NIDCR Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Diversity in the Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research Workforce (K01-Clinical Trial Required) | PAR 18 359

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 18 359

The NIDCR Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Diversity in the Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research Workforce (K01 - Clinical Trial Required) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) career development grant designed to help expand and strengthen diversity among independent researchers in dental, oral, and craniofacial (DOCR) science. The program focuses on supporting postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty who come from groups that have been shown to be nationally underrepresented in biomedical, behavioral, and social science research. The central idea is to provide a structured, mentored pathway that helps promising investigators build the skills, track record, and research independence needed to become competitively funded principal investigators in the DOCR field.

A key feature of this K01 is that it funds a sustained period of protected time for intensive research career development. In practical terms, the award is meant to buy the recipient time away from other duties (for example, heavy clinical loads or teaching obligations) so they can concentrate on building a research program. Alongside this protected time, the grant provides both salary support and research support, and it requires that the candidate work closely under the guidance of an experienced mentor. The mentored structure is intentional: the award is not just paying for a project, but also for a planned training-and-development experience that helps the candidate gain expertise in research design, responsible conduct, data analysis, dissemination, and the broader skills needed to sustain a long-term research career.

This specific Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), PAR-18-359, is explicitly for applicants who will serve as the lead investigator of a clinical trial. That requirement is central. The supported research component must involve the candidate leading an independent clinical trial, conducting a clinical trial feasibility study, or carrying out a separate ancillary study linked to an existing trial (as an add-on study that is scientifically distinct but connected to the parent trial). In other words, the applicant is expected to be in charge of the clinical trial work proposed under the award, rather than simply participating in someone else s trial for experience. Applicants who are not planning to lead an independent clinical trial, or who want to gain experience within a clinical trial led by another investigator, are directed to apply to the companion FOA (PAR-16-321) instead, which is structured for non-lead clinical trial involvement.

The sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health, and the administering institute is the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). The opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the health funding area and is associated with CFDA number 93.121. While the FOA is focused on the K01 mechanism and individual career development, it allows applications to be submitted by a broad range of eligible organizations that can serve as the applicant institution for the candidate. Eligible applicants include many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental units, such as public and state controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and various government entities (state, county, city or township, special district governments, independent school districts), as well as Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and tribal organizations (other than federally recognized governments), and public housing authorities or Indian housing authorities.

The FOA also highlights additional categories of eligible applicant organizations that align with the diversity mission of the program. These include Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and faith-based or community-based organizations, among others. The intent here is to ensure that a wide range of institutions, including those that commonly train and employ scholars from underrepresented backgrounds, can participate in hosting and supporting candidates.

There are important restrictions regarding non-U.S. involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined under NIH Grants Policy) are not allowed. Put simply, the applicant organization and the supported activities must be U.S.-based without foreign components included in the proposed work under this announcement.

As listed in the source information provided, the FOA was created on 2017-11-15, and an original closing date shown is 2022-01-07. The award ceiling and expected number of awards were not specified in the provided excerpt. Even without those figures, the overall structure is clear: this is a mentored, multi-year career development opportunity built to help underrepresented early-career investigators develop into independent, NIH-funded DOCR researchers, with the distinguishing requirement that the candidate will lead a clinical trial (or closely related clinical trial effort such as a feasibility or ancillary study) as part of their research and career development plan.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIDCR Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Diversity in the Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research Workforce (K01-Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.121.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-01-07. (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.

Apply for PAR 18 359

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