Funding Trends & Support of Guiding Principles
This Funding Trends report presents data on several parts of the NIDDK portfolio, includes highlights of areas where advances have been made, and recognizes areas where opportunities for enhancement remain. The report presents a 10-year review covering FY2013-FY2022 and focuses on the first four of the five NIDDK core values.
NIDDK is dedicated to supporting multi-faceted research efforts within our mission, including diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases, liver and other digestive diseases, nutritional disorders, obesity, kidney and urologic diseases, and hematologic diseases. Our commitment to a diverse research portfolio covers not only basic, translational, and clinical research, but also our dedication to research training and career development, as well as the dissemination of research findings that would improve the lives of patients with various diseases, caregivers, and others who may be at risk.
Except for Figures 1 and 2 (which include initiative data), the data in all charts exclude initiatives (i.e., Requests for Applications, or RFAs) and funds appropriated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Additionally, figures do not include grants funded through the Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research.
Executive Summary
The NIDDK budget has increased steadily since FY2013. The NIDDK appropriation was approximately $2.2 billion in FY2022, excluding the $141.5 million appropriation in mandatory Special Statutory Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) funding. Historically, the flattening of the NIH budget from FY2003-2008 (post-doubling era) and then sequestration in FY2013, resulted in a decrease in the number of awards in several categories because costs associated with performing research outpaced budget increases. As appropriated budgets increased from FY2013 to present, NIDDK was able to increase the number of awards and principal investigators (PIs) supported. The number of R01 awards and R01-supported PIs rose and reached historic highs in FY2022. While NIDDK has been able to support more R01 awards, the spending for R01 awards has increased by 57% from FY2013 to FY2022 due in part to an increase in the number of awards and an increase in the average cost of each R01. Average costs of R01 awards have increased due to inflation, a shift to multi-PI awards, and a decrease in the proportion of grants with modular budgets or competitive renewals.
In support of the goal to promote a diverse pool of talented new investigators, in FY2022 NIDDK continued to prioritize its support of Early Stage Investigators (ESIs). Since FY2020, NIDDK has supported a payline for ESIs at the 25th percentile, leading to more ESI applications receiving funding. While the trend is nascent and a causal relationship cannot be clearly established, there have been decreases in the mean age of the R01 PIs since FY2020, which coincides with NIDDK’s increase of the ESI payline. A review of demographic data for R01 PIs shows persistent gaps in the number of applications submitted by and awarded to applicants who self-identify as Black or African-American.
Aligned with its stated principle, NIDDK has continued robust support of research involving human subjects and clinical trials. Compared with FY2013, in FY2022, NIDDK increased spending by 63% and supported 80% more projects on research that included clinical trial components.
Regarding training, NIDDK leverages several mechanisms to support a wide array of trainees from graduate students to physician researchers. From FY2013 to FY2022, NIDDK has awarded almost $1.4 billion in support of trainees across various training awards. Several conflicting trends are emerging, with a substantial increase in the number of F31 awards but a decrease in the number of F32s awarded annually. The number of T32 trainees also has continued to decline, partially explained by the use of an alternative mechanism to support training by one of our programmatic divisions.
Core Value: Maintain a Vigorous Investigator-Initiated Research Portfolio
In FY2022, approximately 86% of the NIDDK $2.2 billion appropriation (not including T1D funding) was spent in support of extramural research. The NIDDK portfolio leverages key mechanisms (i.e., grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts) and many mechanism activities to support its extramural programs. The various mechanisms are used to support particular types of research, training, and research support. Below are examples of some of the NIDDK portfolio funding mechanisms and the activities/activity codes that are used (Click here for a complete list and description of NIH activity codes):
- Research Project Grants (RPGs) - R01, R03, R15, R21, R34, R37, R56, RC2, as well as U01, U34, UC2, UG3, UH3, UM1, P01, and DP1 awards
- Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR)- including R41, R42, R43, and R44 awards
- Research Centers - Includes P20, P30, P50, U42 and U54 awards
- Research Careers - Includes all K awards (including K99/R00 awards)
- Training - Includes all F and T activities
- Other Research - Activity codes not captured in other mechanisms, including R13, R18, R24, R25, U24, and U2C awards
- Contracts and Interagency Agreements (IAAs)- Includes some large clinical studies
Figure 1 presents the trends in the use of different funding mechanisms to support extramural research over the past decade; the trends have remained relatively stable. Given the focus on the investigator-initiated research portfolio (as a core value), a large portion (~70%) of NIDDK’s research portfolio is focused on RPGs (especially R01 awards). Other categories of awards comprise the remaining 30% of the extramural budget. It should be noted that the SBIR/STTR allocation is congressionally mandated and must be 3.65% of the annual extramural allocation. NIDDK regularly reviews its research portfolio and makes strategic adjustments as needed based on scientific and programmatic balance considerations.
