Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (Parent K08 - Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required) (PA-24-183)

NCI Specific Information:

The NCI K08 award provides support and “protected time” to postdoctoral, and non-tenured junior faculty (e.g., Assistant Professor or equivalent) clinician-scientists for intensive mentored research and career development activities in basic, translational, and/or patient-oriented cancer research. See NOT-CA-17-042 and NOT-CA-17-043 for details. The application will not be considered for funding if the PD/PI has already been promoted to Associate Professor or equivalent at the time of award. 

Eligible candidates must be clinicians who practice in the United States. Candidates (other than surgeon-scientists) are required to devote a minimum of 9 person months (75%) full-time professional effort to the K08 award. Candidate must maintain an active clinical license during the K08 award. A copy of active U.S. licensure must be included in the application under “Other Attachments”. 

NCI allows U.S.-licensed surgeon-scientists with active surgical duties to request less than the required 9 person months (75%) full-time professional effort under a K08 career development award. They may not request less than 6 person months (50%) full-time professional effort devoted to research and career development activities. These applicants must provide a justification clearly stating the reason(s) for the reduced (less than 75%) amount of effort in (1) Candidate’s Plan for Career Development/Training Activities During Award Period, (2) Mentor's letter, and (3) Institutional commitment letter. For details, please see NOT-CA-21-054.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Program Director with their NIH biosketch, specific aims, and information on their clinical training and clinical licensure prior to application.
 
Additional NCI-specific information/requirements can be found at: http://www.cancer.gov/grants-training/training/funding/K08.
 
For the Diversity Career Development Awards, please see the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) at http://crchd.cancer.gov/diversity/cure-overview.html.

Salary Support: Up to the legislative salary cap (/grants/policy/salcap_summary.htm) plus fringe benefits per year.
Research Support: Up to $50,000 per year.

NCCIH Specific Information:

NCCIH uses the K08 program to support individuals with a clinical/health-professional doctorate in supervised career development experiences in biomedical, behavioral, or translational fields that lead to research independence.

• Before the application receipt date, investigators are strongly encouraged to discuss their proposed research interest with an NCCIH Program Officer in the specific scientific area and/or intervention that is closely-related to the proposed project to confirm its relevance to NCCIH's mission and research priorities. A list of NCCIH program officials can be found at http://NCCIH.nih.gov/grants/contact#area. 
• Applications proposing the use of natural products or devices in an interventional research project should explicitly describe the status of the Investigational New Drug (IND) or Investigational Device Exemption (IDE). Applicants interested in natural products research are encouraged to review NCCIH's Natural Product Integrity Policy.
• NCCIH will not fund applications proposing a clinical trial to test efficacy or effectiveness through this mechanism. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposed scope of work with an NCCIH program officer, and to review resources available at NCCIH’s Clinical Research Toolbox.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide clear evidence that adequate resources are available at the institution for the successful completion of the proposed research project. Applications should include explicit statements from the institution and the mentor(s) addressing the following:

1. Detailed information about who will provide the necessary resources;
2. Funding source and amount of additional funding (as needed);
3. Support staff available and committed to the project;
4. Allocation of sufficient protected time for the K awardee to conduct the research;
5. Availability of biostatistical support for the duration of the study - including the planning period; and
6. A contingency plan (for the institution and mentor) for completion of the study in the event the awardee leaves the institution earlier than the end date of the award.

Salary Support: Up to $100,000 plus fringe benefits per year.
Research Support: Up to $25,000 per year. 

National Eye Institute (NEI)

Scientific Program Contact: 
Ed Clayton, Ph.D. 
Email: [email protected]

Neeraj Agarwal, Ph.D.  
Email: [email protected] 
  
Peer Review Contact:
Brian Hoshaw, Ph.D.
Email: [email protected]

Grants Management Contact:
Karen Robinson Smith
Email: [email protected] 

NEI Specific Information:

NEI will accept applications for funding that are responsive to programmatic priority areas for research within vision and ophthalmology as detailed in the NEI Strategic Plan: Vision for the Future (PDF 22.5 MB).

