An Overview of NIH and Grant Mechanisms for Early Career Investigators

• In Event: Early Career Funding Opportunities and Child Development Research Priorities at the National Institutes of Health

Abstract

The National Institutes of Health is a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the largest biomedical research agency in the world. The NIH consists of 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs), each of which has its own mission, budget, activities, and program officers (POs) that work to align funded research applications to the IC priorities. Although the funding opportunities available vary across ICs, there are many opportunities available for trainees and early career researchers studying child and adolescent development research at NIH. This presentation provides an overview of NIH funding opportunities for each career stage including graduate and medical students (e.g., National Research Service Award [NRSA] pre-doctoral fellowships), post-doctoral fellows (e.g., NRSA post-doctoral fellowship, K99/R00 Career Development Awards), and early to mid-career faculty (e.g., mentored career development awards: K01, K08, K23, K24). In addition, research supplements to promote diversity on existing NIH grants can support research experience for persons from diverse backgrounds as early as high school and extending through the faculty stage. Further initiatives to improve workforce diversity have been developed spanning NIH and uniquely at individual ICs (e.g., R36 dissertation award). Given the range of available funding opportunities and the importance of aligning research with the mission and priorities of ICs, frequent interaction between POs and early career researchers is recommended to identify the appropriate IC and funding mechanisms, to encourage strategic career development, and maximize the public health impact of NIH-funded research.

Author

• Maggie Sweeney, National Institute of Mental Health
  Presenting Author