Figure 1. NIDDK Extramural Research Funding by Mechanisms (excluding Special Statutory Type 1 Diabetes Program) From FY2013 to FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 1: Extramural Research Budget by Funding Mechanism. Represents the percentage of the extramural research funding by mechanism between FY 2013-FY 2022. Abbreviations: Research Project Grants (RPGs), Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR), Interagency Agreement (IAA). Data excludes NIDDK Special Statutory Type 1 Diabetes Program allocation.
As noted above, the RPG category includes several different activity codes. NIDDK uses R01 awards more than any other award type (Fig. 2). Total cost support of R01 awards has steadily increased from 62% of total RPG costs in FY2013 to 83% in FY2022. A number of factors likely explain this trend: 1) during this 10 year window, NIDDK phased out the use of R37 (MERIT awards) and P01s (Program Project grants) and shifted the funding to support more R01s and other “team science” programs; 2) NIDDK increased its payline for both established investigators and ESIs in support of its Core Value of maintaining a vigorous investigator-initiated research portfolio; 3) COVID-19 affected spending rates of some large consortia (U01s), resulting in short-term adjustments of their budgets.
Figure 2: NIDDK Research Project Grants Funding by Activity Codes (Competing and Non-Competing, excluding Special Statutory Type 1 Diabetes Program) from FY2013 to FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 2: NIDDK RPG Funding (excluding T1D), by Percent and Select Activity Codes, from FY 2013 to FY 2022. Relative proportion of funding levels of various RPG activity codes. Data excludes NIDDK’s Special Statutory Type 1 Diabetes Program allocation. NIDDK Research Project Grant Activity Codes: R01 – The most common type of Research Project Grant funded by the NIH; R21 – Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant; R37 – Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Grant; P01 – Research Program Project Grant; U01 – Research Project Cooperative Agreement; Other R in RPGs – Includes R00, R03, R15, R34, R56, RC2, and DP grants; Other U in RPGs – Includes U34, UG3, UH3, and UM1 grants.
Most grant and cooperative agreement applications submitted to NIH receive a numeric “impact score” assigned by peer reviewers (1 – 9 scale), where lower scores indicate reviewer assessment of higher merit/fewer weaknesses. Those applications assessed to fall within the lower half in terms of merit are often “streamlined” and do not receive a numeric score (i.e., they are “unscored”). For most R01 applications, these impact scores are translated into percentile rank scores. Streamlined R01 applications do not receive a percentile ranking. (For more information, visit: “NIH Grants & Funding- Peer Review: Scoring”)
Each fiscal year, NIDDK publishes its Funding Policy and uses the percentile scores as a key piece of information to inform funding decisions. NIDDK has established R01 paylines for five classes of applications: 1) general applications requesting less than $500K, 2) applications requesting more than $500K, 3) New Investigator applications, 4) ESI applications, and 5) ESI First Competitive Renewal applications. Table 1 includes NIDDK R01 paylines from FY2013-FY2022. As part of its core value to maintain a vigorous investigator-initiated research portfolio, NIDDK strives to maintain healthy R01 paylines. Of note, the ESI payline was increased by 7-points (to the 25th percentile) in FY2020. This enhanced ESI payline, at the 25th percentile, has now been maintained for the past three fiscal years.
