Part 1. Overview Information

Key Dates

No late applications will be accepted for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

It is critical that candidates follow the Fellowship (F) instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to all requirements (both in the How to Apply - Application Guide  and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Candidates must read and follow all application instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the How to Apply - Application Guide , follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

There are several options available to submit your application through Grants.gov to NIH and Department of Health and Human Services partners. You must use one of these submission options to access the application forms for this opportunity.

1. Use the NIH ASSIST system to prepare, submit and track your application online.
2. Use an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution to prepare and submit your application to Grants.gov and eRA Commons to track your application. Check with your institutional officials regarding availability.
3. Use Grants.gov Workspace to prepare and submit your application and eRA Commons to track your application.

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

The goal of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (Parent F32) is to support promising candidates during their mentored postdoctoral training under the guidance of appropriate faculty sponsors.  The integrated program of research and training should enhance the individual's potential to develop into a productive, independent researcher. The research and training plans are expected to provide the candidate with a strong understanding of the rigorous research design, experimental methods, quantitative approaches, and data analysis. The training plan should document the need for, and the anticipated value of, the proposed mentored training in relationship to the individual's research career goals. The training plan should also facilitate the fellow's transition to the next stage of their career.

The proposed research and training plan should enhance the individual's potential to develop into a productive, independent child health researcher by providing strong mentorship, appropriate training and career development opportunities, and strong institutional support and commitment. The training plan should document the need for, and the anticipated value of, the proposed mentored training in relationship to the individual's career goals in child health research. The training plan should also facilitate the fellow's transition to the next stage of their career.

Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)

ECHO'S mission is to enhance the health of children for generations to come, with the overall scientific goal of investigating how exposure to a broad range of early environmental factors affects child health and development.  Over the entire research program, ECHO has longitudinal data from more than 40,000 pregnancies and 60,000 children from 69 maternal-child cohort studies in the U.S.  Combining data across these cohorts has yielded large and diverse participant samples, enabling power for important child health research questions and generalizability of findings.  Prenatal and child exposure data include natural and built environments, and physical, chemical, social, behavioral, and biological factors.  ECHO data prioritizes five pediatric outcome areas: pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes; upper and lower airway; obesity; neurodevelopment; and positive health–or well-being.

Deidentified data from ECHO's first 71,000 participants (including pregnancies and children) are available through the NICHD Data and Specimen Hub (DASH).  ECHO's Data Analysis Center will deposit updated data at least on yearly intervals.  DASH is a centralized resource that allows researchers to access data from ECHO and other studies via a controlled-access mechanism.  A description of the data available for analysis including the study protocol is available in the ECHO portion of the DASH platform (see Descriptive Documents).  A key ECHO goal is to catalyze research using this accessible resource by the broad scientific community, especially among emerging researchers not already supported by the ECHO Program.  ECHO data in DASH provide an exceptional opportunity for training early investigators in pursuing important scientific questions in large longitudinal studies with child health outcomes.  This NOFO seeks to advance research and training in high-priority areas of child health by stimulating the use of ECHO data broadly by postdoctoral fellows from relevant scientific disciplines.  

Specific Objectives of this NOFO:

The application should consist of a well-conceived scientific project, integrated with a comprehensive training plan designed by a collaborative discussion between the candidate fellow and sponsor. In addition to preparing the candidate to be a subject-matter expert in the proposed research area and to acquire new technical skills, the research and training plans should provide the candidate with a strong understanding of the principles of scientific research design and the tools for rigorous analytical approaches.

Goals of the NIH ECHO Program include guidance and expansion of the next generation of child health researchers. Achieving these goals within this fellowship requires experience with analysis of large longitudinal sets of data on early environmental exposures (from society to biology) and child health outcomes.

