot exceed a maximum direct cost of $50,000, applicable indirect cost can also be requested.
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required	April, August, & December	The purpose of this award is to support promising applicants during their mentored postdoctoral training under the guidance of outstanding faculty sponsors. The integrated program of research and training should enhance the individual’s potential to develop into a productive, independent researcher.
	Citizenship requirements vary	Varies by program	Programs provide either direct (i.e., from NSF) or indirect (i.e., from an awardee institution) funding for students at the postdoctoral level or identify programs that focus on educational developments such as curricula development, training or retention.
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required	November	The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) awards Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology to recent recipients of the doctoral degree for research and training in selected areas supported by BIO and with special goals for human resource development in biology.
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required	November	The Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) offers Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to encourage independence early in the Fellow's career through supporting his or her research and training goals.
	Candidate must be a citizen of a developing country or emerging economy. Dual citizenship holders of a developed country are not eligible.	November	This program supports outstanding women from developing countries in their pursuit of advanced graduate studies in engineering, science, and technology at leading universities worldwide.
	Unrestricted	August (nominations); November (full proposal)	The program aims to expand the horizons of the next generation of leaders and innovators in the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, and computing. Applicants must be nominated by a designated senior executive at a leading academic institution where the individual has pursued a PhD in an applicable field of natural science.
	Unrestricted	Varies by program	The Simons Foundation supports scholars working to advance research in basic science and mathematics. Please visit the Foundation’s website for information on the latest Fellowship competitions and focus areas.
	Applicants should have received their Ph.D. or equivalent degree within three years of the fellowship’s start date. Applicants may be citizens of any country.	June	The Simons Foundation supports postdoctoral research on fundamental problems in marine microbial ecology. The foundation is particularly interested in cross-disciplinary applicants with who want to apply their experience to understanding the role of microorganisms in shaping ocean processes, and vice versa, as well as applicants with experience in modeling or theory development. Applicants already involved in ocean research are also encouraged to apply.
	Unrestricted	July (LOI); November (full proposal)	PDF Grants seek to attract and support promising scientists embarking on careers dedicated to breast cancer research and who have no more than 3 years post-completion of their most recent clinical fellowship, 5 years post-completion of their most recent residency (for physicians), or 5 years post-completion of their most recent Ph.D.
	U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required	At least 3 weeks prior to the selected conference	Supports the participation of eligible applicants at selected scientific meetings and conferences. There are approximately forty FASEB conferences which meet for five days during the summer period (June-August) on topics in biomedical research. Applicants must be full-time underrepresented academic non-tenured junior faculty/research scientists, postdoctoral fellows or advanced graduate students who reside within the U.S. or U.S. territories.
	Varies by program	Varies by program	Fellowships are specially tailored training which are designed to give qualified persons practicing or intending to practice a profession in the field of the UNESCO programme priorities an opportunity to receive additional and practical training, thus contributing to the advancement and circulation of knowledge and skill promoting development and international understanding.
	Unrestricted	May, & November	Grants support research that demonstrates a clear link to anthropological theory and debates, and promises to make a solid contribution to advancing these ideas. There is no preference for any methodology, research location, or subfield.
	U.S. or Canadian citizenship, or visa to study and work in the U.S. required	March	Supports high-achieving scholars from premier universities in the U.S. to do postdoctoral research at one of seven Israeli universities. Scholarships are for up to two years.

Harvard Internal Opportunities
	April	The American School of Prehistoric Research (ASPR), which supports archaeological research and education in Old World prehistory, is offering financial support for Harvard graduate students and postdoctoral affiliates conducting summer field research in 2024. Eligible candidates must be attending a field program in Old World prehistory, and preference will be given to those who are at an early stage in their scholarly career, as well as those with financial need. Contact ASPR staff assistant Clara Alexander ( ) or the department executive officers: Rowan Flad ( ) or Dan Lieberman ( ).
	February, March	The Arboretum offers fellowships and awards to students, post-doctoral researchers, and professionals of the biological and horticultural sciences.
	January	The Center's programs and projects offer a variety of both pre-doctoral and post-doctoral research fellowships in diverse research areas.
	November	The Developmental Award provides salary and research support for promising early-career investigators who are transitioning to independent funding. Applicants may be at the post-doctoral fellow, research fellow, instructor, research associate, research scientist, or assistant professor level at any Harvard University School or one of its affiliated institutions. Applications will be considered from candidates beginning at the time of their transition from a training grant or similar support to mentored independent research (K level) funding to the point at which they have received NIH R01 or similar level funding.
	Varies by program	The Center for Astrophysics combines the resources and research facilities of the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory under a single director to pursue studies of those basic physical processes that determine the nature and evolution of the universe.
	October	The CHS supports postdoctoral scholars working on the ancient Greek world through the following programs: CHS Fellowships in Hellenic Studies; CHS/DAI Joint Fellowships; and Grants for Visiting Scholars.
	November	The Center awards two fellowships to scholars with research interests in Global American Studies: the history of the United States in the world, and the world in the United States. Applications are welcomed from scholars with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds who bring a historical perspective to topics such as empire, migration, race, indigeneity, and ethnicity, and whose work investigates and/or interprets the history and experience in the United States of native peoples, or peoples of African, Asian, or Hispanic descent.
	January	The Center awards postdoctoral fellowships for scholars who receive their PhD no later than September of the application year and no earlier than 5 years prior to the application deadline.
	January	An Wang Postdoctoral Fellowships support scholars engaging in research relevant to the Center's mission: to advance scholarship in all fields of Chinese studies at Harvard. Applications are invited from scholars in any academic discipline, working on contemporary China or any period of Chinese history, who are no more than five years beyond the receipt of their Ph.D.
	February	The Film Study Center (FSC) offers fellowships to both internationally eminent and emerging filmmakers, video artists, sound artists, and photographers whose creative projects seek to interpret the world, especially the fabric of human existence and cultural difference, through moving and still images and sounds.
	February, May, August, November	The Foundations of Human Behavior Initiative (FHB) aims to drive transformative insights about the psychological, social, economic, political, and biological mechanisms that influence human behavior – and then translate that knowledge into cost-effective, scalable interventions that improve human well-being around the world. Applications from post-docs must be sponsored by a member of the Harvard ladder faculty and accompanied by a detailed letter from the faculty member evaluating the project and explaining the scientific merits of the project.
	October	Under the guidance of a senior Harvard Chan School faculty member with compatible interests, Yerby Fellows develop research agendas, receive grant support, and actively pursue publication in peer-reviewed journals. The program creates a bridge between academic training in public health-related fields and entry-level faculty positions at institutions throughout the U.S. Applicants must have earned a doctorate in a public health-related discipline.
	December	Supports researchers whose interests are in data science, broadly construed, including researchers with both a methodological and applications focus. The normal duration of the Fellowship is two years. Fellows will receive a generous salary as well as an annual allocation for research and travel expenses.
	Rolling	The Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellowship (DPF) is a two-year research fellowship that provides funding in the amount of $50,000/year. Fellows receive additional opportunities for career enhancement, mentorship, seminars, workshops, and conferences, along with a robust support network, through the   program. Applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident from a group that is historically underrepresented in the basic and social sciences, and have no more than two years of postdoctoral experience.
	December	The Inequality in America Initiative seeks applications from recent doctoral degree recipients interested in working to address the multiple challenges of inequality. This program intends to seed new research directions; facilitate collaboration and mentorship across disciplines; develop new leaders in the study of inequality who can publish at the highest level, reach the widest audience, and impact policy; and deepen teaching expertise on the subject of inequality.
	November	The Center welcomes applications from recent Ph.D. recipients from all fields within the humanities and the allied social sciences, typically centered around an annual theme.
	November	Fellowships enable outstanding young scientists to carry out research projects under the joint supervision of PIs from MPQ and Harvard. Fellows will be offered the opportunity to travel between both institutions on a regular basis, while profiting from the excellent colloquia series and scientific retreats taking place in the framework of the cooperation. To be eligible, applicants must have completed their PhD before starting the fellowship.
	February	This two-year award is intended to fund a postdoctoral fellow (in accordance with NIH stipend guidelines) who wants to examine MBB-related issues through interdisciplinary research and experiences. Applicant must have a Ph.D., M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. in an MBB-related field and no more than 1 year of postdoctoral experience. Research project must bridge at least two classical fields of study.
	March, October	The Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) at Harvard University periodically awards travel grants that support collection of specimens and data relating to the study of comparative zoology, which are known as Putnam Expedition Grants.
	January	This yearlong program provides current Harvard graduate students and postdoctoral researchers an opportunity to participate in the crucial early stages of technology development by analyzing technologies’ commercialization potential and crafting marketing strategies.
	This program is currently on pause.	These awards of up to $750 are designed to support the professional development needs of postdocs by providing reimbursement for activities that directly enhance the individual’s professional growth, and which their PIs or faculty advisors may be unable to fund. Such activities include, but are not limited to, conference travel, workshop attendance, and course enrollment. The awards are open to full-time postdocs in all disciplines from any Cambridge-based school of Harvard University.
	February	The purpose of the fellowship is to enable the fellow to complete a major piece of writing in the field of legal history, broadly defined. Eligible applicants include those who have a first law degree, who have completed the required coursework for a doctorate, or who have recently been awarded a doctoral degree. A J.D. is preferred, but not required. Applicants who are beginning a teaching career in either law or history will also be considered.
	January	To fulfill its aim of promoting research on Japan, the Reischauer Institute provides fellowships and grants for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Postdoctoral fellowships provide scholars with exceptional promise and opportunity to transform dissertations into publishable manuscripts.
	January	The HURI brings scholars from the international academic community to Harvard for focused research on projects in Ukrainian history, literature, philology, culture, and other related areas of study in the humanities and social sciences fields.
	January	The Institute annually appoints scholars who conduct individual research for a period of one to two semesters in a wide variety of fields related to African and African American Studies. Fellows work in a range of fields and interests, including art and art history, Afro-Latin American research, design and the history of design, education, hiphop, African studies, the African diaspora, African American studies, literature, and creative writing.
	Varies by program	The Center welcomes applications from graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in various disciplines whose research involves important international, transnational, global, and comparative national issues that may address contemporary or historical topics, including rigorous policy analysis, as well as the study of specific countries and regions outside the United States.
	January	The Program offers postdoctoral fellowships for social scientists in a broad range of fields, including anthropology, economics, education, history, law, political science, public health, public policy, and sociology. Projects that focus on Japan or Japan's international role from a comparative, historical, or global perspective are welcome. A knowledge of the Japanese language is not required.

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• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program

As one of the world’s leading academic institutions, Harvard University is committed to supporting top-quality Postdoctoral Fellows who will contribute to the University's mission of excellence in teaching and research, and who are interested in advancing new ideas and promoting enduring knowledge. Harvard offers access to intellectual and cultural resources that are as unique as they are unrivaled.

The Center for African Studies Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program is aimed at providing opportunities for postdoctoral candidates to conduct independent research, publish, and increase knowledge in their fields of study that will be beneficial to the African continent and to prepare them to be successful in their chosen career paths. An applicant should have received their PhD (preference will be given to those who completed PhD in the last five years) and hold an academic appointment at a university or research institution in Africa. This includes those with a commitment of appointment at the time of application. The fellowship will support the development of a research project at selected Harvard University schools, departments, or laboratories in the field of their choice.

The program offers 18-month postdoctoral fellowships with 12 months spent at the scholars’ home institution and six months spent in stipend-supported residency at Harvard University.

APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2024-2026 COHORT WILL OPEN FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2024. APPLICATION DEADLINE: APRIL 30, 2024.

Eligibility

The program is established for Africa-based researchers who intend to continue/return to work in African academia. Fellows will be selected based on academic talent in their fields and will have an opportunity to work on their pedagogical and research skills to further their professional development. Fellows will have completed their respective doctoral programs at institutions from anywhere around the world (preference will be given to those who completed the PhD in the last five years). PhD holders who currently hold a paid academic appointment, which will be active through the duration of the fellowship period, with any of the following institutions are eligible to apply.

• Applicants must have received a PhD or equivalent doctoral-level research degree (preference will be given to those who completed PhD in the last five years) in any discipline and must hold a paid academic appointment at any African university or research institution.
• Applicants who have not yet formally received their degree must present evidence of having completed the academic requirements before commencing the Fellowship.
• Applicants must identify a Harvard faculty mentor to support research and scholarly work; additionally, they should identify a second mentor at their home institution.
• Both mentors are required to submit letters of recommendation during the application process.
• Applicants should have English language proficiency.
• Applicants must have support from their home institutions to pursue an 18-month fellowship appointment, six months of which will be spent in a stipend-supported residency in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Throughout the fellowship period, fellows will have access to their mentor at both institutions as well as Harvard's library resources and seminar/conference opportunities.
• Applicants should have an academic appointment in an African university/research institution or include a letter from the institution that such an appointment is forthcoming during the fellowship period.

Position Responsibilities

Under the terms of appointment, fellows will be required to assume the following responsibilities:

• Assume primary responsibility for the development of their research and career, in consultation with their faculty mentors and other collaborators.
• Play an active role in seeking career and research advice, both from the faculty mentors and from other faculty members as appropriate.
• Submit a report describing all work carried out at Harvard University and home institution during the research period. The report must be submitted two weeks prior to the end of their fellowship.
• Make mention in any publication, presentation, or interview of their status as a CAS fellow and acknowledge CAS support for work published or carried out as a result of their fellowship.
• Notify CAS of any grant, scholarship, or funding obtained from any public or private organization for the same or a different research project.
• Fellows should ensure funds are utilized for purposes as defined in the fellowship. Any expenditure outside of the stipulated use will not be accepted.
• Fellows should notify CAS of any periods of travel or absence during their fellowship.
• Presentation of research at CAS fellow’s colloquium at the end of fellowship.

