Otolaryngology Residency Mentored Research Pathway (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA DC 20 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DC 20 002

The Otolaryngology Residency Mentored Research Pathway (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is an NIH-funded training grant opportunity designed to strengthen the pipeline of clinician-investigators in otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat medicine and surgery). The central goal is workforce-focused: recruiting and retaining highly promising, postdoctoral-level health professionals who show clear potential and genuine interest in becoming clinician-investigators. In practice, NIH is looking for institutions that can offer a rigorous, well-supported mentored research environment for medical students and otolaryngology resident-investigators, with the explicit intent of helping these trainees build the experience, productivity, and confidence needed to compete successfully for individual NIH career development awards later on.

Rather than funding a single research project, this opportunity supports the creation or enhancement of an institutional research training pathway. Applicants are expected to propose a structured program with defined milestones, meaning the pathway should be organized, trackable, and intentional about trainee progression. A competitive program would typically lay out how trainees are recruited and selected, how mentoring teams are formed, what protected time and research experiences are provided, how research skills are taught (for example, study design, statistics, grantsmanship, scientific writing, and responsible conduct of research), and how the program measures success over time. The emphasis on mentoring and milestones signals that NIH wants more than informal lab exposure; it wants a coherent training model that reliably moves participants toward independence as physician-scientists.

A key limitation is embedded in the title: "Clinical Trial Not Allowed." This means the supported activities under this R25 mechanism are not intended to include NIH-defined clinical trials as part of the training program's funded research experiences. Institutions planning to apply need to design training and research components that stay within allowable boundaries, generally focusing on mentored research experiences that do not meet NIH's definition of a clinical trial.

From an eligibility standpoint, the applicant organization must be a U.S.-based institution. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and certain other organizations. The announcement also explicitly highlights that a range of Minority Serving Institutions may apply, 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), and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs). At the same time, the opportunity is clear about restrictions on foreign involvement: non-U.S. entities are not eligible to apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them) are not allowed. In other words, the program is intended to be developed and carried out entirely within eligible U.S. institutional settings.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity from the National Institutes of Health, under Funding Opportunity Number RFA-DC-20-002 and CFDA number 93.173, categorized within the health funding activity area. The posted award ceiling is $499,999, indicating the maximum amount NIH would provide per award under the terms of this announcement. The original closing date listed is October 11, 2023, and the opportunity record shows it was created on September 22, 2020. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at institutions that can demonstrate strong mentorship capacity, a robust otolaryngology research environment, and a practical, outcomes-oriented plan to develop resident and medical student researchers into future applicants for individual NIH career development funding.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Otolaryngology Residency Mentored Research Pathway (R25 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): 93.173.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-09-22.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-10-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $499,999.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for RFA DC 20 002

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: