Research Training Grants

Purpose

To enable institutions to fund pre- and postdoctoral and short-term research training programs.

Procedure

NIAID awards institutional (T32) and short-term (T35) training grants to prominent investigators who can mentor trainees and provide an outstanding research environment for a training program. T32s may have programs for all three types of trainees, but T35s are for short-term trainees only.

Trainees must be U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals, or permanent residents with a valid Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551). People on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

Note: For new or renewal T32s and T35s funded after FY 2004, grantees cannot automatically carry over funds from one year to the next.

Applicants

• You can receive T32 and T35 grants for up to five years, and they are renewable.
• Use the Fillable Institutional Research Training Grant Application Forms and Data Tables section of the PHS 398 application.
  • For Tables 7a and 7b, you are not required to enter data on people with disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Omitting this information will not affect your application's evaluation.
  • If submitting a renewal T32, provide completion rates and time to degree for graduate students supported by NIH training awards. Put this information in the Program Statistics section of Table 12a.
• Send your application on or before September 25, NIAID's only annual submission date. Submission dates falling on a weekend or holiday will be extended to the next business day.
• If requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year -- including out years -- you must include an approval letter from AITrainingHelpDesk@niaid.nih.gov. For background on the policy, see the Big Grants SOP.
• Find more information on training grants on Training Grants (T) and our Advice on Research Training and Career Awards on NIAID's Research Funding Web site.

Principal Investigators

• Submit noncompeting (PHS 2590) applications four months before your anniversary start date.
  • Provide completion rates and time to degree for graduate students supported by NIH training awards.
  • Put this information in the Program Statistics section of Table 12a.
• Submit NRSA forms for appointment, payback, and termination as follows:
• If your institution has an eRA Commons account, use xTrain to create and submit appointments, re-appointments, amendments, and terminations.
  • Download and print payback agreements. See next bullet for mailing them in. Learn more at xTrain (eRA Commons).
• Appointment forms and payback agreements for postdoctoral trainees -- for postdoctoral trainees starting their initial appointment on a T32 or T35, you must mail their appointment form and an original, signed payback agreement three months before your budget period end date to:

  Shellie Wilburn
  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
  6700B Rockledge Drive, Room 2233
  Bethesda, MD 20892-7614
  Express Mail: Bethesda, MD, 20817

• Appointment forms and termination forms for predoctoral and reappointed postdoctoral trainees -- submit to Shellie Wilburn in the following ways:
  • By mail or express mail to the address above.
  • As PDF email attachments to swilburn@niaid.nih.gov.
  • By fax to 301-493-0597. Note: faxes should be used for re-appointments only since grayed items for new appointments are usually unreadable on faxes.
  • Submit termination or reappointment forms immediately following the end of your budget period.
• While trainees can have start dates up to the last day of the budget period, the awarding institution must receive all appointment forms no later than three months before the end of the budget period.
• Submit Financial Status Reports (FSRs) annually, no later than 90 days after the budget period end date. Typically, unliquidated balances should consist of stipends, tuition, and fees (which now includes health insurance), and unobligated balances should consist of travel and trainee related expenses.

Program Officers

• Complete Program Officer Checklist for competing and noncompeting applications.
• Work with grants management specialists on prior approval requests, such as a change of PI and institution, or an addition of new preceptors.

Contacts

AITrainingHelpDesk@niaid.nih.gov

Shellie Wilburn, swilburn@niaid.nih.gov, 301-594-9676

For questions specific to funded T32s and T35s, contact the appropriate grants management specialist.

If you have knowledge to share or want more information on this topic, email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base.

Links

Frequently Asked Questions: Recruitment and Retention Plan to Enhance Diversity, NIH

NIH Guide notice, NIH NRSA Institutional Research Training Grants (T32), August 1, 2008

NIH Guide notice, NRSA Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants (T35), August 1, 2008

NIAID Funding Policy and Process SOP

Quick Facts on Research Training and Career Development Awards

Research Training SOP

Training Grants questions and answers