Selection Criteria

A faculty review committee under direction of the CAS Oppenheimer Faculty Director will use the following criteria to identify final award recipients:

• Fellows with strong PhD achievement and actively conducting research and teaching in one of the listed institutions.
• Strength and quality of research proposal, project uniqueness, clear purpose, and detailed plan for execution of proposal.
• Applicants’ ability to succeed in a research-based academic track.
• Demonstration of initiative, social consciousness, leadership, and a sense of responsibility as well as personal motivations and experiences.
• Contribute to and advance new knowledge to the field of study.
• Mentors' recommendation and commitment to fellows’ advancement in the area of research.

Online Application

Interested candidates who meet the eligibility criteria will need to submit an online proposal through the Harvard University Funding Portal   by April 30, 2024, at 11:59pm ET . The application submission site will open March 1.

How to Apply:

Complete the online application in the Harvard University Funding Portal and upload required documents as prompted. Application link:   https://bit.ly/4bXOO0c

The Harvard CAS Postdoctoral Research Fellowship application is hosted by Qualtrics and resides in a secure, encrypted environment that requires applicants to register to access the application. The registration is a one-time event with the application link sent to your inbox. Be advised that your application should be done on your regularly used computer to be able to save and return to your application. We strongly recommend that you use current generation browsers whenever possible. Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are the preferred browsers for this application. You may preview the application here .

Please Note: A complete application consists of fields submitted through the Harvard University Funding Portal and all requested attachments uploaded as PDFs into the application system. In addition, a confidential letter of recommendation is requested from the postdoc’s supervisor at their home institution who is familiar with your academic work as well as by a faculty mentor at Harvard University. Note that it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the confidential letters are submitted by the deadline due date.

The detailed components of the complete application are shown in the application form. An application will not be considered complete without these confidential letters from the mentors.

Application details:

• GENERAL INFORMATION: Candidates will be asked to enter biographical information and contact details. Candidates will be asked to enter academic/leadership/professional honors and detail any work or study completed in the last five years.
• EDUCATION HISTORY: Candidates will be asked to enter their education history, including name and location of institution, dates of attendance and degree, and field of study.
• WORK HISTORY: Candidates will be asked to enter their work history, including name and location of institution, position, and responsibilities.
• RESEARCH PROPOSAL: A single-spaced research proposal of no more than 2,000 words (font size 10 to 12 point) on the project to be pursued during the fellowship period. Proposals should include an 18-month timeline with up to six months in-residence at Harvard and the remaining time in-residence at the applicant’s home institution. The research proposal shall include i. Research Project Title, ii. Specific Aims, iii. Research Plan (a. Significance b. Innovation/Value c. Approach/Methods), iv. Mentorship Plan (Frequency of mentor meetings, goals, etc.), and v. References (References will not count towards word limit). Include your full name on the top of each page and your signature at the end.
• PROJECT PLAN: Project plans should begin from September 1 of the year in which the proposal is submitted, and the six-month residency must be proposed for any consecutive six-month period between September 1 and the 18-months following. Candidates should consult with their mentors at Harvard and their home institutions to identify the ideal time for the residency portion. The time frame for the AY24/25 fellowship is September 1, 2024 - February 28, 2026.
• CV: A CV specifying education and experience including list of publications, conference presentations, awards, and fellowships.
• PERSONAL STATEMENT: The personal statement (500-700 words) should be typed in a standard font, font size 10 to 12 point, and double-spaced. Include your full name on the top of each page and your signature at the end. The personal statement should give the committee a sense of your background with the following questions in mind. Who are you? What motivates you, and why do you want to study a particular issue or topic? What kind of contributions do you want to make, and why? What are your goals? What path will you take to achieve them? This is the opportunity to introduce yourself to the selection committee for consideration.
• LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: Applications must include two letters of recommendation that speak to the applicant’s intellectual and professional preparation for the fellowship. One recommendation should be from the faculty mentor at the applicant’s home institution and a second letter of recommendation should come from the Harvard faculty mentor. Two letters of recommendation must be submitted by recommenders through Qualtrics. You will be required to enter the names, affiliations, and contact details of your referees. After you submit your application, referees will receive an e-mail to the address provided to submit their letters of recommendation. Please confirm with your recommenders that they have received this communication. Alternatively, recommenders can e-mail the letters directly to [email protected]
• BUDGET: Fellows will be provided with a budget of up to $10,000 for research during the 18-month fellowship. Stipend during residency and travel to and from Cambridge for the residency portion will be covered separately. A budget stipulating detailed expenses during the fellowship period should accompany your application.

What is the application deadline? Applications are due on April 30, 2024. Complete applications, including letters of recommendation, must be received by the application deadline.

How can I identify a Harvard faculty mentor? We recommend that candidates start with our list of CAS Faculty Affiliates to identify a potential research mentor. Prospective fellows may reach out to faculty by e-mail to inquire about their availability to serve as a faculty mentor. We advise including a copy of your research proposal and CV with your request as well as a summary of how you see your research project aligning with the work of the Harvard faculty mentor. Candidates may also visit websites for specific Harvard University departments or schools to find faculty members in their research field.  Unfortunately, due to a high volume of inquiries, we are unable to provide individualized assistance in identifying a Harvard faculty mentor.

Is my university or institution eligible? All universities in Africa are eligible to participate in the fellowship program beginning this year. If you are unsure as to whether you research institution qualifies, please contact Rosaline Salifu at: [email protected]

How are applicants selected? How many fellowships will be awarded? After the application deadline, all applications are given administrative review to verify the applications are complete. Incomplete applications will not move forward for review. Applications are then shared with a faculty review committee comprised of members of the CAS Faculty Executive Committee, who will shortlist up to five candidates. Faculty will make their selections based on the academic merits and feasibility of the candidate’s research proposal, the candidate’s perceived ability to excel in academic career, and the strength of the faculty mentors’ recommendations. Shortlisted candidates will be offered a one-hour interview with the CAS Oppenheimer Faculty Director, Executive Director, and at least one member of the faculty review committee. Up to three fellowships will be awarded each year.

What is the timeline for the fellowship? When should the residency begin? Fellowships should begin on September 1 in the year of the application deadline (applications submitted in 2022 should propose a start date of September 1, 2022). The residency may occur within any consecutive six-month period following the September 1 start date and should be agreed upon by your faculty mentors at Harvard and at your home institution. Note for planning purposes that the Fall term at Harvard takes place from early September through early December and the Spring term from late January through early May.

Are fellowship funds paid by Harvard University directly or through the home institutions of the fellows? Harvard University will pay fellows a stipend during their residency. From this stipend, fellows are expected to pay for housing, health insurance, food, transportation, books and supplies and other expenses. Payments will be made in fellows name ONLY for the six months in residence in Cambridge.

Are Research Funds paid directly to the Fellow or to the University?

Research funds are managed by the home institutions of fellows. Upon receipt of the fellowship, a Research Agreement that governs the scope of work, expenditure and a payment plan, as well as fund disbursements will be sent to the fellow’s institution for approval. Fellows can then draw on the funds for the sole purposes of their research work and purchases during their fellowship. Funds cannot be reassigned, and only costs directly related to the fellow’s research expenses will be reimbursed.

Do I need to receive ethical clearance from my institution or Harvard University to begin my field work?

You will need both. Ethical clearance should be sought for all your research work in which human or animal subjects are involved prior to commencement of your study in the field. You will need to be familiar with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements and approval processes as it relates to your work from your school as well as Harvard University.

• Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program
• CAS-HYI Fellowship
• Visiting Scholar Program

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Postdoctoral Training and Opportunities

Postdoctoral associates and fellows are an essential part of scientific advancement and research. The Yale School of Public Health has an abundance of postdoctoral positions at any given time in multiple disciplines.

Following are some of our ongoing opportunities for early career researchers.

T32 Fellowships for Pre- and Postdoctoral Study

YSPH has several ongoing postdoctoral fellowship programs focused on training the next generation of researchers. For other grant-funded postdoctoral positions, please visit our Careers page.

• Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) - NIMH Interdisciplinary HIV Prevention Training Program With nearly 5000 new HIV infections occurring per day, and the epidemic negatively impacting the most vulnerable populations, resulting in health inequities, there remains a critical need to train investigators who are prepared to conduct primary and secondary prevention research in HIV. This training Program provides the strongest foundation of knowledge, skills, professional networking and experience to young investigators at the pre- and post-doctoral levels, who can establish and sustain careers as scientific investigators, contributing to advances in HIV prevention, specifically, and public health, in general.
• Health Policy and Management - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Training Program in Health Services Research This training program is designed to develop a cohort of young scholars capable of identifying timely research problems, creatively conceptualizing responses, applying cutting-edge research techniques and effectively guiding the translation of findings into policy and practice. Our trainees are prepared to tackle the complex ways in which contemporary health and health care problems transcend disciplinary boundaries. Their published work, both during and after completing the program, has had a demonstrable impact of health care, policy, and practice.
• Translational Alcohol Research Program (TARP) Alcohol use disorders (AUD) and alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) are major public health problems with substantial and yet rising levels of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The goal of the Translational Alcohol Research Program (TARP) is to facilitate the ability of emerging post-doctoral researchers to bridge the gap in the application of knowledge gained from basic to clinical and social behavioral science research in AUD and ALD. The TARP is designed to improve clinical treatment of AUD and ALD by increasing the availability of appropriately-trained young scientists who are conversant in basic and clinical sciences and able to comfortably traverse the translational gap between these sciences.
• The Yale Cancer Prevention and Control Training Program The Yale Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC) Training Program aims to educate, train and mentor pre- and post-doctoral fellows in five thematic areas critical to CPC: cancer etiology, cancer outcomes, lifestyle behavioral interventions, implementation science and community-engaged research. These five areas are critical domains in the spectrum of CPC research, they leverage strengths of our faculty, and they will ensure that T32 trainees with diverse interests will achieve pivotal growth through the program and become leaders in novel, impactful CPC research.
• Training in Implementation Science Research and Methods Implementation science is the field that studies how to move evidence-based treatments, therapies and techniques into clinics and hospitals quickly so that patients can benefit from them. Currently, there are not enough scientists in the field and it takes approximately 17 years for new treatments to be adopted by the medical community. This program will train new scientists in implementation science so we can take better care of people with heart, lung, blood, or sleep disorders

Yale University and Boehringer Ingelheim Biomedical Data Science Fellowship Program

(move-kaz) molecular virology/epidemiology training in kazakhstan, research education institute for diverse scholars (reids), transdisciplinary research on energetics and cancer training workshop.

An annual, in person 5-day transdisciplinary training course in energy balance and cancer research for early career investigators (i.e., junior faculty and postdocs).

Fogarty International Center Grants at YSPH

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SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF)

View guidelines, important information about nsf’s implementation of the revised 2 cfr.

NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website . These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Supports postdoctoral research in the social, behavioral and economic sciences and/or activities that broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in these fields.

The Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) offers Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to encourage independence early in the fellow's career by supporting his or her research and training goals. The research and training plan of each fellowship must address important scientific questions within the scope of the SBE directorate and the specific guidelines in this solicitation. The SPRF program offers two tracks: (I) Fundamental Research in the SBE Sciences (SPRF-FR) and (II) Broadening Participation in the SBE Sciences (SPRF-BP). See the full text of the solicitation for a detailed description of these tracks. 

Program contacts

Program Director

	(703) 292-7376	SBE/OAD
Program Analyst		(703) 292-2184	SBE/OAD

Program events

• September 30, 2021 - SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Informational Webinar

Additional program resources

• For SPRF Awardees: SPRF Administrative Guide
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF) Program
• NSF programs to stop accepting proposals via FastLane website

Awards made through this program

Organization(s).

• Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE)
• SBE Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (SBE/SMA)

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Developing talents, advancing research

Postdoctoral Fellowships

Objective of postdoctoral fellowships.

The objective of PFs is to support researchers’ careers and foster excellence in research. The Postdoctoral Fellowships action targets researchers holding a PhD who wish to carry out their research activities abroad, acquire new skills and develop their careers. PFs help researchers gain experience in other countries, disciplines and non-academic sectors.

Types of Postdoctoral Fellowship

There are 2 types of Postdoctoral Fellowships:

• European Postdoctoral Fellowships. They are open to researchers moving within Europe or coming to Europe from another part of the world to pursue their research career. These fellowships take place in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country and can last between 1 and 2 years. Researchers of any nationality can apply.
• Global Postdoctoral Fellowships. They fund the mobility of researchers outside Europe. The fellowship lasts between 2 to 3 years, of which the first 1 to 2 years will be spent in a non-associated Third Country, followed by a mandatory return phase of 1 year to an organisation based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. Only nationals or long-term residents of the EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries can apply.

Both types of fellowships may also include short-term secondments anywhere in the world during the fellowship (except during the return phase of a Global Fellowship).

In an effort to build bridges between the academic and non-academic sector, researchers can receive additional support to carry out a placement of up to 6 months in a non-academic organisation based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. This placement needs to take place at the end of their fellowship.

For Postdoctoral Fellowships in research areas covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme , researchers need to be nationals or long-term residents of an EU Member State or a Euratom Associated Country. The beneficiary organisation recruiting the researcher also needs to be established in an EU Member State or Euratom Associated Country.

Who can apply for Postdoctoral Fellowships?

Interested researchers submit an application together with a host organisation, which can be a university, research institution, business, SME or other organisation based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. All disciplines are eligible for Postdoctoral Fellowships, including research areas covered by the Euratom Research and Training Programme.

Researchers interested in PFs

• should have a PhD degree at the time of the deadline for applications. Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered eligible to apply
• must have a maximum of eight years experience in research, from the date of the award of their PhD degree, years of experience outside research and career breaks will not count towards the above maximum, nor will years of experience in research in third countries, for nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries who wish to reintegrate to Europe
• should comply with mobility rules: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline

As from 2022, resubmission restrictions will apply for applications that received a score below 70% the previous year.

Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications with a total score equal to or higher than 85% , but which cannot be funded due to lack of budget available under the call.

What does the funding cover?

The beneficiary receiving EU funding needs to recruit the researcher for the total period of the fellowship.

