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NIGMS supports several cross-disciplinary undergraduate and predoctoral training programs to promote diversity in the biomedical research enterprise through the National Research Service Award (NRSA) program.
The information below is meant to aid in the preparation of applications and administration of training grants – it is not meant to be comprehensive in coverage of all required components of an application. For any submission, applicants are responsible for following the instructions detailed in the NOFO (including Related Notices in the Overview Section). Any specific questions about funded NIGMS training grants should be directed to the Program Officer and Grants Management Specialist listed in the Notice of Award. Additional information on NRSA training programs can be found in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Each NIGMS funded NRSA program is expected to provide a rigorous, well-designed research training program that includes mentored research experiences, courses, seminars, and additional training opportunities to equip trainees with the following skills required for careers in the biomedical research workforce:
NIGMS undergraduate and predoctoral cross-disciplinary training programs addresses various levels of the training pathway (e.g., undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D.) and various institutional contexts (e.g., research-active and research-intensive). Specific program goals include:
NIGMS also supports the Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) (R25) program to develop a diverse pool of well-trained postbaccalaureate participants who will transition into and complete rigorous biomedical, research-focused doctoral degree programs (e.g., Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D.) in biomedical fields relevant to the NIGMS mission.
Biomedical and behavioral research is defined as scientific investigations in the biological, behavioral, clinical, social, physical, chemical, computational, engineering, mathematical sciences, and other relevant disciplines.
NIGMS training programs support students interested in research-based doctoral degrees, not professional degrees (M.D., D.M.D., Pharm.D., Psy.D., etc.), and typically prioritize research training within the NIGMS mission.
The R25 Bridges to the Baccalaureate, Bridges to the Doctorate, RISE and IMSD have been replaced by the new NRSA programs described above. Institutions wishing to continue their training programs must apply as a new application under the NOFOs listed above. New applications do not include a "Progress Report" section, but outcomes and lessons learned from a previous R25 program may be discussed in the Program Plan.
No. The Bridges to the Baccalaureate, U-RISE and MARC programs support undergraduates only. The Bridges to the Doctorate, G-RISE and IMSD programs support predoctoral training. Information on NIGMS postdoctoral training and career development programs can be found here.
NIGMS makes awards to institutions of higher education, and these programs are responsible for selecting the trainees to be supported. To find an institution that has an NIGMS training award, please see the list of participating institutions for each designated program: https://www.nigms.nih.gov/training/Pages/TWD-Dashboard.aspx.
For diversity enhancing programs, NIGMS recognizes separate institutional eligibility tracks: research-intensive, i.e., those with an average of NIH research project grant (RPG) funding greater than or equal to $7.5 million total costs per year over the past 3 fiscal years, and research-active, i.e., those with an average of RPG funding less than $7.5 million total costs per year over the past 3 fiscal years (RPG data are available through NIH RePORTER). For example, FY 2018, FY 2019 and FY 2020 for applications submitted in FY 2021. RPG data are available through NIH RePORTER (see additional guidance here [PDF]).
Additional information on eligibility can be found in Section III. Eligibility Information of each of the NOFOs.
An institution funded through one program (e.g., U-RISE) that changes category due to changes in research project grant funding during the grant cycle should apply to the appropriate program based on their eligibility at the time of the next application submission (e.g., MARC).
To prevent the duplication of NIGMS diversity enhancing programs, each institution is eligible for one T34 program (either MARC or U-RISE), and one T32 graduate program (either IMSD or G-RISE).
Institutions with NIGMS MARC, U-RISE, IMSD, or G-RISE funding are eligible for the Bridges to the Baccalaureate and Bridges to the Doctorate programs provided the other eligibility criteria specified in the funding announcement are met. Applicants are encouraged to consult NIGMS staff to discuss eligibility prior to submission.
NIGMS will accept only one application for each mechanism (e.g., IMSD) per institution. Institutional eligibility is determined by an eligible organization's unique entity identifier (UEI) and unique NIH eRA Institutional Profile File (IPF) number. So while a research-intensive institution can have, e.g., both a MARC and IMSD program, it cannot have multiple MARC or IMSD programs.
Yes. The need for the NIGMS training program should be justified in your application, for example, by explaining the ways that the NIGMS program is distinct from these other training programs.
