NIDCD Fellowship Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Questions and Answers (Q&As) that follow focus on NIDCD-specific policies and procedures for its Individual Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA fellowship) programs.
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Prior to Submission
Q: How can I determine if the research focus of my application is within the scientific scope of the NIDCD?
A: NIDCD encourages all prospective applicants for NIDCD Individual Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA fellowships) to email the NIDCD Research Training Officer (see contact information at end of this document) a brief (2-3 paragraph) summary of the proposed research plan, including the overall goals, scientific motivation and specific research aims, in advance of submission. This enables the NIDCD to determine if the proposed project fits within the scientific mission of the Institute, or is more appropriately directed to another NIH Institute or another Federal granting agency.
Q: I am a student in an Au.D. training program seeking fellowship support. Am I eligible to apply for an NRSA predoctoral (F31) fellowship?
A: NIH predoctoral fellowship and traineeship support through the NRSA Program is reserved for students pursuing a research doctoral degree (e.g., Ph.D., D.Sc.) involving a full-scale doctoral dissertation, not a health professional doctorate, such as an M.D., Au.D., or Psy.D. degree. Should you desire to pursue a Ph.D. in tandem with or following your Au.D. training, or, following your training, you desire a postdoctoral research experience or research career development award, contact the NIDCD Research Training Officer for additional information.
Q: What may be included in the appendix of a fellowship application?
A. Reprints of up to two or three manuscripts (for predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates, respectively) you have authored, either published or in press (not those in revision or in preparation), that demonstrate your scientific accomplishments or relate to your application’s research focus, should be included as appendix materials. You can refer to papers in revision or in preparation in a covering letter to the appendix. Color or glossy prints of figures (e.g., photomicrographs) that do not reproduce well in black-and-white may be included in the appendix. Scripted treatment plans and protocols that cannot feasibly be incorporated into the ten-page research plan can also be included in the appendix.
Q: Is it appropriate to include relevant published and reviewed manuscripts in the appendix in support of my fellowship application? Can any supplementary information concerning the research plan be placed in the appendix?
A: The purpose of the appendix is to provide supplemental material in support of your application, not to circumvent the 10-page limit for the research training plan. All tables, graphics, photomicrographs, etc. must be included within the application; the only exception would be for prints that do not photocopy well or where color is indispensable. These prints can be included as appendix materials in addition to their appearance in the text (enlarged versions of the prints may be provided in the appendix). Otherwise, include reprints of your published research papers or accepted papers, which bear on your accomplishments; if the printed PDF files show your figures adequately, fine. If not, include glossy prints. Do not include your sponsor’s publications, even if you are utilizing the same or similar methods in your research plan. It is more appropriate to cite these publications in the Research Plan section and include them in the Literature Cited section.
Q. Can a fellowship application request funds to cover interpretive services for a deaf or hard-of-hearing applicant?
A. Interpretive services are commonly requested as reasonable accommodations for a disability, as defined by the Americans for Disabilities Act, by deaf and hard-of-hearing fellowship applicant when needed to facilitate the research training experience. Applicants who require these and other reasonable accommodations to their disabilities should include several paragraphs in the application establishing and documenting the disability as well as justifying a specific supplemental budgetary request for reasonable accommodations.
Q: I am a doctoral student in the communication disorders and seek a predoctoral fellowship (F31) award. Can an F31 be initiated before advancing to candidacy?
A: The NIDCD F31 award is a dissertation-stage award for doctoral students at or approaching candidacy, who have their dissertation research fully formulated and, thus, are at a point where they can craft a research plan of up to 10 pages. The award will not be activated until the student has advanced to candidacy. The NIH-wide F31 programs for minority students and for students with disabilities does, however, support students over the full range of doctoral training.
Q: In these days of tightening budgets, will the inclusion of preliminary data in my fellowship application increase my chances of funding?
A: The inclusion of credible preliminary data relating to the specific research aims, while not required, nearly always works in favor of an application. Feasibility data, demonstrating that the experiments can be performed in the hands of the applicant, the sponsor, and/or the lab of the latter, should be included in the application. Inclusion of a published or in press scientific paper establishing that the methods proposed are readily in the hands of the applicant or sponsor(s) also demonstrates feasibility.
Q: Can my fellowship application include a specific aim from my sponsor’s research grant?