Eligibility: Eligible candidates must have a health professional doctoral degree, such as the M.D., M.D./PhD; D.O., D.O./PhD; O.D.; O.D./PhD; D.V.M., D.V.M/PhD; or equivalent degree, and a professional clinical license to practice medicine in the United States. Candidates are required to devote a minimum of 75% full-time professional effort to the K- award.  A copy of active U.S. licensure must be included in the application. Scholars who are ophthalmic surgeons may request between 6 and 9 person-months (50% to 75%) of full-time professional effort conducting research and career development activities.

NEI has a 6-year limit of cumulative support on institutional and mentored Ks (e.g., K12 or KL2 plus the individual K08).

NEI will only accept Minimal Risk Clinical Trials” under this FOA. "Minimal risk" means that the probability and magnitude of harm or discomfort anticipated in the research are not greater than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests.

Clinician scientists seeking experience in the conduct of clinical trials or clinical studies should instead propose an ancillary study within an on-going research program. NEI policy regarding support of clinical trials and large multi-centered clinical studies is described at the link below: /grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-EY-09-001.html.

Salary Support: Up to the legislative cap plus fringe benefits per year. 
Research Support: Up to $25,000 per year, but with sufficient justification can be up to $50,000 per year.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) 
 
Scientific Program Contact: 
NIAAA Staff Contact 
  
Grants Management Contact: 
Judy Fox 
Phone: (301) 443-4704 
Email: [email protected]

Lauren Early 
Phone: (301) 443-2434 
Email: [email protected]

NIAAA Specific Information: 

NIAAA supports faculty level early-stage investigator and new investigator development under this announcement. Applicants are encouraged to refer to the NIAAA Strategic Plan for NIAAA research priorities. Applicants are to comply with the NIH and NIAAA Data Management and Sharing policies, NOT-OD-21-013 and NOT-AA-23-001. Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate NIAAA staff contact prior to preparing an application.

• All applications must include a strong and credible plan for the applicant’s transition to research independence, outlining milestones and providing evidence of significant institutional commitment to the development of the K applicant as an independent researcher at the sponsoring institution.
• Candidates with less than 4 years of post-doctoral research experience, who are enrolled in the T32 training programs are strongly encouraged to apply for a K99/R00 award.
• At the time of award, the candidate must have a secured full-time faculty or faculty equivalent appointment in an appropriate research-intensive environment.   

Salary Support: Up to $100,000 plus fringe benefits per year, commensurate with the applicant institution’s salary structure for persons of equivalent qualifications, experience, and rank. Institutional Base Salary will be verified at the time of award. 
Research Support: Up to $50,000 per year.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Scientific Program Contact:
Dennis A. Twombly, Ph.D.
Phone: (301) 451-3371
Email:  [email protected]
 
Grants Management Contact:
Barbara Hodgkins
Phone: (301) 827-5306
Email: [email protected]


 

NIDCD Specific Information: 
 
NIDCD uses the K08 program to support individuals with a clinical/health-professional doctorate interested in supervised career development experiences in basic clinical research (not in patient-oriented research) that lead to research independence in biomedical, behavioral, or translational fields.

• Application must demonstrate its contribution to NIDCD and its fit to NIDCD's Mission, Research Priorities, and Strategic Plan.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide clear evidence that adequate resources are available at the institution for the successful completion of the proposed research project.
• Applications should include explicit statements from the institution and the mentor(s) addressing the following:
  • Detailed information about who will provide the necessary resources;
  • Funding source and amount of additional funding (as needed);
  • Support staff available and committed to the project;
  • Availability of biostatistical support for the duration of the study - including the planning period; and
  • A contingency plan (for the institution and mentor) for completion of the study in the event the awardee leaves the institution earlier than the end date of the award. 

Salary Support: Up to $100,000 plus fringe benefits. Non-surgeon scientists must devote a minimum of 75% full time professional effort to research and career development activities associated with the K award. Surgeon-scientists must devote a minimum of 50% full time professional effort to research and career development activities associated with the K award.
Research Support: Up to $50,000 per year.