Examples of data elements available for analysis include socio-demographics; child and family health histories; pregnancy-related factors; caregiver psychosocial elements; chemical exposures; home/social environment; child physical health and functioning; child neurodevelopmental health and functioning; child health behaviors/lifestyle-related data elements; child social role performance and functioning; child sleep health; and child well-being.  Candidates may propose any scientific question appropriate to use of the ECHO data.  Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

1. Exposure-outcome associations, such as:
   • Influence of exposure to environmental contaminants during pregnancy or early childhood on neurodevelopment
   • Associations of mother's diet and weight trajectory during pregnancy with childhood obesity
   • Relationship between maternal exposures and preterm birth
   • Associations of infant sleep health with development of asthma, obesity, neurocognitive, and positive health outcomes
2. Analyses of developmental trajectories of weight-related, neurodevelopmental, or other outcomes 
3. Identification of reliable bio-behavioral, environmental, and/or familial signatures that predict positive health outcomes, including global health, life satisfaction, and/or meaning & purpose.
4. Development of new methodologies for etiology and prediction

Pre-Submission Consultation: We encourage candidates to consult with NIH scientific program staff when planning an application. Early contact provides an opportunity for NIH program staff to provide guidance on program scope and appropriateness of the proposed research and training for potential funding in response to this NOFO. Candidates should contact NIH scientific program staff as early as possible before the due date.

ECHO data on DASH have moved to a new server in the Spring of 2026. This may result in an interruption in access, with resumption of access anticipated later in 2026. Applicants can examine what data will be available for analysis in DASH using the ECHO PlatIPUS system. To gain access to PlatIPUS, please send a request through this link: Request Access to PlatIPLUS. Note: In PlatiPLUS, applicants to this NOFO should select "DASH Public" using the toggle switch at top of the Browse and Query pages

To be responsive to this announcement applications must propose to use ECHO data on DASH. Applications that do not propose use of ECHO data on DASH will be withdrawn without review.
 

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Section II. Award Information

Other Award Budget Information

Stipend levels, as well as funding amounts for tuition and fees and the institutional allowance are announced annually in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, and are also posted on the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) webpage.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this NOFO.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Higher Education Institutions - Includes all types

• Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
• Private Institutions of Higher Education

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

• Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations

• Small Businesses
• For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)

Local Governments

• State Governments
• County Governments
• City or Township Governments
• Special District Governments
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
• Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)

• Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

• None

Before submitting a fellowship application, the candidate must identify a sponsoring organization. The sponsoring organization must have staff and facilities available on site to provide a suitable environment for performing the research training described within the application. The training should occur in an environment that has appropriate human and technical resources and is demonstrably committed to training in the field(s) proposed by the candidate. The sponsoring organization may be private (profit or nonprofit) or public, including the NIH Intramural Programs and other Federal laboratories. All organizations with the appropriate resources and commitment are encouraged to apply.

The Kirschstein-NRSA F32 fellowship is designed to support research training experiences in new settings in order to maximize the acquisition of new skills and knowledge. In most cases, therefore, the sponsoring institution should be a site other than where the candidate trained as a graduate student. However, if the candidate is proposing postdoctoral training at their doctoral institution, the application must carefully document the opportunities for new research training experiences specifically designed to broaden their scientific background and to acquire new knowledge and/or technical skills that will enhance their potential to become a productive, independent investigator.

Foreign Organizations/International Collaborations

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

NIH will no longer issue awards (i.e., new, renewal, or non-competing continuation) to domestic or foreign entities that involve foreign subawards/subcontracts. All NIH-funded research involving foreign subawards/subcontracts must be submitted in response to a NOFO that is specifically designated for funded international collaborations. See NIH Grants Policy Statement 16.8 Collaborative International Research Awards.

Applications involving foreign subawards/subcontracts submitted in response to this NOFO will be deemed noncompliant and will not be considered for funding. This policy applies to all monetary international collaborations resulting in foreign subawards/subcontracts, however, it does not preclude unfunded international collaborations or foreign components, funding for foreign consultants, or procurement of unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors.

Applicant Organizations

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicant organizations should begin the registration process as soon as possible. Failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications for additional information. 

• System for Award Management (SAM) – Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code. Foreign organizations must obtain a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM.
  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)- A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.
• eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their Grants.gov registration; all registrations must be in place by time of submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
• Grants.gov Applicant organizations must have an active SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.gov registration.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s))

All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

All PD(s)/PI(s) must be registered with ORCiD. The personal profile associated with the PD(s)/PI(s) eRA Commons account must be linked to a valid ORCID ID. For more information on linking an ORCID ID to an eRA Commons personal profile see the ORCID topic in our eRA Commons online help.

