NINDS Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Training of Postdoctoral Fellows (F32 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 25 234

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 25 234

The NINDS Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Training of Postdoctoral Fellows (F32, Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is an NIH fellowship opportunity designed to fund intensive, mentored research training for highly promising postdoctoral scientists in areas relevant to neurological and neurological-disorder research. The central goal is not simply to bankroll a project, but to support the candidate's development into an independent researcher through a strong, well-structured training plan paired with an outstanding mentor and research environment. It is positioned as an early postdoctoral fellowship: applicants may submit as early as 12 months before they begin the proposed postdoctoral position and up to 12 months after starting. Because it targets this early window and discourages relying on preliminary data, the program is meant to push candidates to plan deliberately from the beginning of their postdoctoral period and to pursue ambitious, potentially high-impact ideas rather than incremental extensions of prior work.

A defining emphasis of this NINDS F32 is rigorous quantitative preparation. Applications are expected to include meaningful training in quantitative reasoning and the quantitative principles that underpin strong experimental design and analysis. In practice, that means reviewers will be looking for more than a generic statement about statistics; they will expect the candidate to explain how they will build competence in things like designing appropriately powered experiments, choosing and justifying analytical approaches, ensuring reproducibility, handling sources of bias and confounding, and interpreting results responsibly. This focus aligns with NIH-wide priorities around rigor and transparency, and it signals that the training component is as important as the scientific question itself.

The fellowship is also intentionally time-bounded within a single lab or research environment. Support is limited to the first three years of a candidate's activity in a specific laboratory or setting, a rule meant to encourage timely application and completion of mentored training without extending postdoctoral time indefinitely. This design reinforces the fellowship's role as a structured launchpad early in a postdoc, rather than a later-stage add-on after years in the same lab. Candidates should interpret this as a push to apply early and to present a clear, achievable set of training milestones and career-development objectives that can be accomplished within a finite mentored period.

As indicated by the title "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," the proposed work cannot be a clinical trial. While many neuroscience projects involve human participants or clinically relevant questions, this particular mechanism excludes clinical trials as defined by NIH. Applicants planning studies that might cross that line need to structure the project accordingly or select a different funding opportunity that permits clinical trials.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant mechanism offered by the National Institutes of Health, specifically the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), under Funding Opportunity Number PAR-25-234. The activity category is health (CFDA 93.853). The listed original closing date is January 7, 2028. The opportunity lists a wide range of eligible applicant organizations, reflecting the fact that fellowships are submitted by an institution on behalf of an individual fellow and sponsor. Eligible entities include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and multiple levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), as well as tribal governments and tribal organizations. The opportunity also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicants such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, eligible federal agencies, and even non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations), indicating a broad institutional eligibility landscape.

Overall, this NINDS F32 is best understood as a competitive, mentored postdoctoral training fellowship aimed at candidates with strong potential who are early in their postdoctoral transition, paired with excellent mentorship, and proposing a thoughtful, potentially bold research direction backed by a concrete, quantitatively rigorous training and career-development plan. The structure and eligibility timing are designed to reward early planning, encourage innovative thinking without requiring extensive preliminary results, and accelerate the fellow toward research independence within a focused training window.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NINDS Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Training of Postdoctoral Fellows (F32 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): 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2028-01-07.
• 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.

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