Career Transition Award for NINDS Intramural Clinician-Scientists (K22) | PAR 16 340

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 16 340

The Career Transition Award for NINDS Intramural Clinician-Scientists (K22) is an NIH grant program run through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) that is meant to help talented investigators move from mentored research to fully independent academic careers. Its core purpose is to support the development of independent research skills through a structured, two-phase pathway that starts inside NIH and then transitions to an outside institution. In practice, the award is built to bridge a common career gap: the period when a promising clinician-scientist has strong training and early productivity but still needs protected time, resources, and a clear runway to secure an independent faculty position and launch a sustainable research program.

The program is specifically tailored for NINDS intramural neurologist-scientists and neurosurgeon-scientists. The intent is not just to fund research in the abstract, but to make the career transition realistically achievable for clinicians who must balance scientific work with clinical responsibilities. The award emphasizes movement into independent, academic faculty positions where the recipient can continue to engage in both research and clinical activities, with the expectation that the research effort will mature into independently funded work over time. In other words, this K22 is designed to help clinicians shift from being part of an intramural NIH environment to leading their own research direction at an extramural academic setting, while maintaining their identity as clinician-scientists rather than pushing them into purely clinical or purely research-only tracks.

Structurally, the K22 uses a two-phase model. The first phase takes place during an intramural appointment at NIH, where the awardee strengthens skills, publication output, and scientific independence while still within the NIH ecosystem. The second phase begins once the investigator secures a position at an eligible extramural institution, at which point the award support follows them and helps them establish their lab or research program in the new setting. This design signals that the funding opportunity is not simply a traditional grant to a single institution, but a career development mechanism meant to support a person through a major professional transition, with milestones that revolve around readiness for independence, successful recruitment by an outside institution, and the ability to compete for future independent research funding.

Eligibility for applicant organizations is broad on the U.S. side and includes many common types of domestic institutions and organizations that might employ or host the extramural phase of a clinician-scientist career. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and a range of nonprofit entities (including 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations that are not institutions of higher education). It also lists public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments. For-profit organizations other than small businesses and small businesses are also included among eligible applicant types, along with an "others" category that can capture additional qualifying domestic entities depending on the specific FOA language.

The announcement explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories that often relate to broadening participation and institutional diversity. These include 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, tribal governments other than federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions. This emphasis communicates that the extramural phase can potentially be hosted in a variety of institutional settings, as long as the institution meets NIH requirements and can support the awardee as an emerging independent clinician-scientist.

At the same time, the opportunity is clear about restrictions involving foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible. Foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed. Practically, this means the supported transition is intended to occur within the U.S. research ecosystem, without foreign subawards or formal foreign components as part of the grant-supported activities.

From the administrative details provided, this opportunity is an NIH discretionary grant in the health area (Funding Activity Category: Health) and is associated with CFDA number 93.853. The funding opportunity number is PAR-16-340, and the record shows a creation date of June 23, 2016, with an original closing date of January 23, 2018. The listing does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards in the provided fields, which typically means those specifics would need to be confirmed directly in the full Funding Opportunity Announcement text.

Overall, the NINDS K22 described here is best understood as a targeted career bridge for intramural NINDS clinician-scientists, especially neurologists and neurosurgeons, who are ready to step into independent faculty roles. It supports the last stage of intramural development and the critical early stage of extramural independence, with the larger goal of sustaining a workforce of academic clinician-scientists who can conduct impactful neurological research while maintaining meaningful clinical engagement.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Career Transition Award for NINDS Intramural Clinician-Scientists (K22)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-06-23.
• 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.

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