Any candidate(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is invited to work with their sponsor and organization to develop an application for support. Multiple PDs/PIs are not allowed.

By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card USCIS Form I-551, or other legal verification of such status).

Before a Kirschstein-NRSA postdoctoral fellowship award can be activated, the individual must have received a PhD, MD, DO, DC, DDS, DVM, OD, DPM, ScD, EngD, DrPH, DNSc, ND (Doctor of Naturopathy), PharmD, DSW, PsyD, or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution. Certification by an authorized official of the degree-granting institution that all degree requirements have been met is also acceptable. A Kirschstein-NRSA fellowship may not be used to support the clinical years of residency training. However, these awards are appropriate for the research fellowship years of a residency program. Research clinicians must devote full-time to their proposed research training and confine clinical duties to those activities that are part of the research training program.

2. Cost Sharing

This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility

Number of Applications

NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. This means that the NIH will not accept:

• A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.
• A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application.
• An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review (see NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.3.9.4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications).

Individuals may not exceed the aggregate limit of NRSA support shown above in the Award Project Period (see Section II. Award Information). Candidates must consider any prior NRSA research training in determining the duration of support requested. Information regarding previous Kirschstein-NRSA support must be included in the application and will be considered at the time of award.

At the time of award, individuals are required to pursue their research training on a full-time basis, normally defined as 40 hours per week or as specified by the sponsoring organization in accordance with its own policies.

Before submitting the application, the candidate must identify a sponsor(s) who will supervise the proposed mentored training experience. Candidates are encouraged to identify more than one sponsor, i.e., a sponsor team, if this is deemed advantageous for their training program. When there is a sponsor team, one individual must be identified as the primary sponsor, and will be expected to coordinate the candidate's overall training.

The primary sponsor should be committed both to the candidate's research training plan and to the direct supervision of their research training project. The candidate must work with the primary sponsor(s) in preparing the application.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package

The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

It is critical that applicant organizations and fellowship candidates follow the Fellowship (F) instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide, except where instructed in this notice of funding opportunity to do otherwise (in this NOFO, in a policy notice, or other notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to the requirements in the How to Apply - Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

All page limitations described in the How to Apply - Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply - Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

Other Project Information

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: The personal profile associated with the eRA Commons username entered in the Credential field for the PD/PI (fellowship candidate) must include an ORCID ID. For more information on linking an ORCID ID to an eRA Commons personal profile see the ORCID topic in our eRA Commons online help

The PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form is comprised of the following sections:

• Candidate Section
• Research Training Plan
• Commitment to Candidate, Mentoring, and Training Environment
• Other Research Training Plan Sections
• Additional Information
• Budget
• Appendix

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

Goals, Preparedness, and Potential

All instructions in the How to Apply-Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions: 

Describe your current and prior research experience, making clear how it has prepared you for the proposed project. Describe the planned activities that will provide you with a strong foundation in epidemiology, research design, analytic techniques, and management of large datasets appropriate to the proposed research. Make clear how the proposed training and research activities will contribute to development of the technical skills, conceptual approaches, scientific knowledge, and professional skills for you to contribute to advancing ECHO's impact on child health, and to transition to the next stage of your research career.

Describe the planned opportunities to present research findings at national meetings, publish the research findings as first author, and interact with members of the scientific community at appropriate scientific meetings.

Research Training Project Specific Aims and Strategy

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Identify the skills, theories, conceptual approaches, etc., to be learned or enhanced during the award, including, as applicable, expertise in rigorous research design, experimental methods, quantitative approaches, and data analysis and interpretation, as applicable.

The proposed research and training plan should enhance the individual's potential to develop into a productive, independent researcher by providing committed mentorship, appropriate training and career development opportunities, and strong institutional support. The training plan should document the need for, and the anticipated value of, the proposed mentored training in relationship to the individual's research career goals and the individual's prior research training. The candidate should design the plan to facilitate transition to the next stage of their research career.

The mentored training experience should provide:

• A strong foundation in epidemiology, research design, analytic techniques, and managing large datasets appropriate to the proposed research and sufficient to ensure that the candidate has the knowledge and skills to generate publishable results;
• Experience conducting research using appropriate, state-of-the-art tools for accessing and analyzing the ECHO data and an expert understanding of these tools;
• Opportunities to present research findings at national meetings as the work progresses;
• Opportunities to publish the research findings as first author;
• Opportunities to interact with members of the scientific community at appropriate scientific meetings, and
• Professional skills needed to transition to the next stage of the candidate's research career.