Table 1: NIDDK Investigator-Initiated R01 Paylines
| Fiscal Year | General Payline |
$>500K Payline |
New Investigator Payline |
Early Stage Investigator (ESI) Payline |
ESI First Competitive Renewal Payline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 |
15 |
10 |
17 |
-- |
-- |
| 2012 |
13 |
9 |
13 |
18 |
-- |
| 2013 |
11 |
7 |
11 |
16 |
-- |
| 2014 |
13 |
8 |
13 |
18 |
-- |
| 2015 |
13 |
8 |
13 |
18 |
15 |
| 2016 |
13 |
8 |
13 |
18 |
15 |
| 2017 |
12 |
7 |
12 |
17 |
15 |
| 2018 |
13 |
8 |
13 |
18 |
16 |
| 2019 |
13 |
8 |
13 |
18 |
16 |
| 2020 |
16 |
10 |
16 |
25 |
19 |
| 2021 |
16 |
10 |
16 |
25 |
19 |
| 2022 |
16 |
10 |
16 |
25 |
19 |
Table 1: NIDDK R01 paylines. NIDDK establishes and reports investigator-initiated R01 paylines by category: General Payline, Grants with >$500K budgets, New Investigators, Early Stage Investigators (ESIs), and ESI First Competitive Renewal by fiscal year. For each group, the payline is set each fiscal year and is used as a guide in awarding R01 applications based on percentile score.
Data for NIDDK investigator-initiated (excluding ESI) R01 applications considered under the General Payline in FY2022 are shown in Figure 3A. This chart displays all NIDDK investigator initiated R01 applications that scored 50th percentile or better. All unscored applications, scored applications with no percentiles, and applications scoring above the 50th percentile are not reflected in this chart. While NIDDK closely adheres to its payline, the institute exercises programmatic discretion to skip some grants within the payline and to support programmatically important applications beyond the general payline. NIDDK funded 99% (n=346) of all grants (excluding ESI) that received a percentile score of 1-16 and funded 4% (n=34) of the R01 applications (excluding ESI) that scored beyond the 16th percentile.
Figure 3A: Number of NIDDK Investigator-Initiated (excluding ESI) R01 Applications and Competing Awards in FY2022 By Percentile Score
View full-sized image Figure 3A: Investigator-initiated (Excluding ESIs) R01 Awards (blue) and Unfunded (orange) applications by percentile.
As indicated above, the NIDDK payline for ESI applications is the 25th percentile. Figure 3B focuses exclusively on ESI R01 applications. NIDDK funded 93% (n=86) of all ESI applications that received a percentile score of 1-25 and funded 10% (n=14) of the ESI R01 applications beyond the 25th percentile. It is again important to note that the institute exercises programmatic discretion to skip some grants within the payline and to support programmatically important applications beyond the payline.
Figure 3B: Number of NIDDK Early Stage Investigator (ESI)-Initiated R01 Applications and Competing Awards in FY 2022 By Percentile Score
View full-sized image Figure 3B: Early Stage Investigator (ESI)-initiated R01 Awards (blue) and Unfunded ESI applications (orange) by percentile.
As shown in Figure 4, the number of R01 applications assigned to NIDDK increased from FY2013 to FY2015 and then remained relatively stable through FY2022. Data in Figure 4 also show an increase in proportion of “new” compared to “renewal” R01 applications received by NIDDK between FY2013 and FY2022. New R01 applications have increased from 1,873 in FY2013 to 2,515 in FY2022, a 34% increase. Conversely, the number of R01 renewal applications (applications requesting funding to continue research along the same long-term goals, but with updated specific aims) have decreased from 461 applications in FY2013 to 275 in FY2022, a 40% decrease. The overall percentage of renewal R01 applications received by NIDDK decreased from 20% of all R01 applications in FY2013 to 10% of all R01 applications received by NIDDK in FY2022, indicating a shift to submitting more new applications instead of renewals by investigators.
Figure 4: Number of Competing NIDDK R01 Applications Received for Funding from FY2013-FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 4: Number of competing New (blue) and Renewal (orange) NIDDK R01 applications by Fiscal Year.