The EU provides support for the recruited researcher in the form of

• a living allowance
• a mobility allowance
• if applicable, family, long-term leave and special needs allowances

In addition, funding is provided for

• research, training and networking activities
• management and indirect costs

How to apply?

Researchers: prepare an application with a host organisation of your choice.

If you are an experienced researcher interested in developing your own research project you can apply for Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Application process

You will need to

• develop an application jointly with your chosen host organisation
• submit your application to an open funding call published on the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal

To find a host organisation

• your network will be an invaluable source
• you can also check the list of hosting offers (expressions of interest) published on Euraxess and other job portals from research institutions interested in supporting your application

Offers are often in very concrete fields of research proposed by the host organisation. In many cases, you will be in contact with a supervisor to develop your application. You will need to check carefully the requirements to make sure you are eligible to apply.

Relevant documents and information

All relevant documents are available for each call on the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal, including

• MSCA work programme  and  general annexes
• guide for applicants
• specific FAQs
• application and evaluation forms
• guidelines on the calculation of 8-years research experience in Postdoctoral Fellowships under Horizon Europe
• self-assessment tool for the calculation of the 8-years research experience

For more information on the application and evaluation process and contact points for further guidance

• visit our page on how to apply
• visit the European Research Executive Agency website

Organisations: attract experienced researchers and prepare an application

As an organisation based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country you can develop an application jointly with an experienced researcher for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships funding.

To attract the most talented researchers you can post hosting offers on Euraxess and other major job portals, gaining access to a pool of international minds and high potentials interested in applying with your organisation.

As the host organisation you will be responsible for submitting the application to MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships on behalf of the researcher.

The completed proposal, including all annexes

• can be submitted at any time from the opening date of the chosen call
• should be submitted by the specified submission deadline of the chosen call

If the submitted proposal is retained for funding, your organisation will be in charge of

• supervising
• where appropriate, seconding the researcher

Applicants can

• find open and forthcoming calls on our page on funding
• find partners and apply through the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal

All relevant documents are available on the dedicated call page on the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal, including

• online manual  on how to submit an application

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International Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

AAUW’s International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program promotes education and equity for women by investing in international applicants who will be pursuing postdoctoral research in the U.S., with the intention of applying their expertise, professional skills and leadership in the context of their home countries. In addition, up to 6 awards are available to Graduate Women International ( see the list of GWI affiliates ) members for study in any country other than their own. The program is specifically designed for women who are non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents, with a track record of academic excellence and empowering other women and girls. AAUW’s International Fellowships have been supporting international women pursuing full-time postgraduate and postdoctoral research in the United States since 1917.

Award Details

International Postdoctoral Research Fellowships carry a stipend of $50,000. Stipends are payable to fellows only and are disbursed in two equal payments at the beginning and the midpoint of the fellowship term.

Fields of Study

International Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are available for the following broad discipline areas:

• Architecture/Urban Planning
• Earth/Environmental Sciences
• Engineering
• Mathematics
• Psychology/Psychiatry
• Public Health
• Technology/Data/Computer Science

Eligibility

• Applicants must be or identify as a woman.
• Applicants must be pursuing their first postdoctoral research experience.
• Applicants must hold a doctoral degree such as a Ph.D., Ed.D., D.B.A., M.F.A., J.D., M.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., D.S.W., or M.P.H. at the time of application (earned in the U.S. or abroad) with a minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
• Applicants must pursue their research in the U.S. on a full-time basis at an institution accredited by the U.S. Department of Education .
• A limited number of awards are available to Graduate Women International members for postdoctoral research in any country other than their own. Note that foreign branches of U.S. institutions are considered outside of the U.S.
• Applicants must reside in the country of their studies for the duration of the fellowship period.
• Applicants interested in pursuing Master’s, Professional, and Academic Doctorate Degrees are encouraged to consider AAUW’s International Fellowships (Master’s, Professional, and Academic Doctorate Degrees).

Citizenship & Immigration Status

Fellowship recipients must be non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Disqualifying Factors

The following are not eligible for consideration:

• Members of the AAUW Board of Directors.
• Employees of AAUW, including paid or unpaid, part-time or temporary employees, consultants, interns and contract employees.
• Review Panelists.
• Immediate families (i.e., spouses and dependent children) of individuals described in the points above.
• Previous AAUW International Fellowship recipients.

Selection Criteria

• Scholarly excellence as demonstrated by academic achievements, the strength of applicants’ research proposal, recognition from peers, professors, and/or institutions, and other forms of distinction.
• Research that is original in design and will make significant contributions to the relevant field.
• Feasibility of the research, the funding of those plans and the proposed timeline for their completion.
• Demonstrated commitment to 1) applying their expertise, professional skills and leadership in the context of their home countries, and 2) supporting other women and girls through service in their communities, professions or fields of research.
• Fellows position on return to home country.
• Applicants pursuing their first international experience (preferred).
• Applicants residing in their home country at the time of application (preferred).

How To Apply

How to apply.

International Scholarship & Tuition Services (ISTS) serves as the application portal for AAUW International Fellowships. Please follow the steps below to start the application process:

• Review the eligibility criteria to ensure you are eligible.
• Click the Apply Now button below to access the application and create an ISTS account. If a program key is requested, please use the following program key: AAUW-IF
• Follow the instructions provided in the Applicant Guide.

If you experience technical difficulties, please contact [email protected] or (866) 795-4892.

Application Requirements

In addition to a narrative application, all applicants are required to submit the following:

• Letters of Recommendation : Applicants must provide two letters of recommendation from advisors, professors, colleagues or others well acquainted with the applicant, their work, professional qualifications and academic background.

Note: AAUW does not accept references from dossier services, such as Parment or Interfolio, and standardized or form-letter recommendations are discouraged.

• Proof of Degree : Copy of a Ph.D., Ed.D., D.B.A., M.F.A., J.D., M.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., D.S.W., or M.P.H. degree.
• Transcripts : Copy of official transcripts confirming conferral of a Ph.D., Ed.D., D.B.A., M.F.A., J.D., M.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., D.S.W., or M.P.H. degree. All transcripts must include the applicants’ full name, the school’s name, the degree conferred, and the list of courses taken, and grades received. Transcripts must also include the name of coursework and grades from transfer courses, if applicable. If transcripts reflect transfer courses without grades, a transcript from the institution where courses were taken is required. Applicants who studied at an institution that does not provide a transcript or a list of courses taken, and grades received, or the degree did not require coursework, must provide an institutional letter affirming the same as well as the degree completion date.
• Copy of GPA conversion if your grades are not calculated on a 4.0 scale.
• TOEFL iBT (Internet-Based Test): 79
• TOEFL Essentials: 8.5
• Revised TOEFL Paper-Delivered Test: 60
• Cambridge Assessment: 176
• Written statement affirming the applicant’s native language is English.
• Academic transcript or diploma confirming one of the following:
• Secondary diploma or undergraduate degree is from an English-speaking institution.
• One semester of full-time study in the applicant’s discipline at an English-speaking institution.
• Official letter from GWI or a GWI affiliate confirming the applicant’s membership;
• Official membership certificate; or
• Any other official documentation that confirms the applicant’s membership status.
• Proof of current enrollment (currently enrolled applicants only) : Upload transcripts/lists of courses/institution letters from the college or university in which the applicant is currently enrolled, if enrolled.

A certified English translation is required for all materials provided in a foreign language. Translations must bear a mark of certification or official signature that the translation is true and complete.

If the name differs from the one stated in the application, an explanation must be provided, such as a marriage certificate or a court letter of name change.

Applicants are responsible for the submission of all required documents. Incomplete applications will be considered at the discretion of AAUW.

Selection Process

Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis according to funds available in a given fiscal year.

Review Panels

Applications to the International Fellowships are reviewed by panels of distinguished scholars and experts in the Natural & Physical Sciences fields.

Review panels meet once a year to review applications for funding. Panel funding recommendations are subject to final approval by AAUW.

Review Process

Prior to the International Fellowships Panel Review, AAUW’s Fellowships & Grants Team reviews applications for completeness and ensures compliance with eligibility requirements.

Each application is subsequently read by two panel reviewers. Reviewers assess applications based on the selection criteria described above.

Tax Liability

In most instances, the fellowship stipend is subject to a tax rate of either 14 or 30 percent, depending on relevant tax statuses and treaties. AAUW will withhold the necessary taxes from the stipends.

Tax Information

AAUW provides general tax guidelines to facilitate awardee compliance with United States tax law. However, AAUW strongly recommends that recipients consult a tax professional. AAUW does not provide any tax advice. Personal tax situations differ, and recipients are responsible for determining their AAUW award’s taxability in accordance with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, state laws, or in any country where they reside. Additional resources include the  U.S. IRS  (including the  U.S. IRS Classification of Taxpayers for U.S. Tax Purposes ) and  Social Security Administration , as well as campus admissions, financial aid, and international student offices.

Disclaimer: These guidelines are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or legal advice. AAUW encourages students to seek advice from a qualified tax or financial advisor if needed.

The U.S. tax year runs from January 1 to December 31, with an annual tax filing deadline of April 15.

AAUW awardees can have one of the following tax statuses:

1. Foreign persons conducting their AAUW fellowship year in the U.S., residing inside or outside the U.S.

2. Foreign persons residing and conducting their AAUW project/fellowship outside the U.S.

3. U.S. Persons (U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents, and U.S. Resident Aliens)

Tax Status Changes

Awardees must:

• Follow the guidelines that reflect their immigration and tax status at the time of each stipend payment.
• Notify their program officer as soon as they anticipate a change in tax status.
• Submit the appropriate information upon the change of status.

Tax Form Requirement

1.  Foreign persons conducting their AAUW fellowship year in the U.S., residing inside or outside the U.S : Foreign persons, including nonresident aliens, who are conducting their AAUW project in the U.S. during the award year must submit a  Form W‐8BEN . This includes recipients who are conducting their AAUW project at a U.S. institution (e.g., pursuing research or a degree at a U.S.‐based institution), even if they are residing outside the U.S.

2.  Foreign persons residing and conducting their AAUW project/fellowship outside the U.S.:  Foreign persons, including nonresident aliens, who reside outside the U.S. and who are performing their AAUW project plan outside the U.S. do not need to submit a tax form.

3.  U.S. Persons (U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents, and U.S. Resident Aliens):  U.S. persons, including U.S. resident aliens, must submit a  Form W9 . The form must include a  U.S. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number  or  U.S. Social Security Number .

1.  Foreign persons conducting their AAUW fellowship year in the U.S., residing inside or outside the U.S : The U.S. IRS requires tax filers to provide a  U.S. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number  or  U.S. Social Security Number  to file taxes. Certain recipients requesting tax exemptions must submit a tax number in their W‐8BEN. Others do not. However, as the process to obtain one of these numbers can be lengthy, AAUW strongly recommends that recipients apply for the appropriate number as soon as possible and submit it within their Form W‐8BEN.

2.  Foreign persons residing and conducting their AAUW project/fellowship outside the U.S.:  Foreign persons, including nonresident aliens, who reside outside the U.S. and who are performing their AAUW project plan outside the U.S. do not need to submit U.S. taxpayer identification number.

3.  U.S. Persons (U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents, and U.S. Resident Aliens):  U.S. persons, including U.S. resident aliens must provide a  U.S. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number  or  U.S. Social Security Number .

1.  Foreign persons conducting their AAUW fellowship year in the U.S., residing inside or outside the U.S:  Under U.S. law, fellowship awards to foreign persons conducting their fellowship year in the U.S. are taxable. AAUW is required by law to withhold the following amount to meet these tax obligations:

• 14% for recipients who have an “F,” “J,” “M,” or “Q” visa and related immigration status, or the tax withholding rate specified in any relevant tax treaties between a recipient’s home country and the U.S.
• 30% for recipients with any other immigration status or if no tax ID is provided.

2.  Foreign persons residing and conducting their AAUW project/fellowship outside the U.S.:  AAUW does not withhold any amount for payment of taxes.

3.  U.S. Persons (U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents, and U.S. Resident Aliens):  The determination of whether there is a tax obligation associated with the receipt of an AAUW fellowship is the sole responsibility of the applicant. Specific questions regarding income tax matters should be addressed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the applicant’s financial aid office or a personal tax adviser.

Tax Treaties

Certain countries have tax treaties with the U.S. that may exempt part or all the AAUW award from taxation or specify a unique US tax rate for citizens of that country. Please review the U.S. IRS’s  U.S. Income Tax Treaties—A to Z  and consult your embassy to determine if your country has a tax treaty with the US and if so, use the tax withholding rate that applies to you to appropriately record this information in your  form W‐8BEN .  Please note you must complete Part II of this form  and submit it to AAUW. If you do not have a U.S. taxpayer identification number and are requesting an exemption, you may enter  a foreign tax identifying number .

Tax Reporting

1.  Foreign persons conducting their AAUW fellowship year in the U.S., residing inside or outside the U.S  must follow the  U.S. IRS  reporting guidelines for each tax year they received funding. By March 15 of each year, AAUW will provide a  1042‐S Form  to each recipient. This form indicates the amount of the stipend paid during the previous calendar year and any taxes withheld.

2.  Foreign persons residing and conducting their AAUW project/fellowship outside the U.S.:  AAUW does not report stipend information to the U.S. IRS and does not provide tax‐related forms.

3.  U.S. Persons (U.S. Citizens, U.S. Permanent Residents, and U.S. Resident Aliens): AAUW does not report stipend information to the U.S. IRS and does not provide tax‐related forms.

Changes to Applicants’ Institution or Areas of Study

Applicants recommended for an award, but whose discipline or institution of study is different than envisioned at the time of application will be disqualified.

Use of Funds

International Fellowships may be used for tuition, fees and course-required expenses like books and supplies, as well as housing, food, and other living expenses (including childcare).

Awarded fellowship funds may not be expended on costs incurred prior to the fellowship term start date or after the fellowship term end date.

