NINDS Faculty Development Award to Promote Diversity in Neuroscience Research (K01 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

PAR-24-228

NIH recognizes that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogeneous teams. There are many benefits that flow from a diverse scientific workforce, including: fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved populations participate in and benefit from research, and enhancing public trust. 

Presently, data from the National Science Foundation suggests that individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in faculty-level biomedical research careers (Survey of Doctorate Recipients 2021, NSF). While the United States has seen a significant increase in the number of Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical sciences earned by scientists from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the biomedical research workforce, corresponding increases in the ranks of the faculty in basic science departments (Gibbs, et al., eLife 2016; Valantine, Lund & Gammie, CBE-Life Sciences Education, 2016) or NIH-funded investigators (Hoppe et al, 2019; Lauer, 2020) have not occurred. As demonstrated in a 2011 NIH Individual Mentored Career Development Awards Program Evaluation, receipt of an individual mentored career development award had a measurable and significant impact on program participants, as seen in their publication records and subsequent applications for and receipt of NIH grants. Collectively, researchers who participated in NIH K programs had a significantly higher R01 success rate than those with no prior career development support (Nikaj and Lund, 2019). 

Institutions are always encouraged to recruit potential candidates from underrepresented  backgrounds (NOT-OD-20-031), such as:

A. Individuals from racial and ethnic groups that have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis (see data at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showpub.cfm?TopID=2&SubID=27) and the report Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering). The following racial and ethnic groups have been shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research: Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. In addition, it is recognized that underrepresentation can vary from setting to setting; individuals from racial or ethnic groups that can be demonstrated convincingly to be underrepresented by the recipient  institution should be encouraged to participate in NIH programs to enhance diversity. For more information on racial and ethnic categories and definitions, see the OMB Revisions to the Standards for Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1997-10-30/html/97-28653.htm).

B. Individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended. See NSF data at,https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2017/nsf17310/static/data/tab7-5.pdf

C. Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, defined as those who meet two or more of the following criteria:

1. Were or currently are homeless, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Definition: https://nche.ed.gov/mckinney-vento/);

2. Were or currently are in the foster care system, as defined by the Administration for Children and Families (Definition: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/focus-areas/foster-care);

3. Were eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years (Definition: https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines);

4. Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree (see https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018009.pdf);

5. Were or currently are eligible for Federal Pell grants (Definition: https://www2.ed.gov/programs/fpg/eligibility.html);

6. Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child (Definition: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-eligibility-requirements).

7. Grew up in one of the following areas: a) a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer (https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/rural-health),or b) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas (qualifying zip codes are included in the file). Only one of the two possibilities in #7 can be used as a criterion for the disadvantaged background definition.

Students from low socioeconomic (SES) status backgrounds have been shown to obtain bachelor’s and advanced degrees at significantly lower rates than students from middle and high SES groups (seehttps://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asp), and are subsequently less likely to be represented in biomedical research. For background see Department of Education data at,https://nces.ed.gov/;https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asp;https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/advancing-diversity-inclusion.pdf.

D. Literature shows that women from the above backgrounds (categories A, B, and C) face particular challenges at the graduate level and beyond in scientific fields. (See, e.g., From the NIH: A Systems Approach to Increasing the Diversity of Biomedical Research Workforce https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008902/).

Women have been shown to be underrepresented in doctorate-granting research institutions at senior faculty levels in most biomedical-relevant disciplines, and may also be underrepresented at other faculty levels in some scientific disciplines (See data from the National Science Foundation National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, special report available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2017/nsf17310/, especially Table 9-23, describing science, engineering, and health doctorate holders employed in universities and 4-year colleges, by broad occupation, sex, years since doctorate, and faculty rank).

Upon review of NSF data, and scientific discipline or field related data, NIH encourages institutions to consider women for faculty-level, diversity-targeted programs to address faculty recruitment, appointment, retention or advancement. 

Please note, however, that consistent with NIH practice and U.S. federal law, funded programs may not use the race, ethnicity, or sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, or transgender status) of a prospective candidate as an eligibility or selection criteria. The race, ethnicity, or sex of candidates or prospective candidates will not be considered by NIH in the application review process or when making funding decisions.

Research Areas Supported

Prior to preparing an application, individuals are strongly encouraged to contact the program official listed at the end of this announcement to discuss their institutional commitment, area of research focus, and career development needs. NINDS support for this K01 program relies equally on scientific merit and programmatic considerations. NINDS will not support projects, regardless of the results of merit review, if they do not fulfill current programmatic priorities at NINDS. NINDS supports research that addresses or seeks fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system by supporting and conducting research on the healthy and diseased brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. NINDS supports basic, translational, and clinical research. Learn more: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Current-Research/Research-Funded-NINDS

Award budgets are composed of salary and other program-related expenses

Not Required

October 12, 2024

Michelle Jones-London, Ph.D.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-451-7966
Email: NINDSDiversityTraining@mail.nih.gov 

Lauren Ullrich, Ph.D.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-451-7964
Email: lauren.ullrich@nih.gov