Research Strategy

Relate the proposed project to the goals of the ECHO Program. Given that this NOFO is intended for early postdoctoral research training, NIH does not expect that candidates will include their own preliminary results. However, NIH encourages candidates to document previously published work that supports the proposed project and analytic approaches.

• Explain the importance of the problem or critical barrier to progress that the proposed project addresses.
• Describe the strengths and weaknesses in the rigor of the prior research (both published and unpublished) that serves as the key support for the proposed project.
• Explain how the proposed project will improve scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice in one or more broad fields.
• Describe how the concepts, methods, technologies, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field will be changed if the proposed aims are achieved.

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

• If the candidate is proposing to gain experience in a clinical trial as part of his or her research training, the sponsor or co-sponsor must include a statement to document leadership of the clinical trial including source of funding, NCT# and appropriate expertise to guide the candidate in any proposed clinical trials research experience. The individual receiving support for the clinical trial (i.e., the sponsor/primary mentor or a co-sponsor) is the responsible individual of record for oversight of the trial though fellows can take part in all components of a clinical trial. Oversight includes (but is not limited to): interacting with relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB) staff; reviewing all informed consent documents; reporting potential serious adverse events; and maintaining responsibility for patient safety. However, the fellow can gain experience in all these components in conjunction with the mentor or individual leading the trial.

The Sponsor should:

• Describe the roles and responsibilities that both he/she and the fellow are undertaking, including contributions to the research plan, the portion of the research ideas and plan that originated with the candidate, and the relationship between the proposed research plan and funded or unfunded research projects previously devised by the sponsor.
• Describe their qualifications to train a postdoctoral fellow who seeks mentored training in a research area relevant to child health outcomes.
• State how the proposed mentored training provides a new research direction for the candidate and how it provides a foundation for a research career relevant to child health outcomes.
• Document a detailed plan of mentored research training, including any necessary didactics to ensure that the candidate acquires robust grounding in epidemiology, study design, statistics, and other analytical tools appropriate for the proposed research area; and mentored professional development.
• Provide a milestone-driven timeline to assess the candidate's progress during the award period and describe how any necessary guided course-correction will be achieved by the candidate to ensure strong progress toward the proposed research and career development goals.
• Describe a specific plan for facilitating the candidate's transition to the next step of their research career with this fellowship award. Describe a plan for clear separation of the candidate's research and research career from the sponsor's research, including identifying the components of the research plan that the candidate may take.

Describe the institutional opportunities available to the candidate to develop professional skills, e.g., communication skills, grant-writing skills, laboratory management, leadership, and preparing future faculty. Describe the contribution of the sponsor and sponsor's research environment to development of these skills and describe the opportunities available to the candidate that are independent of the sponsor.

Appendix

Limited items are allowed in the Appendix.  Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide; any instructions provided here are in addition to the How to Apply - Application Guide instructions.

Other Plan(s)

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

A Data Management and Sharing Plan is not applicable for this NOFO.

When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the How to Apply - Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered "yes" to the question "Are Human Subjects Involved?" on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record. 

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

• Do not provide an NCT# in Section 1, item 1.5. See instruction for Sponsor(s), Collaborator(s), and Consultant(s) above.
• Do not complete Section 4 - Protocol Synopsis information or Section 5 - Other Clinical Trial-related Attachments.

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described, but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start). 

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

Applicant organizations must carefully follow the How to Apply - Application Guide, including the time period for when reference letters will be accepted. Applications lacking the appropriate required reference letters will not be reviewed. This is a separate process from submitting an application electronically. Reference letters are submitted directly through the eRA Commons Submit Reference Letter link and not through Grants.gov.

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

See Part 2. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov

4. Submission Dates and Times

Part I. contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicant organizations are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicant organizations must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH's electronic system for grants administration. NIH and Grants.gov systems check the application against many of the application instructions upon submission. Errors must be corrected and a changed/corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov on or before the application due date and time.  If a Changed/Corrected application is submitted after the deadline, the application will be considered late. Applications that miss the due date and time are subjected to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications.

