NRSA Stipends

NIH has established new stipend levels for fiscal year (FY) 2009 Kirschstein-NRSA awards for undergraduate, predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees and fellows, as shown in the notice below (also available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-075.html). The Training Related Expenses for trainees and the Institutional Allowance for individual fellows remain unchanged (as previously announced in NOT-OD-06-093 and summarized below).

Please contact your ORPA Research Administrator with any questions or concerns.

Donna Beyea - x5-8037

Anne Corriveau – x3-2137

Gayle Elledge - x 5-1502

Brenda Kavanaugh - x5-1504

Tammie Martin - x3-3960

Jane Tolbert - x5-4210

Cheryl Williams - x5-1503

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipend and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2009

Notice Number: NOT-OD-09-075

Key Dates
Release Date: March 27, 2009

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov/)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), (http://www.ahrq.gov/)
Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), (http://www.hrsa.gov/)

This Notice supersedes NOT-OD-07-057 and NOT-OD-08-036, and establishes new stipend levels for fiscal year (FY) 2009 Kirschstein-NRSA awards for undergraduate, predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees and fellows, as shown in the table below. The Training Related Expenses for trainees and the Institutional Allowance for individual fellows remain as previously announced in NOT-OD-06-093 and are also summarized below.

The budgetary categories described in this Notice are effective only for Kirschstein-NRSA awards made with FY 2009 funds. All FY2009 awards issued using FY2008 stipend levels will be revised to increase the stipend category to the FY2009 level. Retroactive adjustments or supplementation of stipends or other budgetary categories with Kirschstein-NRSA funds for an award made prior to October 1, 2008 are not permitted.

Stipends

Effective with all Kirschstein-NRSA awards made on or after October 1, 2008, the following annual stipend levels apply to all individuals receiving support through institutional research training grants or individual fellowships, including the Minority Access to Research Career (MARC) and Career Opportunities in Research (COR) programs. These awards are made under the authority of Section 487 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.
The stipend levels are as follows:

Career Level		Stipend for FY 2009

Undergraduates in the MARC and COR Programs:
Freshmen/Sophomores		$7,896
Juniors/Seniors		$11,064

Predoctoral		$20,976

Postdoctoral
Years of Experience:
	0	$37,368
	1	$39,360
	2	$42,204
	3	$43,860
	4	$45,504
	5	$47,460
	6	$49,344
	7 or more	$51,552

These stipend levels are to be used in the preparation of future competing and non-competing NRSA institutional training grant and individual fellowship applications. They will be administratively applied to all applications currently in the review process.

NRSA support is limited to 5 years for predoctoral trainees, and 3 years for postdoctoral fellows. The NIH provides eight levels of postdoctoral stipends to accommodate individuals who complete other forms of health-related training prior to accepting a Kirschstein-NRSA supported position. (The presence of eight discrete levels of experience, however, does not constitute an endorsement of extended periods of postdoctoral research training.)

It should be noted that the maximum amount that NIH will award to support the compensation package for a graduate student research assistant remains at the zero level postdoctoral stipend, as described in NOT-OD-02-017.

Training Related Expenses and Institutional Allowances for Kirschstein-NRSA Recipients

Expenses allowed within these cost categories are described in the appropriate program announcements, which can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm.
These levels for training-related expenses and institutional allowances are to be used in the preparation of future competing Kirschstein-NRSA institutional training grant and individual fellowship applications, and will be administratively applied to all applications currently in the review process.

A. Training Related Expenses on Institutional Training Grants

These expenses (including health insurance costs) for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees will be paid at the amounts shown below for all competing awards made with FY 2009 funds. These amounts also apply to non-competing awards issued in FY 2007 for programs that received competing awards in FY 2006 or beyond:

Predoctoral Trainees: $4,200
Postdoctoral Trainees: $7,850

Non-competing continuations of institutional training awards that started in FY 2005 or earlier will continue to receive tuition, fees, health insurance, and training related expenses at the rates set in the initial Notice of Award and calculated in accordance with the policies in place at that time. Further information about the implementation of Kirschstein-NRSA policies for tuition, fees, and health insurance announced in NOT-OD-06-093 can be found in Questions and Answers Related to NOT-OD-06-093 and summarized in the table at the end of this notice.

B. Institutional Allowance for Individual Fellows

This allowance for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows will be paid at the amounts shown below for all competing awards made with FY 2009 funds. Institutional allowances for non-competing awards will remain at previously committed levels.

B.1. Institutional Allowance for Individual Fellows Sponsored by non-Federal Public, Private, and Non-Profit Institutions (Domestic & Foreign, including health insurance):

Predoctoral Fellows: $4,200
Postdoctoral Fellows: $7,850

B.2. Institutional Allowance for Individual Fellows Sponsored by Federal and For-Profit Institutions (including health insurance):

Predoctoral Fellows: $3,100
Postdoctoral Fellows: $6,750

Reminder: Implementation of New Kirschstein-NRSA Institutional Training Grant Policies for Tuition, Fees, and Health Insurance

The implementation of the new Kirschstein-NRSA policies for tuition, fees, health insurance, and training related expenses for institutional training grants announced in NOT-OD-06-093 is summarized below:

Competing Award Year	FY 2005	FY 2006	FY 2007	FY 2008	FY 2009
FY’05 or earlier	Cost policy applicable at time of competing award	Cost policy applicable at time of competing award	Cost policy applicable at time of competing award	Cost policy applicable at time of competing award	Cost policy applicable at time of competing award
FY’06	—	Cost policy applicable at time of competing award	Recalculated at FY’07 T&F and TRE levels	Awarded at FY’07 T&F and TRE levels	Awarded at FY’07 T&F and TRE levels
FY’07	—	—	Awarded at FY’07 T&F and TRE levels	Awarded at FY’07 T&F and TRE levels	Awarded at FY’07 T&F and TRE levels

Notes on Table: i) The Federal fiscal year (FY) runs October 1 - September 30. ii) T&F = Tuition & Fees. iii) TRE = Training Related Expenses. See NOT-OD-06-093 for links to Old, Interim, and New Policies.

Inquiries

Questions concerning this notice or other policies relating to training grants or fellowships should be directed to the grants management office in the appropriate NIH Institute or Center, AHRQ, or HRSA.

Inquiries concerning this Notice may be directed to:

Rodney Ulane, Ph.D.
NIH Research Training Officer
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 3516
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7963
Phone: (301) 451-4225
FAX: (301) 480-0146
Email: NIHTrain@mail.nih.gov

**************************************************************

Jane Tolbert
Research Administrator
Office of Research & Project Administration
University of Rochester
503 Hylan Building
RC Box 270140
Rochester, NY 14627
Phone: 585-275-4210
Fax: 585-275-9492
Email: jtolbert@orpa.rochester.edu

Office of Research and Project Administration