Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA OD 09 006
Apply for RFA OD 09 006
- The National Institutes of Health in the education health income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Womens Health (K12)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.242 Mental Health Research Grants 93.273 Alcohol Research Programs 93.279 Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs 93.398 Cancer Research Manpower 93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research 93.856 Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Research 93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research 93.866 Aging Research.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 22, 2009 and posted on Jul 17, 2009.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 22, 2009. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $5,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Eligible applicants include: For profit organizations other than small businesses Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education State governments Private institutions of higher education Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
- Other Eligible Applicants include the following Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Hispanic serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) U.S. Territory or Possession.
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Opportunity Summary:
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Womens Health (BIRCWH) is an NIH institutional career development grant opportunity that funds structured, mentored research programs designed to launch the careers of early-stage investigators working in womens health and in research that examines sex and gender factors. The program is led by the NIH Office of Research on Womens Health (ORWH) together with NIH co-sponsoring institutes and centers, and it is specifically aimed at helping institutions create a strong, interdisciplinary environment where promising junior faculty can develop into independent, externally funded researchers. The central idea is to build a pipeline of investigators who can move across disciplines and methods, connecting basic science with clinical realities and population needs, rather than staying confined within a single department or research tradition.
This opportunity uses the NIH K12 mechanism, formally called the Institutional Mentored Research Career Development Program Award. That structure matters because the award is made to an institution, not directly to an individual scholar. The institution then selects and supports multiple "BIRCWH Scholars" under the umbrella of the funded program. Scholars are typically junior faculty who have recently finished clinical training or a postdoctoral fellowship and are at the stage where dedicated protected time, research resources, and high-quality mentorship can make the difference between a stalled trajectory and a sustainable research career. In practice, a BIRCWH program is expected to provide intensive mentoring, career development activities, and a research plan that positions scholars to compete successfully for independent NIH funding (such as R01s or comparable awards) after the mentored period.
The research supported through BIRCWH is deliberately broad as long as it is relevant to womens health or to sex/gender differences and sex as a biological variable. Projects can span basic, translational, behavioral, clinical, and health services research. That means a scholar might be investigating molecular mechanisms that differ by sex, testing interventions in clinical settings that affect womens health outcomes, studying behavioral or social drivers of health that disproportionately impact women, or evaluating healthcare delivery and policy issues that shape access and quality of care. The unifying requirement is that the work meaningfully advances understanding of womens health and/or incorporates sex and gender considerations in a rigorous way, ideally leveraging expertise from multiple fields to address complex questions.
In terms of funding scale and expected awards, ORWH and its co-sponsors planned to commit about $5 million in total costs (including both direct costs and facilities and administrative costs) for fiscal year 2010. The announcement anticipated making up to 10 awards, which could include both new awards and competing continuation awards. This indicates a competitive national program with a limited number of funded institutional sites, each expected to run a coherent training and mentoring ecosystem rather than supporting isolated, one-off projects.
Eligibility for applicants is wide and includes many types of organizations, reflecting NIH interest in broad participation and geographic reach. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, state governments, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions), and for-profit organizations other than small businesses, along with additional eligible categories described in the full announcement. The eligibility list explicitly includes institutions that serve historically underrepresented or specific populations, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and U.S. territories or possessions. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, which lowers a common barrier for institutions that may not have extensive discretionary resources.
Key administrative details from the posting include the Funding Opportunity Number RFA-OD-09-006, issued by the National Institutes of Health under a discretionary grant category. The opportunity was posted in mid-July 2009, with an original closing date in September 2009 and a later current closing date of October 22, 2009, and it was archived in November 2009. The CFDA program numbers listed span multiple NIH scientific areas (for example, mental health, alcohol and drug abuse, cancer research manpower, arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases, infectious diseases, child health and human development, and aging research), which reflects the cross-cutting nature of womens health research and the multi-institute co-sponsorship model that BIRCWH typically uses.
Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as an institutional investment in people and infrastructure for interdisciplinary womens health research. Rather than funding a single lab or a single study, it funds a mentored career development program that identifies high-potential junior faculty, provides them with the interdisciplinary mentorship and protected research time needed to mature scientifically, and creates an institutional culture that treats womens health and sex/gender-based research as a core, integrative scientific priority.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) - NIH K12
1. What is the BIRCWH grant opportunity?
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) is an NIH institutional career development grant opportunity that supports structured, mentored research programs. Its purpose is to launch the careers of early-stage investigators working in women's health and in research that examines sex and gender factors, including sex as a biological variable.
