Career Development Grants

Purpose

To support Ph.D.s and clinicians seeking further training in biomedical research.

Procedure

NIAID supports the following career development (K) grants:

• K01 -- Mentored Research Scientist Development Award
• K02 -- Independent Scientist Award
• K08 -- Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award
• K22 -- Research Scholar Development Award
• K23 -- Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award
• K24 -- Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research
• K25 -- Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award
• K99/R00 -- NIH Pathway to Independence Award

Applicants

• Submit applications electronically.
  • Follow the approach for budget, reference letters, biosketches, and intramural labs as described in the December 12, 2008, Guide notice.
  • Read the supplemental instructions for K awards in part 7 of the Application Guide SF424 (R&R) – Adobe Forms Version A.
• Keep the following policies in mind:
  • NIAID will not accept K-series applications proposing to conduct new, independent clinical trials.
  • NIAID supports K01 and K02 awards in epidemiology and outcomes research.
  • During the last two years of a mentored career development award (K01, K08, K22, K23, K25), NIH will permit investigators to receive concurrent salary support from any peer-reviewed grant from any federal agency if they meet the criteria listed on Career Development Awards (K) in our Tutorial for Training and Career Awards, Fellowships, and Supplements.
  • NIH’s public access policy applies to K grants. Read more at Writing a Career Development Award Application.

For detailed information on K awards, such as eligibility and award duration, go to Career Development Awards (K) and the Career Development Grants questions and answers on the Research Funding Web site.

Program Officers

• Complete program officer checklists for competing and noncompeting applications.
• Work with grants management specialists and applicants or awardees to resolve time and effort issues.
• Review and approve or disapprove prior approval requests for the following. Note that change of PI is not allowed given the purpose of career awards.
  • Change of sponsor or mentor -- assess whether a person has the appropriate scientific background and available time to be the PI’s primary sponsor or mentor.
  • Change of scope.
  • Change of institution.
  • Time and effort reduction.
  • Leave of absence (three months or more).

Grants Management Specialists

• Issue awards following requirements of each career grant mechanism.
• Calculate PI's salary the same way you would for research grants. For details, go to GMP's Career Awards SOP.
• Include special terms of award noted on program officer checklists as well as standard terms of award.
• Work with program officers on prior approval requests and notify grantees of the outcome.
  • For changes to a PI’s sponsor or mentor, be sure you get the following:
    • A letter signed by the PI, the proposed new sponsor or mentor, and the institutional business official.
    • A copy of the current biosketch and other support for the proposed new sponsor or mentor.
• For information on the NIAID Research Scholar Development Award (K22), see GMP's Guidelines for the K22 Application and Award Process.
• For information on the Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00), see the Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00) SOP or GMP's K99/R00 Awards SOP.

For more of your responsibilities, see GMP's Career Awards SOP.

Contacts

Office of Special Populations and Research Training

Milton Hernández, mh35c@nih.gov, 301-496-3775

Grants Management Program

Julie Waugh, waughj@niaid.nih.gov, 301-451-7381

For questions specific to funded career development awards, contact the appropriate grants management specialist.

If you have knowledge to share or want more information on this topic, email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base.

Links

Advice for Career Development Awards

Information about NIH Career Development (K) Grants

NIH training site

NIAID Funding Policy and Process SOP

Quick Facts on Research Training and Career Development Awards