A: A fellowship application should involve an original research plan, written by the applicant and guided by the sponsor(s). While it can be within the sponsor’s research area, it cannot be a “cut-and-paste” from the sponsor’s research grant.
Q: Does an investigator need to be NIH-funded to serve as a sponsor/mentor for a fellowship application?
A: Technically speaking, no. However, the sponsor needs to demonstrate the research resources, scientific and technical expertise, and mentorship experience to effectively mentor a predoctoral or postdoctoral fellow. In practice, we generally advise applicants to seek an NIH-funded and well-established sponsor. If the sponsor has the requisite scientific or technical expertise, but is somewhat junior, we generally advise recruiting a more seasoned co-sponsor to fill in any perceived void in mentorship.
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Submitting
Q. I am submitting a fellowship application addressing one of NIDCD’s mission areas. I have heard that I need to submit a copy of my application to the NIDCD Scientific Review Branch. Is this true?
A. The NIDCD fellowship announcements request that you submit one copy of the application, in addition to five sets of any appendices, to the NIDCD Scientific Review Branch (SRB). This copy is necessary for the operation of NIDCD’s expedited fellowship review and award process. Without this advance copy, the SRB would wait two to three weeks to receive your application from the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR). This advance copy is in addition to the original (including the three sealed letters of reference) and one copy of the application you must send to the CSR (please do not include appendices in your submission to the CSR).
Q: My fellowship application was delayed due to circumstances entirely beyond my control. Will my application be accepted if submitted after the submission date?
A: No. NIDCD reviews and awards its fellowship based on an expedited schedule and is unable to accept applications and accompanying materials submitted even one day beyond the submission date. No exceptions. Applications and accompanying materials will be accepted if postmarked by the submission date, but not even one day beyond it.
Q: My application is ready to be sent. However, one of my three references left on overseas travel without providing me with his/her letter. Can I submit my application with the two letters I have and follow-up with the third letter upon his/her return?
A: An application without the three requisite sealed letters of reference is considered incomplete and cannot be accepted. Endeavor to obtain the third reference letter immediately from another individual who is qualified to evaluate you and include it with the application at the time you are submitting.
Q: I want my application to be assigned to the NIDCD. How do I accomplish this?
A: Initially, you are strongly advised to consult with the NIDCD Research Training Officer to ensure your scientific focus is within the research mission of the NIDCD. If indeed it is, attach a cover letter to your application (addressed to the CSR Referral Officer) indicating that your research plan has been discussed with the NIDCD Research Training Officer and that, on this basis, you request primary Institute assignment to the NIDCD. Applicants may also request secondary and tertiary Institute assignments.
Q: Does my fellowship application need to be received by NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) by the submission deadline date, or simply postmarked by that date?
A: If your fellowship application is postmarked by the submission date it will be accepted by the CSR Division of Receipt and Referral and by the NIDCD Scientific Review Branch (SRB). Remember to send a copy of your application and all copies of the appendix material, if any, to the NIDCD SRB in parallel with the official submission to the CSR, as this is important for the expedited review process to function efficiently.
Q: Will the NIDCD accept supplemental information following the submission of my fellowship application?
A: The NIDCD Scientific Review Branch (SRB) does not accept supplemental materials following a fellowship submission. The only exception made is for notification that a submitted manuscript, cited in the application, has been accepted for publication.
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Review
Q. I have checked the membership roster of the Communication Disorders Review Committee (CDRC) and do not see any reviewers with expertise in the research focus of my application. How will my application be knowledgeably reviewed?
A. Given the volume and scientific breadth (spanning the seven NIDCD scientific mission areas) of incoming fellowship applications it receives, the NIDCD Scientific Review Branch (SRB) cannot possibly represent all areas of science and research methodologies/levels of analysis on the CDRC, which consists of twenty-one regular members. When reviewer expertise is lacking on the CDRC membership to review specific applications, the SRB recruits appropriate ad hoc reviewers to the Committee. These ad hoc reviewers participate either in person or by telephone conference call.
Q: My fellowship application is scheduled for review next week. Can I contact the Scientific Review Administrator (SRA) in the days following the meeting to ascertain my score?
A: Review panel scores are entered by the SRB into the NIH data system within three working days after a review. Once these scores are entered, they can be viewed by accessing your NIH Commons account. Do not contact the SRA, as s/he will not provide the score, but will refer you to the NIH Commons. If you do not know how to access the Commons, see the Q&A below.
