NIH Mentored Career Development Awards (K Series) Part 1

Thomas Mitchell, MPH Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics University of California San Francisco

Slide 1: Types of Mentored Career Development Awards

• There are a number of different mentored K awards that individuals with a research or health professional doctorate should consider.
• Most of these awards support individuals after they have completed training and are transitioning to a faculty position.

Slide 2: K01s

• Mentored Research Scientist Development Award: provides career development in a new area of research.
• International Research Scientist Development Award (IRSDA): provides U.S. scientists with the opportunity to embark/enhance research careers related to global health.

Slide 3: K08; K12

• K08: Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award: development of the independent clinical research scientist.
• K12: Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program Award: support for an institution for the development of independent clinical scientists.

Slide 4: K23; K25

• K23: Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award: Development of the independent research scientist in a clinical arena.
• K25: Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award: To foster interdisciplinary collaboration in biomedical research by supporting career development experiences for scientists with quantitative and engineering backgrounds.

Slide 5: K99/R00

• K99/R00: NIH Pathway to Independence (PI) Award: Provides an opportunity for promising post-doctoral scientists to receive both mentored and independent research support from the same award.

Slide 6: General Tips on Mentored K Awards

• Understand the intent of the mentored K award.
• To help promising new investigators achieve independence as clinical investigators (i.e., to compete successfully for R01 funding).
• Therefore, preparing for the R01 grant application that you will submit at the end of the K award should be the organizing principle of the K grant application.

Slide 7: Make a compelling argument as to why you need a K award

• Explain exactly how additional training and mentored research experience will enable you to compete successfully for R01 funding.
• Be specific: give concrete examples of areas where you need additional training/experience in order to conduct the proposed research or areas where you are deficient that are directly related to your research career goals.

Slide 8: Develop a career development plan that is uniquely suited to you.

• Given your previous training and research experience, and your short- and long-term career goals, propose a mix of didactic training and "hands- on" research experience that makes perfect sense for you (and only you).
• Degree-granting programs (e.g., MPH) are appropriate for candidates with little or no previous formal training in clinical research, but even these programs should be "customized" whenever possible.

Slide 9: General Tips on Mentored K Awards (cont’d)

• For candidates with substantial previous formal training in clinical research, a plan that emphasizes “hands-on” research experience is appropriate. *Reviewers expect you to fully exploit the training resources available to you.

Slide 10: Writing a competitive mentored K award grant application

• 4 main sections of the grant application:
  • 1) The Candidate
  • 2) Statements by Mentors, Co-Mentors, and Collaborators
  • 3) Environment and Institutional Commitment to Candidate
  • 4) Research Plan
• Plus: 3 sealed letters of recommendation