Participation in Degree Programs

International Postdoctoral Research Fellows are prohibited from pursuing a degree during their fellowship year.

Full-Time Requirements

International Postdoctoral Research Fellows are required to devote 100% of their working time and intellectual effort to their research.

Is it possible to be notified of my award status prior to April 15th?

No, AAUW is not able to honor requests for earlier notification.

If I had to decline an AAUW award in the past due to eligibility concerns or personal reasons, am I allowed to reapply?

Yes, if you were awarded an AAUW fellowship or grant but had to decline it without receiving your stipend, you are eligible to reapply.

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NOTICE – The Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) was established on June 1, 2024, in accordance with the Act to amend the Act respecting the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation with respect to research. The Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT), the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) have since been regrouped into the new FRQ, which continues their existence. The rights and obligations of the FRQNT, FRQS and FRQSC have become those of the FRQ; activities continue as usual.

Please note that if you come across an old name or logo of one of the Fonds de recherche du Québec in the program rules or on the website, it should now read as follows:

• The FRQNT becomes the Nature et technologies sector;
• The FRQS becomes the Santé sector;
• The FRQSC becomes the Société et culture sector.

Thank you for your understanding.

Société et culture Sector - Postdoctoral Research Creation Fellowship (B5) 2025-2026

Competition year :  2025-2026

Deadline (application) :  October 17 th , 2024 at 16:00 (EST)

Announcement of results :  End of April 2025

Amount :  45 000$/year + supplement for production costs

Duration :  6 to 24 months + possibility of additional 12 months

Program rules are now integrated into the Research-Creation Support Program .

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Part 1. Overview Information

National Institutes of Health ( NIH )

National Institute on Aging ( NIA )

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism ( NIAAA )

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases ( NIAMS )

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( NICHD )

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke ( NINDS )

R15 Research Enhancement Award (REA)

• April 4, 2024  - Overview of Grant Application and Review Changes for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2025. See Notice NOT-OD-24-084 .
• August 31, 2022 - Implementation Changes for Genomic Data Sharing Plans Included with Applications Due on or after January 25, 2023. See Notice  NOT-OD-22-198 .
• August 5, 2022 - Implementation Details for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. See Notice  NOT-OD-22-189 .

See Part 2, Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

The purpose of this HEAL Initiative program is to: (1) support basic and mechanistic pain research from R15-eligible undergraduate-focused serving institutions, health professional schools or graduate schools; (2) promote integrated, interdisciplinary research partnerships between Principal Investigators (PIs) from R15-eligible institutions and investigators from U.S. domestic institutions; and (3) enhance the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution for health professional students, undergraduate and/or graduate students through active engagement in pain research.

Applications in response to this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) should include plans to accomplish these goals. Specifically, applications should include a rigorous plan for conducting basic and mechanistic pain research in the Research Strategy section of the application . In addition, a research partnership between the PI’s institution and at least one investigator from a separate U.S. domestic institution that provides resources and/or expertise that will enhance the proposed pain research program must be included in a separate Team Management Plan. The proposed partnership will be a sub-award agreement(s) with at least one partnering institution, which does not need to be R15-eligible. The budget of all sub-awards must not exceed one third of the total budget. Furthermore, applications must include a Facilities & Other Resources document that demonstrates active involvement of health professional students, undergraduate and/or graduate students from the R15-eligible institution(s) in the proposed pain research projects.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP).

 30 days before application due date.

Application Due Dates			Review and Award Cycles
New	Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed)	AIDS - New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision, as allowed	Scientific Merit Review	Advisory Council Review	Earliest Start Date
November 19, 2024	Not Applicable	December 18, 2024	March 2025	May 2025	July 2025
October 28, 2025	October 28, 2025	November 24, 2025	March 2026	May 2026	July 2026
October 27, 2026	October 27, 2026	November 23, 2026	March 2027	May 2027	July 2027

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. 

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

No late applications will be accepted for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Not Applicable

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the  How to Apply - Application Guide , except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the How to Apply - Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the How to Apply - Application Guide , follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

There are several options available to submit your application through Grants.gov to NIH and Department of Health and Human Services partners. You must use one of these submission options to access the application forms for this opportunity.

• Use the NIH ASSIST system to prepare, submit and track your application online.
• Use an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution to prepare and submit your application to Grants.gov and eRA Commons to track your application. Check with your institutional officials regarding availability.
• Use Grants.gov Workspace to prepare and submit your application and eRA Commons to track your application.

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section i. notice of funding opportunity description.

Applications in response to this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) should include plans to accomplish these goals. Specifically, applications should include a rigorous plan for conducting basic and mechanistic pain research projects in the Research Strategy section of the application. In addition, a research partnership between the PI’s institution and at least one investigator from a separate U.S. domestic institution that provides resources and/or expertise that will enhance the proposed pain research program must be included in a separate Team Management Plan. The proposed partnership will be a sub-award agreement(s) with at least one partnering institution, which does not need to be R15-eligible. The budget of all sub-awards must not exceed one third of the total budget. Furthermore, applications must include a Facilities & Other Resources document   that demonstrates active involvement of health professional students or undergraduate and/or graduate students from the R15-eligible institution(s) in the proposed pain research projects.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term ® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative ® , bolsters research across NIH to (1) improve treatment for opioid misuse and addiction and (2) enhance pain management. More information about the NIH HEAL Initiative is available at  https://heal.nih.gov/ . Research shows that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogeneous teams. Scientists and trainees from diverse backgrounds and life experiences bring different perspectives, creativity, and individual enterprise to address complex scientific problems. See  the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity ( NOT-OD-20-031 ) for more details. Promoting diversity in the pain research workforce is crucial to promoting future scientific advances in this area and to achieve the NIH HEAL Initiative’s workforce development goals.The initiative has funded multiple pain workforce enhancement programs that support early-career investigators. Despite these efforts, the NIH HEAL Initiative can benefit from additionally supporting  R-15 eligible institutions that involve undergraduate, graduate or health professional school/colleges students in pain research.

Since Fiscal Year (FY) 1985, NIH has made a special effort to stimulate research at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate and/or advanced degrees for a significant number of the nation’s research scientists who have not been major recipients of NIH support. NIH has implemented two parent award programs, the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program ( PAR-21-155 ) and Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) ( PAR-22-060 ), to provide research experiences to health professional or undergraduate and/or graduate students pursuing biomedical or behavioral research at U.S. higher education institutions. Utilizing these two programs will further promote a diverse pain research workforce. This  Pain Research Enhancement Program (“PREP”) will further support meritorious collaborative pain research from designated educational levels  in the NIH HEAL Initiative, using the NIH Research Enhancement Award programs as a guide. Specifically, this NOFO aims to support new scientific solutions to the national opioid public health crisis byestablishing new research partnerships that will lead to research experiences for undergraduate, graduate, and health professional students,  to further enhance the pool of potential participants in the pain research pipeline.

Program Objectives:

The purpose of this HEAL Initiative program is to: (1) support basic and mechanistic pain research from R15-eligible undergraduate-focused serving institutions, health professional schools or graduate schools; (2) promote integrated, interdisciplinary research partnerships between Principal Investigators (PIs) from R15-eligible institutions and investigators from U.S. domestic institutions; and (3) enhance the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution for health professional students, undergraduate and/or graduate students through active engagement in pain research. Successful applications will include plans detailing how they intend to accomplish all three goals. Please refer to Section III for specific R15 eligibility information. Although preliminary data are not required for an R15 application, they may be included if available. The scientific foundation for the proposed research should be based on published research and/or any available preliminary data.

Objective 1: Develop Small-Scale Basic and Mechanistic Pain Research Projects

Proposed research projects should be hypothesis driven and use a rigorous scientific design to generate research data/evidence and advance scientific knowledge. Applications should include objectives that are attainable within the 3-year grant period.

Pain research projects may include, but are not limited to, the study of: nociception and/or pain processing in non-pain populations, acute pain, cancer pain, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, chronic pain, diabetic neuropathy, eye pain, gynecologic pain, headache, musculoskeletal pain, myofascial pain, obstetric pain, osteoarthritis, pain conditions across the lifespan (including in the context of aging), pain co-occurring with substance use disorders (SUDs), painful disorders of the orofacial region, painful neuropathy, post-stroke pain, post-surgical pain, sickle cell pain, and/or visceral pain. Innovative pain research topics that propose an interdisciplinary mechanistic pain research are considered high program priority under this initiative.

Projects may focus on basic  pain research with pre-clinical ( e.g., animal or in silico ) models or involve research participants ( e.g., observational studies, epidemiological studies, secondary data analyses, or device development). Alternatively, investigators may propose a mechanistic and/or “Basic Experimental Studies involving Humans” (BESH) clinical trial as described below.  Clinical trials designed primarily to determine the safety, tolerability, and/or clinical efficacy of an intervention will be considered non-responsive to this NOFO and withdrawn without review .

For this NOFO, only the following types of clinical trials will be supported:

• Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH) ,  defined as basic research studies involving humans that seek to understand the fundamental aspects of phenomena
• Mechanistic trials ,  defined as studies designed to understand a biological or behavioral process, the pathophysiology of a disease, or the mechanism of action of an intervention (i.e., how an intervention works, but not if it works or is safe)

NIH defines a clinical trial as a research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes ( https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-015.html ). For further clarification on how NIH defines the different types of clinical trials, please refer to the following resources:

• NOT-OD-15-015: Notice of Revised NIH Definition of Clinical Trial
• NIH's Definition of a Clinical Trial
• Decision Tree for NIH Clinical Trial Definition
• Guidance for Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH) Funding Opportunities
• NIH Definition of Clinical Trial Case Studies

Objective 2: Promote Integrated, Interdisciplinary Research Partnerships

A second key objective of this NOFO is to promote new research partnerships among investigators at R15-eligible institutions with separate (legally distinct) investigators at domestic research institutions. Investigators can have a multitude of research expertise that aligns with the proposed research projects and/or resources that can be shared to enhance the proposed research. Applications must propose a collaboration with at least one sub-award holder from a separate U.S. domestic research institution and should include details of how the collaboration will enhance the R15-research program must be described. Applications are permitted to have a subaward to a non-R15-eligible institution. However, it is expected that PD/PI(s) from R15-eligible institution(s) will lead the proposed project and complete most of the research at the R15-eligible institution. As such, PI(s) from R15-eligible institutions must serve as the contact program director (PD)/PI for the project. Additionally, no more than one third of the total budget for the project may be used by the identified sub-award institution.

Applications that propose new interdisciplinary are considered a high program priority under this NOFO. Interdisciplinary partnership could include, but are not limited to, any two or more areas of research expertise from the following:

• Clinical pain management (e.g., nonpharmacologic or pharmacologic interventions)
• Clinical pain research
• Preclinical/basic pain biology and modeling
• Specific disease and/or pathological conditions (either human or preclinical models)
• Animal behavior
• Artificial intelligence
• Data science

In addition, a Team Management Plan is required as part of Objective 2.  Studies of team science have highlighted the need for effective management structures to achieve program goals. Many resources exist to aid in developing effective team-based programs (e.g., the  National Cancer Institute Collaboration and Team Science Field Guide ). The Team Management Plan focuses on management of the whole team/key personnel. Because teams will likely include individuals from widely divergent scientific backgrounds, teams must have a shared vision and a defined plan for communication and management of shared responsibilities, interpersonal interactions, and professional credit. The Team Management Plan should be included as an attachment (three pages maximum) to this application. It should address how the research team, including the PI from R15-eligible Instiution and collaborator(s), will work together to accomplish program objectives. See the application instructions for “Other Attachments” on the SF424(R&R) Other Project Information in Section IV.2 Instructions for Application Submission for details. The Team Management Plan should address the following points:

• Organizational structure and team composition and roles
• Shared leadership, contributions, and distributed responsibility for decision-making
• Resource sharing and allocation
• Credit assignment and/or intellectual property (IP) rights
• Coordination and communication plans
• Intra-team data sharing, archiving, and preservation

Objective 3: Enhance the Research Environment by Engaging Students

The third objective of this program is to enhance the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution by engaging and providing research opportunities to health professional students or undergraduate and/or graduate students. A Facilities & Other Resources document is required to describe how the proposed research will enhance the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution. Two-thirds of the proposed research project team should comprise personnel from the R15-eligible institutions, including health professional students, or graduate students or undergraduate students from the primary R15-eligible institution. Although the proposed research project must be led by the identified PD/PI, applications with strong and innovative student engagement are of high program priority.  If participating students have not yet been identified, the number and academic stage of those to be involved should be provided. Applications should identify which aspects of the proposed research will include student participation. Student involvement may include participation in the design of experiments, collection and analysis of data, execution and troubleshooting of experiments, participation in research meetings, and discussion of future research directions. When applicable, it is highly desirable that student participation also include presentation of research at local and/or national meetings (including the HEAL Annual Scientific Meeting and "Positively Uniting Researchers of Pain to Opine, Synthesize, & Engage" {PURPOSE} meeting), publication of journal articles, and collaborative interactions. By engaging in these activities and collaborating on pain-focused research projects at early stages of training, students will be better prepared and motivated to pursue careers in  pain research. Please see Section III for a list of eligible students.

This NOFO  aims to support pain research grants, not training or fellowship program s. As such, applications should not include training plans such as didactic training or non-research activities related to professional development.  Likewise, applications should not include independent student research projects. For applications that propose a clinical trial, the PD/PI must be the responsible individual of record for oversight of the trial though students can take part in all components of a clinical trial. Oversight includes (but is not limited to): interacting with relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB) staff; reviewing all informed consent documents; reporting potential serious adverse events; and maintaining responsibility for patient safety. However, the student can gain experience in all these components in conjunction with the individual leading the trial. Applications submitted to this NOFO may include additional investigators to those outlined above, including additional collaborators or consultants, or other individuals such as high school students, post-baccalaureate participants, postdoctoral fellows, or clinical fellows. However, involvement of such individuals does not fulfill the goal of enhancing the R15-eligible institutional environment and should account for less than one third of the overall proposed project team.

