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Important information about NIH institutional training grants can be obtained from the T kiosk.
Answers to many questions can be found in the NIH Parent T32 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO):
General FAQs on eligibility, application process, budget, level of effort, concurrent support, stipends, diversity, employment, payback, post-award activities, progress reports, xTract, and xTrain can be found here: Research Training and Career Development FAQs.
The following GFAQs include NIGMS-specific information:
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NIGMS postdoctoral training grant staff to discuss their plans to submit a new or renewal application as early as possible.
NOFO PA-25-168 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T32).
Note, NIGMS only accepts postdoctoral research training grants under PA-25-168. Predoctoral T32 applications should be submitted to NIGMS-specific predoctoral T32 NOFOs (see current list of TWD programs).
NIGMS does not accept applications requesting support for combined predoctoral and postdoctoral training programs.
NIGMS accepts applications from eligible institutions to support the training of clinician-scientists in the four clinically-relevant research areas within the mission of NIGMS: anesthesiology; clinical pharmacology; medical genetics; and injury and critical illness.
Details on eligibility can be found in Section III. Eligibility Information of the NOFO. The sponsoring institution must assure support for the proposed program. Appropriate institutional commitment to the program includes the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned program.
In general, only one award in each of the training grant program areas will be made to an institution.
Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research training program as the Training Program Director/Principal Investigator (Training PD/PI) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support. Individuals from diverse backgrounds, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and women are always encouraged to apply for NIH support (see NOT-OD-22-019). The PD/PI should be an established investigator in the scientific area in which the application is targeted and capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program.
The PD/PI will be responsible for the selection and appointment of trainees to the approved research training program, and for the overall direction, management, administration, and evaluation of the program; including monitoring and assessment the program, and submission all documents and reports as required; the day-to-day administration of the program; and appointing members of the Advisory Committee (when applicable), using their recommendations to determine the appropriate allotment of funds.
Additional PDs/PIs, including individuals with experience in areas relevant to the program goals may be included to achieve the training goals. For information on multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy.
The applicant organization will select the trainees and is responsible for establishing trainee eligibility and selection criteria that are consistent with applicable law. The individual to be trained 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. Additional details on citizenship, training period, and aggregate duration of support are available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Postdoctoral trainees must have received, as of the beginning date of the appointment, a Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., or comparable doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution. Comparable doctoral degrees include, but are not limited to, the following: D.M.D., DC, DO, DVM., OD, DPM, ScD, EngD, DrPH, DNSc, DPT, PharmD, ND (Doctor of Naturopathy), DSW, PsyD, as well as a doctoral degree in nursing research. Details on eligibility can be found in Section III. Eligibility Information of the NOFO.
NIGMS postdoctoral programs emphasize the selection of clinical degree holders as trainees (such as M.D., M.D./Ph.D. D.O. or Pharm.D). The training of Ph.D. postdoctoral scientists should focus on advanced and specialized areas of research and offer appropriate opportunities to study problems of clinical relevance.
This may be allowable based on rare exception and unique individual scenario. Clinicians (including those with MD, DDS, DVM and other licensed health professionals) in a clinical faculty position that denotes independence in clinical responsibilities but not in research may also be eligible for the K99/R00 award. Please contact NIGMS program staff to determine if additional postdoc training is appropriate.
An individual may not receive more than 3 years of aggregate NRSA support at the postdoctoral level, including any combination of NRSA support from institutional research training grants and individual fellowships, inclusive of NRSA support from another agency. Typically, trainees supported under NIGMS T32 postdoc research training programs spend at least 2 years in the training program. Appointments are normally made in 12-month increments, and no trainee may be appointed for less than 9 months during the initial period of appointment, except with prior approval from NIGMS. All trainees are required to pursue their research training full time, normally defined as 40 hours per week, or as specified by the sponsoring institution in accordance with its own policies. Trainees must devote a minimum of 80 percent effort toward their research. NIGMS allows up to 20 percent effort (= 8 hrs/week) to maintain clinical skills. NIGMS does not allow short-term training positions.
Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is distinct with respect to the scientific area of research training. The proposed training program must align with one of the Predoctoral Training Grant Program Areas. We encourage potential applicants to reach out to NIGMS T32 Program Officials before submitting.
NIGMS accepts applications only for January 25 due dates.
Starting with January 25, 2025, due date, FORMS-I will be required.
Institutional training grants are usually awarded for 5 years and may be renewable.
No, prior approval is not required.
Yes, a Biosketch is required from every proposed program faculty and mentor.
Faculty biosketches for participating faculty must follow the instructions for a biographical sketch with the following exception: a personal statement is not required. However, program faculty are encouraged to provide a personal statement that describes their prior experience with: 1) Training, mentoring, and promoting a supportive scientific environment that promotes the development of individuals from all backgrounds; 2) Providing training in rigorous and unbiased experimental design, methodology, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of results; 3) Aiding and supporting trainees in identifying and transitioning into careers in the biomedical research workforce that are consistent with trainees' skills, interests, and values.
Note, all biosketches should be compiled in a single PDF and included in the submission.
No, the DMS Policy does not apply to activities that do not generate scientific data, including Training Programs.