The application must be submitted by the eligible organization with a unique entity identifier (UEI) and a unique NIH eRA Institutional Profile File (IPF) number. For institutions with multiple campuses (e.g., main, satellite, etc.), eligibility can be considered for an individual campus only if a UEI and a unique NIH eRA IPF number are established for the individual campus. For institutions that use one UEI or NIH IPF number for multiple campuses, eligibility is determined for the campuses together.
The contact PD/PI is expected to have a full-time appointment at the applicant institution unless extremely well-justified. If the full-time status of the contact PD/PI changes after the award, the institution must obtain prior program approval to appoint a new PD/PI or request a deviation from the full-time rule.
NIGMS encourages multiple PDs/PIs, particularly when each brings a unique perspective and skill set that will enhance training. At least one of the training PD(s)/PI(s) should be an established investigator in the biomedical sciences and capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program. Additional PDs/PIs, including individuals with experience in the science of education, relevant social science disciplines, program evaluation, mentoring, and university administration may be included to achieve the training goals. Any of the PDs/PIs may serve as the contact PD/PI.
(Note: Bridges programs require multiple PIs – one from each participating institution. See the NOFOs for more information)
Trainees must be a citizen or a noncitizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. (A non-citizen national is a person who, although not a citizen of the U.S., owes permanent allegiance to the U.S. This is generally a person born in a land that is not a state, but that is under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration—for example, American Samoa.) An individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence must possess an alien registration receipt card (I-551) prior to appointment on the grant.
Individuals on temporary visas, those seeking asylum or refugees, or those supported through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are not eligible for support through NIH NRSA programs.
Trainees must be matriculating full-time in baccalaureate or graduate biomedical science degree programs at the applicant institution, as specified in the NOFOs.
Additional details on citizenship, training period, and aggregate duration of support are available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
No. An overarching goal of these programs is to develop a diverse pool of well-trained students who have the skills to successfully transition into and complete a biomedical research-focused higher degree program (e.g., Ph.D. or M.D./ Ph.D.). Program priority is to address documented underrepresentation at in the biomedical research enterprise.
For examples of groups underrepresented in the biomedical sciences, see the Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity. In addition, it is recognized that underrepresentation can vary from setting to setting; individuals from racial or ethnic groups that can be demonstrated convincingly to be underrepresented by the grantee institution should be encouraged to participate in this program.
All applications (new and resubmission) are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.
With only a few exceptions, NIH does not accept late applications. However, within a two-week window after an application due date, NIH may consider accepting a late application if you have a valid reason for submitting late. Examples of valid reasons and instructions for how to submit a late application can be found in https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not-od-15-039.html.
Yes. For multi-disciplinary and/or multi-departmental programs, the applicant should indicate how the individual disciplinary and/or departmental components of the program are integrated and coordinated, and how they will relate to an individual trainee’s experience.
The number of slots requested should reflect the applicant pool determined by the institutional self-assessment (e.g., the number of faculty mentors with the ability to commit to the training program, and the pool of training grant eligible students). Applicants should only request slots which they can fill.
The request for the number of slots must reflect the program's pool of qualified applicants, the proven ability of the program to effectively mentor that number of trainees, and the number of years (e.g., one or two years) students will be funded.
Programs that fund students for two years will typically start with half the number of slots for the first year, and then the full number for subsequent years (for example four slots in year 1, and eight slots in years 2-5), while programs that only fund one year will have the same number for all 5 years. Typically, programs appoint a new cohort of trainees each of the 5 years of the award.
All requests for slots must be justified in the application.
Training grants are usually awarded for five years.
The maximum project period is five years.
Institutions proposing research experiences must demonstrate that U-RISE trainees will have meaningful research experiences in the laboratory of an active investigator who has extramural support and is actively publishing in peer-reviewed journals. Details on how U-RISE trainees will select a research laboratory or be matched with a mentor must be provided in the application, as well as the number of hours that the student will spend in the laboratory, what the research experience will consist of, and what the student is expected to learn or accomplish.