Additional Information

Non-responsiveness Criteria:

Applications deemed to be non-responsive will not proceed to review and will be withdrawn. Applications with one or more of the following characteristics are considered non-responsive to this NOFO:

• Research that does not address the NIH HEAL Initiative mission to enhance pain management.
• Failure to describe a proposed Research plan and specific aims primarily led by a PI from a R15-eligible Institution.
• Omission of a domestic research partnership and accompanying sub award(s), or that include sub-award(s) that account for more than one third of the total project budget.
• Failure to include the required Facilities & Other Resources document and Other Attachments, including a Team Management Planand, letters of support, including a letter of support from the identified subaward holder(s) and a letter of support from the R15-eligible institution’s provost. Please see s ection IV.2 “Instructions for Application Submission” for details. 
• Proposing a clinical trial addressing safety, tolerability, efficacy, and/or effectiveness of pharmacologic, behavioral, biologic, surgical, or device (invasive or noninvasive) interventions.

Contacting Program Officers Prior to Submission

Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with  program staff as plans for an application are being developed.

Rigor and Reproducibility

NIH strives for rigor and transparency in all research it funds. For this reason, the NIH HEAL Initiative   explicitly emphasizes the NIH application instructions related to rigor and transparency ( https://grants.nih.gov/policy/reproducibility/guidance.htm ) and provides additional guidance from individual NIH institutes and centers (ICs) to the scientific community. For example, the biological rationale for the proposed experiments must be based on rigorous and robust supporting data, which means that data should be collected via methods that minimize the risk of bias and be reported in a transparent manner. If previously published or preliminary studies do not meet these standards, applicants should address how the current study design addresses the deficiencies in rigor and transparency. Proposed experiments should likewise be designed in a manner that minimizes the risk of bias and ensures validity of experimental results.

Proposed research projects should incorporate adequate methodological rigor where applicable, including but not limited to a clear rationale for the chosen model(s) and primary/secondary endpoint(s), clear descriptions of tools and parameters, blinding, randomization, adequate sample size, prespecified inclusion/exclusion criteria, appropriate handling of missing data and outliers, appropriate controls, pre-planned analyses, and appropriate quantitative techniques.

Applications should also clearly indicate the exploratory vs. confirmatory components of the study, consider study limitations, and plan for transparent reporting of all methods, analyses, and results so that other investigators can evaluate the quality of the work and potentially perform replications. NIH intends to maximize the impact of NIH HEAL Initiative-supported projects through broad and rapid data sharing and immediate access to publications ( https://heal.nih.gov/about/public-access-data ). Guidelines for complying with the HEAL Public Access and Data Sharing Policy can be found at  https://heal.nih.gov/data/complying-heal-data-sharing-policy . More details about NIH HEAL Initiative data sharing are described in Section IV.

Clinical Trial Accrual Policy:

For applications that are proposing to conduct a clinical trial, a series of clinical recruitment milestones detailing completion of the clinical trial and providing contingency plans to proactively confront potential delays or disturbances in attaining the clinical recruitment milestones must be included along with a study timeline in the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form. Continuation of the award is conditional upon satisfactory progress, availability of funds, and scientific priorities of the NIH HEAL Initiative. If, at any time, recruitment falls significantly below the projected milestones for recruitment, NIH will consider ending support and negotiating an orderly phaseout of the award. NIH retains the option of periodic external peer review of progress. NIH program staff will closely monitor progress at all stages for milestones, accrual, and safety.  

Expected Activities of Coordination

NIH HEAL Initiative awardees are strongly encouraged to cooperate and coordinate their activities. It is expected that NIH HEAL Initiative awardees will cooperate and coordinate their activities after post award by participating in PD/PI meetings, including:

NIH HEAL Initiative Scientific Meeting Attendance

Applicants and students are highly encouraged to attend the annual NIH HEAL Initiative Scientific Meetings. The NIH HEAL Initiative hosts an annual meeting of more than 800 NIH HEAL Initiative-funded researchers across the initiative’s research portfolio and career stage spectrum, NIH staff, people with lived and living experience, community partners advising initiative-funded projects, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders to

• Share research advances and cutting-edge science
• Discover opportunities, challenges, and approaches to build on the initiative’s progress
• Connect and explore collaboration with other NIH HEAL Initiative-funded researchers and collaborators to enhance initiative-funded research.

Annual National Pain Scientists Career Development Program (PURPOSE) Meeting

Applicants and students are also highly encouraged to enroll in the HEAL Initiative: Positively Uniting Researchers of Pain to Opine, Synthesize, and Engage (PURPOSE) network and attend its annual meetings. Details can be found at https://painresearchers.com . The HEAL R24 Coordinating Center for National Pain Scientists works to improve the collaboration between basic, translational, and clinical researchers who do not regularly collaborate or work together. One function of the HEAL R24 Coordinating Center for National Pain Scientists is to organize an annual meeting for established scientists as well as early-career pain investigators. This annual meeting facilitates the creation of a network of pain research mentors and mentees as well as fostering communication between scientists and clinicians of different disciplines and providing enhanced mentorship, leadership courses, and any additional training that might be helpful for early-career scientists. R15 recipients are encouraged to attend the annual PURPOSE meeting, either virtually or in person.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) The NIH recognizes that teams comprised of investigators with diverse perspectives working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct viewpoints outperform homogeneous teams. There are many benefits that flow from a scientific workforce rich with diverse perspectives, including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved populations participate in, and benefit from research, and enhancing public trust. To support the best science, the NIH encourages inclusivity in research guided by the consideration of diverse perspectives. Broadly, diverse perspectives can include but are not limited to the educational background and scientific expertise of the people who perform the research; the populations who participate as human subjects in research studies; and the places where research is done. This NOFO requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP), which will be assessed as part of the scientific and technical peer review evaluation.  Assessment of applications containing a PEDP are based on the scientific and technical merit of the proposed project. Consistent with federal law, the race, ethnicity, or sex (including gender identify, sexual orientation, or transgender status) of a researcher, award participant, or trainee will not be considered during the application review process or when making funding decisions.  Applications that fail to include a PEDP will be considered incomplete and will be administratively withdrawn before review. The PEDP will be submitted as Other Project Information as an attachment (see Section IV).  Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the NOFO instructions carefully and view the available PEDP guidance materials .

Investigators proposing NIH-defined clinical trials may refer to the Research Methods Resources website for information about developing statistical methods and study designs.

Section II. Award Information

Grant: A financial assistance mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

The  OER Glossary  and the How to Apply - Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this NOFO.

Optional: Accepting applications that either propose or do not propose clinical trial(s).

Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?

The NIH HEAL Initiative intends to commit an estimated total of $1.25 million to fund up to three awards per year for FY 2025, FY 2026, and FY 2027. Support for this funding opportunity is contingent upon annual NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications

Applicants may request up to $375,000 in direct costs for the entire project period. No more than one third of total project costs may go to non-R15-eligible institutions. Annual inflationary increases are not allowed.

The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is 3 years. 

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

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. eligible applicants eligible organizations 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 asian american native american pacific islander serving institutions (aanapisis) in addition, applicant organizations must meet the following criteria at the time of submission: the applicant organization must be an accredited public or nonprofit private school that grants baccalaureate or advanced degrees in health professions (see section below for more details) or biomedical and behavioral sciences. the application must be submitted by the eligible organization with a unique entity identifier (such as uei or duns) and a unique nih era institutional profile file (ipf) number. at the time of application submission, determination of eligibility will be based in part on nih institutional support. a year is defined as a federal fiscal year: from october 1 through september 30.   note that collaborating subawardees do not need to adhere to the r15 eligibility criteria stated above. however, they must be separate legal entities that fulfill the terms of an eligible subaward agreement. for this particular nofo, they must also be u.s. domestic institutions. more details can be found at https://grants.nih.gov/policy/subawards . undergraduate focused institutions: at the time of application submission, all the non-health professional components of the institution combined must not have received support from the nih totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and f&a/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 years. for institutions composed of multiple schools and colleges, the $6 million funding limit is based on the amount of nih funding received by all the non-health professional schools and colleges within the institution as a whole. note that all activity codes are included in this calculation except the following: c06, s10, and all activity codes starting with a g. help determining the organization funding level can be found at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/determing-organization-funding-levels-r15-eligibility.pdf    an academic component is any school/college that is not a health professional school or college. a qualifying academic component (i.e., school/college) within an institution (e.g., school of arts and sciences) has greater undergraduate student enrollment than graduate student enrollment. all types of health professional schools and colleges are not eligible to apply and are not considered in this calculation.  for institutions with multiple campuses, eligibility can be considered for each individual campus (e.g., main, satellite, etc.) only if separate ueis and nih ipf numbers are established for each campus. for institutions that use one uei or nih ipf number for all campuses, eligibility is determined for all campuses (e.g., main, satellite, etc.) combined.   health professional and graduate schools   at the time of application submission, all components of the institution combined must not have received support from the nih totaling more than $6 million per year (in both direct and f&a/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 years. for institutions composed of multiple schools and colleges, the $6 million funding limit is based on the amount of nih funding received by all of the schools and colleges within the institution as a whole. note that all activity codes are included in this calculation except the following: c06, s10, and all activity codes starting with a g. a graduate school offers advanced degrees, beyond the undergraduate level, in an academic discipline including m.a., m.s., and ph.d. degrees. health professional schools and colleges are accredited institutions that provide education and training leading to a health professional degree, including but not limited to: b.s.n., m.s.n., d.n.p., m.d., d.d.s., d.o., pharm.d., d.v.m., o.d., d.p.t., d.c., n.d., d.p.m., m.o.t., o.t.d., d.p.t., m.s.-s.l.p., c.sc.d., s.l.p.d., au.d., m.s.p.o., m.s.a.t., and m.p.h. eligible health professional schools/colleges may include schools or colleges of nursing, medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, public health, optometry, allied health, chiropractic, naturopathy, podiatry, rehabilitation medicine, physical therapy, orthotics and prosthetics, kinesiology, occupational therapy, and psychology. accreditation must be provided by a body approved for such purpose by the secretary of education. for institutions with multiple campuses, eligibility can be considered for each individual campus (e.g., main, satellite, etc.) only if a unique identifier number and nih ipf number are established for each campus. for institutions that use one identifier number or nih ipf number for all campuses, eligibility is determined for all campuses (e.g., main, satellite, etc.) together. additional eligibility guidance a signed letter is required from the provost or similar official with institution-wide responsibility verifying the eligibility of the applicant institution at the time of application submission according to the eligibility criteria indicated above. see the application instructions for “other attachments” on the sf424(r&r) other project information form in section iv.2 instructions for application submission. final eligibility will be validated by nih prior to award. to assist in determining eligibility, organizations are encouraged to use the nih report website under nih awards by location & organization . a prep application must provide evidence of a subaward to a separate institution , and the grantee may partner with a non-r15-eligible institution. however, applicants should keep the goals of the prep in mind when preparing the application, which include strengthening the research environment of eligible institutions and engaging students from eligible institutions in pain research. it is expected that the project, and two-thirds of the total project budget, will be directed by the pd(s)/pi(s) at r15-eligible institution(s). a letter of support from each collaborator is required verifying the research collaboration at the time of application submission according to the eligibility criteria indicated above. the letter(s) should detail how the proposed research partnership will help to accomplish the proposed pain research project, enhance the r15-eligible institution’s research program, and promote synergy from an integrated, interdisciplinary research partnership(s) among the multiple proposed institutions. see the application instructions for “other attachments” on the sf424(r&r) other project information form in section iv.2 instructions for application submission. foreign organizations non-domestic (non-u.s.) entities (foreign organizations) are not eligible to apply. non-domestic (non-u.s.) components of u.s. organizations are not eligible to apply. foreign components, as defined in the nih grants policy statement , are allowed.  required registrations applicant organizations applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the how to apply - application guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. all registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference nih grants policy statement section 2.3.9.2 electronically submitted applications for additional information system for award management (sam) – applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually . the renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. sam registration includes the assignment of a commercial and government entity (cage) code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a cage code. nato commercial and government entity (ncage) code – foreign organizations must obtain an ncage code (in lieu of a cage code) in order to register in sam. unique entity identifier (uei) - a uei is issued as part of the sam.gov registration process. the same uei must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application. era commons - once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with era commons in tandem with completing their grants.gov registrations; all registrations must be in place by time of submission. era commons requires organizations to identify at least one signing official (so) and at least one program director/principal investigator (pd/pi) account in order to submit an application. grants.gov – applicants must have an active sam registration in order to complete the grants.gov registration. program directors/principal investigators (pd(s)/pi(s)) all pd(s)/pi(s) must have an era commons account.  pd(s)/pi(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in era commons. if the pd/pi is also the organizational signing official, they must have two distinct era commons accounts, one for each role. obtaining an era commons account can take up to 2 weeks. eligible individuals (program director/principal investigator) any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the program director(s)/principal investigator(s) (pd(s)/pi(s)) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support. individuals from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and women are always encouraged to apply for nih support. see, reminder: notice of nih's encouragement of applications supporting individuals from underrepresented ethnic and racial groups as well as individuals with disabilities , not-od-22-019 . for institutions/organizations proposing multiple pds/pis, visit the multiple program director/principal investigator policy and submission details in the senior/key person profile (expanded) component of the how to apply - application guide . to be eligible for support under a prep grant, the pd(s)/pi(s) must meet the following additional criteria: each pd/pi must have a primary appointment at either an r15-eligible institution, including professional or graduate schools, undergraduate-focused organizations, or a college within the applicant institution, as defined in “eligible organizations,” above. if proposing multiple pd(s)/pi(s), each pd/pi must be at an r15-eligible institution. each pd/pi may not be the pd/pi of an active nih research grant, including another r15 grant, at the time of award of a prep grant, although they may be one of the key personnel for an active nih grant held by another pd/pi. each pd/pi may not be awarded support under more than one r15 grant at a time, although he or she may have support under successive new or renewal grants. 2. cost sharing.

