Funding

The major source of funding for the Biomedical Informatics Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a grant from the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The information below summarizes the eligibility requirements and the stipend levels for trainees who are supported by the NLM training grant funds.

NLM Trainee Eligibility Requirements

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) requires that a funded fellow be either a U.S. Citizen or a U.S. Permanent Resident. Pending U.S. Permanent Residency cannot be accepted nor will a letter from an immigration lawyer stating such status. NLM rules are very specific regarding who can and who cannot be funded. If you are not in possession of an I551 Resident Alien Card, we can only accept one of two other items as proof of a permanent residency status: either (1) an I485 U.S. Immigration form stating specifically that the “Notice of Action” grants approval of U.S. Permanent Residency, or (2) a Stamp #I551 on your passport that states “Temporary Evidence of U.S. Permanent Residency”. Without one of these three items (an I551 Resident Alien Card, an approved I485 U.S. Immigration form, or a Stamp #I551 on your passport), the Biomedical Informatics Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine cannot offer funding. Thus if you are not a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident, you must be self-funded or request/obtain funding from other sources (see Non NLM or NIDR Training Support below).

  • Predoctoral Trainees
    Predoctoral Trainees must have received a baccalaureate degree by the beginning date of their trainee appointment, and must be training at the postbaccalaureate level in a program leading to the PhD in science or in an equivalent research doctoral degree program. Health-professional students who wish to interrupt their studies for a year or more to engage in full-time research training before completing their professional degrees are also eligible.
  • Postdoctoral Trainees
    Postdoctoral trainees must have received, as of the beginning date of their trainee appointment, a PhD, MD, or comparable doctoral degree (i.e., DO, DDS, DVM, OD, DPM, ScD, EngD, DrPH, DNSc) from an accredited domestic or foreign institution. Written certification by an authorized individual of the degree-granting institution that all degree requirements have been met, prior to the date of training to begin, is acceptable.

Duration of Support:

Institutional research training grants may be made for periods up to five years and are renewable. Postdoctoral trainees pursuing a Master’s degree are usually offered funding for two consecutive years; trainees pursuing doctoral degrees are usually offered funding for three consecutive years; any additional funding would be considered on an individual basis with the procurement of a waiver from the director of the awarding component at the NIH. Trainee appointments are normally made in 12-month increments with support for additional years dependent on satisfactory progress and the continued availability of funds.

No trainee may be appointed for less than nine months during the initial period of appointment, except with the prior approval of the NIH awarding unit or when health-professional students are appointed to approved, short-term research training positions. No individual trainee may receive more than five years of aggregate trainee support at the predoctoral level or three years of aggregate trainee support at the postdoctoral level, including any combination of support from institutional training grants and individual fellowship awards. Any exception to the total duration of trainee support at either the predoctoral or postdoctoral level requires a waiver from the director of the awarding component at the NIH. The grounds for approving extension of support can be found in the current Guidelines for National Research Service Awards for Individual Awards and Institutional Grants.

Stipends
National Research Service Awards (NRSA) provide funds, in the form of stipends, to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. A stipend is provided as a subsistence allowance for trainees to help defray living expenses during the research training experience. It is not provided as a condition of employment with either the Federal Government or the awardee institution.
Predoc stipends – on or after October 1, 2022:

On or after October 1, 2022, all new Predocs begin at the new NRSA level, $27,144.  All current NLM Predocs below the new NRSA level will be increased to the new level when their appointment renewal begins in the upcoming budget period, July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024.

NLM will provide up to 5 years of support for a predoctoral trainee. All new and continuning NLM predocs receive the same level of reimbursement.  The only exceptions are those predocs with stipends exceeding the new level which will remain at their current level.

The Department of Biomedical Informatics will supplement the above NSRA stipend level to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine predoctoral graduate stipend level of $33,360 per year.

Postdoc stipends – On or after October 1, 2022:
On or after October 1, 2022, applies to new and renewal appointments within upcoming budget period, July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024. The first year of support for the ‘0’ level is for post-docs with less than one year’s experience. Subsequent years of support are advanced to the next level based upon completing the prior year’s training. No additional cost of living increases are allowable. Up to 3 years of NLM support is allowable for a postdoc. NLM trainees are exempt from a payback requirement. MDs having time accrued in an internship/residency may count this as years of qualifying experience.

 

Years of Experience Postdoc
0 $56,484
1 $56,880
2 $57,300
3 $59,592
4 $61,572
5 $63,852
6 $66,228
7 (+) $68,604

Non-NLM (and Non-NIDCR) Training Support:

Funding is occasionally available from individual faculty research grants and funded projects (Graduate Student Researcher) for which an applicant’s background and training may be considered suitable for bringing technical experience to the project. All attempts will be made to find funding for applicants who request funding support at the time of application submission (a number of applicants do not request funding because they have procured support from another institution or organization).

Not all of those accepted into the Biomedical Informatics Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine can be offered financial support. Presently about half of our trainees receive funding from the Training Program and half are “self-funded.” For those needing information on the costs of self-funding, please refer to the University of Pittsburgh website for tuition rates and fees. Look under the School of Medicine Graduate School costs (in 2022-2023, a tuition rate of $29,396/year for Pennsylvania residents, and $47,104/year for Out-of-State residents; plus fees). For international students (non-U.S. citizens and non-U.S. Permanent Residents), in addition, in 2020, the Office of International Services of the University of Pittsburgh has estimated (and require for visa purposes) proof of an additional and approximate $21,917 to cover the cost of living expenses (apartment, food, health insurance, etc) in Pittsburgh.

Education Loans
Information on educational loans for graduate students can be found at: www.oafa.pitt.edu/stafford.aspx