NSF/FDA Scholar-In-Residence at FDA | 18 556

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the NSF/FDA Scholar-In-Residence at FDA opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 18-556)?

The NSF/FDA Scholar-In-Residence at FDA opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 18-556) is a joint program run by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), specifically FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). It is designed as an interagency partnership focused on scientific and engineering questions connected to emerging and rapidly evolving medical device technologies.

2. What is the main purpose of this program?

The program is meant to place external researchers into FDA's intramural research environment so they can work side-by-side with FDA staff, build collaborations, and address technical problems that matter for medical device evaluation, performance, safety, and innovation. The defining feature is the residency and collaboration model within FDA rather than a purely external project conducted only at a university or other home institution.

3. Which FDA center is involved in this partnership?

This opportunity is specifically tied to FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the FDA center responsible for many aspects of medical device oversight and related scientific priorities.

4. Which parts of NSF are supporting this effort?

NSF support is described as coming through multiple parts of the agency, including:

• The Directorate for Engineering
• The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (Division of Computer and Network Systems)
• The Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Division of Materials Research)

5. What types of research topics does this solicitation appear to support?

Based on the NSF units named and the stated focus, the technical scope is broad and can include work at the intersection of engineering design, computing and networking, data-intensive methods, and materials research, as long as the work is relevant to medical devices and addresses scientific and engineering challenges that FDA faces as new device technologies reach the market.

6. What makes this opportunity different from a typical external research grant?

Instead of supporting only a campus-based or purely external research project, this program centers on conducting research within FDA's intramural research environment. The intent is to enable close, day-to-day collaboration with FDA staff and to work on problems directly tied to FDA/CDRH medical device science needs.

7. What are the support mechanisms available under this solicitation?

The solicitation is structured around three flexible ways to support research conducted at FDA:

• Principal Investigators working at FDA (to enable established investigators to collaborate directly in the FDA setting)
• Postdoctoral Researchers at FDA (to support early-career researchers conducting work in the FDA environment)
• Graduate Students at FDA (to provide graduate researchers hands-on experience contributing to applied medical device science work)

8. What is the common requirement across the three participation mechanisms?

Across all three mechanisms, the unifying idea is residence and collaboration within FDA's internal research ecosystem. The work is intended to be conducted at FDA in coordination with FDA staff, rather than being organized as a purely external effort.

9. What kind of funding opportunity is this (grant vs. contract vs. other)?

Administratively, it is described as a discretionary grant opportunity in the category of science and technology and other research and development, and it uses the grant funding instrument.

10. What are the CFDA numbers associated with this opportunity?

This opportunity is associated with CFDA numbers 47.041, 47.049, and 47.070, reflecting NSF's standard research support channels.

11. Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, which generally suggests it is open to a wide range of applicant types. However, the summary also notes that applicants should look to any specific clarifications that may appear in the detailed eligibility language within the full solicitation.

12. When was this opportunity created?

The opportunity was created on May 2, 2018.

13. Are proposals accepted on a fixed deadline or on a rolling basis?

Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis. The opportunity indicates proposals are "accepted anytime," which can help teams align submissions with collaboration planning, staffing availability, or project timing.

14. How many awards does NSF expect to make?

NSF anticipates making about 10 awards under this opportunity.

15. Is there a maximum award amount (award ceiling)?

The listed award ceiling is shown as 0 in the summary field. This typically indicates that a fixed maximum is not specified in that summary field and that applicants should rely on the full solicitation for guidance on budget expectations, constraints, and appropriate award sizes for each mechanism (PI, postdoc, or graduate student participation).

16. What kinds of outcomes is the program trying to enable?

The program is framed as collaboration-driven and intended to strengthen the scientific foundation needed to understand and evaluate next-generation medical device technologies. The emphasis is on tackling technical questions relevant to device evaluation, performance, safety, and innovation, with researchers working closely alongside FDA/CDRH staff.

17. Does the program focus on a specific discipline, or is it interdisciplinary?

It is presented as broadly technical and interdisciplinary, with NSF involvement spanning engineering, computing and networking, and materials research. Projects can be positioned within or across these areas as long as they align with medical device technologies and FDA-relevant scientific and engineering challenges.

18. What is meant by conducting research in FDA's "intramural research environment"?

In this context, "intramural" refers to research carried out within FDA, alongside FDA personnel and within FDA's internal research ecosystem. The program is designed to bring external researchers into that setting to collaborate directly with FDA staff.