NIGMS recognizes that some U-RISE-eligible institutions may not have enough active researchers with extramural funding to support on-campus research experiences. However, such institutions could create a biomedical interdisciplinary research training classroom/laboratory/course, as well as establish collaborative arrangements with research institutions that have a significant number of mentors with NIH or other extramural research support to have their students benefit from off-campus research experiences, especially during the summer. Thus, each U-RISE program is strongly encouraged to establish collaborations with institutions that have research-intensive environments (e.g., institutions with NIGMS MARC, IMSD or basic biomedical and medical science T32 programs) in order to facilitate the networking and transition of U-RISE-supported students to T32 training programs, as well as to magnify the institutional impact of the program. See information about NIGMS basic biomedical and medical science training programs (T32).
Yes, a Biosketch is required from every proposed program faculty and mentor. Although the Personal Statement does not have to be program specific, it should describe a commitment to scientific rigor, research training, and mentoring, as well as to promoting inclusive and supportive scientific environments.
The level of support for faculty is an important consideration for review but it does not matter if it is NIGMS, other NIH, other federal, or private support as long as its relevant to biomedical research training.
The application should describe how the participating faculty are trained to ensure the use of evidence-informed teaching, training and mentoring practices that promote the development of trainees from all backgrounds e.g., trainees from groups underrepresented in the biomedical sciences (see Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity). Similarly, the application should describe a mechanism to monitor mentoring, including oversight of the effectiveness of the trainee/participating faculty match, and a plan for removing faculty displaying unacceptable mentorship qualities from the training program. For more, see the “Program Oversight, Participating Faculty Selection, and Mentor Training” section of the Program Plan attachment.
Responsible conduct of research focuses on training in the ethics involved in research, and there is guidance listed in NOT-OD-10-019 and NOT-OD-22-055. Methods for enhancing reproducibility focuses more on ensuring that students receive training in the methods of doing rigorous science such as solid experimental design, minimizing bias, consideration of relevant biological variables, etc. NIGMS expects that instruction in both areas be infused throughout your training program.
Yes. Investigators seeking $500,000 or more in direct costs (exclusive of consortium F&A) in any budget period are expected to include a Resource Sharing Plan. Investigators are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. View a Sample Resource Sharing Plan.
The purpose of the evaluation is to provide information on the effectiveness of the research training program at meeting its goals, and to effectively track trainee and career outcomes. Evaluation data should be used to inform changes and enhancements to the training program.
Applicants should note that program evaluation costs are allowed up to a maximum of $3,000 for the 5-year project period.
In general, the evaluator (either external or from the applicant institution) must have training and experience in evaluation methodology and statistics. It’s important that there’s not an apparent conflict of interest for the evaluator (e.g., someone too closely involved with the program to independently assess its effectiveness). The specific tools to be used in the evaluation (e.g., surveys, interviews, databases) will dictate the specific skills needed.
No. Training grants prepare individuals for careers in the biomedical research workforce by developing and implementing evidence-informed educational practices including didactic, research, mentoring, and career development elements. While funded programs are expected to conduct ongoing program evaluations and assessments to monitor the effectiveness of the training and mentoring activities, training grants funds are not intended to support Human Subjects Research (see additional information on Human Subjects Research from NIH and HHS).
If an investigator wishes to conduct Human Subjects Research involving the trainees supported by the training program as research study participants, they must:
Applicants are encouraged to reach out to Scientific/Research Contact listed in the NOFO if there are any questions.
You must use the PHS 398 Training Budget Form. The instructions for using the PHS 398 Training Budget Form are located in the application guide. Applications need to submit a budget page for each year of the project period – if you are having difficulties, please contact the eRA helpdesk.
Application budgets are not limited, but they need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. NIGMS often funds programs between 4 and 35 trainees per year, as appropriate to the institutional capabilities.
No.
Students may not concurrently hold another federally sponsored award that duplicates support of the NIGMS training program.
NIGMS training programs are Kirschstein-NRSA awards, which are intended to provide a subsistence allowance to help defray living expenses during the research training experience. Stipend levels, as well as funding amounts for tuition and fees, are announced annually in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, and also posted on the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) webpage.
The GRE and graduate school application fees are allowable as long as the institution has consistency in paying for this type of the cost. If the institution pays for the GRE and graduate school application fees for trainees regardless of the trainee’s source of support, and the cost conforms to the institution’s established written policy, these would be an allowable costs. Please review the cost principles as detailed in the NIH Grants Policy Statement for additional information.
