NINDS Postdoctoral Mentored Career Development Award (K01) | PAR 17 145

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 17 145

The NINDS Postdoctoral Mentored Career Development Award (K01) is a mentored NIH career development grant designed to help outstanding postdoctoral researchers in neuroscience-related fields build the skills, track record, and research foundation needed to transition into independence. The core goal is to support a postdoc who has a strong scientific trajectory and who can propose a potentially high-impact research project paired with a structured, well-thought-out career development plan. In practical terms, this opportunity is meant to fund more than just experiments; it is meant to fund the training, mentorship, and professional growth that positions a postdoctoral scholar to launch an independent research program by the end of the award period.

A central feature of this K01 is its emphasis on timing and readiness. NINDS encourages candidates to apply during the second through fourth year of their cumulative mentored postdoctoral research experience, with the expectation that, if awarded, support would occur within the first six years of cumulative postdoctoral experience. The reason for pushing applicants to apply earlier in the eligibility window is that the career development plan is a major component of the K01 and takes real time to implement and benefit from. NINDS is signaling that applicants should not wait until they are at the end of their postdoc; instead, they should use this mechanism as a deliberate bridge from mentored training to independence, giving themselves enough runway to complete training goals, publish key work, and develop the professional competencies expected of an independent investigator.

What NINDS expects by the end of the K01 is a candidate who is genuinely poised to step into an independent research role. That means the researcher should have a mature, coherent research direction with clear potential for impact, along with the technical, conceptual, and leadership expertise to be competitive for independent funding and faculty-level or equivalent research positions. The application therefore needs to demonstrate two things in parallel: first, that the proposed research project is meaningful, feasible, and aligned with NINDS mission areas; and second, that the candidate has a comprehensive mentoring and career development structure that fills skill gaps and prepares them to lead a program rather than simply contribute to a mentor's lab.

From an eligibility and applicant-organization standpoint, the opportunity is broad across U.S.-based institutions and organizational types. Eligible applicants include a wide range of government entities (state, county, city or township governments, and special district governments), education organizations (independent school districts; public/state-controlled and private institutions of higher education), tribal governments and organizations (including federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations), public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and both nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including small businesses, and for-profit entities other than small businesses). The notice also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant 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, 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 FOA draws clear lines around foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-U.S. institutions are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible to apply. However, foreign components are allowed when they meet the NIH definition in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, which typically means that certain project elements or collaborations can occur abroad if well-justified and compliant, even though the primary applicant organization must be domestic.

Administratively, this is an NIH discretionary grant opportunity offered under the health funding activity category, with CFDA number 93.853, and it is associated with Funding Opportunity Number PAR-17-145. The opportunity is administered by the National Institutes of Health, specifically the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The source record includes an original closing date of 2018-01-23 and a creation date of 2017-01-31, which are important for historical context; applicants should verify current submission dates and any reissued or updated FOAs if they are looking to apply now, since NIH opportunities are often renewed, modified, or replaced over time.

Overall, the NINDS K01 functions as a structured, mentored launchpad: it supports a postdoctoral researcher during a key career window, requires a rigorous plan for both research and professional development, and is explicitly aimed at producing a scientist who can credibly move from mentored postdoctoral work to an independent, impactful research program and eventual leadership in their field.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NINDS Postdoctoral Mentored Career Development Award (K01)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.853.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-01-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-01-23. (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 17 145

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