NIDCD Research Career Enhancement Award for Established Investigators (K18 Clinical Trial Required) | PAR 21 094

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 21 094

The NIDCD Research Career Enhancement Award for Established Investigators (K18 Clinical Trial Required), PAR-21-094, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant opportunity from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) under CFDA 93.173. It is built for established, already productive investigators who want to strengthen, broaden, or partially redirect their research programs by deliberately acquiring new research skills. The scientific focus must align with NIDCDs mission areas, meaning the work should be clearly relevant to hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, or language sciences. In practical terms, the award is meant to function like a structured mid-career enhancement mechanism: it supports investigators who have a proven track record but need targeted training, new methodological expertise, or entry into a different sub-area in order to tackle new questions in communication and sensory science.

This specific FOA is only for applicants who will be the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial as part of the career enhancement and research plan. That includes three acceptable trial types: a full independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or a separate ancillary clinical trial. The key point is that the applicant is not simply joining someone elses trial for experience; the applicant is proposing and leading the trial (or feasibility/ancillary trial) as a central component of the award. If an applicant does not plan to lead an independent clinical trial and instead wants clinical trial experience on a study led by another investigator, they are directed to a companion announcement, PAR-21-095. Likewise, if an applicant is not planning an independent clinical trial but is proposing an independent basic experimental study with humans (or wants experience in such a study led by someone else), they must use the other companion pathway, PAR-21-096, which is tailored to independent basic experimental studies with humans rather than clinical trials. In other words, NIDCD has separated these K18 options so applicants select the FOA that matches whether they are leading an independent clinical trial, participating in a clinical trial led by others, or conducting basic experimental studies with humans.

Eligibility is broad and includes many common U.S. applicant organization types: state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (when not an institution of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses, along with other eligible entities. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant categories such as 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), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. On the other hand, the opportunity is not open to non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities as applicants, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. At the same time, foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning a U.S.-based applicant organization can include certain allowable foreign elements in the project structure if NIH policy requirements are met.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding instrument is a grant and the activity category is health. The opportunity was created on January 19, 2021, and the original closing date listed in the source information is January 7, 2024. The public synopsis does not provide an award ceiling or an expected number of awards in the fields shown, so applicants typically need to consult the full FOA text and NIH budget and K-award policy guidance for the most accurate limits, allowable costs, and specific application components. Overall, the program is best understood as a career development and research enhancement award for experienced investigators who want to add new capabilities and then demonstrate them through leadership of an independent clinical trial that advances NIDCD-relevant science.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIDCD Research Career Enhancement Award for Established Investigators (K18 Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-01-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-01-07. (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 21 094

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