Yes, NIGMS will provide up to $1,000 per trainee to travel to scientific meetings or training experiences that will enhance scientific development, build science identity, create a sense of belonging in the scientific community, and build professional networks.
For institutions outside the continental United States, NIGMS will provide $1,250 for trainee travel.
Yes. Undergraduate trainees are required to spend at least one summer in a research training experience.
For Bridges to Baccalaureate this experience must be at the bachelor's granting institution. NIGMS provides $3,000 per Bridges trainee, to be used in accordance with the institutional policies as a per diem for a period of up to ten weeks.
For U-RISE and MARC, preferred sites are research-intensive graduate institutions such as those with NIH T32 training programs. NIGMS provides $3,000 trainee, to be used in accordance with the institutional policies as a per diem for a period of up to ten weeks and an additional $500 for travel to and from the host research training institution. For additional budget guidance on the summer research requirement, see T34 Summer Research Experience Policy. Additional funds will not be provided for students continuing the research training at the host institution.
Yes, the $3,000 per trainee for the summer research experience is, indeed, separate from the $1,000 per trainee funds to travel to scientific meetings.
Yes, students should continue to receive the monthly stipend for the duration of the period that they are appointed to the training grant program. This is in addition to the $3,000 per trainee that is described above.
Yes, training related expenses (TRE) funds can be used on activities that are directly related to the training grant program.
Funds cannot be spent on students who are not appointed to the training grant. If trainees are appointed during the pre-U-RISE seminar series, the only amount that can be charged to the grant is the portion of the series that overlaps with the trainee appointments.
Training awards contain a lump sum of “Training Related Expenses” that can be rebudgeted within applicable Public Health Service policies in order to meet the expenses in personnel, consultants, equipment, supplies, travel and other program related expenses (e.g., skills development activities, program evaluation), unless the rebudgeting has been specifically prohibited in the Notice of Award. For more, please see the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
No. NIGMS will provide a lump sum of funds to help defray training related expenses, such as health insurance, staff salaries, consultant costs, equipment, research supplies, and faculty/staff travel directly related to the research training program at the level indicated in the respective NOFOs. If expenses in one category are excessive, it may limit the ability for the program do the enriching activities that are important for trainee skill development.
Please see https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2017/03/31/what-is-a-person-month-how-do-i-calculate-it/.
Applicants should request full needs for tuition and fees. If tuition is charged per credit hour, request an amount based on the average number of credit hours taken by full time students at your institution in programs similar to those in the proposed training programs. NIH will determine the amount of tuition and fees to be provided according to the policies current at the time of award. The formula currently in effect will be applied by NIH at the time an award is calculated.
Do not include health insurance in the tuition/fees fields.
Follow the instructions in the SF-424 instruction set for the PHS 398 Training Budget page and enter the total tuition/fees request for all requested trainee positions under section A of the PHS 398 Training Budget page. Additionally, itemize tuition and individual fees on the budget justification page. If tuition varies (e.g., in-state, out-of-state, student status), provide a breakdown on the budget justification page and list the various rates separately.
Tuition, fees and health insurance (self-only or family) are allowable trainee costs only if such charges are applied consistently to all people in a similar training status at the organization, without regard to their source of support. Health insurance can include coverage for costs such as vision and/or dental care if consistent with organizational policy. Health insurance is awarded as part of the Training Related Expenses category.
Compensation to faculty for program related effort not already covered by the faculty members typical duties is allowable from TRE. These expenses must be justified as specifically required by the proposed program and must not duplicate items generally available at the applicant institution.
The costs per trainee are not escalated for inflation in the future years.
A summary of key data from the tables should also be included in the narrative of the application. Please reference https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/data-tables.htm for blank tables, instructions, and sample tables.
Applications that do not contain the required tables, or that submit any additional tables in the data tables attachment will be considered noncompliant and will not be reviewed.
A summary of the key data from the suggested tables should also be included in the narrative of the application. If an applicant uses these suggested formats, they must be included in the Program Plan section and will count towards the 25-page limit. Applicants must not include these Suggested Tables in the required Training Data Tables attachment, or the application will be withdrawn.
Yes. This will allow reviewers and program staff to appropriately assess the overall training environment.
It's critical that applications follow all instructions in the SF424 (R&R) application guide, the NOFO, and any related notices listed in Part 1, Overview Information. Please see more on common mistakes that result in application non-compliance, and consequently withdrawal prior to review.