No, an Advisory Committee is not required, but it is a highly recommended component of a training program. If an Advisory Committee is intended, a plan for the appointment of an Advisory Committee to monitor progress of the training program should be provided. The composition, roles, responsibilities, and desired expertise of committee members, frequency of committee meetings, and other relevant information should be included. Information on how the Advisory Committee will evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program should be included. Proposed Advisory Committee members should be named in the application if they have been invited to participate at the time the application is submitted. Renewal applications with Advisory Committees should include the names of all committee members during the past project period.
Yes, the Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity is now a separate attachment within the Training Plan Form and has a three-page limit.
The following plans are also required: “Plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research” and “Plan for Instruction in Methods for Enhancing Reproducibility”. If Multiple PD/PIs, Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan is required.
There is no limit. However, NIGMS often funds postdoctoral programs between 2 and 12 trainees per year, as appropriate to the organizational capabilities. Institutions must have enough faculty research mentors, resources, and outstanding candidates to justify slot request. 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 (i.e., two years) trainees will be funded.
Stipends are intended to provide a subsistence allowance to help defray living expenses during the research training experience. NIH will contribute to the combined cost of tuition and fees at the rate in place at the time of an award.
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 NRSA webpage.
Trainees may not concurrently hold another federally sponsored fellowship, traineeship, or similar federal award that provides a stipend or otherwise duplicate support of the NIGMS training program.
Yes, NIGMS will provide up to $500 per trainee to attend scientific meetings and workshops that the institution determines necessary for the individual’s research training experience.
Yes, NIGMS will provide funds to help defray other research training expenses, such as health insurance, staff salaries, consultant costs, mentor training activities, equipment, research supplies, and faculty/staff travel directly related to the research training program. Allowable TRE costs are described in Section 11.3.8.4 Training-Related Expenses of the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
The costs per trainee are not escalated for inflation in the future years.
For new applications: Table 1 (Part II only), 2, 3, 4, 5B, 6B, and 8B (Part II).
For renewal applications: Table 1 (Part II only), 2, 3, 4, 5B, 6B, 7, and 8B (Part I only).
The following resources are available on the NIH website:
NIH is currently transitioning to updated data tables. Applicants and recipients must select the appropriate version based on their use date. FORMS-I will be required starting with January 25, 2025, due date.
Generally, the review process timeline takes about 7-8 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 around 6 months after submission. Summary statements should be available within 30 days from the date of the review meeting.
Funding decisions are made after the October Advisory Council meeting, approximately 9 to 12 months after the submission date, depending on the timing of our budget allocations.
The administrative review of the awards is typically concluded in the spring (approx. 13- 15 months after submission) and the Notices of Award are issued with a July 1st start date.
It is important to plan the renewal of the grant well ahead of the end of the project period. If the current project period ends, e.g., on June 30, 2027, the renewal application must be submitted by January 25, 2026, due date, to avoid a gap in funding.
See Standard Due Dates for more details.
Scores and summary statements can be accessed through the Principal Investigator's (PI's) eRA Commons account.
While NIGMS tries to support all programs at or near the review panel recommended slot level, there are no guarantees. The slot number depends on the NIGMS training budget and availability of slots at the time of award. The number of slots might stay the same as recommended, might be less or might increase depending on the NIGMS training budget and availability of slots. The slot numbers will be listed on Notice of Grant Award.
xTrain is an eRA Commons module that allows program directors/principal investigators, university administrators, and trainees to electronically prepare and submit PHS 2271 Statement of Appointment Forms and PHS 416-7 Termination Notices associated with institutional research training grants, institutional career development awards, individual fellowships, and research education awards. Agency staff also use xTrain to review and process the appointments and termination notices that are submitted electronically.
For information on how to manage trainees’ appointment in xTrain, please see the xTrain Quick Reference Guide.
You can also find many resources on eRA’s xTrain page including online help, FAQs, and training materials (video tutorials, quick reference guides, presentations).
Payback means that you will perform qualified research or teaching activities for a length of time equal to the period of NRSA support you received. Receiving 12 months of postdoctoral training support obligates you to perform 12 months of qualified research or teaching activities as payback.
Only the first year of training incurs a payback obligation; the second year of training pays back the first year, with each month of qualifying payback activity paying back one month of NRSA support. If you receive two full years of NRSA training, you will have completed your payback obligation. In general, payback activity must involve at least 20 hours per week and be conducted over 12 consecutive months. Special exceptions to these requirements may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
More details can be found in the Payback FAQs.
Please refer to the FAQs for predoctoral training programs.
Annual progress reports for NIGMS postdoctoral T32 programs are due on November 15.
If a competitive renewal (Type 2) 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.
For the first year, the report should cover the dates from the award start date until the time of submitting the report (July 1 – November 15).
For subsequent years, the report should cover information from the date that the last progress report was submitted (November 15 – November 15).
Yes, reporting on RCR training is a required element on NRSA progress reports. A concise description of RCR training no longer than one page in length should be provided.
The xTract module available via eRA Commons allows applicants, recipients, and assistants to create research training tables for progress reports and institutional training grant applications.
