Mid-Career Enhancement Awards to Integrate Basic Behavioral, Biomedical, and/or Social Scientific Processes (K18 No Independent Clinical Trials) | PAR 20 211

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 211

The Mid-Career Enhancement Awards to Integrate Basic Behavioral, Biomedical, and/or Social Scientific Processes (K18 No Independent Clinical Trials) is an NIH-funded career development grant opportunity under the OppNet (Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network) umbrella. It is designed for established, independent investigators who are already at a mid-career faculty rank or equivalent level and who want to deliberately pivot or broaden their research program by gaining new competencies outside their existing expertise. The central aim is integration: helping experienced researchers add rigorous training and hands-on experience in basic psychological processes, sociological processes, and/or relevant biomedical pathways so they can pursue more fully interdisciplinary, mechanistic research going forward.

This K18 supports a structured career enhancement plan that blends targeted research training and career development activities with a small-scale research project. The expectation is that the award will provide the investigator with practical, research-ready skills that can be used to launch or strengthen an independent line of inquiry that connects multiple levels of analysis. In particular, the opportunity emphasizes projects and training experiences that help investigators better study the interrelationships among behavioral and social processes and biological systems, including (as relevant to the proposed work) endocrine, epigenetic, immune, inflammatory, neurological, and other biomedical mechanisms, alongside psychological and social mechanisms. The overall focus is on building the scientific toolkit needed to study how these processes interact, rather than staying confined to a single disciplinary lens.

A key constraint is embedded in the title: "No Independent Clinical Trials." In practice, that means applicants should not propose an independent clinical trial as the main research activity under this award mechanism. The emphasis is on research career enhancement and competency-building, paired with a modest research component that fits the K18’s intent and NIH policy for this specific funding announcement. Applicants who want to run an independent clinical trial would generally need to look for a different mechanism or a clinical-trial-allowed version of a career development award.

Eligibility is broad at the organizational level, reflecting NIH’s standard approach to institutional eligibility across many funding announcements. Eligible applicant organizations include various levels of government (state, county, city/township, and special district), federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, independent school districts, public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), for-profit entities (other than small businesses), and small businesses, as well as other categories described in the full announcement. The opportunity also explicitly highlights a range of institution types and community-oriented entities that may apply, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

The funding opportunity includes important limits regarding foreign participation. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic (non-U.S.) institutions are not eligible to apply as the primary applicant organization, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components may be allowed when they meet NIH’s definition and requirements in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, meaning a U.S.-based applicant organization can sometimes include a foreign component if it is well-justified and compliant with NIH policy.

Administratively, the opportunity is a discretionary grant program offered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with Funding Opportunity Number PAR-20-211. The activity aligns with education/training and health-related categories and is associated with CFDA numbers 93.121, 93.213, 93.398, and 93.846. The original closing date listed for the opportunity was 2023-03-17, and the source information does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided fields, which typically means applicants need to consult the full NIH notice and related budget guidance for the most current limits, expectations, and application cycles.

In practical terms, this program is best suited for a mid-career investigator who has a strong track record in one domain (for example, behavioral science, social science, or a biomedical discipline) and wants structured support to gain new, complementary expertise and produce preliminary work that credibly positions them to compete for future, larger independent research awards that truly integrate behavioral, social, and biological mechanisms.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, employment, labor and training, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mid-Career Enhancement Awards to Integrate Basic Behavioral, Biomedical, and/or Social Scientific Processes (K18 No Independent Clinical Trials)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.121, 93.213, 93.398, 93.846.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-06-03.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-03-17. (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 20 211

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