PAR-27-078-Full-Announcement.html

Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information

Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

National Eye Institute (NEI)

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Funding Opportunity Title

Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Required)

Activity Code

R15 Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)

Announcement Type

Reissue of

PAR-21-357

Related Notices

Check for any recent Notices of NIH Policy Changes that may impact application requirements.

Funding Opportunity Number (FON)

PAR-27-078

Companion Funding Opportunity

PAR-25-134

, R15 Research Enhancement Awards (REA)

PAR-25-148

PAR-25-298

Number of Applications

See Part 2, Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Assistance Listing Number(s)

93.866, 93.173, 93.242, 93.307, 93.361, 93.172, 93.393, 93.394, 93.395, 93.399, 93.867, 93.273, 93.279, 93.865, 93.837, 93.838, 93.233, 93.839, 93.840

Funding Opportunity Purpose

The purpose of the Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools is to support small scale research grants at institutions that do not receive substantial funding from the NIH, with an emphasis on providing biomedical research experiences primarily for health professional, undergraduate and graduate students and enhancing the research environment at applicant institutions.

Eligible institutions must award baccalaureate or advanced science degrees and have received no more than $6 million dollars per year of NIH support (in both direct and F&A/indirect costs) in 4 of the last 7 fiscal years. For institutions composed of multiple schools and colleges, the $6 million funding limit is based on the amount of NIH funding received by all the schools and colleges within the institution as a whole.

Help determining the Organization Funding Level can be found here or https://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/r15.htm This REAP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports investigator-initiated mechanistic and/or minimal risk clinical trials addressing the mission and research interests of the participating NIH institutes. For purposes of this NOFO, minimal risk clinical trials are defined as those that do not require FDA oversight, do not intend to formally establish efficacy, and have low risks to potentially cause physical or psychological harm.

Funding Opportunity Announcement Goal(s)

To encourage biomedical, social, and behavioral research and research training directed toward greater understanding of the aging process and the diseases, special problems, and needs of people as they age.

Key Dates

Posted Date

May 29, 2026

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

June 10, 2026

The following table includes NIH standard due dates marked with an asterisk.

July 10, 2026

July 10, 2026

Not Applicable

April 2027

October 25, 2026 *

October 25, 2026 *

Not Applicable

July 2027

February 25, 2027 *

February 25, 2027 *

Not Applicable

December 2027

June 25, 2027 *

June 25, 2027 *

Not Applicable

April 2028

October 25, 2027 *

October 25, 2027 *

Not Applicable

July 2028

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

Expiration Date

October 26, 2027

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Overview Information Key Dates Part 2. Full Text of Announcement Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III. Eligibility Information Section IV. Application and Submission Information Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII. Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description

Pre-consultation with IC staff Participating NIH Institutes and Centers are indicated in Part 1. Components of Participating Organizations. For additional scientific program information and for pre-application guidance, applicants are encouraged to contact the Scientific/Research Contact(s) in Part 2. Section VII with research interests relevant to the applicant's proposed topic. Consultation with relevant NIH staff prior to the application due date is strongly encouraged for new and resubmission applications.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is continuing to make a special effort to stimulate research at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate and/or advanced degrees for a significant number of the Nation's research institutions that have not been major recipients of NIH support. Since Fiscal Year (FY) 1985 Congressional appropriations for the NIH have included funds for this initiative, known as the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program, that was intended to focus on undergraduate institutions (PAR-21-155). To complement the AREA program, this NOFO specifically supports eligible health professional schools and graduate schools to provide research experiences to health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students pursuing biomedical or behavioral research.

The three objectives of this NOFO are to: (1) provide support for meritorious research; (2) strengthen the research environment at these institutions; and (3) give health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students an opportunity to gain significant biomedical research experience through active involvement in the research. For the purposes of this NOFO, health professional schools and colleges are accredited institutions that provide education and training leading to a health professional degree, including but not limited to: BSN, MSN, DNP, MD, DDS, DO, PharmD, DVM, OD, DPT, DC, ND, DPM, MOT, OTD, DPT, MS-SLP, CScD, SLPD, AuD, MSPO, MSAT, and MPH. Eligible health professional schools/colleges may include schools or colleges of nursing, medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, public health, optometry, allied health, chiropractics, naturopathy, podiatry, rehabilitation medicine, physical therapy, orthotics & prosthetics, kinesiology, occupational therapy and psychology. Accreditation must be provided by a body approved for such purpose by the Secretary of Education.

The REAP program will enable qualified scientists to receive support for small-scale research projects. It is anticipated that investigators supported under the REAP program will benefit from the opportunity to conduct independent research; that the recipient institution will benefit from a research environment strengthened through REAP grants; and that students at recipient institutions will benefit from exposure to and participation in scientific research in the biomedical sciences so that they consider careers in biomedical research. The REAP NOFO emphasizes the engagement and inclusion of health professional, undergraduates and/or graduate students in research.

