Applying for a Diversity or Re-entry Supplement
Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with the NIMH Program Official (PO) assigned to the parent grant, a training PO, and Tatiana Meza-Cervera, Ph.D. prior to submitting a request for a supplement application.
For general Diversity Supplement FAQs, please see the Research Training and Career Development Frequently Asked Questions .
Application Requirements and Additional Considerations
- Proposal
- Candidate statement
- Statement of eligibility
- Proposed budget
- Biographical sketch of the candidate
- Biographical sketch of research mentors
- Human subjects/vertebrate animal documentation (if applicable)
- Additional documentation that may be needed
- Special instructions by career level
Proposal
Proposal length: No more than six pages
Provide a brief proposal describing the project and training and career experience, including:
| Proposal sections | Considerations for each section |
|---|---|
| Research section |
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| Training and career development plan for the candidate |
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| Mentoring experience of the PI |
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| Plan and timeline for the research and career development experiences |
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| Candidate support |
|
Candidate statement
Statement length: No more than three pages
The candidate statement, signed by the candidate, should clearly discuss why the candidate is interested in pursuing a career in neuroscience or mental health research, their education and research background to date, their short and long-term career goals, goals for the project. The statement should also discuss what supplemental support would allow the candidate to do that might not otherwise be possible or why the supplement is important for advancing their career in research.
The candidate may also address any setbacks they have encountered in their research career and the steps they took to rectify the issues.
Statement of eligibility
Statement length: No more than one page
The application should include a signed statement from the PI and an Authorized Organizational Representative establishing the eligibility of the candidate for support under this program . The statement must include:
- Information on citizenship, non-citizen nationality of the United States, or information regarding if the individual has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States (for example, a Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551).
- Information on the nature of the candidate's disability, circumstances, background, or characteristics that confer eligibility under this program.
- For Diversity Supplements, a convincing description of how the appointment of this specific candidate will address the issue of diversity within the national scientific workforce or within the workforce or the relevant population at the grantee institution. The strength of this statement will be considered by the NIH administrative review committee along with all other material provided.
- A description of any current or previous Public Health Service (PHS) research grant support the candidate has received, including start and end dates. State if the candidate has received any current or previous PHS support; if the candidate has, include the grant number and inclusive dates of support.
- Individuals may not be transferred to a supplement to increase the availability of funds to the parent grant for other uses. Individuals may be supported by the parent grant for short periods, at the recipient’s risk, pending Institute/Center decision on the supplement application.
- PHS support includes any support, including non-salary support, that the candidate has received, including support from an NIH grant or a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (Kirschstein-NRSA).
- Grants management may have concerns and disapprove an award if the candidate has been previously named on a project, or if there is a substantial unobligated balance on the award. If either situation applies, discuss the circumstances with the Program Officer for the parent grant prior to submitting an application.
Proposed budget
- Please look at Section 6 of the notice of funding opportunity which lays out budget information and the forms to use for each level of trainee.
- Budget forms (e.g., R&R Budget , PHS 398 Training Budget ): Only include funds requested for the additional supplement activities
- The duration of the diversity supplement cannot extend beyond the grant end date. The time requested should reflect the career stage of the candidate and the training plan proposed.
- For high school or undergraduate students, the period of supplement support may be as short as a summer experience or one academic year.
- For graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and investigators, a two-year supplement period is typically appropriate. In some circumstances, less than two years might be reasonable. Discuss those cases with program staff prior to submitting the application.
- The timeline should align with the budget timeline of the parent grant
Biographical sketch of the candidate
Biographical sketch length: no more than five pages
Provide a personal statement that includes information about the candidate’s motivation to enter and/or remain in biomedical and behavioral research science fields and their short-term and long-term career goals. See Biosketch Format Pages, Instructions, and Samples for examples .
- Include candidate transcript [DOCX, 1 page] for candidates at the predoctoral level or below.
Biographical sketch of research mentors
Biographical sketch length: no more than five pages
Submit a PI biosketch with a personal statement that describes a commitment to (1) training, mentoring, and promoting inclusive and supportive scientific research environments, and (2) supporting mentee participation in activities required to identify and transition into careers in the biomedical and behavioral research workforce that are consistent with the mentees' skills, interests, and values.
The sketch should include information about the PI’s training history including a list of individuals trained and their subsequent career and professional outcomes.
Human subjects/vertebrate animal documentation (if applicable)
If the research includes human subjects or vertebrate animals, please include the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) documentation from your university.
Additional documentation that may be needed
If the candidate is a student at another institution (other than the grantee institution), the application must include an appropriately signed letter from a responsible official at the institution of matriculation indicating that participation at the stated level of effort is approved and will not detract from or interfere with the student's course of studies.
If any of the research is to be conducted at a site 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 PI, and the appropriate Authorized Signing Official (affiliated with the candidate’s institution).
If the request is for a supplement based on disability, the institution should provide a statement indicating 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 might be used. The relationship of the proposed accommodation to the proposed project must be described.
Special Instructions by Career Level
Applications should provide a detailed plan that is appropriate for a high school student. They should describe how this experience will encourage and prepare the candidate to transition into a college or university and earn a baccalaureate degree in a biomedical and behavioral research field.
Applications should provide a detailed plan that is appropriate for an undergraduate student and describe how the candidate will be provided with support as well as adequate, appropriate, and timely information to transition into the next phase of the biomedical and behavioral research workforce pathway (for example, support and information when applying to research-focused graduate programs, or for funding opportunities).
Applications should provide a detailed plan that is appropriate for a postbaccalaureate researcher or master’s student, and provide evidence (such as an academic transcript) that the researcher or student, with appropriate support and training, will be competitive for a research-oriented graduate program. The application should describe how this experience will prepare the candidate for admission to and successful completion of a research-oriented graduate program (for example, Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. program), or a career in the research biomedical and behavioral workforce.
Applications should provide a detailed plan that is appropriate for a graduate student and describe how the candidate will be provided with support as well as adequate, appropriate, and timely information to transition into the next phase of the biomedical and behavioral research workforce pathway. In most circumstances, the training plan should include mentoring the candidate to submit fellowships (i.e., R36 , DSPAN ) applications or to transition into a postdoctoral position or to transition into a career in the biomedical and behavioral research workforce.
Applications should provide a detailed plan that is appropriate for a postdoctoral fellow and describe how the candidate will be provided with support as well as adequate, appropriate, and timely information to transition into the next phase of the biomedical and behavioral research workforce pathway. In most circumstances the training plan should include mentoring the candidate to submit fellowships/career development applications.
NIMH encourages diversity supplement applications that will provide candidates with the knowledge, skills, and support to transition to academic research careers.
Applications should provide a detailed plan that is appropriate for a junior investigator and describe how the candidate will be provided with support as well as adequate, appropriate, and timely information to transition into independence and professional advancement at their institution.
Applications should clearly state what the goal of the supplement is and how it will enable the candidate to achieve independence and advance to the next career stage. In most circumstances the training plan should include mentoring the candidate to submit research grant applications, such as R01 , R15, ReWARD , SuRE , career development or other relevant research grants.
Applicants should describe plans for publications and how the supplement will enable the candidate to enhance their research program and/or training of students at their own institution. NIMH encourages diversity supplement applications that will provide candidates with the knowledge, skills, and support to fully transition to independence and achieve tenure.