Research to Understand and Inform Interventions that Promote the Research Careers of Individuals in the Biomedical Sciences (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 19 295

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 295

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity PAR 19 295 supports R01 research projects that build evidence on what actually helps people move into and stay in biomedical research careers. The focus is on studies that test interventions such as structured training experiences, mentoring approaches, and networking models that can strengthen a research oriented individuals interest in biomedical research, increase motivation and confidence, improve persistence through key transition points, and boost preparedness for long term research careers. The overall goal is practical and applied: generate findings that institutions can use to design, refine, and implement career development interventions across different academic environments and at multiple career stages, ultimately helping to strengthen and diversify the biomedical research workforce.

This announcement is explicitly for an R01 mechanism and is labeled Clinical Trial Not Allowed, meaning applicants should propose research that evaluates training, mentoring, and networking interventions without proposing a clinical trial as defined by NIH policy. In other words, the supported work is aimed at understanding and improving the career development pipeline in the biomedical sciences rather than testing medical or behavioral health treatments in a clinical trial framework. Projects are expected to produce generalizable knowledge about which intervention components work, for whom they work, in what settings they are most effective, and what implementation factors make them sustainable and scalable.

A major theme of the opportunity is workforce diversity. NIH signals interest in research that can guide interventions across a variety of academic settings and career levels, with the expectation that the evidence produced will help broaden participation in biomedical research careers. While the announcement does not prescribe a single intervention model, it emphasizes rigorous research on strategies that can increase engagement and retention in research pathways, especially through common attrition points such as transitions from undergraduate to graduate education, graduate training to postdoctoral positions, and postdoctoral roles to independent research careers.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S. organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. The FOA also highlights additional eligible applicant types that are often central to diversity focused workforce efforts, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith based or community based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, NIH places clear limits on non U.S. involvement for this specific opportunity. Non domestic (non U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, non domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components are not allowed as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. In practice, that means the applicant organization must be U.S. based and the work must be conducted without foreign components under NIH definitions.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant in the health funding category, listed under CFDA 93.859, and administered by NIH. The source information lists an award ceiling of 250,000 (as provided in the opportunity data). The original closing date shown is June 28, 2021, and the record creation date is June 7, 2019. Anyone considering this opportunity should verify current dates and any reissuances or related active announcements on NIH and Grants.gov, since FOAs can be updated, extended, or replaced by newer versions even when the underlying program goals remain similar.

In plain terms, this FOA is designed for researchers who want to study career development interventions in the biomedical sciences with the same seriousness used to study other complex systems: defining the intervention, measuring outcomes like interest, motivation, persistence, and readiness, and producing evidence that schools, training programs, and research institutions can use to improve the research career pipeline and increase diversity in the biomedical research workforce.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research to Understand and Inform Interventions that Promote the Research Careers of Individuals in the Biomedical Sciences (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.859.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-06-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-28. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 19 295

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