Applicant organizations are responsible for viewing their application before the due date in the eRA Commons to ensure accurate and successful submission. 

Information on the submission process and a definition of on-time submission are provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

5. Intergovernmental Review (E.O. 12372)

This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review.

6. Funding Restrictions

All NIH awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The National Research Service Award (NRSA) policies apply to this program.  A Kirschstein-NRSA fellowship may not be held concurrently with another federally sponsored fellowship or similar Federal award that provides a stipend or otherwise duplicates provisions of this award.

Pre-award costs are generally not allowable for Fellowships.

7. Other Submission Requirements and Information

Applications must be submitted electronically following the instructions described in the How to Apply - Application Guide. Paper applications will not be accepted.

Applicant organizations must complete all required registrations before the application due date. Section III. Eligibility Information contains information about registration.

For assistance with your electronic application or for more information on the electronic submission process, visit How to Apply - Application Guide. If you encounter a system issue beyond your control that threatens your ability to complete the submission process on-time, you must follow the Dealing with System Issues guidance. For assistance with application submission, contact the Application Submission Contacts in Section VII.

Important reminders:

All PD(s)/PI(s) and sponsor(s) must include their eRA Commons ID in the Credential field of the Senior/Key Person Profile form. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the credential field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application to NIH.

The applicant organization must ensure that the unique entity identifier provided on the application is the same identifier used in the organization's profile in the eRA Commons and for the System for Award Management. Additional information may be found in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

See more tips for avoiding common errors.

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness and compliance with application instructions by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness by components of participating organizations, NIH. Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed. 

Recipients or subrecipients must submit any information related to violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery, or gratuity violations potentially affecting the federal award. See Mandatory Disclosures, 2 CFR 200.113 and NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4.1.35.

Send written disclosures to the NIH Chief Grants Management Officer listed on the Notice of Award for the IC that funded the award and to the HHS Office of Inspector Grant Self Disclosure Program at grantdisclosures@oig.hhs.gov. 

Applicant organizations are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy.

Any instructions provided here are in addition to the instructions in the policy.

Section V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

Only the review criteria described below will be considered in the review process. Applications submitted to the NIH in support of the NIH mission are evaluated for scientific and technical merit through the NIH peer review system.

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood that the fellowship will enhance the candidate's potential for, and commitment to, a productive independent scientific research career in a health-related field, in consideration of the scored and additional review criteria.

Score the overall merits of the application. Use the three review criteria areas defined below to evaluate the proposed fellowship application.

Evaluate the overall merit of the application considering the three review criteria areas defined below. For each criteria area, provide a score and comments addressing the elements listed. 

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will evaluate the following additional items while determining merit, and in providing an overall impact score, but will not give separate scores for these items.

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider each of the following items, but will not give scores for these items, and should not consider them in providing an overall impact score.

2. Review and Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s), convened by CSR, in accordance with NIH peer review policies and practices, using the stated review criteria. Assignment to a Scientific Review Group will be shown in the eRA Commons.

As part of the scientific peer review, all applications will receive a written critique.

Applications may undergo a selection process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest merit (generally the top half of applications under review) will be discussed and assigned an overall impact score.

Appeals of initial peer review will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this NOFO.

Applications will be assigned on the basis of established PHS referral guidelines to the appropriate NIH Institute or Center. Applications will compete for available funds with all other recommended applications submitted in response to this NOFO. Following initial peer review, recommended applications will receive a second level of review by the Council of Councils. The following will be considered in making funding decisions, consistent with applicable law:

• Merit of the proposed project as determined by scientific peer review.
• Availability of funds.
• Relevance of the proposed project to program priorities.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

After the peer review of the application is completed, the PD/PI will be able to access their Summary Statement (written critique) via the eRA Commons. Refer to Part 1 for dates for peer review, advisory council review, and earliest start date.

Information regarding the disposition of applications is available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.4.4 Disposition of Applications.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

A Notice of Award (NoA) is the official authorizing document notifying the recipient that an award has been made and that funds may be requested from the designated HHS payment system or office. The NoA is signed by the Grants Management Officer and emailed to the recipient's business official. 

