Limited Competition: NIH Neuroscience Doctoral Readiness Program (DR. Program) (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA NS 22 035

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 22 035

The Limited Competition: NIH Neuroscience Doctoral Readiness Program (DR Program) (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity (RFA-NS-22-035) designed to help U.S.-based institutions build structured postbaccalaureate research education programs in neuroscience that better prepare recent college graduates for rigorous, research-focused doctoral training. The central goal is to strengthen the pipeline into Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. programs by pairing strong mentoring with intensive, hands-on research experiences aligned with the mission of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), while also providing well-planned coursework and professional skill-building that reflects how quickly the biomedical research enterprise is changing.

At its core, the DR Program supports institutions in creating an organized set of experiences that help participants transition from being recent baccalaureates into competitive doctoral applicants and, ultimately, successful doctoral trainees. The FOA emphasizes two main elements: extensive research immersion and intentional skills development. On the research side, programs are expected to place participants into substantive research experiences within NINDS-relevant areas, under the guidance of experienced mentors (and, when helpful, co-mentors). On the educational side, programs are expected to offer carefully designed training in the kinds of competencies that directly affect doctoral success, such as quantitative and analytical skills, scientific communication, responsible conduct of research, career development, and other professional and technical skills that are increasingly necessary in modern neuroscience and biomedical science.

A defining feature of this announcement is that it is a limited competition tied to existing NIH institutional training infrastructure. Only applicants connected to specific active NINDS-supported T32 training grants can apply, and the R25 program must be affiliated with that T32. Eligibility is restricted to program director(s)/principal investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) or multi-PI teams that include at least one PD/PI who leads a T32 award made under one of these FOAs: PAR-20-076 (T32 Jointly Sponsored Institutional Predoctoral Training Program), PAR-21-149 (NINDS T32 Institutional Research Training Grant), or PAR-19-228 (NINDS T32 Institutional Translational Research Training Program). In practical terms, a PD/PI from one of those qualifying T32 awards must serve as the PD/PI or as a multi-PI on the R25 application, ensuring the postbaccalaureate program is integrated with an established neuroscience training environment.

The program is also explicitly oriented toward supporting individuals from diverse backgrounds, with the intent of improving readiness and successful progression into doctoral programs. While the FOA text does not enumerate every allowable activity in the excerpt provided, it clearly signals that applications should propose mentoring and educational approaches that are effective for preparing participants to enter and complete demanding research doctorates, and that programs should be built to keep pace with the evolving expectations of biomedical research careers.

From a clinical research standpoint, the announcement is clear about boundaries: appointed participants may not lead an independent clinical trial under this award mechanism. However, participants are allowed to gain experience in a clinical trial setting when the clinical trial is led by a mentor or co-mentor. This is an important distinction for neuroscience programs that include clinical or translational components, because it permits experiential learning in clinical research without placing independent trial leadership responsibilities on trainees supported by this R25.

In terms of applicant organizations, the FOA is aimed at domestic (U.S.) institutions and allows a wide range of eligible applicant types across government, higher education, nonprofits, and certain businesses, so long as the limited-competition T32 leadership requirement is met. The eligibility list includes state, county, city, township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (outside institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The FOA also highlights a number of institution types commonly associated with broadening participation, 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), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies. Despite listing some non-U.S. entity categories in the “other eligible applicants” section of the excerpt, the FOA’s restrictions are unambiguous: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them) are not allowed.

Administratively, this is an NIH discretionary grant in the education and health activity area, using the R25 research education mechanism. The CFDA numbers associated with the opportunity are 93.121, 93.279, and 93.853. The opportunity was created on February 10, 2022, and the original closing date listed is April 19, 2022. The excerpt does not provide a specific award ceiling or expected number of awards, indicating those fields were either not set in the provided source data or not included in the summary fields shown.

Overall, the DR Program FOA is best understood as a structured bridge program: it funds institutions to deliver a mentored, research-intensive, skill-building postbaccalaureate experience in neuroscience that is tightly connected to an existing NINDS-supported T32 training ecosystem, with the explicit aim of improving doctoral readiness and strengthening participation and success of individuals from diverse backgrounds in research-focused doctoral pathways.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Limited Competition: NIH Neuroscience Doctoral Readiness Program (DR. Program) (R25 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): 93.121, 93.279, 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-02-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-04-19. (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.

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