Generally, the review process timeline takes about 9 to 10 months. The first 1 to 2 months are for referral, then the review panel will be assigned applications, conduct reviews and hold the review meeting after 2 to 6 months. Summary statements should be available approximately 6 to 7 months after submission, and then funding decisions are made after the advisory council meeting, approximately 8 to 9 months after the submission date.
Applications will be reviewed by one of two standing NIGMS study sections: TWD-C and TWD-D. These study sections are equivalent, and applications are assigned to one of the two to balance conflicts and workload. Questions on review can be directed to NIGMSReview@mail.nih.gov. NIGMS does not utilize site visits as part of the review process.
Scores and summary statements can be accessed through the Principal Investigator's (PI's) eRA Commons account.
There is no predetermined fundable score for applications. Applications compete for available funds with all other recommended applications from eligible institutions. The following will be considered in making funding decisions:
For more information visit NIGMS Funding Policies.
Program staff takes the requested number of slots and study section recommendation into consideration when determining slot number. However, slots awarded are determined by a number of factors, including NIGMS' training budget, training grant eligible pool, and program outcomes.
Yes, all trainees must have an appointment form submitted through the eRA Commons to xTrain before they may receive their stipend.
Yes, if trainees cannot continue in the grant program for the full appointment period, an amended appointment must be submitted to xTrain with the correct appointment period. Please see: https://era.nih.gov/help-tutorials/xtrain?q=services_for_applicants/other/xTrain.cfm for more details.
Appointments are generally made in 12-month increments. Students may be supported for the length of time specified in the NOFO (typically, two to three years).
Generally, trainees under Kirschstein-NRSA institutional research training grants are appointed for fulltime 12-month continuous periods. No trainee may be appointed under a regular Kirschstein-NRSA institutional research training grant for less than 9 months except with prior written approval of NIGMS, and then usually only to complete an ongoing program of training. An initial appointment of less than 9 months may be allowed provided an assurance is included that the individual will be immediately reappointed in the subsequent year so that the cumulative continuous training period is at least 9 months.
No. Trainees can be appointed at any point during the 12-month budget period. At the time of an initial appointment the costs for stipends, tuition, and applicable F&A are obligated for the entire 12-month appointment beginning in the budget year the appointment is initiated.
No. Since a trainee's full 12-months of stipend and tuition is charged to the budget year in which the appointment was made, this does not impact awarded slots in the following budget year.
It depends on the Summary Statement IRG recommendation. If the award includes fewer trainee slots than what was recommended by the IRG in the Summary Statement, then the grantee may rebudget to support up to the number of trainee slots/months recommended by the IRG. The grantee cannot rebudget to support more than the IRG recommended number of trainee slots/months without NIGMS prior approval. Each Notice of Award will include a term under Section IV that lists the awarded number of trainee slots/months and the maximum number of trainee slots/months that may be appointed through rebudgeting.
Generally, only existing program participants can be supported while a grant is on a no-cost extension. Consideration may be given if:
The PI should contact the Program Officer and Grants Management Specialist for prior approval.
It is possible, but there are a few things to consider.
For undergraduate (T34) programs: U-RISE or MARC students are sometimes accepted for summer programs that are supported by other federal grants. Trainees may receive additional compensation from federal sources as described in section 11.3.10.2 of the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Federal funds may not be used for stipend supplementation unless specifically authorized under the terms of the program from which funds are derived. Under no circumstances may PHS funds be used for supplementation. The summer research experience (SRE) allowance is provided so that students do not have to be supported by other federal awards (e.g., R25s or short appointment T35s) and so they are not “double counted” from an NIH perspective.
For graduate (T32) programs: Applicants are strongly encouraged to describe any proposed internships, including research training experiences away from the parent organization, that are part of the training program with sufficient detail in the grant application. If this is not included in the grant application, NIH prior written approval is required prior to the internship. To complete a break in training grant support (in this case for a paid internship), submit a Termination Notice via X-Train. Upon resumption of Kirschstein-NRSA support, document the reappointment on another Statement of Appointment form submitted via X-Train.
Please see the NIH Grants Policy Statement for policy regarding leave, vacations and holidays.