2. What is the main goal of the BIRCWH program?
The central goal is to build a strong pipeline of interdisciplinary investigators who can become independent, externally funded researchers. The program emphasizes connecting basic science, clinical realities, and population needs, rather than keeping researchers confined to a single discipline or department.
3. Which NIH offices or components lead and support BIRCWH?
The program is led by the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) together with NIH co-sponsoring institutes and centers. The co-sponsorship model reflects the cross-cutting nature of women's health and sex/gender research.
4. What funding mechanism does BIRCWH use?
This opportunity uses the NIH K12 mechanism, formally titled the Institutional Mentored Research Career Development Program Award. Under a K12, the award is made to an institution, which then selects and supports multiple scholars through a structured program.
5. Is the BIRCWH award made to an individual researcher or to an institution?
The award is made to an institution, not directly to an individual. The institution uses the grant to build and run the BIRCWH program and to appoint multiple participants, commonly referred to as "BIRCWH Scholars."
6. Who are "BIRCWH Scholars"?
BIRCWH Scholars are typically junior faculty who have recently completed clinical training or a postdoctoral fellowship and are at a stage where dedicated protected time, research resources, and high-quality mentorship can significantly strengthen their path toward research independence.
7. What kind of support does a BIRCWH program provide to scholars?
A BIRCWH program is expected to provide intensive mentoring, career development activities, and a structured research plan. The program is designed to position scholars to compete for independent NIH funding after the mentored period, such as an R01 or comparable awards.
8. What types of research projects are supported under BIRCWH?
The research scope is deliberately broad as long as it is relevant to women's health or to sex/gender differences and incorporates sex as a biological variable in a meaningful and rigorous way. Supported projects can span basic, translational, behavioral, clinical, and health services research.
9. What does "interdisciplinary" mean in the context of BIRCWH?
In this program, "interdisciplinary" refers to research and mentoring that integrate expertise, methods, and perspectives from multiple fields. The intent is to address complex women's health and sex/gender questions by linking foundational science with clinical practice and population-level needs.
10. What are examples of research areas that could fit within BIRCWH?
Examples consistent with the description include studying molecular mechanisms that differ by sex, testing interventions in clinical settings that affect women's health outcomes, investigating behavioral or social drivers that disproportionately impact women, or evaluating healthcare delivery and policy issues that influence access and quality of care. The key requirement is that the work advances women's health and/or sex/gender-based research in a rigorous way.
11. How many awards were expected and what was the anticipated funding level?
ORWH and co-sponsors planned to commit about $5 million in total costs for fiscal year 2010. The announcement anticipated making up to 10 awards, which could include both new awards and competing continuation awards.
12. What does it mean that awards may include "new" and "competing continuation" awards?
Based on the posting, the anticipated awards could support institutions starting a new BIRCWH program and also institutions seeking renewal through a competing continuation. This indicates a limited number of funded institutional sites nationally and a competitive process.
13. What kinds of organizations were eligible to apply?
Eligibility included a broad range of organizations, such as public and private institutions of higher education, state governments, nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions), and for-profit organizations other than small businesses, along with additional categories described in the full announcement.
14. Are minority-serving institutions and U.S. territories included in the eligibility list?
Yes. The eligibility description explicitly includes institutions serving historically underrepresented or specific populations, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and U.S. territories or possessions.
15. Is cost sharing or a matching contribution required?
No. The opportunity states there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, which can reduce barriers for institutions with limited discretionary resources.
16. What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON) for this BIRCWH announcement?
The Funding Opportunity Number listed is RFA-OD-09-006.
17. When was this opportunity posted and what were the key dates?
The opportunity was posted in mid-July 2009. It had an original closing date in September 2009, a later current closing date of October 22, 2009, and it was archived in November 2009.
18. What does it mean that the opportunity was archived?
Based on the posting details, being archived in November 2009 indicates the specific announcement is no longer active as an open solicitation under those dates, since the submission window has passed.
19. What CFDA program numbers were associated with this opportunity and what do they imply?
The CFDA program numbers listed span multiple NIH scientific areas (including areas such as mental health, alcohol and drug abuse, cancer research manpower, arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases, infectious diseases, child health and human development, and aging research). This reflects the cross-cutting nature of women's health research and the multi-institute co-sponsorship model associated with BIRCWH.
20. How should institutions think about what BIRCWH funds?
BIRCWH is best understood as an institutional investment in people and infrastructure for interdisciplinary women's health research. Rather than funding a single lab or a single isolated project, it funds a mentored career development program that identifies high-potential junior faculty, supports their research development with protected time and interdisciplinary mentorship, and strengthens an institutional culture around women's health and sex/gender-based research.
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