NIAID Basic and Clinical Research Training

Overview of Appointment Mechanisms Available to NIAID

Candidates selected for NIH (NIAID) programs may be funded by any one of a number of mechanisms depending on availability of funding, the type of research to be conducted, the center or laboratory sponsoring the research, and qualifications of the candidate. The possible appointments are listed below:

1. Clinical Associate Program

   This appointment provides the opportunity for physicians and scientists to participate in clinical and laboratory research in combination with primary patient care responsibilities. In general, this appointment applies to the NIAID Combined Clinical and Research Program. To be eligible, a fellow must have completed 2 to 3 years of postgraduate medical training.

2. Staff Fellowship

   This position provides professional development and training for promising postdoctoral research scientists. Candidates will have earned a doctoral degree and have no more than 3 years of postdoctoral research experience. Unlike applicants for the Intramural Research Training Award (see 5) below, who tend to be junior-level physicians or scientists pursuing research training, staff fellows tend to be scientists with substantial research experience who are interested in further biomedical research training.

3. Senior Staff Fellowship

   The senior staff fellowship is an extension of the Staff Fellowship Program. It is used for applicants who have doctoral degrees and have completed 3 to 7 years of professional-level research experience or who are physicians with 3 or more years of specialty training in fields related to NIH research.

4. NIH Intramural National Research Service Award (NRSA)

   A limited number of awards are available through an intramural NRSA Training Program. The applicants are selected as a result of national competition for research training in specified health-related senior levels. These appointments provide opportunities for physicians, dentists, and veterinarians with limited research experience who wish to prepare for careers in biomedical or behavioral laboratory research. Before beginning the award, trainees must have received an M.D., D.D.S., D.M.D., or D.V.M. degree.

5. NIH Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA)

   This award offers scientists (U.S. citizens and permanent residents) the opportunity to receive further research training through a wide variety of fellowship opportunities. Intermittent or part-time schedules are not permitted, nor are rotational schedules that alternate periods of full-time IRTA training with full-time school attendance.

Postdoctoral IRTA: This fellowship may be awarded to candidates with doctoral or equivalent degrees who have 0 to 5 years of relevant postdoctoral research experience.

Predoctoral IRTA: Predoctoral IRTA fellowships for students are designed to augment the educational preparation and development of future scientists by supporting a period of research training in laboratories at NIH.

1. Year-Off or Interim Awards: These predoctoral awards may be granted to students who have been accepted into graduate or medical school and who wish to delay the start of schooling and to students currently enrolled in and attending graduate or medical school who seek an interim practicum before completing their graduate or medical education.
2. Recent College Graduates Prior to Graduate Training: These predoctoral awards may also be granted to students who have graduated from an accredited college or university no more than 12 months prior to start date of the award and who, for any valid reason, have decided to postpone application to graduate or medical school by 1 year. This is particularly designed for women, minorities, and disabled persons.
3. Technical IRTA: This award may be granted to applicants with a bachelor's or master's degree in a discipline related to biomedical research and with less than 3 years of relevant postdegree experience. It is designed to produce highly trained research support professionals capable of performing the latest advanced techniques in a laboratory by developing the participants' skill in the conduct of basic and applied research. The training period may extend no longer than 3 years.

6. NIAID offers summer internships of 10 to 12 weeks duration for high school, college, graduate, and medical students. An on-line application for the following summer is available in early December of each year.

7. NIH Visiting Program

   These fellowships offer scientists who are not U.S. citizens the opportunity to receive further research training or to conduct research in their specialties at NIH.

   1. Visiting Fellow: The applicant must have a doctoral degree or equivalent and 5 years or less of relevant research experience.
   2. Visiting Associate: The applicant may have a master's or doctoral degree or equivalent and at least 3 years of relevant research experience.
   3. Visiting Scientist: The applicant must have a doctoral degree or equivalent and at least 6 years of relevant postdoctoral research experience.

8. Special Volunteers and Guest Researchers

   These programs offer individuals who already have outside funding an opportunity to conduct research in their specialties and to enhance their research capabilities. U.S. citizenship is not required.

   1. Special Volunteers: This assignment is for individuals who have funding from such sources as foundations or private grants. Special volunteers may conduct research or be involved in patient care. Individuals volunteering patient care services in the NIH Clinical Center will be under the direct supervision and guidance of NIH employees who are members of the Clinical Center's senior active staff.
   2. Guest Researchers: This program provides research investigators access to NIH facilities to further their own research and training by using specialized equipment and resources that are not otherwise available to them. Guest researchers do not provide services to NIH.

9. Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA)

   The purpose of the IPA is to provide for the temporary assignment of personnel among federal, state, and local governments and/or institutions of higher education. The work to be performed must be of mutual concern and benefit to the organizations involved in the agreement. As specific needs are identified, IPA agreements are negotiated between NIH scientists and personnel in other institutions or agencies.

   In addition to the above-described mechanisms of appointment and funding, NIH (NIAID) offers several other fellowships and employs many more appointment mechanisms. For a complete list of these mechanisms, call or write the Office of Education, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, MSC 1158, Bethesda, MD 20892-1158; telephone 301-496-2427, or visit the NIH research training website.

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