Applying for a F-31
This was originally published in the July 2021 edition of the Monthly Monitor, available here.
What is the purpose of an F-31 Grant?
The overall goal of the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. The purpose of the F-31 grant is to provide support for promising doctoral candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) during the tenure of the award.
Why Apply?
If you are already fully funded, what’s in it for you? You can be provided with an institutional allowance of around $4,200. You will be provided approximately $2,200 to fund your project/travel and $2,000 for your health insurance. In addition to funding, the F-31 grant is a competitive award that adds prestige on your CV. If you obtain the grant, you are more likely to be funded for a postdoctoral fellowship and/or a career development award.
How to Apply?
Here are the following steps you should consider when applying:
Talk to your mentor (sponsor) & program chair.
Meet with your departmental grant administrator (also known as the Pre-Award Specialist, etc. Your program chair will know who this is.).
Read the funding opportunity announcement (also called FOA or guidelines) for your particular program.
Read the individual fellowship application guide.
Talking to your Sponsor
If you are considering applying for an F-31 grant, it’s important to include your sponsor in every step of the process. When you first meet with your sponsor, you will need to:
Determine if you and your sponsor are eligible
Determine if now is the right time to apply
Determine which NIH institute is most appropriate
Discuss expectations and timeline
Obtain contact information for department grant administrator
Meet with Department Grant Administrator/Pre-Award Specialist
Make contact as soon as you know you are going to apply. The grant administrator will be the person that uploads all of your necessary documents to the system, so it is important to meet with them as soon as possible. Discuss expectations and timeline. Since there are certain tasks they will need to complete for you, they may need your application materials a week or so before the deadline. They will also be the person who communicates and gets permission from university staff to submit the application, so they will need ample time to complete these items.
In short, the department administrator will help you by
Adding the PI role to your NIH eRA Commons account
Completing all your forms
Uploading the components of your application
Routing the application for institutional signature – allow sufficient time for this (~7-10 days)
Answering many questions about the process
How to Apply
FOA (guidelines)
Check the following:
Eligibility requirements
Award information
Review the selection criteria
Application Guide
The application guide outlines required elements of the application. There you will find the instructions for formatting, page limits, and references. The application guide is long and complete; read it all very carefully.
You do not need to download the application package or complete the forms
The department administrator will complete all the forms for you using ERA Assist and ERA Commons
The fellowship application guide is part of the general NIH application guide. A link to the supplemental instructions for fellowships may be found in Section F.100, page F-4.
Formatting requirements are in Section F.110, page F-7.
Cover letter attachment instructions (Section F.200, page F-29)
Letters of Reference instructions (Section F.130, page F-14)
Note that FOA instructions always supersede application instructions
F31 Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31) awards now require an institutional letter that describes the institutional commitment to ensuring that the appropriate policies and procedures are in place to prevent discriminatory harassment and other discriminatory practices.
Your department grant administrator will obtain this letter for your application.
Currently, this is only for F31 Diversity applications
The Basics
Follow all instructions for formatting and page limits; these are non-negotiable.
Create your application documents in Microsoft Word (or similar) and convert to .pdf just before submitting
Do not worry about registering for systems or gathering data for completing the forms. This will be done for you.
Requirements of Sponsor(s)
Your choice of sponsor can determine if you are awarded your fellowship. This is required of your sponsor:
Federal research funding
Covering the first two years of the fellowship
Preferably NIH R01 or equivalent (other major grants can be acceptable)
Recent publications
Established student track record (you will have to list brief information on your sponsor’s former students)
Students with first-author papers
Students with fellowships
Graduated and are now postdocs or faculty
If your sponsor lacks credentials, a co-sponsor may help
Required Sections
It is important to allow yourself several months to plan and write your materials, as there are many. For your application, you are required to provide:
Cover Letter
Abstract
Project Narrative
Specific Aims
Selection of sponsor and institution
Doctoral dissertation and previous research
Training Plan
Resource sharing plan
Respective contributions
Facilities and resources
Equipment (not required but commonly included)
Description of graduate program
Letters of Support
Biosketches
Letters of reference (3)
Evaluation Criteria
When your application is being reviewed, the reviewer will consider the following when scoring and determining if your application will be selected.
Research training plan
The applicant
The sponsor
Environment and institutional commitment to training
Training potential
Thinking about the Project
When you are crafting your grant application, you should be able to answer ‘Yes’ to the following questions.
Is it an important question?
Is it feasible?
Is there a high probability of success?
Is it conducive to training?
Can it be linked to public health?
Successful Applications
Successful applications are considered to have the following:
The sponsor has a strong publication record (students and self)
Training plan that is comprehensive and well-related to project (this is largely your sponsor’s responsibility, but you can “encourage” them to do a good job)
Writing that has been reviewed by others and feedback is implemented
Applicant has excellent academic record and strong letters of reference
Tips for Success
Start early
Write for a cross-section of readers (scientists may be from another field)
Follow instructions
Assess final documents for readability and organization
Ask for feedback – and implement it
Keep everyone in the loop (Sponsor, Letter writers, Grant administrator)
Stand out for excellence, not errors
Be sure the link to public health is very clear, especially for basic science projects
What do you do when you are awarded?
Let the following people know right away:
Your sponsor (he or she will have also received notice)
Your graduate program administrator
The departmental research administrator
2. You will have up to six months to begin the fellowship
Your sponsor, program administrator and research administrator will help you determine the most strategic time to begin your fellowship. Start dates must be at the beginning of any given quarter.
Good Luck and Happy Writing!
Helpful links
Application Guide: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide/forms-f/fellowship-forms-f.pdf
Funding Announcements:
F31 Diversity, PA-19-196: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-19-196.html
F31, PA-19-195: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-19-195.html