Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T32) | PA 18 403

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 18 403

The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T32), Funding Opportunity Number PA 18 403, is an NIH discretionary grant program designed to strengthen structured research training at U.S.-based institutions. Its central aim is to build and sustain a diverse, highly trained pipeline of scientists who can meet the nations biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. Rather than funding a single research project, this opportunity supports institution-led training programs that bring together a strong mentoring environment, formal instruction, hands-on research experiences, and intentional career development so that trainees are prepared for research careers with meaningful impact on human health.

This program supports training at both the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels, and it can also include short-term research training as part of a broader training plan. However, proposals that are only for short-term research training are not a fit for this announcement; those are expected to apply to the separate NRSA short-term institutional mechanism (T35, referenced as PA-18-404) that is specifically reserved for predoctoral short-term training. In other words, T32 is meant for comprehensive institutional training programs, not stand-alone summer-only or short-duration programs.

A key policy point in the announcement is how clinical trials are handled. Trainees appointed to this T32 may not lead an independent clinical trial, meaning they cannot be the primary person responsible for initiating and running a trial as the trial lead. At the same time, the FOA does allow trainees to gain clinical trial experience when the trial is led by an eligible mentor or co-mentor. Practically, this means the training program can incorporate real exposure to clinical research, trial design, recruitment, data collection, analysis, and regulatory considerations, as long as the trainee is learning within a mentor-led structure rather than acting as the independent trial leader.

Eligibility is focused on domestic applicants. Eligible applicant types include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (both those with 501(c)(3) status and those without, as long as they otherwise meet NIH requirements), and certain tribal entities. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible, which reinforces that the training program and its core activities must be based in the United States or eligible U.S. jurisdictions.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under multiple CFDA numbers (including 93.113, 93.173, 93.213, and others), reflecting that different NIH Institutes and Centers may use this parent T32 announcement to support training programs aligned with their missions. The funding activity category is broad, spanning education and health-related domains, consistent with the focus on workforce development and research training infrastructure rather than direct service delivery. The source record you provided shows an original closing date of 2020-05-07 and does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the excerpt, which is common for NIH parent announcements where budgets and award counts vary by participating Institutes, program scope, and annual appropriations.

Overall, this T32 FOA is best understood as NIH support for an institution to run a well-integrated, mentored research training program that combines coursework or didactic elements, supervised research, and career development activities, all aimed at producing the next generation of researchers. It emphasizes broad preparation for impactful research careers, encourages training environments that support diversity in the biomedical workforce, and permits clinical trial learning experiences under mentor leadership while prohibiting trainees from independently leading a clinical trial.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T32)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.279, 93.286, 93.351, 93.361, 93.398, 93.846, 93.847, 93.855, 93.859, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-05-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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, Others.

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