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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant aims to develop a specialized workforce for translational research in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD).
It supports institutional training programs for predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers from diverse educational backgrounds.
This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, highly focused on health research and education, specifically within neuroscience and aging.
Geographic scope: US-based organizations and territories are eligible; non-U.S. entities are not eligible to apply.
Key filtering criteria: Applicant organizations must be eligible U.S. institutions (Higher Education, Non-profit, Government) with a strong, high-quality research program in AD/ADRD, capable of providing interdisciplinary training.
This is a recurring grant opportunity, reissued from PAR-24-121, with awards anticipated annually for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027.

Financial Structure

Total Funding Available: NIA intends to fund an estimate of 3-5 awards per year, totaling $2.7 million annually for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027.
Award Budget: Application budgets are not explicitly limited, but must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.
Maximum Project Period: The maximum award project period is 5 years.
Eligible Costs:
Stipends: Provided as a subsistence allowance for trainees based on NIH-approved levels.
Tuition and Fees: NIH contributes to the combined cost based on rates in place at the time of award.
Trainee Travel: Up to $2,000 per trainee per year for attendance at scientific meetings and workshops deemed necessary for research training.
Training Related Expenses: Funds to defray other research training expenses, including health insurance, staff salaries, consultant costs, mentor training activities, equipment, research supplies, and faculty/staff travel directly related to the program.
Indirect Costs: Reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs. This excludes tuition and fees, consortium costs in excess of $25,000, and expenditures for equipment.
Ineligible Costs:
Pre-award costs for stipends or tuition/fees.
Costs associated with clinical training that is part of residency leading to clinical certification.
Grant funds cannot be used solely to provide stipends for trainees to conduct research; a comprehensive training program must be in place.
Cost Sharing/Co-financing: Cost sharing is not required for this funding opportunity.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Eligibility

Eligible Organization Types: Higher Education Institutions (Public/State Controlled, Private), Nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) IRS Status, other than Institutions of Higher Education), Local Governments (Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized), Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized), U.S. Territory or Possession), Other (Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Faith-based or Community-based Organizations), Federal Governments (Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government, U.S. Territory or Possession).
Geographic Location: Must be a U.S. organization. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply.
Institutional Capacity: The sponsoring institution must provide assurance of support, including adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources. It must possess a strong, high-quality research program in the proposed area(s) and have the necessary faculty, staff, and potential trainees on site.
Distinctness: The proposed research training program must be clearly distinct from any related programs at the same institution currently receiving Federal support.

Individual Eligibility (for Program Director/Principal Investigator - PD/PI)

Expertise: The PD/PI should be an established investigator in the scientific area, capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership for the proposed program.
Commitment: Must demonstrate a commitment to training future biomedical research researchers.
Mentor Training: Must have received, or have a plan in place to ensure they receive, training on how to effectively mentor trainees from all backgrounds.

Trainee Eligibility

Citizenship: Must be a citizen or a noncitizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment.
Academic Level: Predoctoral trainees must be enrolled in a program leading to a PhD or an equivalent research doctoral degree. Postdoctoral trainees must have received a Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., or comparable doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution prior to appointment.
Training Commitment: All trainees are required to pursue their research training full time (normally defined as 40 hours per week). Trainees typically appointed for a minimum of 9 months initially, with appointments normally in 12-month increments.
Exclusion: The program cannot support studies leading to an MD, DDS, or other clinical/health-professional degrees unless these are part of a formal combined research degree program (e.g., MD/PhD). Trainees may not accept NRSA support for clinical training that is part of residency leading to clinical certification.

Faculty/Mentor Eligibility

Research Activity: Program faculty should be active researchers in the biomedical sciences, evidenced by recent publications and research support.
Commitment to Training: Faculty must be committed to training, mentoring, and fostering safe, accessible, and supportive research training environments.
Mentoring Philosophy: All program faculty should possess a mentoring philosophy appropriately tailored to the needs of potential trainees.
Time Commitment: Program faculty must have sufficient time to commit to training given their other professional obligations.