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

Scientific Program Contact:
Email: [email protected] 
 

Grants Management Contact:
Gabriel Hidalgo, M.B.A.
Phone: (301) 827-4630 
Email: [email protected]

NIDCR Specific Information:
 
NIDCR supports mentored research training and career development of clinicians proposing dental, oral and craniofacial (DOC) research that aligns with the NIDCR Strategic Plan.

Prospective candidates must have a DDS, DMD, MD or other clinical doctoral degree and be at the postdoctoral or early career faculty level. The award requires a minimum of 75% full-time professional effort for research training and career development. Dentists may use the award to pursue graduate research training that results in a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree.  The remaining 25% full time professional effort may be devoted to clinical activities, including dental specialty training, or other clinical or teaching activities complementary to research career development.

For the Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (Parent K08 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed), please refer to  NIDCR Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Applications of Data Science in Translational Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research NOT-DE-23-002 calling for a variety of data science-oriented projects focused on developing and using data and data science resources, methods, and tools for dental, oral, and craniofacial (DOC) research. 
 
Prospective candidates are encouraged to contact NIDCR to discuss eligibility, the relevance of the proposed research to NIDCR’s research priorities, and for guidance on the proposed research and career development plans. 

Salary Support:  Up to $100,000 plus fringe benefits per year.
Research Support: Up to $25,000 per year.

NIDA Specific Information:

Please note that the aggregate total of NIH mentored career award support (both institutional and individual) cannot exceed 6 years. A prospective K08 applicant who was appointed to an institutional K12 award must contact NIDA prior to submitting an individual mentored K application to confirm eligibility. Please contact [email protected] for additional details.

Salary Support: Up to $100,000 plus fringe benefits per year.
Research Support: Up to $50,000 per year. Examples include supplies, equipment, technical personnel, travel, and statistical services.

NIEHS Specific Information:

Eligibility: This program is intended to support applicants with a clinical doctoral degree (M.D., M.D./PhD; D.O., D.O./PhD; O.D.; O.D./PhD; D.V.M., D.V.M/PhD; or equivalent degree) who are licensed to practice in the United States and are currently devoting time and effort to clinical duties.   Documentation of active licensure should be included in the application for all clinical degrees. The candidate must maintain an active clinical license during the K08 award. Candidates are required to devote a minimum of 9 person months (75%) full-time professional effort to the K08 award.  Exceptions for certain specialties or other special circumstances must be requested in writing to the program contact at least 12 weeks prior to the submission of the application.

NIEHS limits the cumulative support on institutional and mentored Ks (e.g., K12 or KL2 plus the K08) to six years.
The Career Development and Research Plan must be consistent with the research interests of NIEHS. For further information on the research interests of the Institute, please see:  NIEHS.

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the program official identified in the contact table before preparing an application to discuss eligibility requirements and the relevance of the proposed research to the Institute’s research priorities.

Salary Support: Up to legislated cap, plus fringe benefits per year.
Research Support: Up to $40,000 per year.

NIMH Specific Information:

The NIMH supports a broad spectrum of basic and translational research, including basic neuroscience, human genetics, adult and developmental translational research, services and intervention research, and AIDS-related research (NIMH Extramural Research Programs). 

• Eligibility for the K08 is limited to individuals with no more than 6 years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of application (either the initial or resubmission application). NIMH encourages applicants to limit the requested support to no more than four years. The requested duration of support should be appropriately justified, taking into consideration prior research experience and the proposed mentored career development goals that are essential for developing an independent, NIMH-funded research program. See NOT-MH-22-310 and Career Development Programs (K-Series) for further details about NIMH's support for K programs.
• An application must include a strong and credible plan for the candidate's transition to research independence, including milestones, and evidence of significant institutional commitment to the continued development of the K08 candidate as an independent researcher at the applicant institution. Applicants are expected to plan to apply for independent research support during the later years of their mentored career award.
• It is recommended that NIMH mentored K applicants proposing clinical trials review the following guidance: (Career Development Programs (K-Series))
• Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Institute career development staff (Contacts for Research Training and Career Development Programs) before preparing an application to discuss the relevance of the proposed research to the Institute's current research priorities and for guidance on the proposed research and career development plans.
• Candidates (other than neurosurgeons) must devote a minimum of 75% full time professional effort to research and career development activities associated with the K award. Neurosurgeons must devote a minimum of 50% full time professional effort to research and career development activities associated with the K award.

