Funding News - NINDS Announces a New Research Education Program

NINDS recently announced a new research education program for residents.  The research education grant is a flexible and specialized mechanism designed to encourage the development of neuroscience researchers through both research training and educational experiences.  It will prepare clinicians to successfully compete for individual fellowships or mentored career development awards.  

There is critical need for additional clinician-scientists with the medical training and research experience to conduct basic, clinical, and translational research on neurological disorders.  NINDS provides mentored career development awards (K08 and K23 grant mechanisms) to highly qualified clinician-scientists who have early training and experience in research, and who generally have one or more significant, original research publications.  However, there is need for a mechanism to support the early training of clinicians during the residency/fellowship period in research and related skills, which would enable them to compete successfully for the mentored career development awards.

The research education grant to neurology and/or neurosurgery programs will create an opportunity for residents in neuro-related training programs (e.g., neurology, neurosurgery, neuropathology, and neuroradiology) to participate in a 6- to 12-month mentored research education experience during their residency.  Funding may be continued for up to 12 months in their fellowship years.  It will include the necessary training for successful competition for independent mentored research awards and will facilitate the transition from resident to research fellow to clinician-scientist.  In addition to laboratory research skills, participants will develop the critical skills necessary to design and conduct research experiments and write competitive grant applications.

The overall goal of the program is to ensure that highly trained neuroscientists will be available to make future advances that will lead to a reduction in the burden of neurological disease.

The deadline for receiving applications is September 10, 2008.  Potential applicants should contact Dr. Stephen Korn, Director of Training and Career Development, NINDS; telephone: 301-496-4188; email:  korns@ninds.nih.gov.  For more information, visit http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-09-001.html.