Bioinformatics Interdisciplinary Predoctoral Fellowship in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases (F31) | PAR 19 378

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 378

The Bioinformatics Interdisciplinary Predoctoral Fellowship in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases (F31) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary grant program (Funding Opportunity Number PAR-19-378) designed to support predoctoral trainees who are building research careers at the intersection of bioinformatics and the biology of diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolic diseases. The fellowship mechanism is the NIH F31, which is typically used to provide individual-level support for promising graduate students working toward a PhD or equivalent research doctorate. The emphasis on "interdisciplinary" bioinformatics signals that applicants are expected to integrate computational approaches (such as data science, statistical genetics, systems biology, machine learning, multi-omics integration, or biomedical informatics) with rigorous biomedical questions relevant to metabolic and endocrine health. The activity category is listed under Food and Nutrition, Health, and the CFDA number associated with the program is 93.847.

A key constraint in this announcement is the clinical trial policy: applicants are not allowed to propose leading an independent clinical trial as the main driver of their fellowship project. In practical terms, a predoctoral fellow cannot be the person who designs and runs a standalone clinical trial under this FOA. However, the FOA explicitly allows the fellow to gain research experience within an ongoing clinical trial, as long as that trial is led by an appropriate sponsor or co-sponsor. That means a student could propose work that analyzes data generated by a sponsor-led clinical study, contributes bioinformatics methods to trial-related datasets, or conducts ancillary analyses tied to a trial infrastructure, while still keeping the fellow in a trainee role rather than positioning them as the trial leader.

Eligibility is broad and includes a range of organization types that can host the fellowship. The eligible applicant organizations listed include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (both those with 501(c)(3) status and those without that status), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses, along with an "other" category that can cover additional eligible entities depending on NIH policy and the specific FOA language. In addition to these general categories, the announcement highlights additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, including foreign organizations. Because NIH eligibility rules can be nuanced for fellowships (for example, differentiating institutional eligibility from individual applicant eligibility and taking into account citizenship or residency requirements that often apply to F-series awards), the FOA directs applicants to consult the full eligibility section for definitive requirements.

From an administrative standpoint, the sponsoring agency is the NIH, and the opportunity was created on September 16, 2019. The original closing date shown in the source information is September 7, 2022. The provided record does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, which usually indicates that those details are either variable, set by NIH institute budgets and paylines in a given year, or provided elsewhere in the full announcement. Overall, the program is best understood as an individual predoctoral fellowship intended to develop advanced computational and bioinformatics expertise applied to diabetes and related endocrine or metabolic disease research, with explicit guidance that clinical trial involvement must be in a trainee capacity within a sponsor-led trial rather than as an independent trial leader.

• The National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bioinformatics Interdisciplinary Predoctoral Fellowship in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases (F31)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-09-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-09-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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 19 378

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