Clinical and Translational Science Institute
Advancing today’s discoveries to improve health for all.

R25 Announcement

R25 Announcement

The Ohio State University Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is seeking proposals for leading an application on behalf of the Ohio State Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Education Program (R25). The high-level highlights from the NOFO are found below.

Access the full NOFO

Required Application Information for Consideration Under this Ohio State CTSA Limited Funding Opportunity

  1. Research Summary: PDF Format Only, five pages. The research summary must include:
    1. Specific Aims (one page maximum)
    2. Brief overview of the proposed Research Education Program, including how it will fulfill expectations of the R25 (two page maximum)
    3. Statement about how your proposed program will support research experiences designed to ensure that participants receive exposure to the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process in order to apply these principles to clinical and translational science research areas such as (one page maximum): 
      1. Pre-clinical research
      2. Clinical research
      3. Clinical implementation
      4. Public health
    4. A brief description of how this proposal integrates with/enhances the CTSA UM1 award (1/2 page maximum); If you need a copy of the Specific Aims of the proposal, contact Tiffany Bernard.
    5. Description of the research team (half page maximum)
  2. PI NIH Biosketch: PDF format only. Please combine into a SINGLE document if there are multiple PIs.

Review Process

Applications will be reviewed by The Ohio State University CTSI leadership team, who will evaluate the likelihood that the proposed project will be funded by the sponsor. Applicants will be notified of the final decisions with enough time to prepare a full proposal to the sponsor. 

The internal deadline for this competition is January 31, 2025, at noon, for the chosen applicants to meet the sponsor’s full application deadline of May 28, 2025. Applicants for the limited competition opportunity understand that this funding mechanism is part of the CTSA portfolio and agree to work closely with and meet all deadlines set by CTSI leaders. The CTSI will require receipts of the full application by April 30, 2025, for final review and approval of submission.

Please contact tiffany.bernard@osumc.edu with any questions regarding this internal competition.

CTSA R25 Overview

The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. 

To accomplish the stated overarching goal, this opportunity will provide support to recipients of CTSAs for creative educational activities with a primary focus on research experiences. Research experiences are expected to be relevant to the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences’ (NCATS) mission of studying translation on a system-wide level, agnostic to a specific disease, to better understand the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process. The goal is not to focus on specific diseases, but on what is common among them and the translational science process.

Scope and Specific Requirements

Purpose: The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports educational activities that complement formal training programs within NIH Institutes and Centers.

Target Groups 

Examples of research experiences appropriate for career levels include, but are not limited to:

  • Undergraduates (including those at community colleges): to provide hands-on exposure to research that reinforces their interest in clinical and translational science and/or prepares them for graduate school matriculation and/or careers in clinical and translational science for graduate and medical, dental, nursing and other health professional students
  • Graduate Research and Clinical Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Medical Residents: to extend their skills, experiences and knowledge base in order to engage in clinical and translational science research activities
  • Junior Faculty: to enhance their research skills, experiences and knowledge base relative to clinical and translational science by working with faculty members at a partnering institution

Research Experiences

  • Focus on translational science that applies across diseases rather than specific diseases
  • Hands-on exposure in lab or field settings for 10–15 weeks, full-time (40 hours/week)
  • Programs should offer unique experiences not covered by existing NIH training mechanisms

Program Structure

  • The R25 program is expected to provide training experiences to a cohort of participants in each year of the award, including year one
  • R25 programs can extend research experiences for up to 15 weeks with continued part-time support, if the total duration is completed within 12 months
  • Programs must be distinct from other federally funded training and cannot replace existing programs like NRSA

Additional Notes: Programs should provide innovative, hands-on research experiences that foster further education and training in clinical and translational science research careers. Collaborations with other cores/teams/programs of The Ohio State University CTSI or its partners and collaborators (Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Bon Secours Mercy Health (BSMH) and Ohio Primary Care Innovation Network (OPCIN), are encouraged. Also, collaborations with other CTSA hubs and with non-CTSA organizations are encouraged.

Award Budget

  • Maximum budget is $100,000 direct costs/year
  • The budget request for a given application needs to be adequately justified and reflect the actual needs of the proposed project
  • Yearly fluctuations in the project workload should be reflected in the requested budget
  • Maximum project period is five years
  • Total allowable personnel (including consultants) cost should be proportional to the number of participants in the program
    • For each participant, up to $3,500 (Direct Cost) is allowed for personnel (including consultants) costs per year; all personnel and consultant costs must be itemized and adequately justified

Highlighted Review Criteria

The goal of this R25 program is to support Research Experiences in clinical and translational science. Applications should be characterized by a high degree of creativity and scholarship and should provide documentation of a strong need for the proposed research experiences program. 

  • Does the proposed program address a key audience and an important aspect or important need in
    research education?
  • If the aims of the research experiences program are achieved, will they:
    • Contribute to the development and education of highly trained health professionals; and/or
    • Provide a clinical and translational science research experience that is novel in content to the participants
  • Is the PD/PI capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program?
  • If the project is collaborative or multi-PD/PI, do the investigators have complementary and integrated expertise; are their leadership approach, governance and organizational structure appropriate for the project?
  • Does the proposed program clearly state its goals and objectives, including the educational level of the audience to be reached, the content to be conveyed and the intended outcome?

Important Notes

Please review the full NOFO prior to applying to the internal competition.

It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure that both the application and all project participants are eligible for this opportunity and are prepared to submit a full application to NCATS if selected.

The selected proposal/team will work with the CTSI grant administrators and senior leadership to prepare and submit the application to NCATS. If funded, this award will be held within the CTSI ORG, including all facilitative and administrative funds flow.