NIA Postdoctoral Fellowship Award to Promote Diversity in Translational Research for AD/ADRD (F32 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 21 217

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 217

The NIA Postdoctoral Fellowship Award to Promote Diversity in Translational Research for AD/ADRD (F32 Clinical Trial Not Allowed), opportunity number PAR-21-217, is a National Institutes of Health discretionary grant that supports individual postdoctoral research training focused on Alzheimers disease and Alzheimers disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD). The central aim is to strengthen and diversify the translational research workforce by funding promising postdoctoral fellows from diverse backgrounds and giving them structured, mentored training experiences that prepare them for impactful careers in translational AD/ADRD science. The fellowship is positioned as a pipeline-building effort: it is meant to help trainees develop into scientists who can contribute to, and eventually lead, precision-medicine and team-science approaches to prevention, early detection, treatment development, diagnostics, and care and management for dementia-related conditions.

A defining feature of this FOA is its emphasis on translational skill-building in two high-need areas: data science and drug discovery. In practice, that means the fellowship encourages training plans that build modern quantitative and computational capabilities (for example, managing and analyzing complex biomedical datasets, developing analytic workflows, or working with large-scale population or clinical data) alongside competencies that align with therapeutic and diagnostic development (for example, target identification, validation strategies, or preclinical translational thinking). Importantly, the announcement frames translational AD/ADRD research broadly, spanning everything from population-based studies to research that can lead to new treatments and diagnostics, and it explicitly includes behavioral and social research as part of the translational landscape. The overall expectation is that fellows will gain skills that translate discoveries into real-world advances, not just produce basic findings in isolation.

The long-term goal is workforce-focused: to create a more diverse community of translational researchers equipped to operate in collaborative, cross-disciplinary environments typical of AD/ADRD research today. The FOA highlights a team-science, precision-medicine orientation, signaling that successful trainees are expected to be comfortable working across domains such as biology, computation, clinical research, and behavioral and social sciences, with an eye toward tangible improvements in dementia outcomes. While the fellowship supports a research training experience, the notice clearly states "Clinical Trial Not Allowed," meaning proposed work should not include an NIH-defined clinical trial within the fellowship application.

Eligibility for applicant organizations is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based entities commonly eligible for NIH funding, such as public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit and for-profit organizations (other than small businesses, with small businesses also listed as eligible), and various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special district), as well as independent school districts and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities. The FOA also calls out additional eligible applicant types that align with the diversity mission, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as applicant organizations, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; however, foreign components as defined in NIH policy are allowed, which can permit certain types of international collaboration or project elements under NIH rules.

Administratively, the sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health, and the program is aligned with the health funding activity category under CFDA 93.866. The opportunity record lists an original closing date of 2024-08-08 and shows no specified award ceiling or expected award count in the provided source data. Overall, the FOA is best understood as an NIH/NIA investment in people: it funds mentored postdoctoral training that intentionally builds translational AD/ADRD expertise, particularly in data science and drug discovery, while advancing a more inclusive research workforce capable of driving next-generation dementia solutions.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIA Postdoctoral Fellowship Award to Promote Diversity in Translational Research for AD/ADRD (F32 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): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-05-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-08. (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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