This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application . This means that the NIH will not accept:

• A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.
• A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.
• An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see  NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.9.4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications ).

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. requesting an application package.

The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

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

Letter of Intent

Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review.

By the date listed in Part 1. Overview Information , prospective applicants are asked to submit a letter of intent that includes the following information:

• Descriptive title of proposed activity
• Name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of the PD(s)/PI(s)
• Names of other key personnel
• Participating institution(s)
• Number and title of this funding opportunity

The letter of intent should be sent to:

Jessica McKlveen, PhD National Center for Complementary & Integrative Health (NCCIH) Telephone: 301-594-8018 Email:  [email protected]

Page Limitations

All page limitations described in the How to Apply – Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply – Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

SF424(R&R) Cover

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

Sf424(r&r) other project information.

Facilities & Other Resources (Required):

• A profile of the scientific background, academic level, and expertise of the students of the applicant institution and any information or estimate of the number who have obtained a health professional baccalaureate or advanced degree and gone on to obtain an academic or professional doctoral or other advanced degree in the health-related sciences during the last 5 years.
• Description of plans to build a broad team of prospective researchers, including students, with a variety of backgrounds, expertise, and skills, and to arrive at major decisions, accounting for different points of view. Personnel from the primary R15-eligible institution(s) should compose a two-thirds majority of the project team .
• Description of the special characteristics of the applicant institution that make it appropriate for an PREP grant awarded through this NOFO to: (1) support the efforts by R15-eligible principal investigators (PIs) at undergraduate-focused institutions or health professional schools and graduate schools to conduct small-scale basic and mechanistic pain research projects; (2) promote integrated, interdisciplinary research partnerships between R15-eligible PIs and additional investigators from U.S. domestic institutions; and (3) enhance the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution for health professional students or undergraduate and/or graduate students by actively engaging them in the proposed pain research projects.
• Description of the likely impact of a PREP grant on the ability of the PD(s)/PI(s) to engage students in research.
• Description of the likely impact of a PREP grant on the research environment of the applicant institution.
• Description of the likely impact of the PREP grant on the ability of health professional or undergraduate and/or graduate students at the institution to gain experience conducting biomedical research.
• Description of the resources of the grantee institution available for the proposed research (e.g., equipment, supplies, laboratory space, release time, matching funds).
• Although the majority of the research project should be conducted at the R15-eligible institution, the use of special facilities or equipment at another institution is permitted. For any proposed research sites other than the applicant institution, provide a brief description of the resources and access students will need and have to these resources.

Applications without a Facilities & Other Resources document will be withdrawn. 

Other Attachments:

Applications that fail to include the following three required ‘other’ attachments will be considered incomplete and will be withdrawn.

1.Team Management Plan (Required three pages maximum):

A key goal of this program is to establish new research partnerships among R15-eligible investigators and other domestic research centers, programs, or institutions with complementary research expertise and/or resources. To ensure that prospective research teams fit the goals of the PREP, a team management plan is required. Applications with team management plans that exceed the three-page limit will be withdrawn.

As an “Other Attachment” entitled Team-Management-Plan.pdf, applications should describe how the research collaborators will function to accomplish program objectives. Team management approaches raised in the subsections listed below should be described in the plan. Note that a “Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan” may also be submitted as a separate attachment, and if it is included the information in that plan should not be duplicated here. Whereas the Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan focuses on leadership by and interactions across the PD/PIs, the Team Management Plan focuses on management of the whole team/key personnel. Applicants are encouraged to consult resources to aid in developing effective team-based programs (see e.g., the  NCI Collaboration and Team Science Field Guide ).

Organizational structure and team composition: The Team Management Plan should clearly show the organizational structure and composition of the proposed project team. Two-thirds of the proposed research project team should be health professional students trainees or graduate students or undergraduate from the primary R15-eligible institution. The plan should describe a management structure based on project objectives that effectively promote the proposed research. The structure should account for team composition, institutional resources, and policies that conform with PREP objectives outlined in Section I.

Shared leadership, contributions, and distributed responsibility for decision-making: The Team Management Plan should include a description of how the proposed collaborators will work together to direct the overall scientific team to leverage the diverse perspectives, expertise, and skills of the team members to successfully accomplish the goals of the project. One key consideration is that teams employing multidisciplinary approaches and having diverse areas of intellectual and technical expertise are more productive if the process for making decisions incorporates different points of view. The Team Management Plan should describe how major decisions will be made or how conflicts will be resolved.

Resource sharing and allocation across the team: Applications should describe management and decision-making processes that promote collective input for allocation of program resources with flexibility when resources may need to be dynamically reallocated to achieve programmatic goals. A plan for how intra-team, institutional, and regional resources that are integral to the team goals will be shared and made accessible to team members should also be included.

Credit assignment: A plan for how credit and IP will be shared, especially with the R15 institution’s students, should be included. Methods for attributing contributions to publications should be described to enable individual professional assessment in joint projects.

Coordination and communication plans: Practical aspects should be described, including frequency and logistics of real-time communication across all key personnel, consultants, scholars, early-stage investigators etc., and other significant contributors regardless of effort level.

An important and meaningful impact of team science may come from shaping the next generation of pain scientists. Because of the interdisciplinary expertise of the research groups, students are exposed to and can learn a variety of scientific approaches and methodologies, resulting in multifaceted early-stage investigators. Plans for how students trainees will be immersed in and benefit from different approaches taken by the collective team program should be described. This could include shared mentorship, inter-laboratory meetings, all-hands tutorials, shared meeting and document space, inter-laboratory visits, and student presentations.

2. Provost Letter(s) of Support: The application must include a PDF-formatted letter named “ProvostLetter.pdf” (without quotation marks). For MPI applications a signed provost letter is required from each involved institution. The letter must be signed by the provost or similar official with institution-wide responsibility attesting to the following information:

For Undergraduate Focused Institutions:

• The eligible academic component(s) (i.e., the college/school level) must have more undergraduates than graduate students as of the date of submission.
• All the non-health professional components of the institution together have received support from the NIH totaling no more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 years, as described in Section III, "Eligible Organization".
• Validation that the PD/PI has (or in the case of a multiple PD/PI application that all PD(s)/PI(s) have) a primary appointment at the qualifying component (i.e., the college/school level).  

For Health Professional and Graduate Schools:

• The eligible academic component(s) (i.e., the college/school level) must be a health professional or graduate school that awards health professional baccalaureate or advanced degrees in biomedical and/or biobehavioral sciences.
• All components of the institution together have received support from NIH totaling no more than $6 million per year (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 years, as described in Section III, “Eligible Organization.”
• Validation that the PD/PI has (or in the case of a multiple PD/PI application that all PD(s)/PI(s) have) a primary appointment at the qualifying component (i.e., the college/school level).

3. Collaborator Letter(s) of Support:  Applications must include additional PDF-formatted letter(s) from collaborating subaward holder(s) named “CollaboratorLetter_ Initials .pdf” (without quotation marks). For multiple collaborators, a signed letter is required from each involved collaborator. Note that collaborators do not need to meet the R15-eligibility criteria outlined above. The letter should demonstrate the collaborator's willingness to collaborate with the study lead as well as briefly outline their contributions to the project that will result in a well-integrated, interdisciplinary research approach to the understanding of pain. If the proposed collaboration is a new research partnership among investigators, this information should also be included.

Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP)

• In an "Other Attachment" entitled "Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives," all applicants must include a summary of actionable strategies to advance the scientific and technical merit of the proposed project through expanded inclusivity.
• Applicants should align their proposed strategies for PEDP with the research strategy section, providing a holistic and integrated view of how enhancing diverse perspectives and inclusivity are buoyed throughout the application.
• The PEDP will vary depending on the scientific aims, expertise required, the environment and performance site(s), as well as how the project aims are structured.
• Actionable strategies using defined approaches for the inclusion of diverse perspectives in the project;
• Description of how the PEDP will advance the scientific and technical merit of the proposed project;
• Anticipated timeline of proposed PEDP activities;
• Evaluation methods for assessing the progress and success of PEDP activities.

Examples of items that advance inclusivity in research and may be appropriate for a PEDP can include, but are not limited to:

• Partnerships with different types of institutions and organizations (e.g., research-intensive; undergraduate-focused; HBCUs; emerging research institutions; community-based organizations).
• Project frameworks that enable communities and researchers to work collaboratively as equal partners in all phases of the research process.
• Outreach and planned engagement activities to enhance recruitment of individuals from diverse groups as human subjects in clinical trials, including those from underrepresented backgrounds.
• Description of planned partnerships that may enhance geographic and regional diversity.
• Outreach and recruiting activities intended to diversify the pool of applicants for research training programs, such as outreach to prospective applicants from groups underrepresented in the biomedical sciences, for example, individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, those with disabilities, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and women.
• Plans to utilize the project infrastructure (i.e., research and structure) to enhance the research environment and support career-advancing opportunities for junior, early- and mid-career researchers.
• Transdisciplinary research projects and collaborations among researchers from fields beyond the biological sciences, such as physics, engineering, mathematics, computational biology, computer and data sciences, as well as bioethics.

Examples of items that are not appropriate in a PEDP include, but are not limited to:

• Selection or hiring of personnel for a research team based on their race, ethnicity, or sex (including gender identify, sexual orientation, or transgender status).
• A training or mentorship program limited to certain researchers based on their race, ethnicity, or sex (including gender identify, sexual orientation, or transgender status).

For further information on the Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP), please see PEDP guidance materials .

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

R&r or modular budget.

• The total budget for all years of the proposed project must be requested in Budget Period 1. Do not complete Budget Periods 2 or 3. They are not required and will not be accepted with the application.
• Applicants submitting an application with direct costs of $250,000 or less (total for all years, excluding consortium Facilities and Administrative [F&A] costs) must use the Modular Budget.
• Applicants submitting an application with direct costs of $250,001 - $375,000 (total for all years, excluding consortium Facilities and Administrative [F&A] costs) must use the R&R Budget.
• Students must be compensated for their participation in the laboratory's research and in accord with institutional policies. Student salaries can be requested in the R15 budget, or other resources at the university can be used to pay them for their participation. Undergraduate students who are compensated from the R15 grant or other institutional funds should receive at least the national minimum wage . Compensation through course credit hours towards graduation is allowable, but must be justified. If universities/colleges provide room and board for summer research students, details must be provided in the application.
• NIH does not fund stipends for undergraduates on R15 awards.

Budget Justification:

Personnel Justification: Since a primary objective of the PREP is to expose and incorporate students into multidisciplinary pain research, PD(s)/PI(s) must include health professional or undergraduate and/or graduate students from the applicant institution/applicant component in the proposed research. Students from the R15-eligible institution should compose the majority of the research team (two thirds or more). Indicate aspects of the proposed research in which students will participate. If participating students have not yet been identified, the number and academic level of those to be involved should be provided. Collaborators or consultants for the project should provide additional budget information, including their names, their organizational affiliations, and the services they will perform.

PEDP implementation costs: Applicants may include allowable costs associated with PEDP implementation (as outlined in the Grants Policy Statement section 7): https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps/html5/section_7/7.1_general.htm.

R&R Subaward Budget

Phs 398 cover page supplement, phs 398 research plan.

All instructions in the  How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy:  

The research strategy must address how the proposed project intends to accomplish all three objectives of this program, including: 1) Supporting the efforts by R15-eligible principal investigators (PIs) at undergraduate-focused institutions OR health professional schools and graduate schools to conduct small-scale basic and mechanistic pain research; (2) promoting integrated, interdisciplinary research partnerships between R15-eligible PIs and additional investigators from U.S. domestic institutions; and (3) enhancing the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution for health professional students or undergraduate and/or graduate students by actively engaging them in the proposed pain research projects.

Applications should include a detailed description of a research approach that will  produce rigorous data that can be disseminated and advance our basic and mechanistic understanding of pain.  Additionally, the research strategy should detail how the proposed research partnership includes sufficient integrative pain expertise and related resources and/or institutional infrastructure that increase the likelihood of success. The application should detail how the proposed scientific research and proposed program and research partnership will have a substantial effect on strengthening the research environment at the proposed applicant’s institution.

Applications should provide details on how the research project will be directed by the R15-eligible PI and how two-thirds of the research project will be conducted at the R15-eligible institution. The research strategy should detail how the research team will recruit additional prospective investigators, including students, from a range of backgrounds, skills, and expertise for the broad pool of researchers who may apply to participate and contribute to the project. Applications should include details about how the investigators will cooperate and coordinate their activities with other HEAL investigators at PD/PI meetings, including (but not limited to) other investigators in the R15 program, the HEAL Annual Scientific and PURPOSE meetings.Proposed PD/PI(s) should include evidence of experience supervising students in previous research efforts, as well as describing any innovative approaches to engage students in the proposed pain research project. Applications should provide additional details outlining student involvement in the research project by addressing the following questions:

• How will students engage in conducting hands-on rigorous research?
• How will students participate in research activities such as planning, execution, and/or analysis of the research?
• Are there any additional plans for student involvement, such as presentation at local or national meetings, participation in publication of research findings, and development of, or participation in, collaborative activities?
• How will the project provide students with adequate opportunities to improve their research capabilities and support their progress toward a future career in pain research?
• Note-The purpose of this program is to support pain research projects, not student training. Formal training plans (e.g., non-research activities, didactic training, seminars) should not be provided, although a brief description of activities related to enhancing students’ research capabilities and progress (e.g., the use of individual development plans) is permitted. Furthermore, applications should not include independent student research projects.

Resource Sharing Plan : Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the  How to Apply - Application Guide .

Other Plan(s): 

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

• All applicants planning research (funded or conducted in whole or in part by NIH) that results in the generation of scientific data are required to comply with the instructions for the Data Management and Sharing Plan. All applications, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, must address a Data Management and Sharing Plan. 