As shown in Figure 5, from FY2015 to FY2022 there was a steady increase in the number of R01 awards (competing and non-competing) supported by NIDDK.
In FY2022, the number of R01 awards supported by NIDDK reached a new all-time high of 2,355. The proportion of non-competing R01 awards was 78% of all R01 awards made between FY2013 and FY2022, while the proportions of new and renewal awards was 17% and 6% of R01 awards, respectively, during this timeframe.
Figure 5: Total Number of NIDDK R01 Awards from FY2013-FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 5: Total NIDDK Noncompeting (gray), New (blue), and Renewal (orange) R01 awards by Fiscal Year.
Figure 6 shows total award costs (direct and indirect) associated with support of NIDDK competing and non-competing R01s by NIDDK from FY2013 to FY2022. Nominal NIDDK R01 spending has increased from $711 million to $1.12 billion from FY2013 to FY2022, an increase of 57%, though after adjustment for inflation using the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI), the corrected increase was approximately 29%. While spending on the R01 portfolio has increased, the average cost of the R01 grants has also increased over the last ten fiscal years (Fig. 7). In FY2013, the mean total cost of an R01 grant was $350,000 compared to the $486,000 mean cost of an R01 grant in FY2022 (a 39% increase). The median R01 total costs also increased with a similar trajectory over those 10 years.
Figure 6: Total NIDDK R01 Award Costs, Competing and Non-competing (Includes Direct and Indirect Costs) with adjustments for inflation from FY2013-FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 6: NIDDK R01 grant total spending (direct and indirect funds) with adjustment for inflation. R01 total costs (blue), from FY2013 to FY2022. The Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI, gray) and Consumer Price Index (CPI, orange) were used to adjust for inflation using FY2013 as the base year and plotted in millions of dollars by fiscal year.
Figure 7: Mean & Median NIDDK R01 Award Costs, Competing and Non-competing (Includes Direct and Indirect Costs) from FY2013-FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 7: Mean & Median Cost of R01 awards from FY2013 to FY2022. The Mean (blue) and Median (orange) cost of all R01 awarded grants was plotted in thousands of dollars by fiscal year.
NIDDK has observed changes in the R01 research portfolio associated with multi-PI grants. The multi-PI grant provides an opportunity for a team science approach to complex research questions. Overall, the number and the proportion of multi-PI R01s supported by NIDDK has increased. In FY2013, multi-PI R01 grants comprised 9% of the total R01 portfolio. In subsequent fiscal years, the percentage of multi-PI grants has grown steadily and in FY2022 is at 24% of the NIDDK R01 portfolio (Fig. 8).
Figure 8: Single and Multi-PI (MPI) Competing and Non-competing R01 Awards from FY2013 to FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 8: Single and Multi-PI R01 awards by Fiscal Year. Number of competing and non-competing Single-PI (orange) or Multi-PI (blue) R01 awards from FY2013 to FY2022. The number above each bar represents the Multi-PI R01 percentage (%) as part of the total R01 portfolio.
Core Value: Supporting Pivotal Clinical Studies and Trials
NIDDK uses various mechanisms, including grants and cooperative agreements, to support research that involves human subjects. NIH defines human subjects research as “studies on a human who is a living individual about whom research is being conducted by 1) obtaining information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or 2) using, studying, analyzing, or generating identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens.” NIDDK has a considerable portfolio of human subjects research, represented by more than 17,500 projects and over $8.8 billion invested from FY2013 to FY2022. Figure 9 shows the increase of projects that include human subjects and the dollars invested across fiscal years. Overall, from FY2013 to FY2022, there was a 27% increase in the number of human subjects research projects and a 35% increase in spending on human subjects research across the NIDDK portfolio.
Figure 9: NIDDK Competing and Non-competing Human Subjects Research Cost and Project Count.
