Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions with NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30) | PA 20 248

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 20 248

The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions with NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30), funding opportunity number PA-20-248, is an NIH fellowship program meant to support predoctoral students who are already enrolled in an integrated dual-doctoral training pathway and who are training to become physician- or clinician-scientists. In practical terms, it targets students in combined programs such as MD/PhD as well as other dual-degree tracks that pair a clinical doctorate with a PhD, including examples like DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, AuD/PhD, and DVM/PhD. The central aim is to strengthen the blend of rigorous research training and clinical training so that the fellow is better positioned to develop into an independent, productive clinician-scientist whose work aligns with the health-related research missions of participating NIH Institutes and Centers.

A key expectation of this F30 is that the applicant proposes a well-integrated training plan rather than treating the research and clinical portions of the degree as separate tracks. The application is expected to lay out both (1) a dissertation research project in a scientific, health-relevant area that fits within NIH mission areas and (2) a thoughtful, coordinated plan for research and clinical development that clearly explains how the fellowship period will build the candidate’s skills, knowledge, and trajectory toward a long-term clinician-scientist career. The fellowship is explicitly framed as a career-development step during the predoctoral years, with reviewers looking for a clear rationale that the fellowship experience will add value beyond what the student would receive through standard program support, and that it will measurably increase the candidate’s potential for independence and impact.

This specific Parent F30 announcement is also careful about the type of clinical trial activity that is allowed. It is designed for applicants whose proposed work does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial. However, it does allow the fellow to gain research experience within a clinical trial environment as long as the trial is led by a sponsor or co-sponsor rather than being directed independently by the fellow. In other words, applicants can propose clinically grounded research training and experience that interfaces with an existing trial, but the fellowship is not intended to fund a project where the trainee is the primary driver responsible for initiating and leading the trial itself.

Eligibility, at the organizational level, is broad across U.S.-based institutions and can include public or state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and a range of nonprofit and for-profit entities (including small businesses), as long as all NIH and FOA requirements are met. The opportunity explicitly notes inclusion of several institution types often highlighted in federal eligibility language, such as 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 eligible agencies of the federal government. At the same time, it draws a firm boundary around foreign eligibility: non-U.S. (foreign) institutions cannot apply, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. That said, foreign components, as NIH defines them in its Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which generally means a U.S. applicant organization may include a justified international element in the research or training plan under NIH rules, even though the main applicant institution must be domestic.

From an administrative perspective, this is an NIH discretionary grant mechanism categorized under a broad set of public-purpose areas (including education and health), and it is associated with multiple NIH CFDA program numbers listed in the source data. The original closing date shown in the provided record is October 26, 2020, and the listing does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the excerpt provided, which is common in some summarized postings where those figures can vary by institute, fiscal year, and NIH budget decisions. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a structured, individual-level fellowship intended to help dual-degree predoctoral trainees produce a strong dissertation research output while also building a cohesive training narrative that convincingly prepares them for the demands of a career that bridges clinical practice and biomedical or health-related research.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions with NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.121, 93.172, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.307, 93.351, 93.398, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.847, 93.855, 93.859, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-06-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-10-26. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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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