The purpose of the NIH Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award is to support a defined pathway across career stages for outstanding graduate students who are from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups that are underrepresented in neuroscience research. This two-phase award will facilitate completion of the doctoral dissertation and transition of talented graduate students to strong neuroscience research postdoctoral positions, and will provide career development opportunities relevant to their long-term career goal of becoming independent neuroscience researchers. For the F99/K00 award, individuals may receive up to 6 years combined support for both phases, which includes 1-2 years in the F99 fellowship phase and up to 4 years in the K00 career development phase. More than one application per institution is allowed.
Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit a Letter of Intent to Dr. Michelle Jones-London. See Program Announcement for details. The Letter of Intent is due 30 days prior to the application due date.
Program Announcement: RFA-NS-24-030
Receipt Dates for Applications: April 15, 2024; October 8, 2024; March 20, 2025; October 7, 2025; March 20, 2026; October 6, 2026
View Current D-SPAN Awardees
Resources
- Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
- Major changes in the FY24 NOFO
- Tip Sheet: Putting Together Your Strongest F99/K00 Application
- OPEN House: D-SPAN Award - October 2023
- During this virtual OPEN House, we provided attendees an interactive opportunity to ask NIH staff questions on the D-SPAN program. During this meeting, we briefly highlighted updates since the 2021 Applicant Assistance Webinar and shared resources for application preparation. There was an opportunity for audience members to meet with NIH Program Staff directly to ask their questions in breakout rooms (not recorded). View October 2023 webinar slides(pdf, 2661 KB)
- 2021 D-SPAN Technical Assistance Webinar - June 2021
- This webinar will take you through the process of putting together an application for the NIH Blueprint and BRAIN Initiative Diversity Specialized Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Advancement in Neuroscience (D-SPAN) Award for RFA-NS-21-012. The webinar goes through each part of the application, including eligibility, specific aims and research strategy, sponsor and co-sponsor information, letters of reference and support, and other documents. View June 2021 webinar slides(pdf, 3020 KB)
These resources refer to older versions of the NOFO. Be sure to read the most recent NOFO to confirm current requirements:
- 2018 D-SPAN Twitter Chat
- Awardee NIH Blueprint D-SPAN F99/K00 Webinar - Monday, February 24, 2020
- Learn about the NIH Blueprint D-SPAN F99/K00 transition award from successful applicants to these mechanisms. Hear from four D-SPAN awardees on how they crafted their applications; worked with their mentors; framed their research project; and wrote their career plan. View February 2020 webinar slides(pdf, 2061 KB)