 
Salary Support: Up to $100,000 plus fringe benefits per year.
Research Support: Up to $50,000 per year.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Scientific Program Contact:
Stephen Korn, Ph.D.
Phone: (301) 496-4188
Email: [email protected]

Grants Management Contact:
Chief Grants Management Officer
Email: [email protected]

NINDS Specific Information:

This program is intended to support applicants with a clinical doctoral degree, who are licensed to practice clinically, who are within 5 years of completing their clinical training (which is defined as sequential years of residency training and clinical fellowships). Applicants who are beyond 5 years post clinical training must obtain prior written approval from the Director, Office of Training & Workforce Development to be eligible for this program. NINDS mentored K awards may be for either 4 or 5 years (NINDS will not make K08 awards lasting only 3 years). Please see the NINDS training website for additional NINDS-specific information:  
K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award.

Candidates for the K08 (other than neurosurgeons) must devote a minimum of 75% full time professional effort to research and career development activities associated with the K award. The letter of institutional commitment should include a description of the candidate's non-research responsibilities according to the following: 1/2 day = 10% of the 5 day workweek, 1 month = 8% of the year, time on call for clinical duty is not protected time for research.

Neurosurgeons must devote a minimum of 50% full time professional effort to research and career development activities associated with the K award. The letter of institutional commitment should describe, as above, the specific allocation of time (on a weekly and/or monthly basis) devoted to K award activities and clinical and other non-K award activities. 
The allocated research support (see below) includes $1,000 dollars per year to help support attendance at two annual workshops associated with the ANA (American Neurological Association) meeting (neurosurgeons are encouraged to attend the meeting associated with the neurosurgeon K12 (NRCDP) instead). It is intended that K awardees will attend these workshops in the 1st and 4th year of their awards, but if personal conflicts make this impossible, alternatives can be acceptable. However, awardees will not be invited to attend in two consecutive years. If K awardees do not attend twice during the first 4 years of the K award, the research support in the 5th year of the award will be reduced to $46,000.

Salary Support: Up to $125,000 plus fringe benefits per year.
Research Support: Up to $51,000 per year.

NIH Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS)

ODSS program contact: 
Bryan Kim Ph.D.
Email: [email protected]

Office of Data Science Strategy Specific Information:

The NIH Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) is committed to growing a strong and diverse data science community and ensuring that data science advances in biomedical and health research can benefit all populations. ODSS is interested in supporting Career Development Award projects in data science areas including but not limited to: artificial intelligence, clinical informatics, cloud computing, statistics, computational science, software design and programming, bioinformatics, visualization, machine learning, predictive analytics, supercomputing, modeling and simulation, digital health, data sharing and access, data management, data security and data privacy in human subject’s research, and research ethics and integrity. Applications are strongly encouraged from individuals from diverse backgrounds, including from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences, in alignment with the Notice of NIH’s Interest in Diversity (NOT-OD-20-031).

Office of Research on Women’s Health

Scientific Program Contact: 
Carolyn Bondar, Ph.D. 
Phone: (301) 824-7194 
Email: [email protected]

ORWH Specific Information:

ORWH focuses on advancing research that is relevant to the health of women and supporting women in biomedical careers. Applicants should ensure their proposed work intersects with the goals, objectives, and guiding principles of the trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Women’s Health Research (https://orwh.od.nih.gov/about/trans-nih-strategic-plan-womens-health-research). ORWH does not award grants but co-funds applications and research projects that have received an award from one of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers listed in the announcement. Visit the ORWH website (https://orwh.od.nih.gov/) or contact the appropriate ORWH staff to learn more.