The NIH HEAL Initiative has additional requirements that must be addressed in the Data Management and Sharing Plan. All HEAL-generated data must be shared through the HEAL Initiative Data Ecosystem following HEAL’s compliance guidance ( https://heal.nih.gov/data/complying-heal-data-sharing-policy ). Specifically, HEAL applicants must include:

• Plans to submit data and metadata (and code, if applicable) to a HEAL-compliant data repository ( https://www.healdatafair.org/resources/guidance/selection ) and follow requirements of the selected repository.
• Plans to register your study with the HEAL platform within one year of award ( https://heal.github.io/platform-documentation/study-registration/ ).
• Plans to submit HEAL-defined study-level metadata within one year of award (HTTP ://github.com/HEAL/heal-metadata-schemas/blob/main/for-investigators-how-to/study-level-metadata-fields/study-metadata-schema-for-humans.pdf ) and  https://heal.github.io/platform-documentation/slmd_submission/ .
• Plans to submit data dictionaries to the HEAL Data Ecosystem, if applicable.
• HEAL pain clinical studies must include a plan to use HEAL core Common Data Elements (CDEs) ( https://heal.nih.gov/data/common-data-elements ). NIH HEAL Initiative clinical studies that are using copyrighted questionaries are required to obtain licenses for use prior to initiating data collection. Licenses must be shared with the HEAL CDE team and the program officer prior to use of copyrighted materials.
• To the extent possible, all other (nonpain) HEAL studies conducting clinical trials or research involving human subjects are expected to use questionnaires by the HEAL Common Data Elements (CDE) Program ( https://heal.nih.gov/data/common-data-elements ) if applicable and relevant to their research.
• Studies using CDEs, regardless of whether they are part of the HEAL repository, will be required to report which questionnaires are being used.
• To the extent possible, NIH HEAL Initiative awardees are expected to integrate broad data sharing consent language into their informed consent forms.

The NIH HEAL Initiative has developed additional details and resources to fulfill these requirements ( https://www.healdatafair.org/resources/road-map ). Budgeting guidance for data sharing can be found in NOT-OD-21-015 and the NIH Scientific Data Sharing site .

Appendix:  Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide .

• No publications or other material, with the exception of blank questionnaires or blank surveys, may be included in the Appendix.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the How to Apply - Application Guide , with the following additional instructions:

If you answered “Yes” to the question “Are Human Subjects Involved?” on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

Section 2 - Study Population Characteristics

2.5 Recruitment and Retention Plan

Describe the following: 

• Recruitment milestones; 
• The planned recruitment methods, including use of contact lists (participants and/or sites), databases or other pre-screening resources, advertisements, outreach, media / social media and referral networks or groups;
• If there are known participant or study-related barriers to accrual or participation (based on literature or prior experience), please list these barriers and describe plans to address them to optimize success; 
• Contingency plans for participant accrual if enrollment significantly lags behind accrual benchmarks; 5) participant retention and adherence strategies; and 6) possible competition from other trials for study participants.

2.7 Study Timeline

Include a table or graph of the overall study timeline. This is expected to be a visual representation (such as a Gantt chart) of recruitment milestones and key project management activities. A narrative is not expected in this section.

The study timeline should include recruitment milestones that need to be met throughout the life cycle of the clinical trial to ensure its success, and the subtasks that will be used to reach the recruitment milestones. In the timeline, the study duration is expected to be displayed in months. The timeline should include, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) When the study opens to enrollment (b) When recruitment milestones (see below) are met (c) What subtasks are needed to reach of the recruitment milestones (d) When final transfer of the data will occur (e) When analysis of the study data will occur (f) When the primary study manuscript will be submitted for publication

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start). All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

PHS Assignment Request Form

3. unique entity identifier and system for award management (sam).

See Part 2. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov

4. Submission Dates and Times

Part I.  contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday , the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to 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. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time.  If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications .

Applicants are responsible for viewing their application before the due date 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 How to Apply – Application Guide .

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement .

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 7.9.1 Selected Items of Cost .

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the How to Apply - 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 How to Apply – Application Guide . If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII .

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile form . 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. See Section III of this NOFO for information on registration requirements.

The applicant organization must ensure that the unique entity identifier provided on the application is the same identifier used in the organization’s profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the How to Apply - Application Guide .

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Applications must include a PEDP submitted as Other Project Information as an attachment. Applications that fail to include a PEDP will be considered incomplete and will be administratively withdrawn before review.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by components of participating organizations , NIH. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed.

In order to expedite review, applicants are requested to notify the NCCIH Referral Office by email at  [email protected] when the application has been submitted. Please include the NOFO and title, PD/PI name, and title of the application.

Recipients or subrecipients must submit any information related to violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the federal award. See Mandatory Disclosures, 2 CFR 200.113 and NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4.1.35 .

Send written disclosures to the NIH Chief Grants Management Officer listed on the Notice of Award for the IC that funded the award and to the HHS Office of Inspector Grant Self Disclosure Program at [email protected] . 

Post Submission Materials

Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy

The following post-submission materials will be accepted: Team Management Plan (e.g., due to the hiring, replacement, or loss of an investigator).

Section V. Application Review Information

1. criteria.

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process.  Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

For this particular NOFO, note the following:

The purpose of this HEAL Initiative program is to (1) support the efforts by R15-eligible principal investigators (PIs) at primarily undergraduate-focused serving institutions or health professional schools and graduate schools to conduct small-scale basic and mechanistic pain research projects ; (2) promote integrated, interdisciplinary research partnerships between R15-eligible PIs and investigators from U.S. domestic institutions; and (3) enhance the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution for health professional students or undergraduate and/or graduate students by actively engaging them in the proposed pain research projects.

Applications in response to this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) should include plans to accomplish these goals. Specifically, applications should include a rigorous plan for conducting basic and mechanistic pain research projects in the Research Strategy section of the application . In addition, a research partnership between the PI’s institution and at least one investigator from a separate U.S. domestic institution that provides resources and/or expertise that will enhance the proposed pain research program must be included in a separate Team Management Plan. The proposed partnership will be a sub-award agreement(s) with at least one partnering institution, which does not need to be R15-eligible. The budget of all sub-awards must not exceed one third of the total budget. Furthermore, applications must include a Facilities & Other Resources document  that demonstrates active involvement of health professional students or undergraduate and/or graduate students from the R15-eligible institution(s) in the proposed pain research projects.

Although preliminary data are not required for an R15 application, they may be included if available. The scientific foundation for the proposed research should be based on published research and/or any available preliminary data.

A proposed Clinical Trial application may include study design, methods, and intervention that are not by themselves innovative but address important questions or unmet needs. Additionally, the results of the clinical trial may indicate that further clinical development of the intervention is unwarranted or lead to new avenues of scientific investigation.

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).As part of the overall impact score, reviewers should consider and indicate how the Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives affects the scientific merit of the project.

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. For example, a project that by its nature is not innovative may be essential to advance a field.

Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? Is the prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project rigorous? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?

In addition, for applications involving clinical trials

Are the scientific rationale and need for a clinical trial to test the proposed hypothesis or intervention well supported by preliminary data, clinical and/or preclinical studies, or information in the literature or knowledge of biological mechanisms? For trials focusing on clinical or public health endpoints, is this clinical trial necessary for testing the safety, efficacy or effectiveness of an intervention that could lead to a change in clinical practice, community behaviors or health care policy? For trials focusing on mechanistic, behavioral, physiological, biochemical, or other biomedical endpoints, is this trial needed to advance scientific understanding?

Specific to this NOFO:

Taking into consideration the type of R15-eligible institution the application has been submitted from, if funded, will this grant have a substantial effect on strengthening the research environment at the applicant institution and exposing students to research ?

Does the project adequately describe how the research partnership will advance our understanding of pain conditions? 

If the aims of the project are achieved, will the project yield rigorous data that can be disseminated and is likely to be important to the field?

Will the proposed collaboration appropriately improve the R15 institutional environment in a manner to support more students to engage in pain research at that institution?

Are the PD(s)/PI(s), collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project? If Early Stage Investigators or those in the early stages of independent careers, do they have appropriate experience and training? If established, have they demonstrated an ongoing record of accomplishments that have advanced their field(s)? If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project?

With regard to the proposed leadership for the project, do the PD/PI(s) and key personnel have the expertise, experience, and ability to organize, manage and implement the proposed clinical trial and meet milestones and timelines? Do they have appropriate expertise in study coordination, data management and statistics? For a multicenter trial, is the organizational structure appropriate and does the application identify a core of potential center investigators and staffing for a coordinating center?

Does the application provide details about how the research project will be directed by the R15-eligible PI and how two-thirds of the research project will be conducted at the R15-eligible institution?

Is it clear how the applicant intends to recruit additional prospective investigators, including students, from a range of backgrounds, skills, and expertise for the pool of researchers who may apply to address the proposed scientific problem?

Will the combined scientific expertise (of the proposed collaborative research team) likely result in a well-integrated, interdisciplinary research approach to the understanding of pain?

Does the team of investigators include sufficient integrative pain expertise for the proposed research?

How appropriate is the PD/PI’'s experience in supervising and engaging students in research?

Does the application include details about how the investigators will cooperate and coordinate their activities with other HEAL investigators at PD/PI meetings, including (but not limited to) other investigators in the R15 program, the HEAL Annual Scientific and PURPOSE meetings?

Team Management Plan (Attachment):

How fair and adequate are the governance processes for decision making, conflict resolution, and resource allocation outlined in the plan? 

How effective is the plan for team leadership and management with sufficient examples of distributed responsibility?

How well would the program leadership create a sustainable environment for maintaining cohesiveness, productivity, and shared vision?

How adequate are the management plans for shared professional credit?

If shared research resources will be utilized, how adequate are the plans for resource sharing and allocation to ensure that all team members will have the access they require?

How well does the plan include examples of team coordination and communication?

How clearly does the plan include details about which personnel are available at the R15-eligible institution(s), including health professional students or graduate students or undergraduate students, that would compose a two-thirds majority of the project team and how they would contribute to the research project?

How well does the management plan outline how the collaborative partnership will supervise and engage students?

Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?

Does the design/research plan include innovative elements, as appropriate, that enhance its sensitivity, potential for information or potential to advance scientific knowledge or clinical practice?

Does the proposed research include innovative interdisciplinary pain research topics?

Is the proposed research partnership a new collaboration between investigators?

Are innovative approaches for engaging health professional or undergraduate and/or graduate students in research proposed?

Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Have the investigators included plans to address weaknesses in the rigor of prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project? Have the investigators presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? Have the investigators presented adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or human subjects? 

If the project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, are the plans to address 1) the protection of human subjects from research risks, and 2) inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion or exclusion of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults), justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed?

Does the application adequately address the following, if applicable

Study Design

Is the study design justified and appropriate to address primary and secondary outcome variable(s)/endpoints that will be clear, informative and relevant to the hypothesis being tested? Is the scientific rationale/premise of the study based on previously well-designed preclinical and/or clinical research? Given the methods used to assign participants and deliver interventions, is the study design adequately powered to answer the research question(s), test the proposed hypothesis/hypotheses, and provide interpretable results? Is the trial appropriately designed to conduct the research efficiently? Are the study populations (size, gender, age, demographic group), proposed intervention arms/dose, and duration of the trial, appropriate and well justified?

Are potential ethical issues adequately addressed? Is the process for obtaining informed consent or assent appropriate? Is the eligible population available? Are the plans for recruitment outreach, enrollment, retention, handling dropouts, missed visits, and losses to follow-up appropriate to ensure robust data collection? Are the planned recruitment timelines feasible and is the plan to monitor accrual adequate? Has the need for randomization (or not), masking (if appropriate), controls, and inclusion/exclusion criteria been addressed? Are differences addressed, if applicable, in the intervention effect due to sex/gender and race/ethnicity?

Are the plans to standardize, assure quality of, and monitor adherence to, the trial protocol and data collection or distribution guidelines appropriate? Is there a plan to obtain required study agent(s)? Does the application propose to use existing available resources, as applicable?

Data Management and Statistical Analysis

Are planned analyses and statistical approach appropriate for the proposed study design and methods used to assign participants and deliver interventions? Are the procedures for data management and quality control of data adequate at clinical site(s) or at center laboratories, as applicable? Have the methods for standardization of procedures for data management to assess the effect of the intervention and quality control been addressed? Is there a plan to complete data analysis within the proposed period of the award?

Taking into consideration the type of R15-eligible institution the application has been submitted from, how suitable are the plans for ensuring that students are well integrated into the research program?

How will this project provide students with a high-quality research experience focused on the execution, analysis, and reporting of the study? 

Would students have adequate opportunities to present at national or local meetings, publish research findings, and/or participate in other collaborative activities? 

Would the proposed research project provide adequate opportunities for students to improve their research capabilities and support their progress toward a biomedical research career? 

Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

If proposed, are the administrative, data coordinating, enrollment and laboratory/testing centers, appropriate for the trial proposed?

Does the application adequately address the capability and ability to conduct the trial at the proposed site(s) or centers? Are the plans to add or drop enrollment centers, as needed, appropriate?

If international site(s) is/are proposed, does the application adequately address the complexity of executing the clinical trial?

If multi-sites/centers, is there evidence of the ability of the individual site or center to: (1) enroll the proposed numbers; (2) adhere to the protocol; (3) collect and transmit data in an accurate and timely fashion; and, (4) operate within the proposed organizational structure?

Does the "Facilities & Other Resources" attachment describe strong and innovative approaches to how students or trainees will participate in the research project?

Does the application demonstrate appropriate plans to recruit health professional or undergraduate and/or graduate students from diverse backgrounds to participate in the research project?

Does the application provide a plan to aid students at the R15-eligible institution/academic component to pursue careers in the biomedical sciences?

Do(es) the PD/PI(s) have sufficient time and institutional support to conduct the proposed project?

Is there synergy to be gained from the integrated, interdisciplinary research partnership(s) among the multiple proposed institutions?

