BRAIN Initiative Fellows: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) | RFA MH 18 510

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MH 18 510

The BRAIN Initiative Fellows program is a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32) opportunity run through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Its main goal is to strengthen the research training of highly promising scientists at the very beginning of their postdoctoral careers, especially those who show clear potential to develop into independent, productive investigators. The fellowship is specifically tied to research that advances the goals of the NIH BRAIN Initiative, meaning proposals should be directly connected to understanding the brain through innovative neuroscience approaches, and the program explicitly welcomes projects in any BRAIN-aligned area, including neuroethics.

A key theme of this opportunity is that it is training-centered, not just a standard research grant. Applicants are expected to lay out a structured research training plan that builds on, but does not simply repeat, their prior doctoral work. The proposed postdoctoral training should clearly complement the applicant's predoctoral research background while pushing them into new skills, concepts, models, or technologies that broaden their expertise and set them up for an independent research path. A formal component of training in analytical tools is expected to be integrated into the plan, reflecting the reality that modern BRAIN-related research often depends on advanced quantitative, computational, statistical, engineering, or data-science methods. In other words, a strong application is not only about the scientific question, but also about how the fellowship period will be used to deliberately acquire new analytical capabilities and research competencies.

This program is also designed to capture candidates very early in the postdoctoral timeline. It encourages applications from individuals who have not yet completed their terminal doctoral degree at the time of applying, as long as they expect to finish within 12 months of the application due date. At the same time, the eligibility window is tight once postdoctoral training begins: by the application due date, candidates cannot have more than 12 months of postdoctoral training completed. That emphasis signals that NIH is trying to maximize the developmental impact of the fellowship by supporting people before their training path is already largely set and before they have spent years in a postdoc.

From an administrative perspective, the opportunity is a discretionary grant mechanism (an NIH fellowship award under the F32 training umbrella), listed under Funding Opportunity Number RFA MH 18 510, and associated with multiple NIH CFDA program numbers (93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867), reflecting the multi-institute nature of BRAIN-related funding across NIH. The original posting date in the source data is November 7, 2017, and the original closing date shown is June 17, 2020.

Eligibility for submission is broad at the organizational level and includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits). It also allows for-profit organizations (other than small businesses) and small businesses, as well as other entities, depending on the specific circumstances and NIH rules. The opportunity also explicitly calls out additional eligible categories that NIH often highlights to encourage wide participation, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), eligible federal government agencies, and even non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations). That said, while many institutions may be eligible to apply or host, individual eligibility and NRSA citizenship or residency requirements are often decisive for F-series fellowships, so applicants typically need to confirm those requirements in the full funding announcement and the NIH NRSA policy guidance.

Overall, the BRAIN Initiative Fellows (F32) opportunity is best understood as a targeted, early-postdoc fellowship meant to accelerate the transition from doctoral training to an independence-oriented research trajectory in BRAIN-relevant neuroscience. The strongest fit is someone with a solid doctoral foundation who is proposing a well-mentored, skill-building training experience that adds meaningful new analytical and technical depth, while tackling questions that clearly map onto the BRAIN Initiative mission, including the ethical dimensions of emerging neurotechnologies and neuroscience research.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BRAIN Initiative Fellows: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-11-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-06-17. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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 RFA MH 18 510

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