CTSA Program-Specific Guidance for Diversity, Re-entry and Reintegration Research Supplements

It is critical that applicants follow the submission instructions as noted in the relevant FOAs. The NCATS CTSA Program has one receipt date per fiscal year for diversity, Re-entry, and Reintegration supplements: September 15 (or the following business day if September 15 falls on a holiday or weekend).

A complete package for a Diversity or Re-entry and Reintegration Supplement request must include:

  1. A brief proposal describing the project and training/career experience (not to exceed 10 pages), including:
    • Summary or abstract of the funded parent award or project (not to exceed one page). Provide a brief overview about how the candidate will use the CTSA Program resources to complete their research training plan and which resources will be used.
    • Research Strategy: Description of the candidate’s proposed research strategy within the scope of the funded parent award or project (not to exceed four pages). Organize the Research Strategy section using the following sections: Research Aims, Significance, Innovation and Approach. Applicants are encouraged to use NIH’s guidance for fellowships or career development applications.
    • Mentoring Plan: A mentoring plan for the candidate must include a plan for the candidate to contribute intellectually to the research, to enhance her/his research skills and knowledge regarding the selected area of biomedical, behavioral, clinical or social sciences science; and to interact with other individuals on the parent grant that will contribute to their research and career development plan. It also must provide evidence of a focus on the enhancement of the research capability of the candidate and that the research experience is intended to provide opportunities for development as an independent investigator. In addition, the Mentoring Plan must demonstrate that the CTSA Program UL1 program director(s)/principal investigator(s) are willing to provide appropriate mentorship. The selected mentor(s) should be an active investigator in the area of the proposed research, committed to both the career development of the candidate, and able to the direct supervision of the candidate’s research. Candidates are encouraged to identify more than one mentor, (i.e., a mentoring team [or advisory committee]), as this is deemed advantageous for providing expert advice in all aspects of the research career development plan. The mentoring plan must include a description on developing an individual development plan for the candidate (see NOT-OD-14-113) (not to exceed three pages). Additionally, a plan for the candidate’s next source of funding is required.
    • Mentoring experience of the CTSA Program UL1 PI and selected mentors (not to exceed one page). The mentor, or a member of the mentoring team, should have a successful track record of mentoring individuals at the candidate’s career stage. The primary mentor must 1) write a brief statement about their mentoring experience and mentoring philosophy, and 2) include a table listing current and previous mentees, degree (s), their career level at time of mentorship. Inclusion of the percent of individuals mentored whose background is consistent with the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031) is encouraged.
    • A timeline for the research and career development experiences proposed (not to exceed one page).
  2. Identification of the Project/Performance Site Location: Include the primary site where the proposed research training supplement activities will be performed. If a portion of the proposed supplement activities will be performed at any other site(s), identify the locations in the fields provided.
  3. Identification of Senior/Key Personnel: List the CTSA Program UL1 PD/PI as the first person (regardless of their role on the supplement activities). List the candidate proposed to be added through this supplement, or for whom additional funds are being requested through this supplement.
    • Note: Candidates for this supplement support must have an eRA Commons account and the candidate's Commons Username must be entered in the Credential field.
  4. Biographical Sketches: Include a biographical sketch for all personnel that will contribute to the research mentoring (PI/PD, candidate, mentors and collaborators). The biographical sketch should follow NIH guidelines. The personal statement of the candidate's biographical sketch should address:
    • Evidence of scientific achievement or interest;
    • Any source(s) of current funding; and
    • A statement from the candidate outlining her/his research objectives and career goals.
  5. A Proposed Budget for the Entire Project Period: Applicants should follow the instructions as indicated in the FOA. Only include funds requested for the additional supplement activities. Note that the expected time commitment of the candidate on the project must adhere to the FOA requirements. The requested time of the entire project should be no less than two years to provide an optimal career development experience for the candidate. (See the CTSA Program FAQs for Diversity Supplements.)
  6. Candidate Eligibility Statement (not to exceed one page): A signed statement from an institutional official establishing the eligibility of the candidate for support under this program. The statement must include clearly presented information on citizenship of the candidate and a description of how the appointment of this specific candidate would further the goals of this funding opportunity, consistent with the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031). The strength of this statement will be considered by the NIH administrative review committee along with all other material provided.
  7. Other Project Information:
    • If applicable, attach PDF documents in the "Other Attachments" field indicating that the proposed research experience was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or human subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the grantee institution. Name the documents "IACUC Documentation.pdf" and/or "IRB Documentation.pdf". Adherence to the NIH policy for including women and minorities in clinical studies must also be ensured, if additional human subjects' involvement is planned for the supplement.
    • Home Institution Approval: Under unusual circumstances where the applicant and mentor would be at a site other than the grantee institution, an appropriately signed letter from the institution where the research is to be conducted must also be submitted. The request must be signed by the CTSA Program UL1 PD/PI, the candidate and the appropriate institutional business official.
    • Sub-Recipient Approval: If any of the research is to be conducted at an organization other than the grantee institution, an appropriately signed letter from the institution where the research is to be conducted must be submitted. The request must be signed by the candidate, the CTSA Program UL1 and the Subsite PD/PI, and the appropriate institutional business official.
    • If the request is for a supplement based on disability, the institution should indicate what, if any, reasonable accommodations the institution has supported or plans to provide along with a full description of how any additional support for accommodation that might be used. The relationship of the proposed accommodation to the proposed project must be described.

Note Regarding Eligibility of Candidates

Supplemental awards under this announcement are limited to citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States or to individuals who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States (i.e., in possession of a Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551). In all cases involving any type of Permanent Residency status, when an application is selected to receive an award, prior to any award being issued, a notarized statement will be required that documents that a licensed notary has seen the candidate's valid Permanent Resident Card or other valid verification from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service of legal admission to the U.S. In all cases where Permanent Residency status is involved, it is the responsibility of the recipient institution to assure the individual remains eligible for the project period of the award.

Eligibility for Diversity Supplements:

Institutions are encouraged to identify candidates who will enhance diversity on a national basis. The diversity supplement is designed for individuals from groups underrepresented in the biomedical sciences, including racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities and individuals from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds who wish to pursue a career in clinical and translational science research.

If a candidate received a prior NCATS diversity supplement award, regardless of career stage, they are not eligible to apply for a second NCATS diversity supplement award.

Eligibility for Re-entry Supplements:

In general, the duration of the career interruption should be at least one year and no more than eight years. Examples of qualifying interruptions would include a complete or partial hiatus from research activities for child rearing; an incapacitating illness or injury of the candidate, spouse, partner or a member of the immediate family; relocation to accommodate a spouse, partner or other close family member; pursuit of non-research endeavors that would permit earlier retirement of debt incurred in obtaining a doctoral degree; and military service. The program is not intended to support additional graduate training and is not intended to support career changes from non-research to research careers for individuals without prior research training. Generally, the candidate should be in complete or partial hiatus from research activities at the time of application and should not be engaged in full-time paid research activities. Preference will be given to candidates with a complete hiatus from research activities.

Eligibility for Reintegration Supplements:

Candidates with doctoral degrees and graduate students seeking to transition out of unsafe research environments because of discriminatory and unlawful harassment are eligible to apply for Reintegration supplements as soon as supplement support to continue research training in a new and safe research environment has been identified.

Review of Applications

As indicated in the respective FOAs, administrative supplements do not undergo formal peer review. Program staff will evaluate supplement applications to determine its overall merit using the review criteria outlined in the FOAs.