View full-sized image Figure 9: Project Count and Total Cost of All NIDDK-awarded Grants with Human Subjects by Fiscal Year. The NIDDK-supported Project Count with human subjects (blue bars) and the Total Cost, in millions (orange line) from FY2013 to FY2022 across all grant mechanisms/activities within the NIDDK portfolio. Grants were identified using the NIH human subjects definition.
As a subset of human subjects research, NIDDK is also committed to supporting pivotal clinical trials. In 2014, NIH revised the definition of a clinical trial in anticipation of stewardship reforms to ensure a clear and responsive definition. NIH defines a clinical trial as a research study in which “one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes.” From FY2013 to FY2022, across the entire research portfolio and leveraging several different types of mechanisms/activities (e.g., R01, U01, K23, etc.), NIDDK supported more than 4,700 clinical trial awards (number includes competing awards and continuations), which represents over $2.9 billion invested over the decade. From FY2013 to FY2022, NIDDK saw an increase of 80% and 63% in project count and spending (figures include combined competing and continuation awards), respectively, for research involving clinical trials. (Fig. 10).
Figure 10: NIDDK Competing and Non-competing Grant Count and Total Cost with Clinical Trial Research.
View full-sized image Figure 10: Project Count and Total Cost of All NIDDK-awarded Grants (competing and non-competing) with Clinical Trial Components by Fiscal Year. The NIDDK-supported project count with a clinical trial component (blue bars) and the total cost, in millions (orange line) across the entire NIDDK research portfolio from FY2013 to FY2022. Grants were identified using the NIH clinical trial definition.
Core Value: Promoting a Steady and Diverse Pool of Talented New Investigators
NIDDK is keenly focused on the next generation of researchers. An Early Stage Investigator (ESI) is defined by NIH as “an investigator who has completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully for a substantial NIH independent research award.” To help these investigators gain traction in their research careers, NIDDK has established a differential payline for ESIs starting in FY2012 (Table 1). As mentioned above, ESI paylines had been five percentile points more generous than the standard NIDDK R01 payline until FY2020, when NIDDK increased its payline for ESI applications to the 25th percentile. Associated with this effort, NIDDK increased the number of awards to ESIs by 41%, 52% and 56% in FY2020, FY2021, and FY2022, respectively, compared to FY2019 (Fig. 11). It is important to note that once an ESI or NI receive their first competing award, they are no longer counted in that group for future years even within the first project period. Once they receive the first competing award, they would be classified as established investigators.
Figure 11: Number of Investigators at Various Career Stages Supported by at Least One R01 from FY2013 to FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 11: Number of Principal Investigators (PIs) by Career Stage Supported by at Least One NIDDK R01 Award. Number of PIs on at least one R01 grant were reported by their respective career stage in each fiscal year. The number of Established Investigators (gray), New Investigators (NI, orange), and Early Stage Investigators (ESI, blue) are reflected in each bar. The table represents the total value of PIs included in each fiscal year. ESIs and NIs are only counted in these groupings in the year that they received their competing award and not in subsequent years of their award. Once they receive the first competing award, they would be classified as established investigators.
While there have been year-to-year fluctuations in applications and awards, NIDDK’s efforts to support the next generation of researchers are generally associated with growing numbers of ESI applications and awards over the past ten years. In FY2013, NIDDK received 321 R01 applications from ESIs and made 53 ESI awards. In FY2022, NIDDK received 448 R01 applications from ESIs, a 40% increase, and subsequently funded 100 ESI applications, an 89% increase compared to FY2013 (Fig. 12).
Figure 12: Number of NIDDK ESI R01 Applications and Awarded Grants (FY2013-FY2022)
View full-sized image Figure 12: NIDDK ESI R01 Applications and Awarded Grants By Fiscal Year. Stack plot shows the number of Early Stage Investigator Unfunded R01 applications (blue) and Awarded R01 awards (orange) in each fiscal year. The table represents the number of applications and awards included in each fiscal year.
