NICHD Research Education Programs

Overview

The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.

To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on:

• Courses for Skills Development: For example, advanced courses in a specific discipline or research area, clinical procedures for research, or specialized research techniques.
• Research Experiences: Applications are strongly encouraged to include hands-on research experiences as part of the education program.

Research education programs may complement ongoing research training and education occurring at the applicant institution, but the proposed educational experiences must be distinct from those training and education programs currently receiving Federal support. R25 programs may augment institutional research training programs (e.g., T32, T90) but cannot be used to replace or substitute for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) programs.

In order to remain at the cutting edge of science, researchers, including those who have completed their formal education and fellowships, need training to master new analytical techniques, technologies, and data sources. This FOA invites applications to develop and conduct short-term research education programs to improve the knowledge and research skills of biomedical and behavioral scientists conducting research in areas relevant to the mission of NICHD, including reproductive, developmental, behavioral, social, and rehabilitative processes that contribute to the health and well-being of newborns, infants, children, adults, families, and populations. Programs should be unique and provide compelling value to students and/or investigators in the field. Depending on the goals of the proposed training programs, the duration of the short courses can vary from one week or less to a maximum of 12 weeks. Recurring courses are allowed, if justified.

R25 programs may be proposed in any research area relevant to the mission of NICHD. The NICHD mission is to lead research and training to understand human development, improve reproductive health, enhance the lives of children and adolescents, and optimize abilities for all. The NICHD's broad research portfolio includes research related to conception and pregnancy; typical and atypical development in childhood; childhood trauma, injury, and critical illness; the transition from adolescence to adulthood; reproductive health; rehabilitation; intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities; and population dynamics across the lifespan. See NICHD’s Extramural Scientific Branches and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research for detailed information on research priorities and activities.

This FOA will support creative educational activities that focus primarily on research skills development. Although activities focused primarily on mentoring activities or professional skills development are not within the scope of this FOA, the informal mentoring activities and professional skills development that are usually associated with courses for research skills development are permitted.

This program encourages:

• Courses that include both didactic and hands-on research experiences
• Partnerships across disciplines and institutions
• Train-the-trainers models

The audience for the educational program may include individuals from the upper undergraduate to the professorial level.

Proposed research education programs submitted to this FOA are expected to be designed for, and available to, a broad audience.

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

See full NOFO for areas of particular interest, as well as activities that are not within the scope or are of low program priority.

Although a letter of intent is not required, is not binding, and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application, the information that it contains allows IC staff to estimate the potential review workload and plan the review. LOI due 30 days prior to application receipt date.