National Eye Institute (NEI)

• The award of an administrative supplement depends on several factors, including alignment with NEI’s priorities and documented needs.
• NEI awards administrative supplements on a case-by-case basis.  

NEI accepts and reviews applications on a continuous basis between October 1 and May 31 of each fiscal year.  Applications received after May 31 will be considered for funding in the next fiscal year. 

NEI Extramural Research 

[email protected]

NEI supports high-quality scientific conferences that align with its mission, including those that advance innovative research on the eye and visual system; expand knowledge of visual function in health and disease; promote the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of vision disorders; and improve rehabilitation and quality of life for individuals who are blind or have low vision. Applications that foster broad, cross-disciplinary collaboration will receive priority consideration.  Meaningful inclusion of new early-stage investigators—as co-organizers, speakers, and participants—is strongly encouraged.

• There is no specific budget cap for meeting requests; however, all proposed budgets are carefully evaluated.
• NEI generally does not provide salary support (percent effort) under R13 conference grant applications.

• Project periods may range from 1 to 5 years.

NEI Extramural Research 
[email protected]

• NEI is committed to training the next generation of the biomedical and clinical research workforce in vision health, optometry, and ophthalmology by providing support for fellowship and career development awards. These awards are intended to provide mentored research training, research experiences, and career transition assistance in alignment with NEI’s mission. 
• NEI is interested in applications from individuals with scientific or clinical expertise in eye and vision health who seek advanced training to further NEI’s mission, including individuals with backgrounds in computer science, epidemiology, artificial intelligence, and engineering.
• NEI participates in: 
  • Career Development (K) Awards
  • NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)

NEI Extramural Research: 
[email protected]

• NEI is committed to training the next generation of the biomedical workforce in vision health, optometry, and ophthalmology by providing support for individual fellowships. These fellowships are intended to provide mentored research training, research experiences in alignment with NEI’s mission in biology and diseases of the eye including individuals with backgrounds in neuroscience, data science, computer science, artificial intelligence, engineering, and epidemiology.
   
• NEI participates in: 
  • Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowships (including F30, F31, and F32 activity codes)
  • Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Transition Awards (F99/K00) 

Current NRSA stipends, tuition/fees, and budgetary levels apply.

NEI Extramural Research: 
[email protected]

NEI is interested in institutional career development programs aligned with NEI’s mission whose goal is to support the next generation of the biomedical research workforce in vision science, optometry, and ophthalmology.

• Creative and innovative institutional research career development programs which will prepare clinically trained vision scientists for independent research careers
• Candidates that have a health professional doctoral degree, such as the M.D., M.D./PhD; D.O., D.O./PhD; O.D.; O.D./PhD; D.V.M., D.V.M/PhD; or equivalent degree, and a professional clinical license to practice ophthalmology or optometry in the United States. 

• Individuals designing, directing, and implementing the career development program may request salary and fringe benefits appropriate for the person months devoted to the program.
• Scholar salaries requested may not exceed the levels commensurate with the institution's policy for similar positions and may not exceed the congressionally mandated cap.
• Mentoring interactions and other activities with scholars are non-reimbursable from grant funds.
• Salary support for ancillary personnel is not allowable.

• Consultant costs, equipment, supplies, travel for key persons, and other program-related expenses may be included in the proposed budget. 
• Annual direct costs of up to $30,000 per scholar may be requested for the following types of expenses: consultant costs, research supplies, equipment, and technical personnel; travel to attend research meetings or training; tuition, fees, and books related to didactic courses or career development activities; and statistical services, including personnel and computer time. 
• Expenses must be justified and must not duplicate items generally available at the applicant institution.
• Costs may not be pooled and used for advertising, recruitment, or other programs unrelated or indirectly related to the research activities of individual scholars.

• Scholars are expected to devote a minimum of 9 person-months (75% of full-time professional effort).
• Scholars who are ophthalmic surgeons may request between 6 and 9 person-months (50% to 75%) of full-time professional effort.

NEI Extramural Research 
[email protected]

NEI is interested in institutional training programs aligned with NEI’s mission whose goal is to support the next generation of the biomedical research workforce in vision science, optometry, and ophthalmology.

Areas of interest include:

• Programs whose emphasis is recruiting, retaining, and accelerating the independence of promising biomedical researchers and providing skills necessary to perform basic, clinical, and/or translational research.
• Programs from ophthalmology, vision science, or optometry departments providing vision-centric training.
• Programs combining multi-disciplinary areas of study (such as computer science, artificial intelligence, bioengineering, statistics) with the goal of providing training opportunities that are aligned with NEI’s mission.
• Programs incorporating opportunities for certifications, credentials, or specific skill development that serve to increase the number of highly qualified individuals in careers relevant to NEI’s mission.

• Predoctoral, postdoctoral, and short-term 

• Institutional NRSA research training grants may be for project periods up to five years in duration and are renewable.

• Travel for trainees to attend scientific meetings and workshops that the institution determines to be necessary for the individual’s research training experience is an allowable expense for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. This includes trainees on short-term appointments. 
• Trainees must be appointed to the training grant at the time of the actual travel for this to be an allowable cost.

NEI Extramural Research 
[email protected]

NEI is committed to training the next generation of the biomedical and clinical research workforce in vision health, optometry, and ophthalmology by providing support for educational activities in alignment with NEI’s mission.

Areas of interest include: 

• Short-term research education programs or skills development courses to improve the knowledge and research skills of biomedical and clinical scientists conducting research in priority scientific, health-related research fields.  
• Mentoring networks that prepare postdoctoral researchers to transition to independent careers.  
• Integrated research experience and mentoring programs with the goal of developing a highly skilled biomedical research workforce. Mentoring programs may be embedded within collaborative research environments such as clinical trial networks and multi‑site cohort studies. 

• Undergraduate
• Predoctoral
• Postdoctoral/Residency
• Early Career

• Applicants are encouraged to contact NEI research training program officers to discuss allowable expenses prior to submission. Allowable expenses vary by funding opportunity and associated career stage. 

NEI may limit awarded budgets for personnel, participant, and other costs, as follows:  

• Programs that focus on Research Experience
  • Personnel costs generally include salary and consultant direct costs up to $150,000/year
  • Participant costs generally include travel, housing, compensation, tuition, and research expenses up to $12,000 per participant

• NEI does not award Research Education Cooperative Agreements (UE5)
• NEI awards Research Education Grant Projects (R25)

NEI Extramural Research 
[email protected]

NEI supports research including, but not limited to, the following:

• Commercializable research and clinical innovations in ophthalmology and vision sciences
• Commercializable therapeutics including drugs, biologics, devices, or combination therapeutics that prevent or reduce blindness or improve ocular health
•  Market-ready technologies and diagnostic tools for predicting, identifying, or monitoring eye diseases and vision-related conditions
• Commercializable devices and services that assist people with blindness or visual impairments to improve quality of life Commercial-grade devices and support services that help individuals with blindness or vision impairments to improve and enhance their daily living experience
• Market-ready technologies that correct, enhance, or augment human vision

NEI Extramural Research 

[email protected]