In accepting the award, the recipient agrees that any activities under the award are subject to all provisions currently in effect or implemented during the period of the award, other Department regulations and policies in effect at the time of the award, and applicable statutory provisions.

Recipients must comply with any funding restrictions described in Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions. Any pre-award costs incurred before receipt of the NoA are at the applicant's own risk.  For more information on the Notice of Award, please refer to the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 5. The Notice of Award and NIH Grants & Funding website, see Award Process.

Institutional Review Board or Independent Ethics Committee Approval: Recipient institutions must ensure that protocols are reviewed by their IRB or IEC. To help ensure the safety of participants enrolled in NIH-funded studies, the recipient must provide NIH copies of documents related to all major changes in the status of ongoing protocols.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

The following Federal wide and HHS-specific policy requirements apply to awards funded through NIH:

• The rules listed at 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.
• All NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards include the NIH Grants Policy Statement as part of the terms and conditions in the Notice of Award (NoA). The NoA includes the requirements of this NOFO. For these terms of award, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart A: General and Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards, Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Recipients, and Activities.

All federal statutes and regulations relevant to federal financial assistance, including those highlighted in NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 4 Public Policy Requirements, Objectives and Other Appropriation Mandates.

By applying for or accepting federal funds from HHS, recipients certify compliance with all federal antidiscrimination laws and these requirements and that complying with those laws is a material condition of receiving federal funding streams. Recipients are responsible for ensuring subrecipients, contractors, and partners also comply.

Applicants and recipients are strongly encouraged to refer to the NIH Director's Statement of Priorities, entitled "Advancing NIH's Mission Through a Unified Strategy."

Recipients are responsible for ensuring that their activities comply with all applicable federal regulations. Pursuant to 2 CFR 200.340, by accepting an NIH award, the recipient agrees that continued funding for the award is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds, recipient satisfactory performance, compliance with the Terms and Conditions of the award, and may also otherwise be terminated, to the extent authorized by law, if the agency determines that the award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities, in line with 2 CFR 200.340(a)(4).

Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, Div. N, § 405, Pub. Law 114-113, 6 USC § 1533(d), the HHS Secretary has established a common set of voluntary, consensus-based, and industry-led guidelines, best practices, methodologies, procedures, and processes.

Successful recipients under this NOFO agree that:

When recipients, subrecipients, or third-party entities have:

• ongoing and consistent access to HHS owned or operated information or operational technology systems; and
• receive, maintain, transmit, store, access, exchange, process, or utilize personal identifiable information (PII) or personal health information (PHI) obtained from the awarding HHS agency for the purposes of executing the award.

Cybersecurity plans and procedures must at minimum include the following:

• Develop cybersecurity plans and procedures, modeled after the NIST Cybersecurity framework, to protect HHS systems and data:
  • Identify:
    • Develop an inventory of all assets and accounts with access to HHS owned and operated information or operational technology systems or which obtain PII or PHI for the purposes of the award.
  • Protect:
    • Limit access to HHS owned and operated systems to only those in need of access to complete reward activities.
    • Require all staff to complete annual cybersecurity and privacy awareness training. Visit 405(d): Knowledge on Demand (hhs.gov) to obtain free trainings, if needed.
    • Enable multifactor authentication for all employees, subrecipients, and third-party entities to access HHS owned and operated information or operational technology systems.
    • Regularly backup sensitive data and test backups.
  • Detect:
    • Install anti-virus or anti-malware software on all devices, servers, and accounts used to connect to HHS owned and operated systems.
  • Respond:
    • Develop an incident response plan. See Incident-Response-Plan-Basics_508c.pdf (cisa.gov) to learn about developing incident response plans.
    • Have cybersecurity incident reporting procedures that ensure the relevant HHS awarding agencies are notified of a cybersecurity incident within 48 hours of discovery. A cybersecurity incident is defined as an unplanned interruption to a technology service or reduction in the quality of a technology service, or an occurrence that actually or potentially jeopardizes the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an information system or the information the system processes, stores, or transmits.
  • Recover:
    • Investigate incidents and plug any security gaps identified. 