Q: How do I access information on my submitted fellowship application, such as confirmation of its receipt, its assignment, my summary statement, etc.?
A: You need to open and regularly consult your own NIH Commons Account. If your university office of sponsored research or electronic research administration staff or consulting personnel cannot help you with Commons-related issues, contact the Commons Helpdesk at 1-866-504-9552 or by email, at commons@od.nih.gov. However, the NIDCD Research Training Officer will inform you of the Institute’s decision concerning funding. If your application will be funded, you will also be contacted by the NIDCD Grants Management Branch.
Q: My fellowship application was recently reviewed. My NIH Commons account notes its priority score, but not a percentile score? Why not?
A: NIDCD does not percentile its fellowship application scores, as do a number of other NIH Institutes, but makes its funding decisions on the bases of the reviewer narrative critiques, as documented in the summary statement; the “raw,” unnormalized priority score; and, of course, funds available. Percentiling is not necessary to correct for different scoring schemes of different review committees, since the large majority of NIDCD-assigned fellowship applications are reviewed within the one review committee, the Communication Disorders Review Committee (CDRC).
Q: My NIDCD-assigned fellowship was reviewed, but not scored. What does this mean?
A: NIDCD utilizes a streamlining/triaging, or unscoring, procedure in the review of its fellowship applications, similar to that used in NIH RO1 research grant application reviews. If your application was in the lower half of fellowship applications reviewed, it would be marked “unscored.” The review committee does not discuss these unscored applications, if all members of the review panel agree with that designation. Many unscored applications do have significant strengths and may have readily addressable critiques, allowing the application to be revised and resubmitted, often in time for the next scheduled submission date. As part of the expedited review process, the summary statement will normally be issued and accessible to the applicant through his/her NIH Commons account two to three weeks after the review meeting date.
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Revising
Q. The reviewers were quite critical of my original fellowship application and clearly want me to drop one of my specific aims (SAs) and to revise my experimental design. How “different” does an application need to be in order to be considered “new” and not “revised”?
A. A new experiment, even a new specific aim, would not render an application, “new.” The overall research plan, including SAs and the overall or longer-term research goals, would have to be entirely different, constituting a new research direction, to meet this threshold. If you are recasting the research and/or training plan in direct response to reviewer scientific, technical or training-related critiques, you are generally submitting a revised, not a new, application.
Q. I am submitting a revised fellowship application. Do I need to request new reference letters, or can these letters be carried forward from my previous application?
A. In the NIH review system, a revised application fully supersedes the previous application. No application materials are carried forward to a subsequent submission. Hence, you need to provide new reference letters and all supporting materials with revised applications. The reviewers will, however, receive the summary statement from your prior review.
Q: My summary statement asks that I take a course in the responsible conduct of research, although I reported taking such a course four years ago as a beginning graduate student? Please explain.
A: Since the domain of bioethics and human subjects research is evolving and volatile, it is the policy of the NIDCD to require its NRSA-supported fellows and trainees to take training in the responsible conduct of research within the last three years. Hence, fellows and trainees who took such a course beyond that time period will need to retake such a course (hopefully, the course has been updated in recent years). We consider it important to have a periodic “booster shot” in this area during the formative years when one forges a career and identity as a scientist. Furthermore, we require that the training be in the face-to-face format as a semester-long course or seminar-series, allowing for live discussion, rather than a web-based format,. Exceptions to this rule are made in unusual circumstances.
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Funding
Q: My university has offered me a teaching assistantship (TA) in tandem with my individual NRSA (fellowship) award. May I accept it?
A: The NRSA regulations require a full-time, 40-hour per week commitment and allow the awardee to work on a limited basis beyond that, such that these other activities do not encroach upon the NRSA research training commitment. With the concurrence of the fellow’s sponsor and institutional official, the NIDCD allows its fellowship awardees to accept TAs involving up to 15-20 hours per week beyond the NRSA commitment.
Q: What is the NIDCD’s automatic pay line for awarding fellowship applications?
A: NIDCD does not have an automatic fellowship pay line for its fellowship applications. Funding decisions are made each review round on the bases of a given application’s reviewer critiques, the priority score, and, of course, funds available.
Contact for NIDCD Extramural Research Training and Career Development Programs
Daniel Sklare, Ph.D.
Research Training Officer
Tel: (301) 496-1804
Email: sklared@nidcd.nih.gov
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