Application Process

Application Process Timeline

Open Date (Earliest Submission): April 25, 2025
Letter of Intent Due Date(s): 30 days before each application due date (recommended, but not binding).
Application Due Dates (by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization):
May 25, 2025
September 25, 2025
May 25, 2026
September 25, 2026
Expiration Date: September 26, 2026

Submission Platforms and Pre-application Requirements

Submission Platforms: Applications must be submitted electronically through NIH ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace, or an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution.
Required Registrations: Applicant organizations must complete and maintain active registrations in the System for Award Management (SAM), obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and register with eRA Commons and Grants.gov. PD/PIs must also have an eRA Commons account. These registrations can take 6 weeks or more.
Pre-submission Contact: For applications requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any single year (excluding consortium F&A), applicants must contact a Scientific/Research Contact at least 6 weeks prior to submission.

Required Documentation and Materials

General Instructions: Applicants must follow the Training (T) Instructions in the 'How to Apply Application Guide', along with any program-specific instructions outlined in this NOFO.
Standard Forms: Includes SF424(R&R) forms (Cover, Project/Performance Site Locations, Other Project Information), PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement, and PHS 398 Training Subaward Budget Attachment(s).
Project Summary/Abstract: Must include objectives, rationale, design of the training program, planned duration of appointments, projected trainee numbers/levels, and intended outcomes.
PHS 398 Research Training Program Plan: This is a core component, covering Training Program Faculty, Trainees, Training Record, and other relevant sections.
Training Data Tables: Specific data tables are required to summarize information on the prospective candidate pool, faculty mentors, and educational/career outcomes of past participants. Key data from these tables must be summarized within the application narrative.
Advisory Committee Plan: If an Advisory Committee is planned (highly recommended), a document detailing its appointment, composition, roles, responsibilities, meeting frequency, and evaluation methods must be provided (file name: 'Advisory_Committee.pdf').
Biosketches: Participating faculty must provide biosketches, including a personal statement describing their experience with training, mentoring, promoting scientific environments, ensuring rigor, and aiding career development.
Institutional Support Letter: A signed letter (max 10 pages) on institutional letterhead from a President, Provost, Dean, or key institutional leader is mandatory. It must detail institutional commitment, resources, and policies related to scientific rigor, safe environments, faculty support, and program evaluation.
Page Limitations: All specified page limitations from the 'How to Apply Application Guide' and 'Table of Page Limits' must be strictly followed.

Post-Award Requirements and Reporting

Annual Progress Reports: Recipients are required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually.
Trainee Appointments: A completed Statement of Appointment (PHS Form 2271) must be submitted electronically via the xTrain system for each trainee appointed or reappointed.
Financial Reporting: Includes submission of the expenditure data portion of the Federal Financial Report (FFR).
Subaward Reporting: Recipients must report information about first-tier subawards over $25,000 to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS).
Closeout Documents: A final RPPR, FFR expenditure data, and Termination Notices for all trainees are required for award closeout.
Mandatory Disclosures: Recipients are required to disclose any violations of federal criminal law (fraud, bribery, gratuity) potentially affecting the federal award.
Integrity and Performance System (FAPIIS): Recipients with active Federal awards totaling over $10,000,000 must report and maintain current information in SAM about civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings.

Evaluation Criteria

Overall Impact

Reviewers will assess the likelihood that the proposed training program will successfully equip trainees with the essential skills, knowledge, and experiences required to transition into successful careers within the biomedical research workforce.

Scored Review Criteria (Each will receive a separate score)

Training Program and Environment:
Clarity and alignment of program goals and objectives with the NOFO's purpose.
Effectiveness of the plan to develop a pool of well-trained scientists with technical, operational, and professional skills for the biomedical research workforce.
How the program enhances the training environment beyond merely providing financial support.
Robustness of plans for developing safe, accessible, and supportive research training environments (free from harassment, bullying, intimidation; adherence to laboratory safety standards).
Quality of plans to enhance trainee retention and implementation of effective mentor training practices.
Degree of interdisciplinary exchange and collaborative research across disciplines.
Provision of opportunities for trainees to undertake research projects within academic institutions or industry partners participating in NIA's large-scale open science consortia.
Implementation of individualized training plans, ideally with two or more faculty mentors per trainee.
Training Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)):
Adequacy of expertise, administrative, and training experience to provide strong leadership and direction.
Sufficiency of time commitment to ensure program success.
Demonstrated commitment to training future biomedical research scientists.
Effectiveness of prior mentoring experiences and/or plans for receiving mentor training.
Preceptors/Mentors:
Active research status (demonstrated by recent publications and research support).
Efforts to recruit diverse program faculty in terms of backgrounds and career stages.
Quality of planned mentor training and administrative structure for oversight of mentoring effectiveness.
Trainees:
Strong justification for the requested number of trainee positions.
Description of a multifactorial candidate review process that considers metrics beyond previous institution, GPA, and standardized test scores, promoting broad participation.
Effectiveness of retention plans to sustain scientific interests and monitor academic/research progress of trainees from all backgrounds.
Training Record (primarily for renewal applications):
Documentation of the program's accomplishments and achievement of training objectives from past funding periods.
Evidence of effective evaluation of the training experience and responsiveness to feedback.
Appropriateness of proposed changes to improve or strengthen the research training experience.
How the program continues to evolve and reflect changes in the research area.

