Research Program Award (R35 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA NS 20 030

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA NS 20 030

The Research Program Award (R35 Clinical Trial Optional), funding opportunity number RFA-NS-20-030, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) program run through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). It is a reissue of an earlier announcement (RFA-NS-18-032) and is designed to provide long-term, flexible support to established NINDS-funded investigators whose track records show they are well positioned to make major, sustained contributions to neuroscience. Rather than funding a narrowly defined project with rigid specific aims, this award is intended to support an investigator's broader research program, giving them room to adapt, pivot, and pursue new directions as discoveries and opportunities emerge.

A central feature of the R35 RPA is stability. The award can provide support for up to 8 years, with a funding level generally tied to (and described as commensurate with) the PD/PI's recent NINDS support. The program is meant to reduce the churn that comes from constantly preparing multiple applications and managing overlapping awards, which in turn can free up time for conducting research, overseeing a lab, and mentoring junior scientists. NINDS also emphasizes that this longer runway should enable investigators to take greater intellectual risks, tackle problems that require longer time horizons, test bold ideas, and extend prior discoveries into new and potentially transformative areas. Clinical trials are optional under this opportunity, meaning applicants may propose clinical trial work if appropriate, but they are not required to do so.

All proposed research must fall squarely within the NINDS mission area. Applications that primarily belong to the mission space of another NIH Institute or Center, or that sit outside NINDS priorities, are not intended to be supported through this mechanism. In practical terms, applicants need to frame their overall program as clearly aligned with NINDS-relevant neuroscience and neurological disorder research, since mission fit is a gatekeeping consideration for this award.

Eligibility is intentionally narrow and focused on investigators with a sustained pattern of NINDS R01-level funding. To apply, an investigator must currently hold at least one active NINDS R01 or an R01-equivalent award. For this program, NINDS defines R01-equivalent awards as R00, R01, R37, R56, DP1, or DP2. In addition, the applicant must have had an active NINDS R01-equivalent grant in each of the past five years, with no more than one of those years being covered by a no-cost extension. This requirement reflects the program's goal of investing in investigators who have already demonstrated consistent productivity and competitiveness in NINDS-funded research.

A wide range of organization types are listed as eligible applicants in the opportunity data, including various levels of government (state, county, city/township, and special districts), independent school districts, public and private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments and certain tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses, among others. The narrative also highlights categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander serving institutions, as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and eligible federal agencies. At the same time, foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as applicant organizations, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply; however, foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which can permit certain international collaborations under the right structure.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant in the health category (CFDA 93.853) offered by NIH. The source record lists an original closing date of August 14, 2020, and does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the excerpt provided. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an NINDS mechanism intended to reward and empower consistently funded investigators by consolidating and stabilizing support for an integrated research program, while encouraging ambitious, longer-term, and potentially higher-risk neuroscience research that remains within the NINDS mission.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research Program Award (R35 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-05-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-08-14. (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 NS 20 030

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