Mentored Career Transition Award for Intramural Fellows (K22 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) | PAR 23 149

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 23 149

The Mentored Career Transition Award for Intramural Fellows (K22 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant opportunity from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) designed to help NIMH Division of Intramural Research Programs (DIRP) postdoctoral fellows move from an intramural postdoc appointment into an extramural, tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty position at an eligible US institution. The overall goal is to make that transition smoother and faster by providing a structured, mentored path that continues across both settings and includes research support once the fellow has moved to an outside institution, so the awardee can start building an independent research program with real momentum.

This K22 uses a two-phase structure. The first phase occurs while the applicant is still an intramural fellow within NIMH DIRP, where the candidate continues mentored research and career development activities aimed at preparing for independence and for the faculty job search. The second phase begins after the candidate secures an extramural academic faculty position (or an equivalent independent position) at an eligible US institution. During this extramural phase, mentorship continues, and the award provides research support to help the new faculty member establish their lab or research group, generate publishable findings, and gather the preliminary data and track record needed to compete successfully for future independent NIH research grants.

A key restriction of this specific announcement is its clinical trial policy. It is intended for applicants whose proposed research does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary study to a clinical trial. In other words, the award is not meant to support the applicant serving as the lead investigator of a clinical trial. However, applicants are allowed to gain experience in clinical trials when those trials are led by a mentor or co-mentor, which can be useful training for investigators working in clinical or translational areas while still keeping the applicant in a mentored, non-leading role for the trial itself. If an applicant plans to lead a clinical trial or to lead an ancillary study connected to an ongoing clinical trial, they are directed to apply under the companion funding opportunity referenced in the notice.

Eligibility is broad at the institutional level, reflecting NIH’s standard set of eligible applicant organizations, but the program itself is specifically aimed at qualified postdoctoral fellows in the NIMH intramural program who are preparing to transition to extramural faculty roles. Eligible applicant organizations include many types of US-based entities such as public and private institutions of higher education, state and local governments, independent school districts, special district governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, tribal organizations that are not federally recognized, public housing authorities, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The announcement also highlights additional categories that may apply depending on the extramural institution, 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), along with faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, US territories or possessions, tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and regional organizations.

Foreign and international participation is addressed in a nuanced way that is common for NIH. Non-domestic (non-US) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as applicant organizations, and non-domestic components of US organizations are not eligible to apply. At the same time, foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which generally means parts of the research or collaborations may involve foreign sites or activities when justified and appropriately structured under NIH rules, even though the primary applicant organization must be US-based.

Administratively, this opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant program in the health area under CFDA number 93.242, with Funding Opportunity Number PAR-23-149. The original closing date provided is 2026-03-12. The notice does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the provided data, but the intent is clearly to provide enough extramural-phase research support to help awardees launch a competitive and sustainable independent research trajectory once they begin their faculty appointments.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mentored Career Transition Award for Intramural Fellows (K22 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-04-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-03-12. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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 23 149

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