NIH / NCI (R25) and AHRQ/NIH (R36)
R25 Cancer Research Education Grants & R36 Dissertation Award
Two different things. The R25 is a grant to an INSTITUTION/faculty PI to run a cancer research-education program — undergraduates and students benefit by joining a funded R25 program, but a student does not hold an R25 personally. The R36 is a DISSERTATION award held by a late-stage doctoral candidate (qualifying exams done); the AHRQ R36 pays a stipend up to the NRSA predoctoral level plus up to $15,000 in costs, with deadlines Feb 1 / May 1 / Aug 1 / Nov 1.
Who Can Apply
Award Amount
$25
Deadline
R25 (PAR-2 (2025)
Confirmed
Topics
R25 (Research Education) and R36 (Dissertation Award)
These two mechanisms are often confused. They sit at opposite ends of who applies: the R25 is held by a faculty PI and serves students as participants; the R36 is held by a doctoral candidate near the finish line.
R25 — Cancer Research Education Grants Program
The NCI R25 (Cancer Research Education Grants Program, CREGP) funds institutions and senior faculty to run educational activities — courses for skills development, research experiences, and curriculum/methods development (NCI R25; PAR-23-277).
- Who holds it: the PD/PI must be an established investigator (Associate Professor or above) (PAR-23-277). A student never holds an R25.
- How a student benefits: by joining a funded R25 program as a participant. (HCI's PathMaker summer programs are funded through an NCI R25 — see
undergrad-postbac-onramps.md.) - R25 programs may augment but cannot replace NRSA (T32) programs.
So for an undergraduate, the R25 is a faculty-held mechanism you access as a trainee, not something you apply to as a grant holder.
R36 — Dissertation Award
The R36 supports a doctoral candidate's dissertation research. The best-documented version is the AHRQ Health Services Research Dissertation Program (R36) (AHRQ R36); several NIH Institutes (e.g., NIMH, NIA) run R36 dissertation awards tied to workforce diversity.
- Eligibility (AHRQ R36): U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident; full-time doctoral student in good standing in an accredited research doctoral program (health services research, behavioral/social sciences, epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy, nursing, and related fields); by submission ().