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NIH career development awards (often referred to as the "K" series) provide support for mentored research career development experiences.
Purpose
Career development (K) awards are intended for investigators at earlier phases of their research career to enhance skills development and provide time for research and training activities in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences.
These awards typically provide three to five years of salary, mentored research support, and protected time under the guidance of an experienced mentor.
Review Criteria
To find the criteria reviewers will use to evaluate your application, see Section V of your funding opportunity.
Still looking for a funding opportunity? Check out the Career Development Parent Announcements, which are broad funding opportunities allowing applicants to submit investigator-initiated applications. Parent Announcements include the minimum standard review criteria appropriate for their program.
Search for Individual Career Development Funding Opportunities
The NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts is NIH's official publication of notices of grant policies, guidelines, and funding opportunities.
View Current Funding OpportunitiesPrograms by Career Stage
Postdoctoral refers to a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced training for those who have received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue their chosen career path. Residency refers to a graduate medical education program that provides physicians with hands-on experience and training in a specific medical specialty after they graduate from medical school.
- Research Scientist Development Award - Research and Training (K01)
- Academic/Teacher Award (ATA) (K07)
- Career Transition Award (K22)
- Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
- Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)
- International Research Career Development Award (K43)
- Emerging Leaders Career Development Award (K76)
- Career Transition Award (Pathway to Independence Award) (K99) / (R00)
Stage during which early career researchers are about to transition - or have recently moved - to fully independent positions as investigators, faculty members, clinician scientists, or scientific team leaders in industry.
- Research Scientist Development Award - Research and Training (K01)
- Research Scientist Development Award - Research (K02)
- Academic/Teacher Award (K07)
- Career Transition Award (K22)
- Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
- Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)
- International Research Career Development Award (K43)
- Emerging Leaders Career Development Award (K76)
- Career Transition Award (K99/R00)
Stage at which investigator leads research programs in an academic, industry, or government setting with independent (often peer-reviewed) research funding and have delivered significant research outputs due to their experience and scientific quality.
- Senior Research Scientist Award (K05)
- Academic/Teacher Award (K07)
- The Career Enhancement Award (K18)
- Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24)
- Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)
- Midcareer Investigator Award in Biomedical and Behavioral Research (K26)
Also Consider...
- Stephen I. Katz Early Stage Investigator Research Project Grant
- Maximizing Investigators Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (R35)
- NIH Director's New Innovator Award (DP2)
Administrative Supplements
An administrative supplement is a non-competing award that provides additional funding to a currently funded grant. NIH participates in funding opportunities for specific programs: