Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (Parent K08 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-203)

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Scientific Program Contact:
Susan Lim, Ph.D.
K08 States: C, MA
Email: [email protected]

Yansong Bian, M.D., Ph.D.
K08 States: MD-W
Email: [email protected]

Corinne Boulanger-Espeut, Ph.D.
K08 States: D-K
Email: [email protected]

Sergey Radaev, Ph.D.
K08 States: A
Email: [email protected]


Grants Management Contact:
Amy Bartosch
Email: [email protected]

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: Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08).

For Diversity Career Development Awards, please see the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) at NCI Center for Cancer Health Equity (CCHE).

Salary Support: Up to the legislative salary cap (Salary Cap Summary) plus fringe benefits per year.
Research Support: Up to $50,000 per year.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Scientific Program Contact:

Marisol Espinoza-Pintucci, Ph.D.
Phone: (301) 496-1898
Email: [email protected]

Karin F. Lidman, Ph.D.
Phone: (301) 435-0535
Email: [email protected]

Grants Management Contact:
Taryn Cobb
Phone: (301) 827-8025
Email: [email protected]​

NHGRI Specific Information:

NHGRI supports resources, approaches, and technologies that accelerate genomic research focused on the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomic advances; the structure and biology of genomes; the genomics of disease; the implementation and effectiveness of genomic medicine; computational genomics and data science; and the impact of genomic advances, technology, and implementation on health disparities and health equity. Within these areas, approaches that are comprehensive across the genome or are generalizable across variants, tissues, diseases, or functions may be in scope for NHGRI. NHGRI recognizes the importance of diversity in the genomic workforce, without which the promise of genomics cannot be fully achieved.

All K08 applicants must justify the need for additional training and explain how the training will facilitate their ability to conduct cutting-edge research in the research areas outlined above.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Scientific Program Contact to discuss their concept for this initiative during the development stages of the application.

Salary Support: Commensurate with the applicant institution's salary structure for persons of equivalent qualifications, experience, and rank.

Research Support: Up to $40,000 per year.

In addition to Research Support, awardees are strongly encouraged to attend at least one NHGRI Research Training and Career Development Annual Meeting while supported on the K08. Travel may be requested up to $1500 each per NHGRI meeting.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Scientific Program Contact:

Jyothi Arikkath, PhD
Telephone: 301-594-5945
[email protected]

Grants Management Contact:
Sam Ashe
Phone:301-435-4799
Email: [email protected]

NICHD Specific Information:

NICHD offers fellowships, training grants, and career development awards in areas relevant NICHD’s mission, including normal and abnormal human development; male and female fertility and infertility; developing and evaluating contraceptive methods; pregnancy and childbirth; prenatal and postnatal development; childhood development and behavior through adolescence; improving the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals for use in pregnant women, infants, and children; HIV infection and transmission, AIDS, and associated infections; pediatric growth and endocrine research; developmental biology and typical and atypical development; intellectual and developmental disabilities; reproductive biology and medicine; gynecologic health conditions, including pelvic floor disorders; childhood injury and critical illness; population dynamics; and medical rehabilitation. More detailed information and Program Staff contacts may be found at: Extramural Scientific Branches, and for the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research at: National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR).

NICHD has a 6 year limit of cumulative support on institutional K awards (e.g., K12, KL2) and individual mentored K awards (e.g., K01, K08, K23, K25).

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

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.

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.
• 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.

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.

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:
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: 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.

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.
• Applicants interested in natural products research are encouraged to review NCCIH's Natural Product Integrity Policy.
• 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;
  • Allocation of sufficient protected time for the K awardee to conduct the research;
  • 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 per year.
Research Support: Up to $25,000 per year.