All activities proposed in your application and budget narrative must align with applicable law, including but not limited to statutes, executive orders, federal regulations and applicable judicial holdings.  Accordingly, discretionary awards shall not be used to fund, promote, encourage, subsidize, or facilitate; racial preferences or other forms of racial discrimination by the recipient, including activities where race or intentional proxies for race will be used as a selection criterion for employment or program participation; denial by the recipient of the sex binary in humans, or the belief that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic; illegal immigration; or any other initiatives that compromise public safety.  If an application does not align, the application will not receive funding to the extent permitted by law and applicable court orders.

For applications involving substance abuse, the application must not support harm reduction. Please see Updated Funding Guidance for Recipients on Supplies and Services.

As of October 1, 2025, HHS has adopted 2 CFR Part 200, with some modifications included in 2 CFR Part 300. These regulations replace those in 45 CFR Part 75. However, for NIH, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2026, (P.L. 119-75, Division B, Title II, Sec. 224), the provisions relating to indirect costs in 45 CFR 75 continue to apply to NIH awards. Consistent with the statute, NIH will not apply updated thresholds outlined within 2 CFR Part 200, at this time.

As specified in the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, Kirschstein-NRSA recipients incur a service payback obligation for the first 12 months of postdoctoral support. Policies regarding the Kirschstein-NRSA payback obligation are explained in the NIH Grants Policy Statement; applicants may also wish to review Frequently Asked Questions for more details. The taxability of stipends is described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Fellowships funded primarily for educational purposes are exempted from the PHS invention requirements and thus invention reporting is not required. More details, including exceptions for fellows training at NIH are provided in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

3. Data Management and Sharing

A Data Management and Sharing Plan is not applicable for this NOFO.

4. Reporting

When multiple years are involved, recipients will be required to submit the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually and financial statements as required in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.4.1 Reporting.  To learn more about post-award monitoring and reporting, see the NIH Grants & Funding website, see Post-Award Monitoring and Reporting. 

Other Fellowship Reporting Requirements:

• Individuals admitted to the United States as Permanent Residents must submit notarized evidence of legal admission prior to the award.
• The fellowship award recipient has up to six months from the issue date on the Notice of Award to activate the award using the Kirschstein-NRSA Individual Fellowship Activation Notice (PHS 416-5). Under unusual circumstances, the activation period may be extended at the request of the fellow. Such a request must be countersigned by the sponsor and an authorized institutional official.
• For the individual's initial 12 months of Kirschstein-NRSA postdoctoral support, a signed, original Payback Agreement Form (PHS 6031) must accompany the Activation Notice.
• At the conclusion of a fellowship, the fellow must submit a Termination Notice (PHS 416-7) via xTrain to the NIH within 30 days of termination. Fellows with service payback requirements must notify the NIH of any change in address and submit Annual Payback Activities Certification Forms (PHS 6031-1) until the payback service obligation is satisfied.

5. Evaluation

In carrying out its stewardship of human resource-related programs, NIH may request information essential to an assessment of the effectiveness of this program from databases and from participants themselves.  Participants may be contacted after the completion of this award for periodic updates on various aspects of their employment history, publications, support from research grants or contracts, honors and awards, professional activities, and other information helpful in evaluating the impact of the program.

Section VII. Agency Contacts

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential candidates.

eRA Service Desk - Questions regarding ASSIST, eRA Commons, application errors and warnings, documenting system problems that threaten submission by the due date, and post-submission issues.

Grants.gov Support Center - Questions regarding Grants.gov registration and services (e.g., Workspace, subscriptions).

Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)
Email: ECHO.NOFO@nih.gov

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Email: NIMHDDIBBSScientificTeam@mail.nih.gov

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Email: NIDCRtraining@nidcr.nih.gov

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Email: NINDSFellowships@ninds.nih.gov

Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
Email: orwhcareers@nih.gov

Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
Email: NOFOReviewContact@csr.nih.gov

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Email: NICHDGrantsManagement@mail.nih.gov

Section VIII. Other Information

Recently issued trans-NIH policy notices may affect your application submission. A full list of policy notices published by NIH is provided in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Please note that the NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are a set of programs to attract and retain promising early-stage investigators in research careers by helping them to repay their student loans. Recipients of fellowship awards are encouraged to consider applying for an extramural LRP award.

Awards are made under the authorization of Section 487 of the Public Health Service Act as amended (42 USC 288) and under Federal Regulations 42 CFR 66.