NCMRR Early Career Research Award (R03 Clinical Trial Optional)
Funding Agency:
- National Institutes of Health
The NCMRR Early Career Research (ECR) Award is different from other NIH R03 programs, including the Parent R03 Announcement (PA-20-200) . It is restricted to clinical and basic scientists who are in the early stages of their independent career in rehabilitation research. For projects supported by an ECR R03 Award, successful results should provide a solid foundation for further research under the R01 funding mechanism.
Given that the goal is to collect preliminary data, R03 projects may be less immediately impactful or significant compared to the typical R01 or other NIH-funded projects. It is not an expectation that this R03 project will likely "move the field forward" at this stage.
The research must be focused on one or more of the areas within the biomedical and behavioral mission of NCMRR: pathophysiology and management of chronically injured nervous and musculoskeletal systems (including stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and orthopedic conditions); repair and recovery of motor function; functional plasticity, adaptation, and windows of opportunity for rehabilitative interventions; rehabilitative strategies involving pharmaceutical, stimulation, and neuroengineering approaches, exercise, motor training, and behavioral modifications; pediatric rehabilitation; secondary conditions associated with chronic disabilities; improved diagnosis, assessment, and outcome measures; and development of orthotics, prosthetics, and other assistive technologies and devices.
The proposed project may be technology design-directed, discovery-driven, or hypothesis-driven with the goal of collecting the necessary preliminary data sufficient to apply for an R01 grant. The project may aid in the formulation of hypotheses and may be milestone-driven or descriptive in scope.
Preliminary data are not required or expected. However, if available, preliminary data are allowed.
A 1-page attachment titled “Plan for Inclusion of People with Lived Experience” must be included with the application or the application will be withdrawn prior to review. (see Section IV; further below). The Plan will be assessed as part of the scientific and technical peer review evaluation, as well as at the programmatic level with respect to funding decisions.
Investigators proposing clinical research are encouraged to use the common data elements (CDEs) (https://cde.nlm.nih.gov/home) or justify not using CDEs for rehabilitation if they are not included.
For those applications that generate clinical data, investigators are encouraged to share data via the NICHD DASH (data and specimen hub) Center (https://dash.nichd.nih.gov/).
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Scientific/Research contact for this NOFO for guidance in advance of submitting an application to ensure their proposed project is in compliance with new NIH human subjects research and clinical trials policies (https://grants.nih.gov/policy/clinical-trials.htm) and consistent with the types of clinical trial projects that NCMRR supports.
Non-Responsive Applications:
The following topics are non-responsive and will be withdrawn prior to review:
- Projects focusing on cognitive rehabilitation without a physical rehabilitation component
- Sports medicine rehabilitation for people without physical disabilities (i.e. Projects targeting indications for sports or athletic performance by able-bodied athletes; treatment, recovery and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise by people without physical disabilities.)
- Development of animal models for specific diseases or injury conditions
For applications submitted to this NOFO that propose clinical trials, NCMRR will only support applications proposing early stage clinical trials through Phase I, first-in-human, safety, feasibility, or other small clinical trials that inform the early stage technology development in the submitted application. NCMRR will not support applications proposing Phase II, III, IV or pivotal clinical trials, or trials in which the primary outcome is efficacy, effectiveness, or a post-market concern.
The combined budget for direct costs for the entire project period may not exceed $200,000. No more than $100,000 in direct costs may be requested in any single year.
February 16, 2025; June 16, 2025; October 16, 2025
Maria Nurminskaya, PhD
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Telephone: 240-591-9986
Email: Maria.nurminskaya@nih.gov