Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 - Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required (BESH)) | PAR 24 227

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 24 227

The Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00, Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required, or BESH) is an NIH grant opportunity designed to help outstanding postdoctoral researchers from diverse backgrounds move into independent, research-intensive faculty careers. The core idea is to build a supported cohort of early career investigators, especially including scientists from groups underrepresented in biomedical research, and to provide them not only with funding but also with structured, community-based mentoring and professional development that can make the transition to independence more achievable and sustainable. The program focuses on NIH mission areas and is framed as a career transition pathway that begins in a mentored postdoctoral phase and continues into an independent phase once the awardee secures a suitable faculty or equivalent position.

A defining feature of MOSAIC is that it operates as a two-part ecosystem rather than a standalone fellowship. First is the individual K99/R00 award, which is the applicant-facing mechanism for postdoctoral scholars. Like other K99/R00 awards, it supports a time-limited mentored period (the K99 phase) intended to sharpen research skills, strengthen publication and grant readiness, and position the scholar competitively for the faculty job market. This is followed by the R00 phase, which provides support after the scholar has transitioned into an independent, tenure-track (or equivalent) research-intensive role, helping them establish their own lab or research program. Second is the companion UE5 research education cooperative agreement, which is awarded to organizations that run MOSAIC cohorts and provide additional programming. Through the UE5-supported infrastructure, K99/R00 scholars receive added layers of mentoring, networking, community building, and professional development activities aimed at reducing common barriers to academic advancement and increasing long-term success as independent investigators.

This particular funding announcement specifies that Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans are required (BESH). In NIH terms, BESH generally refers to basic research studies that involve human participants (or data/specimens from humans) where the work is mechanistic or foundational rather than testing a clinical intervention for efficacy. Applicants considering this opportunity should expect that the research proposed must meet NIH expectations for basic experimental studies involving humans, with appropriate human subjects considerations, ethical oversight, and compliance planning built into the application. The BESH designation also signals that NIH is intentionally encouraging fundamental discovery work that directly involves human biology, behavior, or related mechanisms, rather than limiting the program to animal models or purely in vitro systems.

The administering agency is the National Institutes of Health, and the opportunity is listed as discretionary funding through a grant mechanism. The funding opportunity number is PAR-24-227, and it was created on 2024-07-23. The listed original closing date is 2027-09-07, which suggests NIH intends to keep this announcement open across multiple receipt cycles within that window (as is common for many NIH program announcements). While the notice includes fields like award ceiling and expected awards, those values are not provided in the supplied source text, so applicants typically need to consult the full announcement and NIH Institute/Center participation details to understand budget norms, duration limits for the K99 and R00 phases, and projected award volumes.

Eligibility is broad at the institutional level, reflecting NIH-wide participation and the program goal of building diverse cohorts across many settings. Eligible applicants include various levels of government (state, county, city/township, special district), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education where restricted), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses, plus an "other" category. The announcement also highlights additional eligible applicant types that align with the MOSAIC diversity mission and capacity-building goals, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISIs, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, eligible federal agencies, and U.S. territories or possessions. These categories matter because they signal NIH interest in engaging a wide range of institutions that educate, train, and employ scientists from underrepresented backgrounds, and that can provide strong mentoring environments.

At the same time, the opportunity makes clear boundaries around foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign organizations) are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are allowed, meaning a U.S.-based applicant organization may, under NIH rules, include certain defined foreign components when scientifically justified and compliant with NIH policy. In practice, that often means the applicant institution and primary appointment pathway must remain U.S.-based, while limited, well-justified international collaborations may be permissible under NIH definitions.

In summary, MOSAIC K99/R00 (BESH) is a structured NIH career transition opportunity that combines (1) individual support for a postdoctoral scholar to progress from mentored training to independent faculty-level research funding and (2) cohort-based, organization-delivered mentoring and professional development through UE5-supported programs. It is explicitly geared toward strengthening the pipeline of diverse early career investigators in NIH mission areas, with required involvement of independent basic experimental studies with human participants. The program is designed not just to fund a project, but to improve readiness for independence, expand professional networks, and increase the likelihood that talented postdocs successfully secure and thrive in tenure-track or equivalent research-intensive academic roles.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health, income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00 - Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required (BESH))" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.313, 93.853, 93.865, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-09-07.
• 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.

Apply for PAR 24 227

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