Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research (K01 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HL 19 026

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 19 026

The Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research (K01, Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-HL-19-026) intended to strengthen the biomedical research workforce by supporting investigators from diverse backgrounds that are underrepresented in research. The overall aim is to expand and sustain a pipeline of highly trained faculty-level researchers who can become independent investigators and contribute meaningful advances in health. This award specifically focuses on research areas aligned with the NIH mission space covering cardiovascular, pulmonary, and hematologic diseases, as well as sleep disorders, with particular relevance to both the general population and communities experiencing health disparities.

The program is structured as a mentored career development award, meaning the candidate is expected to pursue a defined period of intensive research training and professional development under the guidance of a strong mentor (or mentoring team). The mentor must be an accomplished investigator in the proposed research area and should have a demonstrated record of successfully developing trainees into independent researchers. The supported activities emphasize gaining advanced methodological and experimental skills and building a strong foundation in basic, clinical, and/or translational research approaches that are needed to solve complex problems in the targeted disease areas. In practice, the award is meant to protect time for research, deepen technical and conceptual expertise, and help the candidate assemble the preliminary data, publications, and career trajectory needed to compete for future independent funding.

A central restriction of this specific K01 announcement is its clinical trial policy: applicants may not propose to lead an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary study to a clinical trial as the lead investigator. However, the FOA does allow the candidate to gain clinical trial experience when the trial is led by a mentor or co-mentor, which supports learning and career development without placing the responsibility of trial leadership on the K01 awardee. If an applicant intends to lead a clinical trial or lead an ancillary study to an ongoing clinical trial, NIH directs them instead to apply to the companion announcement referenced in the text (RFA-HL-19-025), which is designed for that circumstance.

Eligibility is broad at the organizational level, encompassing many types of U.S.-based entities that can sponsor an eligible faculty candidate and provide an appropriate research environment. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; public and private institutions of higher education; and a wide range of nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status). For-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses are also listed as eligible, along with federally recognized Native American tribal governments and certain tribal organizations. The announcement also highlights specific institution types often involved in broadening participation and promoting diversity, including 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 and eligible federal agencies.

At the same time, the FOA places clear limits on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not permitted. The intent is that the training, mentorship, and supported research activities occur within eligible U.S.-based institutional settings without foreign components under this specific announcement.

Administratively, this opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the health funding activity area and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, and 93.840. The listed award ceiling is $150,000. The record provided shows an original closing date of 2021-05-06 and a creation date of 2018-07-19, indicating the announcement was issued in 2018 with application submission deadlines extending into 2021. Overall, the FOA is best understood as a mentored, faculty-focused career development mechanism designed to build research independence while directly addressing diversity in the biomedical research enterprise, specifically within heart, lung, blood, and sleep-related science, and explicitly excluding candidate-led independent clinical trials under this particular funding announcement.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research (K01 Independent 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): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-07-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-06. (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 $150,000.00 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 RFA HL 19 026

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