Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions Without NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30) | PA 23 261

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 23 261

The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions Without NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30), funding opportunity number PA-23-261, is an NIH fellowship designed to support predoctoral students pursuing dual-doctoral training who are based at institutions that do not have an NIH-funded institutional predoctoral dual-degree training program. In practical terms, it is meant to help level the playing field for MD/PhD and similar dual-degree students whose schools do not already have NIH institutional training infrastructure for this type of pathway. The overarching goal is to strengthen the pipeline of physician-scientists and other clinician-scientists by funding a period of integrated research and clinical training that is tightly aligned with a student’s long-term career development.

This F30 mechanism specifically targets students who are already matriculated in a formal dual-doctoral degree program, most commonly MD/PhD, but it also explicitly includes other combined clinical and research doctoral tracks such as DO/PhD, DDS/PhD, AuD/PhD, and DVM/PhD. The fellowship is oriented toward candidates who intend to build careers as physician/clinician-scientists, meaning professionals who are trained to move between clinical environments and research settings and who can translate scientific discovery into improved health outcomes. A central expectation is that the fellowship experience will measurably increase the fellow’s likelihood of becoming a productive, independent investigator over time, not simply provide short-term dissertation support.

Applicants are expected to propose two tightly connected elements: (1) an integrated research and clinical training plan, and (2) a dissertation research project. The training plan should show how the candidate will intentionally combine rigorous research preparation with clinical development in a way that makes sense for a dual-degree timeline. The dissertation project must fall within scientific, health-related fields that match the missions of participating NIH Institutes and Centers, which effectively means the research should clearly fit within NIH’s broad biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research priorities, while still being tailored to the specific NIH Institute or Center that would ultimately consider the application. The emphasis is not only on the science, but also on how the proposed mentorship, training activities, and clinical experiences will collectively build the candidate’s skills, research independence, and professional trajectory.

A key boundary in this NOFO concerns clinical trials. This opportunity is intended for candidates whose proposed work does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial. However, it does allow applicants to gain research experience within a clinical trial as long as the trial is led by a sponsor or co-sponsor and the fellow is not the person responsible for directing it as an independent trial leader. In other words, applicants can be involved in clinical trial-related research and training, but the fellowship should not be structured around the fellow initiating and leading a clinical trial as the primary driver of the award.

In terms of who can apply as an organization, the eligibility list is broad and reflects NIH’s standard range of eligible applicant organizations across government, higher education, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, state and local governments (including counties, cities or townships, special districts), independent school districts, federally recognized tribal governments, tribal organizations (including those other than federally recognized tribal governments), public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and other entities. The NOFO also explicitly calls out categories of institutions and organizations that are often highlighted to encourage broad participation, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

There are important restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. At the same time, NIH policy does allow certain foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning discrete parts of the proposed project may occur outside the U.S. if they meet NIH’s definition and justification requirements, even though the applicant organization itself must be domestic and the overall application must comply with NIH’s rules on foreign components.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant mechanism under an education and training-oriented activity category, offered by the National Institutes of Health. It is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (now commonly referred to under assistance listing numbers) spanning numerous NIH Institutes and Centers, reflecting that different NIH components may participate depending on the scientific topic and fit. The opportunity record lists an original closing date of 2025-09-07, and it does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided listing, which is common for NIH fellowship announcements where budgets are typically driven by standard NRSA fellowship allowances and the volume of meritorious applications and available institute funds.

Overall, this Parent F30 is best understood as an individual, mentored fellowship for dual-degree predoctoral students at schools without NIH-funded institutional dual-degree training programs, requiring a strong dissertation project and a clearly integrated plan for research and clinical training, with a focus on preparing the fellow to become an independent clinician-scientist while avoiding proposals in which the fellow would lead an independent clinical trial.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, food and nutrition, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship for Students at Institutions Without NIH-Funded Institutional Predoctoral Dual-Degree Training Programs (Parent F30)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.121, 93.172, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.307, 93.361, 93.398, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.847, 93.853, 93.855, 93.859, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-09-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-09-07. (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.

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