Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Organizational Research Education Award to Promote Diversity (UE5 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 24 224

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 24 224

The Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Organizational Research Education Award to Promote Diversity (UE5 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed), funding opportunity number PAR-24-224, is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research education cooperative agreement designed to strengthen the biomedical and behavioral research workforce by expanding access to high-quality career development support for scientists from diverse backgrounds. The program sits within the NIH Research Education Program (UE5), which is specifically meant to support structured research education activities that align with NIH mission areas. The central purpose of this MOSAIC UE5 initiative is to encourage and prepare individuals, including those from groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue and persist in research training and independent research careers.

A defining feature of this opportunity is its focus on practical, career-shaping education rather than conducting research studies. The FOA emphasizes two main activity types: Courses for Skills Development and Mentoring Activities. In practice, this means NIH is looking to fund organizations that can deliver well-designed, high-impact training experiences that help early-career scientists build the competencies needed to succeed as independent faculty at research-intensive institutions. The intended participants are MOSAIC K99/R00 grantees, who are in a critical transition period moving from mentored postdoctoral work to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty roles. The UE5 mechanism is meant to provide the training and mentoring infrastructure around those scientists, helping them not just obtain faculty positions, but thrive and advance once they have them.

NIH strongly encourages applications from organizations that already function as hubs for the biomedical research community, particularly organizations of biomedical researchers such as scientific societies. The ideal applicant is described as having a membership made up of scientists doing research relevant to NIH, proven experience serving as a centralized entity for scientific communication and networking, and an established track record of running professional development and networking programs for the next generation of researchers. Just as important, applicants are expected to show a clear, credible commitment to improving diversity in the biomedical research workforce. In other words, NIH is not only funding content like workshops or mentoring sessions, but also investing in organizations that can convene communities, create sustained networks of support, and intentionally design environments where scientists from underrepresented groups have stronger pathways to independence and leadership.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based entities and includes many common government, academic, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) and other Native American tribal organizations. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible organization types that align with the diversity mission, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, the FOA is clear about boundaries related to foreign involvement: non-U.S. entities (foreign organizations/institutions) are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed.

From an administrative and funding-structure perspective, this is a discretionary NIH opportunity using the cooperative agreement instrument, meaning NIH is likely to have substantial involvement in the project’s implementation compared to a standard grant. The activity category is listed under education and health, and the associated CFDA numbers include 93.213, 93.242, 93.279, 93.855, 93.859, and 93.867, reflecting the cross-cutting NIH mission alignment. The original closing date is listed as September 28, 2026. The notice also indicates that clinical trials are not allowed, which signals that the funded work must remain in the lane of research education and career development programming rather than testing clinical interventions or running trials.

Overall, the MOSAIC UE5 opportunity is best understood as an investment in the “people and systems” that help promising early-career scientists successfully transition into independent academic research careers. NIH is looking for organizations that can deliver structured skills-building coursework, provide strong mentoring frameworks, and cultivate professional networks that continue to support MOSAIC K99/R00 scholars as they navigate hiring, lab launch, funding acquisition, leadership development, and long-term advancement in research-intensive environments, all while advancing NIH’s broader goal of a more diverse and representative biomedical research workforce.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Organizational Research Education Award to Promote Diversity (UE5 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.213, 93.242, 93.279, 93.855, 93.859, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-09-28. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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