We are now supporting two additional Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award individual predoctoral fellowships in basic biomedical sciences relevant to our mission: the F30 fellowship for M.D.-Ph.D. or other dual-doctoral degree students and the F31 fellowship for Ph.D.-degree students. We will continue our support of the F31 fellowship to promote diversity in health-related research.
NIGMS predoctoral fellowships, which generally provide up to 3 years of support, promote fundamental, interdisciplinary and innovative research training and career development leading to independent scientists who are well prepared to address the nation’s biomedical research needs.
An applicant for an NIGMS predoctoral fellowship should:
- Be an advanced Ph.D. or M.D.-Ph.D. student.
- Demonstrate high academic performance in the biomedical sciences and independence in his or her research.
- Have identified a research sponsor and a dissertation project that includes a novel approach to the problem and has strong training potential.
- Demonstrate a commitment to a career as an independent scientist.
We expect the funding for F30 and F31 fellowships to be highly competitive, and we anticipate funding only a very limited number of these applications in any year.
We will give priority to outstanding applicants with sponsors who are currently supported by NIGMS research grants. In addition, we strongly encourage F30 applications from students in combined M.D.-Ph.D. (or other dual-doctoral degree, such as D.O.-Ph.D., D.D.S.-Ph.D. and D.V.M.-Ph.D.) programs at institutions that are not currently supported by our Medical Scientist Training Program.
For more details on F30 and F31 awards, see the NIGMS NRSA Individual Predoctoral Fellowships Web page or contact Peggy Schnoor.
NIGMS program officers have suggested that funding for the new NRSA individual fellowships will come from reducing T32 budgets in FY15. Perhaps it is just paranoia, but I infer from Dr. Shiva’s post that preference will be given to funding F30 applications from non-MSTP institutions. Is this the case?
We continue our deep commitment to institutional training programs, including the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), which currently supports 904 dual-degree students in 45 programs. Recently, in keeping with NIH policy, we began offering a limited number of individual predoctoral fellowships, including F30 fellowships for M.D.-Ph.D. students. To have the greatest impact, we seek applicants from a broad range of institutions and particularly encourage applications from eligible students in combined M.D.-Ph.D. programs that do not have an NIGMS MSTP grant.