Additional Review Criteria (Considered, but not separately scored)

Protections for Human Subjects: Assessment of safeguards for human participants.
Inclusion of Women, Minorities, and Individuals Across the Lifespan: Plans for ensuring appropriate representation.
Training in Methods for Enhancing Reproducibility: Evaluation of the plan for instruction in scientific reasoning, rigorous research design, experimental methods, biological variables, authentication, quantitative approaches, and data analysis.
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR): Adequacy of the RCR training plan's format, subject matter, faculty participation, duration (minimum 8 contact hours), and frequency (at least once every four years and each career stage).
Budget and Period of Support: Assessment of whether the requested budget and project period are fully justified and reasonable relative to the proposed training activities.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Federal Regulations: All awards are subject to the terms and conditions outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Part 200), and other applicable federal statutes (e.g., Public Health Service Act, Federal Regulations 42 CFR 66).
Nondiscrimination: Recipients must adhere to all applicable nondiscrimination laws and submit an Assurance of Compliance (HHS-690).
NRSA Policies: Specific National Research Service Award (NRSA) policies apply, including those related to the taxability of stipends and the payback obligation for recipients.

Ethical and Scientific Standards

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR): All applications must propose a plan for RCR instruction. This plan must cover format (including face-to-face interaction), a broad selection of subject matter (e.g., conflict of interest, data management, research misconduct), adequate faculty participation, a minimum of 8 contact hours, and frequency (at least once during each career stage and no less than once every four years).
Scientific Rigor and Reproducibility: The program must provide trainees with a strong foundation in methods to enhance data reproducibility through rigor and transparency. All studies conducted within the program must comply with NIH guidance on rigor and reproducibility.
Safe and Supportive Environments: Funded programs are required to implement robust plans for safe, accessible, and supportive research training environments. This includes ensuring environments are free from harassment, bullying, and intimidation, promoting high standards of laboratory and clinical safety, and demonstrating institutional commitment to these values.

Data Management and Security

Data Management and Sharing: Recipients will be required to comply with the 2023 NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing, where applicable to the award.
Data Protection: Training should encompass data science principles relevant to the research area, including data sharing, access, management, security, visualization, and privacy in human subjects research.
Cybersecurity: If the award involves consistent access to HHS information or operational technology systems, or processing of personally identifiable information (PII) or personal health information (PHI) from HHS, recipients must develop plans and procedures modeled after the NIST Cybersecurity framework.

Intellectual Property

Invention Reporting: Not required for this grant, as awards made primarily for educational purposes are exempt from PHS invention reporting requirements.

Special Considerations

Translational Research Focus: The core objective is to build a translational research workforce specifically for AD and ADRD, fostering interdisciplinary and team-science approaches.
Clinical Trial Limitations: While trainees are not allowed to lead an independent clinical trial, they are permitted to gain research experience by participating in clinical trials led by their mentors or co-mentors.
Consortia Engagement: A mandatory program component is to provide trainees with the opportunity to undertake a research project within an academic institution or industry partner laboratory affiliated with NIA's large-scale open science consortia (e.g., AD Knowledge Portal, AMP-AD, MODEL-AD, etc.).
Comprehensive Career Development: Programs are expected to offer structured career development opportunities, such as workshops, individual development plans (IDPs), informational interviews, and internships, to prepare trainees for a wide range of careers within the biomedical research workforce.
Institutional Commitment: There is a strong emphasis on the applicant institution's commitment to the training program, including provisions for faculty support, adequate resources, fostering safe and inclusive environments, and implementing family-friendly policies.
Evaluation and Dissemination: Funded programs must demonstrate their progress through ongoing evaluation, make aggregate data on training and career outcomes publicly available, and are strongly encouraged to disseminate successful training practices to the broader community.

Grant Details