NHLBI Career Transition Award for Intramural Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Trainees (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 22 034

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 22 034

The NHLBI Career Transition Award for Intramural Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Trainees (K22; PAR-22-034) is a National Institutes of Health grant opportunity meant to help advanced trainees in the NHLBI Division of Intramural Research move from intramural training into independent, tenure-track (or equivalent) research positions at extramural institutions. The core idea is to provide a structured, supported bridge from a mentored postdoctoral environment to an independent junior investigator role, so awardees can carry their research program with them and establish a laboratory or research group outside NIH.

The award is organized into two connected phases that together can total up to five years of support. The first phase is a mentored intramural phase lasting up to two years, conducted within the NHLBI intramural program. During this period, the awardee continues developing their research skills, publication record, and scientific direction under mentorship while producing the results and momentum needed for independence. The second phase is an extramural phase lasting three years, which begins only after the awardee secures an eligible position at an extramural institution and receives NHLBI approval to transition. In other words, funding does not automatically roll into the second phase just because time has passed; the transition depends on performance and readiness.

A key feature is the formal progress review that determines whether the awardee can move from the intramural phase to the extramural phase. NHLBI evaluates the success of the mentored phase based on progress in the research program and an assessment of the proposed research plan to be carried out at the extramural institution. This review functions as a checkpoint to ensure the candidate is positioned to operate independently and that the next-stage project is feasible and well-justified in the new setting.

This specific FOA is also defined by what it does not support: it is for applicants whose proposed work will not involve leading an independent clinical trial. It does not allow the applicant to be the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or a separate ancillary clinical trial. However, it does allow applicants to gain clinical trial experience if the trial is led by a mentor or co-mentor, which can be useful for candidates whose long-term careers will interact with clinical research but who are not yet ready to lead a trial independently. Applicants who do intend to lead a clinical trial (or lead an ancillary study to an ongoing trial) are directed to apply instead to the companion announcement PAR-22-040, which is the clinical-trial-required version of the K22.

On eligibility, this opportunity is restricted in ways that reflect its purpose as a transition mechanism for NHLBI intramural trainees into US-based extramural positions. Foreign institutions cannot apply, non-US components of US organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them) are not allowed. The opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant in the health category, administered by NIH/NHLBI, with CFDA numbers including 93.233 and 93.837 through 93.840. The eligible applicant type listed includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, consistent with the expectation that the extramural phase will be administered through a qualifying US institution once the candidate transitions.

Operationally, applicants should view the K22 as a career development and research launch mechanism rather than a standard research project grant. The intramural portion is meant to strengthen the candidate and refine a coherent research niche, while the extramural portion is meant to provide stable early funding as the candidate establishes independence, builds a publication and preliminary data pipeline, and competes for longer-term NIH support. The original closing date provided for this FOA was 2024-07-12, and the funding opportunity was created on 2021-10-12.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NHLBI Career Transition Award for Intramural Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Trainees (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-10-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-12. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for PAR 22 034

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