Grant opportunity
Limited Competition: Stimulating Access to Research in Residency Transition Scholar (StARRTS) (K38 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
The purpose of the Stimulating Access to Research in Residency Transition Scholar (StARRTS) K38 Career Development program is to retain and support clinician-investigators who have successfully completed the Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) R38 Program ( RFA-HL-26-012 and previous NOFOs) as resident-investigators. Individuals who receive K38 grants described in this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be referred to as Transition Scholars. The intent of this NOFO is to provide Transition Scholars with opportunities for additional research and career development during subsequent clinical fellowships or early career faculty appointments (as defined in Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility). It is anticipated that the StARRTS K38 program will provide a pathway to retain the newly-created pool of clinician-investigators generated through the StARR R38 program. Transition Scholars will receive support for continued research and career development opportunities in basic, clinical, and/or translational research, thereby providing enhanced potential to accelerate the transition to independent research careers. This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that will invite application(s) from eligible organization(s) to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the application(s) will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious application(s) will be considered for funding.
- Funder
- National Institutes of Health
- Applications close 2028-10-13
- Applications close 2028-10-13: Oct 13, 2028
- Award
- USD 6,444,000
- Applicant
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
- Discipline
- Health and Biomedical Sciences
- Region
- United States
- Posted
- Oct 27, 2026
Call summary
Overview
Limited Competition: Stimulating Access to Research in Residency Transition Scholar (StARRTS) (K38 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is an official Grants.gov notice published between 30 September and 27 October 2026. Opportunity number: RFA-HL-27-010
Who can apply
Eligible applicant types listed by the agency: Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification). Applicants must also satisfy every programme-specific condition in the official notice.
What it supports
- The purpose of the Stimulating Access to Research in Residency Transition Scholar (StARRTS) K38 Career Development program is to retain and support clinician-investigators who have successfully completed the Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) R38 Program ( RFA-HL-26-012 and previous NOFOs) as resident-investigators. Individuals who receive K38 grants described in this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be referred to as Transition Scholars. The intent of this NOFO is to provide Transition Scholars with opportunities for additional research and career development during subsequent clinical fellowships or early career faculty appointments (as defined in Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility). It is anticipated that the StARRTS K38 program will provide a pathway to retain the newly-created pool of clinician-investigators generated through the StARR R38 program. Transition Scholars will receive support for continued research and career development opportunities in basic, clinical, and/or translational research, thereby providing enhanced potential to accelerate the transition to independent research careers. This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that will invite application(s) from eligible organization(s) to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the application(s) will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious application(s) will be considered for funding.
- Opportunity number: RFA-HL-27-010
Funding and duration
- Award ceiling: USD 6,444,000
- Expected number of awards: 10
Applications close 2028-10-13
Applications close 2028-10-13: Oct 13, 2028
How to apply
Open the official Grants.gov record, review the full notice and attachments, and use the application package or agency route stated there.
Call details
Source-based overview
The purpose of the Stimulating Access to Research in Residency Transition Scholar (StARRTS) K38 Career Development program is to retain and support clinician-investigators who have successfully completed the Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) R38 Program ( RFA-HL-26-012 and previous NOFOs) as resident-investigators. Individuals who receive K38 grants described in this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be referred to as Transition Scholars. The intent of this NOFO is to provide Transition Scholars with opportunities for additional research and career development during subsequent clinical fellowships or early career faculty appointments (as defined in Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility). It is anticipated that the StARRTS K38 program will provide a pathway to retain the newly-created pool of clinician-investigators generated through the StARR R38 program. Transition Scholars will receive support for continued research and career development opportunities in basic, clinical, and/or translational research, thereby providing enhanced potential to accelerate the transition to independent research careers. This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that will invite application(s) from eligible organization(s) to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the application(s) will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious application(s) will be considered for funding. The official record contains the controlling eligibility, budget, attachment and submission requirements for opportunity RFA-HL-27-010.
Eligibility
Eligible applicant types listed by the agency: Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification). Applicants must also satisfy every programme-specific condition in the official notice.
Funding and benefits
Award ceiling: USD 6,444,000
Expected number of awards: 10
Themes and supported activities
The purpose of the Stimulating Access to Research in Residency Transition Scholar (StARRTS) K38 Career Development program is to retain and support clinician-investigators who have successfully completed the Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) R38 Program ( RFA-HL-26-012 and previous NOFOs) as resident-investigators. Individuals who receive K38 grants described in this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be referred to as Transition Scholars. The intent of this NOFO is to provide Transition Scholars with opportunities for additional research and career development during subsequent clinical fellowships or early career faculty appointments (as defined in Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility). It is anticipated that the StARRTS K38 program will provide a pathway to retain the newly-created pool of clinician-investigators generated through the StARR R38 program. Transition Scholars will receive support for continued research and career development opportunities in basic, clinical, and/or translational research, thereby providing enhanced potential to accelerate the transition to independent research careers. This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that will invite application(s) from eligible organization(s) to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the application(s) will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious application(s) will be considered for funding.
Opportunity number: RFA-HL-27-010
Deadline and timeline
Applications close 2028-10-13: Applications close 2028-10-13: Oct 13, 2028.
Applicants should confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, required documents, portal steps and any institutional approvals on the official call page before submitting.
How to apply
Open the official Grants.gov record, review the full notice and attachments, and use the application package or agency route stated there.
Before applying, check eligibility rules, budgets, attachments, page limits, partner requirements, cost-share conditions and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration or nomination stage.