The research project must involve health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students and the research team must be composed primarily of health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students. Student involvement in the research project may include participation in the design of experiments and controls, collection and analysis of data, execution and troubleshooting of experiments, participation in research meetings, and discussion of future directions. When applicable, it is highly desirable that student participation also include presentation at local and/or national meetings, publication of journal articles, and collaborative interactions. The REAP is a research grant program, not a training or fellowship program. As such, applications should not include training plans such as didactic training or non-research activities relating to professional development. This NOFO does not provide support for research at undergraduate-focused institutions, and investigators from those institutions should apply to PAR-21-154 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Required). Additional information on R15 programs can be found at: NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15).

A REAP application submitted to this NOFO may include other investigators, such as collaborators or consultants, or other individuals such as high school students, post baccalaureate participants, postdoctoral fellows, or clinical fellows. However, involvement of such individuals does not fulfill the goal to engage health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students in eligible environments in research.

This NOFO does not provide support for research at undergraduate-focused institutions, and investigators from those institutions should apply to PAR-21-154 - Academic Research Enhancement Award for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Required). Additional information on R15 programs can be found at: NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15).

All applications submitted to this Clinical Trial Required REAP NOFO must propose a clinical trial. This NOFO supports investigator-initiated clinical trials proposing mechanistic and/or low/minimal risk studies, with the goal of producing clinical findings that have significant public health impact. The NIH defines a clinical trial as a research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions or experimental conditions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions/manipulations on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes ( NIHGPS 1.2 Definition of Terms).

Clinical trials considered responsive to this NOFO must meet the following criteria:

A mechanistic clinical trial meets the definition of a clinical trial and is designed to explore or understand a biological or behavioral process, the pathophysiology of a disease, or the mechanism of action of an intervention (i.e., a mechanistic trial is not a test of efficacy or effectiveness of an intervention). Research that is designed to understand a biological or behavioral process or the pathophysiology of a disease (but not the more applied goal of the mechanism of action of an intervention or therapeutic), is supported through this NOFO.

Proposed studies should be hypothesis-driven and produce research data/evidence that are necessary to inform core scientific design, implementation and issues essential to advance scientific knowledge.

Applicants are encouraged to consult the NIH guidance on clinical trials prior to submission: Does Your Human Subjects Research Study Meet the NIH Definition of a Clinical Trial? | grants.nih.gov Investigators who are solely proposing non-clinical trial human subjects research (e.g., observational, epidemiological, secondary data analyses, device development), should apply to the Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) funding opportunity (PAR-22-060).

Applicants are encouraged to consult the Frequently Asked Questions website and the NIH Research Enhancement Award R15 website for more information about this program.

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

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument

Grant: A financial assistance mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Application Types Allowed

New

Renewal

Resubmission

Revision

The OER Glossary and the How to Apply Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this NOFO.

Clinical Trial?

Required: Only accepting applications that propose clinical trial(s).

Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Award Budget

Applicants may request up to $375,000 in direct costs, excluding consortium F&A for the entire project period of up to 3 years.

Award Project Period

The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is 3 years.

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

Eligible Organizations

Additional Eligibility Guidance A signed letter is required from the Provost or similar official with institution-wide responsibility verifying the eligibility of the applicant institution at the time of application submission according to the eligibility criteria indicated above. Consult the application instructions for "Other Attachments" on the SF424(R&R) Other Project Information form in Section IV.2 Instructions for Application Submission. Final eligibility will be validated by NIH prior to award.

To assist in determining eligibility, organizations are encouraged to use the NIH RePORT website under NIH Awards by Location & Organization and to consult the NIH Research Enhancement Award R15 website.

A REAP grant is permitted to have a subcontract to a non-REAP-eligible institution. However, applicants should keep the goals of the REAP program in mind when preparing the application, which include strengthening the research environment of eligible institutions and engaging students from eligible institutions to research. The majority of the research must be directed by the PD(s)/PI(s) at the grantee institution.

Undergraduate-focused institutions with undergraduate enrollment greater than graduate enrollment should apply to PAR-25-134, "Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" or PAR-25-148, "Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Required)".

Foreign Organizations/ International Collaborations NIH will no longer issue awards (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. This new requirement was effective, May 1, 2025.

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.

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 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.

Required Registrations

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 applicants 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 the 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.

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.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the How to Apply-Application Guide.

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

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

The 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).

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 applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) 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 Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

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

Instructions for Application Submission

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.

SF424(R&R) Cover All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations All instructions in the How to How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

Other Attachments: The application must include a PDF-formatted letter named "ProvostLetter.pdf" (without quotation marks). For MPI applications a signed Provost letter is required from each involved institution. The letter must be signed by the Provost or similar official with institution-wide responsibility attesting to the following information:

Applications that do not contain this signed letter will be withdrawn without review.

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

Biographical Sketch: The PD(s)/PI(s) should include a summary of their previous and/or current experience supervising undergraduate and/or graduate students in research in the Personal Statement as part of the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement. The PD(s)/PI(s) should indicate which peer-reviewed publications or other research products involved undergraduate and/or graduate students under their supervision.

The PD(s)/PI(s) should indicate how health professional, undergraduate, and/or graduate student researchers helped disseminate research results. Products for dissemination may include, but are not limited to, presentations, posters, publications, and datasets.

