NIAID Increases K22 Career Transition Award Salary Cap to $249,000/Year

Notice of Change to Research Support and Salary Restrictions in PAR-25-251, “NIAID Career Transition Award (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)” Notice Number: NOT-AI-26-001

Key Dates

Release Date: April 13, 2026

Related Announcements

• December 3, 2024 - NIAID Career Transition Award (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PAR-25-251.

Issued by

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to alert potential applicants of an increase in the salary support for the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), PAR-25-251, “NIAID Career Transition Award (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)”.

Currently Reads:

Section II. Award Information

Award Budget

NIAID will provide up to $150,000 direct costs in the first year and up to $100,000 direct costs in the second year. Further guidance on salary and other program-related expenses are described below.

Other Program-Related Expenses

NIAID will provide up to $50,000 direct costs per year toward the salary of the career award recipient (exclusive of fringe benefits). The remainder of the direct costs may be requested to provide fringe benefits and research development costs of the award recipient, which must be justified and consistent with the stage of development of the candidate and the proportion of time to be spent in research or career development activities. These funds may be used for the following expenses: (a) tuition and fees related to career development; (b) research-related expenses, such as supplies, equipment and technical personnel; (c) travel to research meetings or training; and (d) statistical services including personnel and computer time.

Salary for mentors, secretarial and administrative assistants, etc. is not allowed.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

R&R Budget

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

• For period of support, indicate the total period of support being requested: 2 years.
• Detailed budget information is not required at the time of application for Phase I, the postdoctoral training phase.
• Budget Justification. A Budget Justification must be provided at the time of submission of the K22 application. Due to the nature of the K22 transition award, applicants may not have detailed information about the budget justification available at the time of submission of the K22 application. Therefore, for the purpose of this NOFO, it is sufficient to submit a Budget Justification attachment stating the following information: "The NIAID K22 initiative provides up to $250,000 in funds to support the candidate's development of a research program at a U.S. institution. The funding is distributed as up to $150,000 the first year and up to $100,000 the second year, direct costs. The funds can be used at the PD/PI's discretion for research development costs, including supplies, equipment, technical personnel, travel to research meetings or training, tuition/fees for courses and computational services. No more than $50,000/year will be used to support the PD/PI's salary." Modified to Read (changes shown in *bold italics*):

Section II. Award Information

Award Budget

NIAID will provide up to $249,000 direct costs each year for up to 2 years effective for due dates on or after June 12, 2026. This amount includes salary, fringe benefits, and research costs.

Other Program-Related Expenses

Salary for mentors, secretarial and administrative assistants, etc. is not allowed.

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

R&R Budget

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

• For period of support, indicate the total period of support being requested: 2 years.
• Detailed budget information is not required at the time of application for Phase I, the postdoctoral training phase.
• Budget Justification. A Budget Justification must be provided at the time of submission of the K22 application. Due to the nature of the K22 transition award, applicants may not have detailed information about the budget justification available at the time of submission of the K22 application. Therefore, for the purpose of this NOFO, it is sufficient to submit a Budget Justification attachment stating the following information: "The NIAID K22 initiative provides up to $249,000 direct costs each year for up to two years to support the candidate's development of a research program at a U.S. institution. The funds can be used at the PD/PI's discretion for salary, fringe benefits, and research development costs, including supplies, equipment, technical personnel, travel to research meetings or training, tuition/fees for courses and computational services." The total NIH contribution to salary may not exceed the legislatively mandated salary cap. See: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/salcap_summary.htm All other aspects of the NOFO remain unchanged.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

NIAID Office of Research Training and Special Programs (ORTSP)
Email: [email protected]

Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health ®