Any individual trainee cannot receive more than 5 years of aggregate NRSA support at the predoctoral level, including any combination of support from NRSA institutional research training grants and individual fellowships. Students are typically provided full-time support for two to three years of graduate studies. Use of training grant support in the first three years of graduate research training is strongly encouraged to provide maximum flexibility in the participation in courses, laboratory rotations, professional development, and cohort-building activities.
No, only prior NRSA predoctoral support would be counted toward the limit.
Funds may be re-budgeted only as follows (see table for quick summary):
Trainee Costs: For rebudgeting purposes, trainee costs include funds awarded in the stipends and tuition/fees budget categories. These costs may not be used for other purposes except under unusual circumstances and then only with the prior approval of the NIH awarding IC. Unless otherwise restricted by the terms and conditions of the grant award, rebudgeting into or within the stipends and tuition/fees is allowable without prior approval.
Trainee-Related Expenses: Rebudgeting of funds awarded in a lump sum for trainee-related expenses does not require NIH awarding IC prior approval.
Trainee Travel: Rebudgeting of funds awarded in a lump sum for trainee travel does not require NIH awarding IC prior approval.
Summer Research Experience (SRE, as applicable): Note that SRE funds are restrictive and cannot be rebudgeted into any other category, unless granted permission from NIGMS.
The table below summarizes what cost categories can be rebudgeted without NIH prior approval.
No. Any stipend increases are effective only for NRSA program awards made with funds from the fiscal year in which the stipend increase was effective. No retroactive adjustments or supplementation of stipends or other budgetary categories with Kirschstein-NRSA funds for an award made prior to October are permitted. However, an institution may use other non-Federal funds to supplement stipends for existing trainees as long as there is no additional obligation for the trainee and the institution has policies in place consistently applied to all individuals in similar training status regardless of the source of funds.
Yes, training-related funds may be used to defray such costs as staff salaries when they are directly related to the training program.
Trainee travel, including attendance at scientific meetings (both in the U.S. and abroad) that the institution determines to be necessary to the individual's research training, is an allowable trainee expense. Justification for the travel is key. In addition, U.S. flag air carriers must be used to the maximum extent possible when commercial air transportation is the means of travel between the United States and a foreign country or between foreign countries.
Yes. Under the Training Related Expenses category of a training grant, funds are provided to defray such training costs as staff travel and other expenses directly related to the training program. If a program director is representing more than one program, the grantee institution should allocate the costs among all the programs.
NIGMS typically does not permit carryover from one budget period to the next. These funds are used by the Institute to offset future year commitments. This helps us to utilize the training budget available in the most judicious manner possible.
No. However, since trainees may be appointed at any time during the 12-month budget period, you could appoint all of your trainees to start at whatever date coincides with your training schedule for a full twelve-month appointment.
Change of PI requires prior approval. Please send the request through the eRA Commons via the Prior Approval - Change of PD/PI link. Be sure to include the NIH format biosketch, other support documentation, and an updated MPI Leadership plan (as applicable). NIGMS will review the materials.
A countersigned letter requesting approval of an acting PD should be submitted to NIGMS. The letter should describe plans for the conduct of the program during the original PD's absence and indicate that the acting PD will have signature authority on trainee forms. A copy of the acting PD's biosketch should be included. NIGMS will review the request and provide a written decision to the grantee.
Generally, no. NRSA institutional research training grants may not be transferred except under the most unusual circumstances.
Electronic submission of the FFR through the eRA Commons is required from the grantee for each budget period no later than 90 days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the budget period ended. The NIH Commons is available at https://public.era.nih.gov/commons. Additional information on electronic submission of FFRs is available at the Commons Web page, or by contacting the eRA Service Desk Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552; Tel: 301-402-7469; Hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET (closed on federal holidays). If you need immediate help (i.e. you are within 2 days of a deadline or in the event of a security emergency), call the ServiceDesk rather than submitting a web ticket. Note that the Service Desk's busiest hours are 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET. eRA website
These monies should be reflected as an unliquidated obligation since these are bona fide expenses charged/incurred to the Stipend and Tuition categories but have not yet been paid. As a reminder, if the FFR report covers the final budget period of the project period, it must have no unliquidated obligations and must indicate the exact balance of unobligated funds.