R&R or Modular Budget All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Modular Budget (direct costs of $250,000 or less):

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Budget Period 1: Direct Costs Direct Costs less Consortium F&A: Select the appropriate dollar amount from the drop-down list. This number must not exceed $250,000.

Budget Justification:

Personnel Justification: Since a primary objective of the REAP is to engage health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students in meritorious research, the research team must be composed primarily of health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students from the applicant institution/REAP-eligible component. Indicate aspects of the proposed research in which students will participate. If participating students have not yet been individually identified, the number and academic level of those to be involved should be provided. If there are any Collaborators or Consultants for the project, provide their names, organizational affiliations, and the services they will perform.

R&R Budget (direct costs of $250,001 to $375,000):

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Budget Period 1: Direct Costs Total Direct Costs less Consortium F&A: This number must not exceed $375,000.

Budget Justification:

Personnel Justification: Since a primary objective of the REAP is to engage health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students in meritorious research, the research team must be composed primarily of health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students from the applicant institution/REAP-eligible component. Indicate aspects of the proposed research in which students will participate. If participating students have not yet been individually identified, the number and academic level of those to be involved should be provided. If there are any Collaborators or Consultants for the project, provide their names, organizational affiliations, and the services they will perform.

R&R Subaward Budget

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

PHS 398 Research Plan All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Research Strategy: Describe how the proposed plan can achieve the specific aims using a research team composed primarily of health professional, undergraduate and/or graduate students. Describe how students will be engaged in and supervised in conducting hands-on, rigorous research. Describe how students will participate in research activities such as planning, execution, and/or analysis of the research. Describe any other plans for student involvement, such as presentation at local or national meetings, participation in publication of research findings and development of, or participation in, collaborative activities. Formal training plans (e.g., non-research activities, didactic training, seminars) should not be provided, although a brief description of activities related to enhancing students' research capabilities and progress (e.g., the use of individual development plans, etc.) is permitted.

Progress Report Publication List: For renewals, when listing publications, manuscripts accepted for publication, patents, and other printed materials that have resulted from the project, note which of these products have included the work of students conducting research supported by the REAP grant.

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

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 (DMS Plan) is required for any NIH-funded or conducted research that will generate scientific data. Applicants must submit the DMS Plan at the time of application using the NIH DMS Plan Format Page. The DMS Plan must address the elements in the structured format. Where the DMS Plan Format Page requires a "Yes or No" response, no additional narrative is allowed.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information 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

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.

PHS Assignment Request Form

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. Applicants 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). Applicants 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.

Applicants 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.

Pre-award costs are allowable only as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 7.9.1 Selected Items of Cost.

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.

Applicants 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) 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. See Section III of this NOFO for information on registration requirements.

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, NIH. Applications that are incomplete or non-compliant will not be reviewed.

Mandatory Disclosure

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.

Post Submission Materials Applicants are required to follow the instructions for post-submission materials, as described in the policy

Provost letters may be solicited at the sole initiative and discretion of NIH.

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.

For this particular NOFO, note the following:

This NOFO has three objectives: (1) provide support for meritorious research at health professional or graduate institutions or institutional components; (2) strengthen the research environment at these institutions/components; and (3) give students opportunities to gain significant biomedical research experience through active involvement in the research.

Scientific foundation for the proposed research should be established using preliminary data (if available) and/or published data. Although preliminary data are not required for an R15 application, they may be included if available.

A proposed Clinical Trial application may include study design, methods, and intervention that are not by themselves innovative but address important questions or unmet needs. Additionally, the results of the clinical trial may indicate that further clinical development of the intervention is unwarranted or lead to new avenues of scientific investigation.

Overall Impact

Reviewers will provide an overall impact score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to make important scientific contributions to the research field(s) involved, while providing research opportunities to undergraduate or graduate or health professional students and strengthening the research environment of the institution, in consideration of the following review criteria and additional review criteria (as applicable for the project proposed).

Scored Review Criteria

Reviewers will consider Factors 1, 2 and 3 in the determination of scientific merit, and in providing an overall impact score. In addition, Factors 1 and 2 will each receive a separate criterion score. An application does not need to be strong in all categories to be judged as a high impact R15 application. For example, a solid and interesting scientific research project that is not by its nature innovative or paradigm-shifting, and includes a good plan to engage undergraduate or graduate or health professional students in primary research may be considered a strong R15 application.

Factor 1. Importance of the Research (Significance and Innovation)

Innovation

Factor 2. Rigor and Feasibility (Approach)

Rigor:

For applications involving human subjects, including clinical trials, assess the adequacy of inclusion plans as appropriate for the scientific goals of the research. Considerations of appropriateness may include disease/condition/behavior incidence, prevalence, or population burden, population representation, and/or current state of the science.

Feasibility:

Factor 3. Expertise and Resources (Investigator(s) and Environment)

Environment

Additional Review Criteria

As applicable for the project proposed, reviewers will consider the following additional items while determining scientific and technical merit, but will not give criterion scores for these items, and should consider them in providing an overall impact score.

Protections for Human Subjects

For research that involves human subjects but does not involve one of the categories of research that are exempt under 45 CFR Part 46, evaluate the justification for involvement of human subjects and the…