NIDDK’s core value of promoting a steady and diverse pool of talented new investigators extends beyond the career stage of the investigator. The Institute works to foster breadth in the composition of its investigator workforce. For example, age dynamics within the investigator workforce is an important consideration for NIDDK’s research in the future. NIH, as a whole, has noted the increase in the mean and median age of R01 funded PIs over the last several years. Within the NIDDK R01 portfolio, a similar increase of PI age exists when examining the mean and median age from 2014 to 2019 (Fig. 13). However, in FY2020, mean age of R01 PIs stabilized and then there was a small decrease in mean age of R01 PIs in FY2021 and FY2022 (Fig. 13). In addition, the median age of R01 PIs decreased from 52 to 51 years in FY2020 to FY2021 and remained at 51 years in FY2022. While it is hard to establish causality, this decrease of the mean and median age could be the result of NIDDK’s enhanced efforts to support ESIs by raising the ESI payline to the 25th percentile in FY2020.
Figure 13: Median and Mean Ages of NIDDK R01 Investigators, from FY2013 to FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 13: Median and Mean Age of NIDDK-supported R01 PIs by Fiscal Year. The mean age (blue) and median age (orange) of R01 funded PIs from FY2013 to FY2022. Age information was provided by the NIH Office of Extramural Research and was calculated as the age of the PI at the time of the R01 application in each fiscal year.
NIH’s ability to help ensure that the nation remains a global leader in scientific discovery is dependent upon a pool of highly talented scientists from diverse backgrounds who will help to further the NIH's mission. NIH has acknowledged the significant racial gap in NIH R01 or equivalent grant funding. This has brought to light the lack of diversity among investigators conducting NIH-supported research. Collectively, NIH is working to enhance the inclusion of underrepresented groups in biomedical research. Diversity in the research workforce is important to ensure appropriate perspective and research innovation, to foster confidence and trust with the public, and promote appropriate recruitment for clinical research and clinical trials.
NIDDK reviewed the self-identified racial profile of PIs within the R01 portfolio from FY2013 to FY2022. Table 2 shows numbers of PIs, by race, who submitted an R01 application to NIDDK and who received a NIDDK R01 award. Of the 6,945 PIs who identify as White and submitted an application, 3,170 (46%) received an award. Of the 250 PIs who self-identified as Black or African-American, a total of 73 (29%) received an R01 award. Efforts within NIDDK and around the NIH have been prioritized to develop appropriate opportunities to help to enhance the diversity of NIH-supported PIs (e.g. Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD), UNITE initiative, etc.).
Table 2: NIDDK R01 PI demographic information by race from FY2013 to FY2022
| White | Asian | Black or African-American | American Indian/Alaska Native | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | Unknown |
Withheld | More than One Race |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funded R01 PIs | 3170 | 1132 | 73 | * * | * * | 77 | 211 | 60 |
| PIs who submitted R01 applications | 6945 | 2821 | 250 | 19 | * * | 552 | 564 | 151 |
| Success Rate | 46% | 40% | 29% | * * | * * | 14% | 37% | 38% |
Table 2: NIDDK R01 PI demographic information by race from FY2013 to FY2022. Self-reported race data of NIDDK R01 applicants and awardees. The first row shows the number of funded/awarded R01 PIs by race. The second row shows the total number of PIs who submitted a R01 application by race. The success rate is the percentage of the number of funded R01 PIs divided by the number of PIs who submitted a R01 application. Self-reported race information was provided by the NIH Office of Extramural Research. NIH policy requires the redaction of data where the sample size is less than 11 for the privacy protection of the individuals. (**=actual value <11)
Core Value: Fostering exceptional research training and mentoring opportunities.
NIDDK’s commitment to training and developing the careers of the next generation of scientists remains a key priority. NIDDK leverages Fellowship (F), Career Development (K), and Training (T) awards to support a wide array of trainees, including medical and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and physician researchers. From FY2013 to FY2022, NIDDK has awarded almost $1.4 billion in support of trainees across various training awards. While there have been some fluctuations in the trainee cost year by year, for the F- and K-awards, there was an overall increase of 22% and 17%, respectively, and no significant change in the T-awards in total cost support from FY2013 to FY2022 (Fig. 14).
