Program to Advance the Career Development of Scientists from Diverse Backgrounds Conducting Nutrition, Obesity, Diabetes, and Related Research (U24 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DK 20 034

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 20 034

The NIH opportunity "Program to Advance the Career Development of Scientists from Diverse Backgrounds Conducting Nutrition, Obesity, Diabetes, and Related Research" (RFA-DK-20-034) is a discretionary funding announcement that uses the cooperative agreement mechanism (U24; clinical trial optional). It sits in the food and nutrition/health space (CFDA 93.847) and is administered within NIH, specifically aligned with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) research mission. The central idea behind the program is that scientific outcomes improve when teams include people with different lived experiences and perspectives, yet researchers from groups that are nationally underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research continue to face gaps in achieving independent NIH funding. This initiative is meant to be a more coordinated, high-touch approach to changing that trajectory, particularly in fields tied to nutrition, obesity, diabetes, and related conditions.

At its core, the program aims to create a consortium of structured career-development programs that actively support postdoctoral fellows and early-career faculty scholars from nationally underrepresented backgrounds who plan to build research careers focused on NIDDK-relevant topics. Rather than funding a single training workshop or a standalone mentoring activity, the announcement calls for integrated programming that can consistently move scholars toward independence. The supported activities are expected to include professional development (for example, grant writing, study design, leadership, and research management skills), strong and sustained mentoring, networking and community-building opportunities that connect scholars to collaborators and senior investigators, and access to pilot and feasibility funding that helps scholars generate preliminary data and strengthen future grant applications. The overall intent is to address multiple barriers at once: limited mentorship networks, fewer chances to lead publishable projects early on, and reduced access to resources that make competitive NIH applications more likely.

The notice emphasizes that the program should be administered through research institutions that already have substantial NIH funding in areas aligned with NIDDK. In practice, that signals NIH is looking for applicant organizations that can demonstrate an established research environment, experienced investigators, and the infrastructure to coordinate multi-part career development activities at scale. Because this is a cooperative agreement, awardees should also expect a more hands-on partnership with NIH staff than they would see under many standard research project grants, with NIH likely having substantial programmatic involvement in shaping milestones, expectations, and consortium coordination over the project period.

Eligibility is broad across government, academic, nonprofit, and certain for-profit entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; 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 and other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible organizations. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant types that reflect the diversity-focused purpose of the program, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, tribal governments other than federally recognized tribal governments, and U.S. territories or possessions.

Foreign participation is explicitly restricted. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In other words, the program is intended to be carried out entirely within allowable U.S.-based organizational structures and project components.

The listing provided includes an original closing date of July 14, 2021, and a creation date of March 19, 2021. While the award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the excerpt, the nature of the U24 cooperative agreement and the word "consortium" suggest NIH anticipated supporting robust, coordinated programs rather than small, isolated efforts. Overall, the opportunity is designed to build a sustained pipeline to independence for underrepresented postdocs and early faculty in nutrition, obesity, diabetes, and related research areas by combining mentoring, skills development, networking, and pilot funding into a single integrated career-development ecosystem.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Program to Advance the Career Development of Scientists from Diverse Backgrounds Conducting Nutrition, Obesity, Diabetes, and Related Research (U24 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-03-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-14. (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.

Apply for RFA DK 20 034

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