NIAID Career Transition Award (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 19 371

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 371

The NIAID Career Transition Award (K22, Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is a National Institutes of Health grant opportunity intended to help postdoctoral fellows make the jump into independent faculty-level research careers. Its core goal is career development: supporting researchers as they move into an assistant professor position (or an equivalent role) and begin establishing themselves as independent biomedical scientists. In practice, this mechanism is meant to provide structured support at a key inflection point, when a postdoc is building a distinct research niche, demonstrating independence from mentors, and laying the groundwork for a long-term research program.

A central feature of this specific Funding Opportunity Announcement is the restriction on clinical trials. It is designed for applicants whose proposed research will not include leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary study to a clinical trial. That said, the announcement does allow an applicant to gain experience on a clinical trial as long as the trial is led by a mentor or co-mentor. In other words, clinical trial exposure is allowed in a training or mentored capacity, but the K22-supported candidate cannot be the person directing an independent clinical trial effort under this FOA.

The opportunity is administered by the National Institutes of Health under a discretionary grant funding instrument, with a health-focused funding activity category and CFDA number 93.855. The funding opportunity title is "NIAID Career Transition Award (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)," and the opportunity number is PAR-19-371. The record lists a creation date of September 9, 2019, and an original closing date of January 7, 2022, reflecting the posted window for applications under this announcement.

Eligibility spans a wide range of organization types, reflecting the NIH’s broad applicant landscape. Eligible applicants include many public-sector entities (such as state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and independent school districts), as well as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. Tribal eligibility is also included, covering federally recognized Native American tribal governments, as well as Native American tribal organizations and certain tribal governments that are not federally recognized. The announcement also lists public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, in both cases other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses, along with an "Other" category.

The FOA additionally highlights categories of "other eligible applicants" that commonly reflect federally recognized institution types and community-serving entities. These include Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), eligible federal agencies, and faith-based or community-based organizations. It also references regional organizations and U.S. territories or possessions as eligible categories.

At the same time, the announcement is explicit about restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic (non-U.S.) institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, and foreign components, as defined by the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. The net effect is that the applicant organization and project components must be fully domestic under NIH rules for this specific opportunity.

Overall, this K22 is best understood as a career transition mechanism: it is aimed at helping postdoctoral researchers move into independent positions and start building a sustainable research program, while drawing a clear boundary around the kinds of clinical trial leadership activities that can and cannot be proposed under this particular "independent clinical trial not allowed" version of the award.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIAID Career Transition Award (K22 Independent 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): 93.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-09-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-01-07. (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 PAR 19 371

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