Figure 14: NIDDK-supported Competing and Non-competing Training Award Total Costs of Select Mechanisms (Includes Direct and Indirect Costs) from FY2013-FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 14: NIDDK-supported Training Award Total Costs. NIDDK total cost, in millions, of Fellowships (F), Career Development (K), and Training (T) mechanisms from FY2013-FY2022. The F-awards (orange) include activity codes: F30, F31, and F32. The K-awards (gray) include activity codes: K01, K08, K23, K24, and K99. The T-award (yellow) represents the T32 portfolio. Total cost includes direct and indirect costs of all awards in each fiscal year.
From FY2013 to FY2022, NIDDK supported approximately 9,500 trainees/fellows across the F-, K-, and T-award mechanisms. For the F-awards, there have been some changing dynamics in the numbers across the fiscal years. For example, the F30, a predoctoral fellowship for M.D./Ph.D. trainees, has decreased from 102 awards in FY2013 to 86 awards in FY2022 (16% decrease). Similarly, F32 postdoctoral fellowship awards decreased from 124 to 77 (38% decrease) from FY2013 to FY2022. Of note, the F31, the predoctoral Ph.D. fellowship, saw a 486% increase in funded awards from 22 awards in FY2013 to 129 awards in FY2022 (Fig. 15). The increase in the F31 awards was the direct result of NIDDK participating in a NIH-wide F31 funding announcement starting in 2014.
Figure 15: Number of NIDDK-supported Competing and Non-competing Fellowship (F) Awards by Activity Code from FY2013-FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 15: NIDDK-supported Fellowship (F) Awards by Activity Code by fiscal year. The total project count of funded F30 (orange), F31 (gray) and F32 (yellow) awards from FY2013 to FY2022.
The NIDDK career development (K) portfolio was also somewhat dynamic. While there were some changes in each of the fiscal years in numbers of awards made, the research scientist development award (K01) averaged approximately 170 awards and the career transition award (K99) remained relatively constant at 24 awards from FY2013 to FY2020. The clinical investigator award (K08) had been decreasing from FY2013 to FY2020. Because of the impact of COVID, NIDDK extended the support year for some of the existing K08 grants, which accounts for the uptick in the project count in FY2021. For the mentored patient-oriented research career development award (K23), there was a net increase of 56% with 127 awards in FY2013 to 198 awards in FY2022. The number of midcareer investigator awards in patient-oriented research grants (K24) has steadily declined, in part reflecting NIDDK’s decision to cease making new awards after 2018. (Fig. 16)
Figure 16: Number of NIDDK-supported Competing and Non-competing Career Development (K) Awards by Activity Code from FY2013-FY2022
View full-sized image Figure 16: NIDDK-supported Career Development (K) Awards by Activity Code by Fiscal Year. The total project count of funded K01 (orange), K08 (gray), K23 (yellow), K24 (blue), and K99 (green) awards from FY2013 to FY2022.
NIDDK’s T32 portfolio has also changed over the course of the decade. From FY2013 to FY2022, there was a 17% decrease in the number of trainees on T32 grants and a 22% decrease in the number of T32 projects in that same time. Of note, part of the most recent decrease in the number of T32 trainees and projects is the direct result of one of the programmatic divisions leveraging other training mechanisms to support training of future researchers in lieu of the T32. Specifically, the Division of Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Diseases (KUH) began accepting applications for Institutional Network Awards for Promoting Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Research Training (U2C) in FY2020. Because of this shift in the training portfolio, future iterations of this report will begin to characterize how this activity code is leveraged at NIDDK.
Figure 17: Number of NIDDK-supported T32 Trainees and Project Count from FY2013-FY2021
View full-sized image Figure 17: NIDDK T32 Trainee and Project Count from FY2013-FY2021. The total number of T32 Trainees (orange bars) on NIDDK-supported T32 grants (blue line) from FY2013 to FY2021. Note: FY2022 data was not available at the time of the generation of this chart because T32 awards made in FY2022 continue into FY2023. The total number of T32 trainees is reported at the end of the award period; therefore, FY2022 data will not be available until later in FY2023.