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 score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

Specific to applications involving clinical trials

Is the study timeline described in detail, taking into account start-up activities, the anticipated rate of enrollment, and planned follow-up assessment? Is the projected timeline feasible and well justified? Does the project incorporate efficiencies and utilize existing resources (e.g., CTSAs, practice-based research networks, electronic medical records, administrative database, or patient registries) to increase the efficiency of participant enrollment and data collection, as appropriate?

Are potential challenges and corresponding solutions discussed (e.g., strategies that can be implemented in the event of enrollment shortfalls)?

Specific to this NOFO: Are the clinical trial recruitment milestones feasible given the proposed study timeline?

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the 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 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 Guidelines for the Review of Human Subjects .

When the proposed project involves human subjects and/or NIH-defined clinical research, the committee will evaluate the proposed plans for the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals on the basis of sex/gender, race, and ethnicity, as well as the inclusion (or exclusion) of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults) to determine if it is justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed. For additional information on review of the Inclusion section, please refer to the Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion in Clinical Research .

The committee will evaluate the involvement of live vertebrate animals as part of the scientific assessment according to the following three points: (1) a complete description of all proposed procedures including the species, strains, ages, sex, and total numbers of animals to be used; (2) justifications that the species is appropriate for the proposed research and why the research goals cannot be accomplished using an alternative non-animal model; and (3) interventions including analgesia, anesthesia, sedation, palliative care, and humane endpoints that will be used to limit any unavoidable discomfort, distress, pain and injury in the conduct of scientifically valuable research. Methods of euthanasia and justification for selected methods, if NOT consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals, is also required but is found in a separate section of the application. For additional information on review of the Vertebrate Animals Section, please refer to the Worksheet for Review of the Vertebrate Animals Section.

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.

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.

Not applicable. 

Not applicable.  

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 score.

Reviewers will assess whether the project presents special opportunities for furthering research programs through the use of unusual talent, resources, populations, or environmental conditions that exist in other countries and either are not readily available in the United States or augment existing U.S. resources.

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).

Reviewers will comment on whether the Resource Sharing Plan(s) (e.g., Sharing Model Organisms ) or the rationale for not sharing the resources, is reasonable.

For projects involving key biological and/or chemical resources, reviewers will comment on the brief plans proposed for identifying and ensuring the validity of those resources.

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

2. Review and Selection Process Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by NCCIH, in accordance with NIH peer review policies and practices , using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons. As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique. Applications may undergo a selection 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 score. Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this NOFO. 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 NOFO. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the appropriate national Advisory Council or Board. The following will be considered in making funding decisions: Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project, including the PEDP, as determined by scientific peer review Availability of funds. Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities. Please note that reviewers will not consider race, ethnicity, age, or sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation or transgender status) of a researcher, award participant, or trainee, even in part, in providing critiques, scores, or funding recommendations. NIH will not consider such factors in making its funding decisions. 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 Section 2.5.1. Just-in-Time Procedures . This request is not a Notice of Award nor should it be construed to be an indicator of possible funding. Prior to making an award, NIH reviews an applicant’s federal award history in SAM.gov to ensure sound business practices. An applicant can review and comment on any information in the Responsibility/Qualification records available in SAM.gov.  NIH will consider any comments by the applicant in the Responsibility/Qualification records in SAM.gov to ascertain the applicant’s integrity, business ethics, and performance record of managing Federal awards per 2 CFR Part 200.206 “Federal awarding agency review of risk posed by applicants.”  This provision will apply to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements except fellowships. 3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

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 . Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the  NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.4.4 Disposition of Applications .

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. award notices.

A Notice of Award (NoA) is the official authorizing document notifying the applicant that an award has been made and that funds may be requested from the designated HHS payment system or office. The NoA is signed by the Grants Management Officer and emailed to the recipient’s business official.

In accepting the award, the recipient agrees that any activities under the award are subject to all provisions currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions.

Recipients must comply with any funding restrictions described in  Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions . Any pre-award costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the applicant's own risk.  For more information on the Notice of Award, please refer to the  NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 5. The Notice of Award and NIH Grants & Funding website, see  Award Process.

Individual awards are based on the application submitted to, and as approved by, the NIH and are subject to the IC-specific terms and conditions identified in the NoA.

ClinicalTrials.gov: If an award provides for one or more clinical trials. By law (Title VIII, Section 801 of Public Law 110-85), the "responsible party" must register and submit results information for certain “applicable clinical trials” on the ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System Information Website ( https://register.clinicaltrials.gov ). NIH expects registration and results reporting of all trials whether required under the law or not. For more information, see https://grants.nih.gov/policy/clinical-trials/reporting/index.htm

Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that all protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the recipient must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.

Data and Safety Monitoring Requirements: The NIH policy for data and safety monitoring requires oversight and monitoring of all NIH-conducted or -supported human biomedical and behavioral intervention studies (clinical trials) to ensure the safety of participants and the validity and integrity of the data. Further information concerning these requirements is found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/hs/data_safety.htm and in the application instructions (SF424 (R&R) and PHS 398).

Investigational New Drug or Investigational Device Exemption Requirements: Consistent with federal regulations, clinical research projects involving the use of investigational therapeutics, vaccines, or other medical interventions (including licensed products and devices for a purpose other than that for which they were licensed) in humans under a research protocol must be performed under a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigational new drug (IND) or investigational device exemption (IDE).

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

The following Federal wide and HHS-specific policy requirements apply to awards funded through NIH:

• The rules listed at 2 CFR Part 200 , Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.
• All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the terms and conditions in the Notice of Award (NoA). The NoA includes the requirements of this NOFO. 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, Recipients, and Activities .
• HHS recognizes that NIH research projects are often limited in scope for many reasons that are nondiscriminatory, such as the principal investigator’s scientific interest, funding limitations, recruitment requirements, and other considerations. Thus, criteria in research protocols that target or exclude certain populations are warranted where nondiscriminatory justifications establish that such criteria are appropriate with respect to the health or safety of the subjects, the scientific study design, or the purpose of the research. For additional guidance regarding how the provisions apply to NIH grant programs, please contact the Scientific/Research Contact that is identified in Section VII under Agency Contacts of this NOFO.

All federal statutes and regulations relevant to federal financial assistance, including those highlighted in  NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4 Public Policy Requirements, Objectives and Other Appropriation Mandates.

Recipients are responsible for ensuring that their activities comply with all applicable federal regulations.  NIH may terminate awards under certain circumstances.  See  2 CFR Part 200.340 Termination and  NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.5.2 Remedies for Noncompliance or Enforcement Actions: Suspension, Termination, and Withholding of Support . 

3. Data Management and Sharing

Consistent with the 2023 NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing, when data management and sharing is applicable to the award, recipients will be required to adhere to the Data Management and Sharing requirements as outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement . Upon the approval of a Data Management and Sharing Plan, it is required for recipients to implement the plan as described.

HEAL Data Sharing Requirements

NIH intends to maximize the impact of NIH HEAL Initiative-supported projects through broad and rapid data sharing. All NIH HEAL Initiative award recipients, regardless of the amount of direct costs requested for any one year, are required to comply with the HEAL Public Access and Data Sharing Policy. NIH HEAL Initiative award recipients must follow all requirements and timelines developed through the HEAL Initiative Data Ecosystem ( https://heal.nih.gov/about/heal-data-ecosystem ), as described in the initiative’s  compliance guidance (See “Already Funded” section:  https://heal.nih.gov/data/complying-heal-data-sharing-policy ):   

1. Select a HEAL-compliant data repository ( https://www.healdatafair.org/resources/guidance/selection )

• Data generated by NIH HEAL Initiative-funded projects must be submitted to study-appropriate, HEAL-compliant data repositories to ensure the data is accessible via the HEAL Initiative Data Ecosystem.
• Some repositories require use of specific data dictionaries or structured data elements, so knowing your repository’s requirements up front can help reduce the burden of preparing data for submission.
• HEAL-funded awardees must follow requirements for selected repository.

2. Within one year of award,  register your study with the HEAL platform ( https://heal.github.io/platform-documentation/study-registration/ )

• This process will connect the platform to information about your study and data, including metadata, and identify the selected repository. HEAL requests initial submission within one year of award, with annual updates, and to be updated in accordance with any release of study data.

3.  Within one year of award, submit HEAL-specific study-level metadata.

• Some of the required study-level metadata ( https://github.com/HEAL/heal-metadata-schemas/blob/main/for-investigators-how-to/study-level-metadata-fields/study-metadata-schema-for-humans.pdf ) will be autopopulated as part of the registration process.  

4. Submit data and metadata (and code, if applicable) to HEAL-compliant repository

• At the completion of the study and/or when prepared to make the final data deposits in the repositor(ies) of choice, ensure your  study registration ( https://heal.github.io/platform-documentation/study-registration/ ) is complete.
• Submit data dictionaries to the HEAL data ecosystem, if applicable.
• The NIH HEAL Initiative expects data sharing timelines to align with timeline requirements stated in the Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing ( NOT-OD-21-013 ).

6. Additional Requirements for NIH HEAL Initiative studies conducting clinical research or research involving human subjects.

These studies must meet the following additional requirements:

• NIH HEAL Initiative trials that are required to register in clinicaltrials.gov should reference support from and inclusion in the NIH HEAL Initiative by including the standardized term “the HEAL Initiative ( https://heal.nih.gov/ )” in the Study Description Section.
• Studies that wish to use questionnaires not already included in the HEAL CDE repository should consult with their program official and the HEAL CDE team. New questionnaires will be considered for inclusion in the repository on a case-by-case basis and only when appropriate justification is provided.
• NIH HEAL Initiative clinical studies that are using copyrighted questionaries are required to obtain licenses for use prior to initiating data collection. Licenses must be shared with the HEAL CDE team and the program officer prior to use of copyrighted materials. For additional information, visit the HEAL CDE Program ( https://heal.nih.gov/data/common-data-elements ).
• To the extent possible, all other (nonpain) HEAL studies conducting clinical trials or research involving human subjects are expected to use questionnaires by the HEAL CDE Program ( https://heal.nih.gov/data/common-data-elements ) if applicable and relevant to their research.

Additional details, resources, and tools to assist with data-related activities can be found at https://www.healdatafair.org .  Budgeting guidance for data sharing can be found in  NOT-OD-21-015 and the  NIH Scientific Data Sharing site .

All data collected as part of the NIH HEAL Initiative are collected under a Certificate of Confidentiality and entitled to the protections thereof. Institutions who receive data and/or materials from this award for performance of activities under this award are required to use the data and/or materials only as outlined by the NIH HEAL Initiative, in a manner that is consistent with applicable state and Federal laws and regulations, including any informed consent requirements and the terms of the institution’s NIH funding, including NOT-OD-17-109 and 42 U.S.C. 241(d). Failure to adhere to this criterion may result in enforcement actions.

4. Reporting

Progress reports for multi-year funded awards are due annually on or before the anniversary of the budget/project period start date of award. The reporting period for multi-year funded award progress report is the calendar year preceding the anniversary date of the award. Information on the content of the progress report and instructions on how to submit the report using the RPPR are posted at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/myf.htm

• Recipients will provide updates at least annually on implementation of the PEDP.

( To follow the next section ):

Report and ensure immediate public access to HEAL-funded publications

Publications resulting from NIH HEAL Initiative-funded studies must be immediately publicly available upon publication. 

• For manuscripts published in journals that are not immediately open access, authors should arrange with journals in advance to pay for immediate open access. 
• Costs to ensure manuscripts are immediately publicly available upon publication should be included in budget requests. 

Prior to publication, the NIH HEAL Initiative expects investigators to alert their program officers of upcoming manuscripts to ensure coordination of communication and outreach efforts.

Award recipients and their collaborators are required to acknowledge NIH HEAL Initiative support by referencing in the acknowledgment sections of any relevant publication:

“This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health through the NIH HEAL Initiative ( https://heal.nih.gov ) under award number [include specific grant/contract/award number; with NIH grant number(s) in this format: R01GM987654].” 

A final RPPR, invention statement, and the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report are required for closeout of an award, as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.6 Closeout . NIH NOFOs outline intended research goals and objectives. Post award, NIH will review and measure performance based on the details and outcomes that are shared within the RPPR, as described at 2 CFR Part 200.301.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

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

eRA Service Desk (Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues)

Finding Help Online:  https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help  (preferred method of contact) Telephone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)

General Grants Information (Questions regarding application instructions, application processes, and NIH grant resources) Email:  [email protected]  (preferred method of contact) Telephone: 301-480-7075

Grants.gov Customer Support (Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and Workspace) Contact Center Telephone: 800-518-4726 Email:  [email protected]

Alex Tuttle, Ph.D. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) Phone: 301-814-6115 Email:  [email protected]

Mark Egli, Ph.D. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Phone: 301-594-6382 E-mail: [email protected]

Rebecca N Lenzi, Ph.D. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SKIN DISEASES (NIAMS) Phone: (301) 402-2446 E-mail: [email protected]

Rene Etcheberrigaray, M.D. National Institute on Aging (NIA) Phone: 301-451-9798 Email: [email protected]

Susan Marden, PhD, RN Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Telephone: 301-435-6838 Email: [email protected]  

Elizabeth Sypek, PhD National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Email:  [email protected]

Examine your eRA Commons account for review assignment and contact information (information appears 2 weeks after the submission due date).

Debbie Chen National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) Phone: 301-594-3788 Email:  [email protected]

Judy Fox National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Telephone: 301-443-4704 Email:  [email protected]

Erik Edgerton NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SKIN DISEASES (NIAMS) Phone: 301-594-7760 E-mail: [email protected]

Ryan Blakeney National Institute on Aging (NIA) Phone: 301-451-9802 Email: [email protected]

Margaret Young Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Telephone: 301-642-4552 Email: [email protected]

Section VIII. Other Information

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 Sections 301 and 405 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 241 and 284) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR Part 52 and 2 CFR Part 200.