The forms are critical to establishing the payment of stipends and other costs and determining possible payback service. Failure to submit the required forms in a timely manner will result in an expenditure disallowance or a delay in any continuation funding
Annual progress reports are due the following dates for each program:
This differs from other NIH ICs, therefore we include a reminder in the Terms and Conditions section of the training grant Notice of Award. If a competitive renewal (Type2) application has been submitted, the recipient must submit an Interim-RPPR 120 days from the project period end date. In the event the Type 2 is funded, NIH will treat the Interim-RPPR as the annual performance report for the final year of the previous competitive segment. If the Type 2 is not funded, the Interim-RPPR will be treated as the Final RPPR.
Final RPPR is required for any grant that is terminated and is due within 120 calendar days of the end of the project period.
The progress report should cover the period from the last Notice of Grant Award to the time of writing/submitting the report.
For example, since NIGMS requests the progress reports for G-RISE T32s on September 15, this will cover the period from May 1 of that year to September 15. However, subsequent progress reports should include information from the date of the previous progress report.
All progress reports require use of the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) module to submit annual progress reports. See information and resources on the RPPR, including the current RPPR Instruction Guide.
Yes, reporting on RCR training is a required element on NRSA progress reports. A concise description of RCR training should be done and be no longer than one page in length.
Yes. The NIH Public Access Policy requires that any publications of individuals supported by an NRSA training grant be linked to the grant and have a PMCID number. Listing trainee publications on progress reports that were done during a reporting period must include a PMCID number; non-compliance could delay the start of the next award. Visit the Public Access Policy Web site for more details.
Evaluation data is for the use of the PI and the institutional team. Evaluation data is not a required part of the RPPR.
See the video for xTRACT and the video for xTRACT for RPPR.
Training grant awardees must use the xTRACT system to create the required training tables for RPPRs due on or after October 1, 2019.
Use of xTRACT for new and renewal training grant applications is not mandatory; however, it may be required in future years.
For more information on the use of xTRACT, see NOT-OD-18-133.
For institutions that have internal databases, xTRACT has now introduced an upload option. View the User Guide [PDF 7.7MB] for more information.
The xTRACT table cannot be converted to Excel.
Yes, through the xTRACT module in eRA Commons.
See the xTRACT for RPPR video. Currently, xTRACT creates a final .pdf document once all the information is complete. Attach that to the RPPR.
Yes, all data entered in xTRACT will be stored for future use.
Yes, stored data will pre-populate the tables.
Not yet. Trainee data stored in xTRACT will eventually be able to be copied into the research training dataset for another training grant within a given institution.
NIH has not yet made a final decision about how long data will be stored, but the current expectation is that data will be stored long term.
Inaccuracies in appointment data should be corrected within xTRAIN. For other inaccuracies, contact the eRA Service Desk.
Yes.
Note: NIH has additional answers to FAQs that might be helpful in preparing training tables.
List each department participating in the T32 program. If the graduate program is comprised of six departments but only four participate in the T32, then just list those four. If all the departments in the graduate program participate in the T32 program, then all of them need to be listed.
An individual postdoctoral fellow can only be claimed by one department on the tables. The departments would have to agree on who is the attributer.
Yes, list the number of postdoctoral fellows that are in these departments, interdisciplinary units, or programs. Even if the answer is 'zero postdocs', Part II should be filled out (and vice versa for a postdoc T32-Part I should be filled out).
No, all federal training grants should be included (not just NIH).
No. Awards in no-cost extension status should be excluded from this table.
No, it is not a weighted average. The average reported here should be the sum of the current year direct costs divided by the total number of participating faculty.
If a faculty member is one of the PIs of a multi-PI award, he or she can be listed but otherwise the answer is no.
All funds available to the faculty member should be listed on the table, including university funds (like start-up funds), and foundation, and other discretionary funds. Do not include grant applications pending award or review.
Follow table instructions. For new applications:
No, PMCIDs do not have to be included in Table 5 for competing renewal applications. If an award is to be made, the PI will submit their My NCBI report for their student publications. See NIH NOT OD-16-004 requirement to report PMC information on publications that arose from work conducted by the trainee while supported by the training grant will be moved to the Just-in-Time process.
List the publication. Indicate former faculty after the faculty member's name in the first column.
