Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T35) | PA 25 280

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 25 280

The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T35) is an NIH discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PA-25-280) designed to help U.S.-based institutions build, strengthen, or expand short, intensive research training programs for predoctoral students who are considering careers in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research workforce. The central purpose is training rather than hypothesis-driven research: institutions propose a structured program that places trainees into mentored research environments for a concentrated period, with the expectation that participants leave with a solid, practical understanding of how biomedical research is conceived, conducted, analyzed, and communicated.

A key emphasis of the T35 mechanism is the classic summer research experience for health professional students. Many NIH Institutes and Centers use this program specifically to support medical students, veterinary students, and students in other health-professional degree programs who can devote a full-time block (often during the summer) to immersive research. The goal is to provide an authentic research experience with enough rigor and hands-on engagement that trainees gain meaningful exposure to experimental design, responsible conduct of research, data interpretation, and the broader principles that guide high-quality biomedical investigation. Beyond health professional students, the program is also meant to attract graduate students from physical or quantitative science backgrounds by giving them short-term, mentored exposure to health-related sciences, helping bridge disciplines and encouraging these trainees to consider longer-term research pathways in biomedical areas.

Eligibility is broad but clearly anchored in domestic institutional capacity. Applicants may include public and private institutions of higher education, a wide range of governmental entities (state, county, city or township, special district governments, and independent school districts), federally recognized Native American tribal governments, tribal organizations that are not federally recognized, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (outside of higher education as well), and for-profit organizations other than small businesses, alongside small businesses and other eligible entities. The announcement also explicitly highlights categories of organizations that may apply, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, the rules are firm that non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply, reinforcing that the training program and administering organization must be U.S.-based.

Administratively, the sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health. The opportunity is categorized under a grant funding instrument and aligns with health-related federal assistance listings (CFDA numbers include 93.113, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.273, 93.286, 93.351, 93.847, 93.866, and 93.867), reflecting that multiple NIH Institutes and Centers may participate depending on scientific alignment. The original closing date listed for this opportunity is May 7, 2028, indicating an extended window during which applications may be accepted according to NIH receipt dates and the specific schedule described in the full funding announcement. Award ceiling and expected award counts are not specified in the provided source data, so prospective applicants typically need to consult the full announcement and relevant NIH Institute or Center guidance to understand budget expectations, allowable costs, and institute-specific priorities.

In practical terms, a competitive T35 application usually needs to demonstrate that the institution can deliver a well-supervised, high-quality short-term research training experience: a strong pool of mentors, an organized training plan, appropriate research environments, clear trainee selection and support processes, and programming that exposes trainees to core research principles. The overall intent is to create a pipeline effect by giving predoctoral and health-professional trainees a concentrated research immersion that can influence career direction toward biomedical and related research fields.

• The National Institutes of Health in the environment, food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T35)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.273, 93.286, 93.351, 93.847, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-01-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2028-05-07.
• 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.

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