Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (Parent K24 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PA 20 186

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 20 186

The NIH Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24), listed under opportunity number PA-20-186, is a discretionary NIH grant mechanism designed to strengthen the patient-oriented research workforce by supporting established, mid-career clinician-investigators. The core idea is to buy protected time for a health-professional doctorate holder (for example, physicians or other clinical doctorates) so they can both (1) continue and deepen their own patient-oriented research program and (2) serve as a high-impact mentor for the next generation of clinical researchers. In practice, the K24 is meant to help a midcareer investigator stay meaningfully engaged in hands-on, human-subjects-facing research while also building a structured mentoring environment for clinical residents, clinical fellows, and/or junior clinical faculty who are developing into independent patient-oriented researchers.

A defining feature of this announcement is that it is the parent K24 funding opportunity and it is labeled “Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed.” That wording generally signals that the award is not intended to support an applicant-led independent clinical trial as the main activity under this K24. The emphasis is instead on protected time for patient-oriented research and on formalized mentoring responsibilities. Patient-oriented research (POR) typically includes research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues and specimens) in which the investigator directly interacts with human participants, as well as studies of mechanisms of human disease, therapeutic interventions, clinical trials, and development of new technologies, as long as it remains centered on human participants and clinical questions. Even with the clinical trial restriction, the program remains squarely aimed at clinically grounded research careers and mentoring, rather than basic laboratory-only research.

The applicant pool is broad on the organizational side, reflecting NIH’s willingness to fund across many sectors as long as the institution can support the candidate’s protected time and mentoring plan. Eligible applicant organizations include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education when applying under those nonprofit categories); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entities. The announcement also explicitly calls out additional eligible categories such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. This reflects a clear intent to include a wide range of institutions that train clinicians and support clinical research careers, including institutions serving historically underrepresented populations.

The foreign eligibility rules are more restrictive and are spelled out directly. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic (non-U.S.) institutions are not eligible to apply as applicant organizations. In addition, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, “foreign components,” as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed. In practical terms, that usually means the main applicant organization must be U.S.-based and eligible, but certain parts of the work may involve a foreign component when appropriately justified and compliant with NIH policy.

From an administrative perspective, the funding instrument type is a grant, and the activity category is listed under education, environment, and health, which fits the K-series career development focus combining research career support with training/mentoring outcomes. The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA numbers (now commonly referred to under Assistance Listing numbers), including 93.113, 93.173, 93.213, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.361, and several 93.8xx series listings, reflecting that multiple NIH Institutes and Centers may participate in or use this parent announcement. The agency is the National Institutes of Health. The source data provided lists an original closing date of 2024-05-07 and a creation date of 2020-05-06. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the excerpt provided, which is common for parent announcements where actual budgets and award counts can vary by NIH Institute/Center priorities and available appropriations.

Overall, this K24 opportunity is best understood as a career-stabilizing and mentoring-focused award for midcareer clinician-scientists who already have an established patient-oriented research trajectory and who can demonstrate that protected time will directly amplify both their research productivity and the quality and quantity of mentored clinical investigators they develop. The strongest fit is typically an investigator who is already supervising trainees in a clinical research setting, has a clear plan to expand and formalize that mentorship, and can show that the institution will genuinely protect their time so that mentoring and patient-oriented research are not crowded out by clinical or administrative demands.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (Parent K24 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" 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, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.361, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.846, 93.855, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-05-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-07. (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.

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