Publications by a trainee are now associated with their specific faculty mentor. For new applications, for each participating faculty—publications for TGE students eligible for the new T32/T34 past 10 years and all current trainees. For renewals—for each participating faculty—all current trainees and those appointed to the grant over the last 10 years (only those IN the program).
For each participating faculty member in a renewal/revision application, list the publications of trainees appointed to this training grant, including all current trainees and those appointed to this grant for up to the past 10 years.
Yes, these may be cited in the application. Please see the guidance on definitions, citations, and selection of interim research product repositories (NOT-OD-17-050).
For their first 2 years, trainees could be considered a "new entrant."
Yes. The information on clearly associated students that you include for your grant application is also required for your RPPR.
Table 8 Part III should include the students graduating from your institution over the last 5 years that could have been part of the proposed program had it been in place. Include only TGE students and students in participating mentors' laboratories in the proposed training program.
A new T32 application is only reporting information for Table 8A Part III, not Parts I and II.
In Part III (only for new applications and predoctoral renewal/revision applications requesting an expansion to predoctoral support), list sequentially all students graduating from the proposed program in the last 5 years who would have been eligible for appointment, if an NIH or other HHS training or related award were available (in most cases, these will be U.S. citizens or permanent residents). For each student, provide the information described in Part I, items 1-3 and 5-8, above. Summarize the data from Parts I-III (as applicable) in the Research Training Program Plan, either in the Program Plan Section or the Progress Report Section, as appropriate.
A training grant's completion rate should be calculated based on students entering the institution's graduate programs ten years prior to the reporting year. For example, when reporting for 2020-2021, programs should report on the percentage of students that began graduate studies at their institution ten years earlier (i.e., academic year 2010-2011) and that were supported by the training grant at any point within that 10-year time frame. If all of those students have completed a Ph.D. by the ten-year mark, the completion rate will be100%. If some students have left the program without a Ph.D., transferred to medical school or another doctoral-level professional program, or are still in training, the completion rate should be reduced accordingly. Individuals transferring to or from Ph.D. programs in similar fields at other institutions should be excluded from both the entering and graduating cohorts in calculating the completion rate.
New applicants do not fill in Table 8A Part I. New applicants could fill in Table 8A, Part II. These are students who are currently taking the proposed training program but currently have other NIH or HHS funding (even for a small portion of their training time). This can even include non-TGE students (but please identify them). If the proposed program is so new that it does not exist yet, then there would be no one in Part II.
New applicants must fill in Table 8A, Part III. Here, list students who graduated in the last 5 years but who would have been eligible (so only TGE students) for this T32, if it existed.
Yes, these fellowship awards should be included for grant support. Predoctoral fellowships should be included in the "Summary of Support During Training" column. Postdoctoral fellowships should appear in the "Subsequent Grants" column. You should follow your students and those that you list as "clearly associated" during the time they are in grad school and afterward for a total of 15 years. The PI should be reporting research or fellowships awards they obtain as postdocs and as independent researchers.
No, the "clearly associated" students can be either TGE or non TGE. See the related question under the General Questions section.
For the first NIGMS RPPR using the new Table 8A, PIs should list the names of "clearly associated" students that have identical experiences as your T32 supported students. You should be adding students to this list in each subsequent RPPR submitted until you have completed 15 years. At that time, you would remove the initial year (e.g. 2016) information and replace it with students who fit this category in 2031.
Students should have been, or be currently, supported by other HHS (e.g., AHRQ) or NIH awards. The awards can be other training awards, research (e.g., R01) or fellowship (e.g., F30 or F31) awards.
As indicated in the RPPR Instruction Guide, Table 8 is uploaded as part of a PDF. For further information about how xTRACT information is developed into a RPPR, please view the XTRACT video.
Table 8A, Part I, is for only students who were appointed to the T32 so this table should only be TGE students who were supported by this T32 award. Table 8A, Part II, may include non-TGE students if they were supported by NIH or other HHS grant awards.
NIGMS encourage use of specific language regarding the "initial position" and "current position" columns. That is, reviewers tend to find the word “student” (or even "graduate student") ambiguous, so we recommend using specific language to describe the training program they are in (e.g., "PhD Student" "MD/PhD Student," etc.). We want to ensure grantees present this information clearly in non-competing years so that it's clear when they come up for renewal.
