NIH Research Education Program - Courses, Curriculum & Methods (Parent R25 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PA 27 034

Opportunity Information: Apply for PA 27 034

The NIH Research Education Program - Courses, Curriculum and Methods (Parent R25; Clinical Trial Not Allowed), funding opportunity number PA-27-034, is a discretionary NIH grant that supports the design and delivery of research education activities tied to NIH mission areas. The purpose is education-focused rather than a traditional research project grant, with an emphasis on building or strengthening courses, curricula, and instructional methods that help develop a workforce prepared for the nations biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. In practical terms, applicants use this mechanism to create or improve structured educational experiences that enhance research readiness, expand access to high-quality research education, and improve how research concepts and skills are taught.

The program is organized around three overarching goals. First, it supports educational activities that complement and/or enhance existing training pathways so the workforce can meet current and emerging research needs in biomedical, behavioral, and clinical fields. Second, it aims to help recruit individuals with particular specialty or disciplinary backgrounds into research careers, which can include efforts to attract learners from fields that are underrepresented in specific research areas or that bring needed expertise (for example, quantitative disciplines, informatics, or other high-need specialties). Third, it seeks to foster broader understanding of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research and its implications, meaning applicants can propose programs that strengthen research literacy, ethics, rigor, and responsible conduct, and that help participants understand how research connects to health outcomes and society.

A key expectation is that the sponsoring organization demonstrates real institutional commitment. NIH explicitly notes that the institution should assure support for the proposed program, including adequate staffing, facilities, and educational resources necessary to carry out the planned activities. Reviewers generally look for evidence that the program is not dependent on a single individual, that there is administrative and leadership backing, and that the educational environment can sustain the proposed curriculum or methods improvements.

Organizations that already hold NIH or other federally funded training awards, such as Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA institutional training grants (for example, T32 programs), are allowed to apply as long as the R25-supported educational experiences are distinct from those already supported by federal training funds. NIH anticipates that in many cases an R25 will complement ongoing training rather than duplicate it, so applicants typically need to clearly explain how the proposed courses or curriculum fill a gap, reach a different audience, add new educational methods, or provide content that is not otherwise covered by existing funded programs.

This opportunity is explicitly limited to non-clinical-trial work, as indicated by the Clinical Trial Not Allowed designation. That means the grant is meant to support educational development and delivery, not the conduct of clinical trials, and applicants should avoid proposing any activities that would be considered a clinical trial under NIH definitions.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township 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, other Native American tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and other eligible entities as described in the full notice. However, foreign participation is tightly restricted: non-U.S. (non-domestic) entities are not eligible to apply, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed. In short, the applicant and the supported program activities must be U.S.-based without foreign components.

Administrative details from the listing include that the agency is the National Institutes of Health, the funding instrument is a grant, the activity category is Health, and it is associated with multiple CFDA (Assistance Listing) numbers reflecting the many NIH Institutes and Centers that may use this parent announcement. The opportunity has an original closing date of 2029-05-25, indicating a multi-year window typical of NIH parent announcements with standard submission cycles. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided source data, which is common for NIH parent announcements because budgets and award volumes often vary by Institute/Center priorities and available appropriations.

Overall, this R25 parent opportunity is best understood as a mechanism for institutions and organizations to build, modernize, and evaluate research education offerings (courses, curricula, and teaching methods) that strengthen the research pipeline and research literacy in NIH-relevant fields, while remaining clearly distinct from federally funded training programs and avoiding any clinical trial components.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIH Research Education Program - Courses, Curriculum & Methods (Parent R25 - 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, 93.121, 93.172, 93.173, 93.233, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.310, 93.313, 93.361, 93.398, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840, 93.847, 93.853, 93.855, 93.859, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867, 93.879, 93.T21.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2026-06-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2029-05-25.
• 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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