Pathway to Independence Award (PA-06-133)
Backgrounder

The NIH Pathway to Independence Award is an innovative, new program that will provide an opportunity for promising postdoctoral scientists to receive both mentored and independent research support from the same award.

NIH plans to issue between 150 and 200 awards for this program in the first year, and for the each of the next five years, amounting to approximately $390 million. The actual number and distribution of awards made by the NIH Institutes and Centers will depend upon the quality of the applications received and the results of the scientific peer review process.

The initial application submission date for the PI Award is April 7, 2006.  Thereafter, the same standard submission dates for research career development awards will be used, please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm for details.

Mentored (K99) Phase

• Will provide 1-2 years of mentored support for highly promising, postdoctoral research scientists who have terminal clinical or research doctorates and who have no more than 5 years of postdoctoral research training at the time of initial application or resubmission(s).
• The total cost per year will be up to $90,000.
• The initial mentored phase application may be submitted on behalf of the candidate by any domestic for-profit or non-profit institution/organization such as universities, colleges, hospitals and laboratories, and eligible agencies of the Federal government, including NIH intramural laboratories.
• Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply.
• U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply.

Independent Investigator (R00) Phase

• Transition from the mentored phase to the independent phase, years 3-5, of the award is intended to be continuous in time.
• To activate the independent phase, individuals must have been offered and accepted a tenure-track, full time assistant professor position (or equivalent).
• Transition is subject to an administrative review of the success of the awardee’s research progress and accomplishments and the evaluation of the research plan to be carried out at the extramural sponsoring institution at which he or she has been recruited.
• The total cost per year of the independent investigator phase will be up to $249,000. Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs for this independent phase will be reimbursed at the extramural sponsoring institution’s current rate.
• Application for the independent phase may be submitted on behalf of the awardee (principal investigator) by any domestic for-profit or non-profit institution/organization such as universities, colleges, hospitals and laboratories at which the awardee has been recruited. Agencies of the Federal government (including NIH intramural laboratories) and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply for the independent phase of the PI award.
• The extramural sponsoring institution must demonstrate a commitment to the candidate by providing protected research time, space, facilities, resources, and other support needed to conduct the proposed research.
• Applications requesting only the independent phase will not be accepted.
• Award recipients are expected to apply for independent research grant support during the later independent phase of the award.