NIMH Career Transition Award for Tenure-Track and Tenured Intramural Investigators (K22) | PAR 16 389

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 16 389

The NIMH Career Transition Award for Tenure-Track and Tenured Intramural Investigators (K22) is a National Institutes of Health funding opportunity designed specifically to help established investigators at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) move from an intramural research career into an independent faculty role in the extramural research community. In practical terms, it is meant for investigators currently working within NIMH's Division of Intramural Research Programs (DIRP) who are ready to leave the NIH intramural environment and launch or continue an independent academic research program at a university, medical center, or other eligible research organization outside the intramural NIH system. The focus is on supporting that transition period, which is often a vulnerable stage where researchers must rapidly secure a new institutional base, build a sustainable lab, and maintain research momentum while taking on new responsibilities.

The central purpose of the program is career development through transition support, not simply project funding. Applicants are expected to already have a strong and clearly meritorious research record in mental health-related fields, indicating they have the experience and productivity to succeed as independent investigators. The K22 mechanism is commonly used at NIH to bridge a researcher from a mentored or intramural setting into a stable, independent extramural position, and this NIMH-specific version targets tenure-track and tenured intramural investigators who are poised to establish themselves as independent faculty in the broader research ecosystem.

This opportunity is a discretionary grant program administered by NIH under the health funding activity category, with CFDA number 93.242. The funding instrument is listed as a grant, and the funding opportunity number is PAR-16-389. The original posting date in the source data is August 5, 2016, and the original closing date is January 23, 2018. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided listing, which typically means applicants need to consult the full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for detailed budget limits, project period structure, and the number of awards anticipated.

Eligibility is broad at the organizational level in the sense that many kinds of extramural institutions can serve as the destination institution for the award once the investigator transitions. Eligible applicant organizations include a wide range of government entities (state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and special district governments), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) as well as tribal organizations that are not federally recognized. The list also includes public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities, nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) IRS status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and an "other" category that is typical of Grants.gov style eligibility summaries. In addition, the opportunity explicitly mentions that a variety of mission-specific or underserved-serving institutions and organizations are eligible, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible agencies of the federal government, regional organizations, Indian/Native American Tribal Governments other than federally recognized governments, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, the FOA language draws an important boundary around foreign participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities described as foreign institutions are not eligible to apply as applicant organizations, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed. That distinction matters because it means the primary applicant organization must be domestic and eligible, but certain foreign activities or collaborations may be permissible if they meet NIH's definition and policy requirements for foreign components. Because these definitions can be technical, applicants are directed to consult the FOA for the precise eligibility and policy details.

Overall, this K22 program is best understood as a targeted NIMH career transition tool: it is aimed at helping established NIMH intramural investigators successfully relocate into the extramural academic and research environment while maintaining research continuity and building a stable, independent mental health research program. The program emphasizes demonstrated scientific merit, readiness for independence, and compliance with NIH eligibility rules for applicant institutions, including specific limitations on foreign institutions while still allowing certain foreign components under NIH policy.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIMH Career Transition Award for Tenure-Track and Tenured Intramural Investigators (K22)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-08-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-23. (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 16 389

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