Seek SEPA Funding To Educate Grades 12 and Below

If you want to provide research education and informal science educations (ISE) activities for pre-kindergarten to grade 12 (P-12), consider the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) (R25, Clinical Trial Not Allowed). As described in the Notice of Participation, NIAID and other NIH institutes and centers (ICs) recently joined the SEPA FOA.

SEPA Goals

Like other R25 FOAs, SEPA funds support innovative educational activities that complement or enhance your institution’s formal training program through skills development, research experiences, mentoring, curriculum or methods development, and outreach. These activities inform and encourage learners from diverse backgrounds to pursue further studies or careers in research.

In contrast to the higher education focus of most other R25 FOAs, SEPA supports programs for younger students (P-12). SEPA also encourages ISE activities in outside-the-classroom venues, science centers, and museums to improve public health literacy and biomedical workforce diversity.

For full details, check the FOA, the NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) page, and the SEPA Program website.

Mission Requirements

Your proposed SEPA activities must fit the mission and scientific interests of a participating NIH IC. Find the interest statements for NIAID and other ICs in the FOA. To summarize NIAID’s interest statement, it:

• Describes the NIAID Mission.
• Notes the importance of collaboration and programs that transcend individual diseases or immunological conditions.
• Encourages programs that ultimately support the increased participation and retention of investigators from nationally underrepresented backgrounds as defined in the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity.

Application Specifics

Your institution may submit only one SEPA application. The typical SEPA principal investigator is a senior scientist who heads a research or training program.

Before you begin to prepare an application, we strongly encourage you to contact your intended IC’s Scientific/Research staff in Section VII. Agency Contacts of the FOA to discuss your eligibility and planned topic.

Your NIAID contacts for this FOA:

• Scientific/Research—Dr. Roya Kalantari, AITrainingHelpDesk@niaid.nih.gov or 301-594-5945
• Peer Review—Dr. Masquood Wani, wanimaqs@csr.nih.gov or 301-435-2270

Apply by July 13, 2022, at 5 p.m. local time of the applicant organization.

Visit our NIAID Research Projects (R25 and R38) page for general R25 information and application advice.