Maximizing the Scientific Value of Data Generated by the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the National Institutes of Health, is offering the funding opportunity Maximizing the Scientific Value of Data Generated by the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship (F32), funding opportunity number RFA-OD-27-008. Participating NIH components include the Office of the Director, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Nursing Research, and National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, with the Office of Research on Women's Health and Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes potentially co-funding applications assigned to participating Institutes and Centers. The purpose is to advance research and training in high-priority areas of child health by stimulating postdoctoral fellows' use of ECHO Cohort data. ECHO data available through the NICHD Data and Specimen Hub, or DASH, include de-identified longitudinal data from more than 71,000 participants across the United States and encompass physical, chemical, social, behavioral, and biological exposures and multiple pediatric outcome areas. The fellowship is intended to support promising postdoctoral candidates during mentored research training under appropriate faculty sponsors while developing their potential to become productive, independent child health researchers. Applications must propose use of ECHO data available through DASH; applications that do not propose use of these data will be withdrawn without review. Candidates may develop scientific questions suitable for ECHO data, including research concerning exposure-outcome associations, developmental trajectories, predictors of positive health outcomes, or new methodologies for etiology and prediction. The research and training plan should provide rigorous preparation in research design, epidemiology, quantitative and analytical techniques, management and analysis of large longitudinal datasets, scientific communication, publication, and professional development. The opportunity does not permit a fellowship candidate to lead an independent clinical trial, although a candidate may gain research experience in a clinical trial led by a sponsor or co-sponsor. ECHO intends to fund an estimated eight awards corresponding to approximately up to 1260000 in total funding for fiscal years 2027 through 2029, although participating Institutes or Centers may provide additional funds for meritorious applications aligned with their interests. Individual award budgets consist of applicable Kirschstein-NRSA stipends, tuition and fees, and an institutional allowance. Stipends provide subsistence support, while the institutional allowance may help cover fellowship expenses such as health insurance, research supplies, equipment, books, and travel to scientific meetings. Fellowship awards do not provide separate reimbursement for indirect or Facilities and Administrative costs because fellowship administration expenses are covered through the institutional allowance. Postdoctoral candidates may receive up to three aggregate years of Kirschstein-NRSA support, considering prior institutional or individual NRSA support. Pre-award costs are generally not allowable for fellowships, and the fellowship may not be held concurrently with another federally sponsored fellowship or similar Federal award that duplicates its support. No cost sharing is required. Eligible sponsoring organizations include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status, small businesses and other for-profit organizations, state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, federally recognized and other Indian or Native American tribal governments, eligible Federal agencies, NIH Intramural Programs, and other Federal laboratories. Foreign organizations and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign subawards or subcontracts are not permitted under this opportunity. The sponsoring organization must provide appropriate staff, facilities, human and technical resources, and a suitable research training environment. The fellowship candidate must identify a sponsor before submission. By the time of award, the candidate must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. non-citizen national, or lawful permanent resident and must possess an eligible doctoral degree or certification that all degree requirements have been completed. Research training must be pursued full-time, normally 40 hours per week or as defined by the sponsoring organization. Applications must follow the NIH Fellowship application instructions and the program-specific requirements of this NOFO. Submission is electronic through NIH ASSIST, an institutional system-to-system solution, or Grants.gov Workspace, with subsequent tracking through eRA Commons. Required registrations must be completed before submission, including SAM, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons registrations for the organization and the required eRA Commons and ORCID credentials for the candidate. Application materials include the applicable SF424 Research and Related forms and the PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form, including the Candidate Section, Research Training Plan, Commitment to Candidate, Mentoring and Training Environment, other required research training sections, budget, and allowable appendix materials. Appropriate reference letters are mandatory and are submitted separately through the eRA Commons Submit Reference Letter process. A Data Management and Sharing Plan is not applicable to this NOFO. Applications must also include a plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research meeting NIH requirements. Applications are evaluated through NIH scientific peer review. The three principal scored review areas are Candidate's Goals, Preparedness and Potential; Research Training Plan; and Commitment to Candidate, Mentoring and Training Environment. Reviewers consider the candidate's preparation, scientific potential, commitment to an independent research career, contribution to the proposed research, rigor and feasibility of the research training project, appropriateness of activities and milestones, quality of mentorship, institutional commitment, and adequacy of the training environment. Additional applicable considerations include human subjects protections, inclusion policies, vertebrate animals, biohazards, resource sharing, authentication of key resources, responsible conduct of research training, and the reasonableness of the budget and period of support. Funding decisions consider scientific merit, availability of funds, and relevance to program priorities. The opportunity was posted May 28, 2026 and opens for applications November 2, 2026. Applications are due December 2, 2026 by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization, and no late applications will be accepted. Scientific merit review is anticipated in February 2027, Advisory Council review in May 2027, and the earliest start date is June 2027. Candidates are encouraged to submit early enough to correct application errors before the deadline and are also encouraged to consult NIH scientific program staff early when planning an application. The primary scientific contact for the ECHO program is ECHO.NOFO@nih.gov. Additional scientific contacts are provided for participating NIH components. The opportunity does not state that this RFA will recur on an annual or other regular schedule.

Propose substantive use of ECHO data on DASH because applications without it will be withdrawn without review. Demonstrate a rigorous feasible research and training plan that advances child health research and clearly develops skills beyond prior training. Directly address the three scored review areas: candidate goals preparedness and potential, research training plan, and commitment to candidate mentoring and training environment. Clearly document the candidate's intellectual contribution to the project and explain how the training supports transition toward an independent research career. Provide committed mentorship, realistic milestones, appropriate institutional resources, and opportunities for national presentations and first-author publications. Submit early enough to identify and correct electronic submission errors before the deadline, and ensure required reference letters are submitted through the separate eRA Commons process.