Notice Number: NOT-DC-08-005
Key Dates
Release Date: June 3, 2008
Issued by
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/
This notice supersedes a prior Notice, NIDCD Research Training and Career Development Opportunities for Audiologists, published in the NIH Guide on March 4, 2005: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DC-05-002.html.
Research on the measurement of hearing, the clinical assessment of hearing disorders and the nonmedical habilitation/rehabilitation of hearing is uniquely within the province of the discipline of audiology. In recent years, the profession of audiology has undergone a major transition in the United States with the introduction of the professional doctorate, the AuD degree, as the standard educational track for the training of clinical audiologists and the near demise of the research doctorate in this discipline. Of over ninety active AuD training programs nationwide, few provide in-depth training in and exposure to audiologic research. Yet, it is widely recognized that a vibrant research base is imperative for the field to advance the current state-of-the-art in hearing health care services. Recently, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) launched a program providing short-term research experiences to AuD students through a network of NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants (T35) (http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-05-117.html) at research-intensive institutions conducting Federally funded research on hearing. The goal of this program is to provide hands-on research exposure to AuD students and to encourage students who are inspired by this experience to develop research trajectories in their careers through pursuing further, sustained programs of research training and career development [e.g., research doctoral and/or postdoctoral research training programs, junior faculty-stage NIH-sponsored career development (K-) awards].
The NIDCD strongly encourages doctoral-level audiologists who show promise as productive researchers to integrate clinical research and translational research into their career paths. The purpose of this Notice is to disseminate information on NIDCD research training and career development programs applicable to AuD-trained audiologists seeking to integrate a program of clinical research or translational research into their career trajectories.
Students pursuing research doctoral (PhD, DSc) training in hearing science, audiology or in a related scientific discipline (e.g., psychology, neuroscience) in tandem with their clinical AuD training are eligible to apply for the following individual fellowship program, provided they are in an integrated dual-program, such that both degrees are conferred at the end of the period of doctoral study:
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellows (F30) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-05-151.html
AuD students who are pursuing a research doctoral degree independently of their clinical doctoral training (i.e., they are not enrolled in an integrated dual-degree program) should consider submitting a dissertation-stage predoctoral award application to the NIDCD:
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-07-002.html
AuD graduates pursuing full-time research doctoral training (e.g., PhD, DSc) who are at the dissertation stage of training, and those pursuing postdoctoral research training (a “postdoc”) under a mentor’s tutelage are encouraged to apply for the following fellowship program:
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows (F32) http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-07-107.html
Highly promising AuD, PhD and dual-doctoral degree holders engaged in postdoctoral research training who seek an additional 1-2 years of mentored training to “cap-off” their postdoc experiences, to transition to tenure-track research positions and to establish their independent research programs are encouraged to consider applying for the following dual-phase career transition award program:
NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-07-297.html
Junior-level faculty members, or the equivalent in nonacademic research settings, who have had prior research training and seek a sustained period of mentored research career development to foster their development into independent investigators in clinical research or in translational research are urged to consider applying for one of the following mentored clinician-scientist career award (K-award) programs:
Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-512.html
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-05-143.html
The NIDCD Small Grant Program is well-suited for supporting a small-scale research project conducted by a postdoctoral fellow transitioning to research independence or a recently independent faculty-level investigator who has not previously held a full-scale Federal research grant as principal investigator. The Small Grant can enable a promising clinician-scientist to acquire preliminary data or feasibility data to craft a successful mentored K-award or New Investigator R01 award application:
NIDCD Small Grant Program (R03) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-287.html
The NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) were fashioned to provide an incentive for doctoral-level health professionals to integrate clinical research, pediatric research and other targeted research areas into their career trajectories by providing repayment of their educational loans. Eligible individuals must be engaged in clinical research or pediatric research, funded by governmental or nonprofit sources, for at least 50% effort during the contiguous two-year period following the LRP award date. Consult the following website for further information: http://www.lrp.nih.gov
Students enrolled in health professional research doctoral programs or in dual-degree, clinical/research doctoral programs, and individuals at other career stages who come from groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral science, including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, who desire an intensive research experience under the tutelage of an NIDCD-funded investigator are encouraged to consider submitting an application for the following administrative supplement program:
Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-05-015.html
Inquiries
Audiologists and audiology students interested in the programs described above are strongly encouraged to contact the following NIDCD program official:
Daniel A. Sklare, Ph.D.
Research Training Officer
Division of Scientific Programs
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders
6120 Executive Blvd, EPS Suite 400C
Bethesda, MD 20892-7180
Phone: 301-496-1804
FAX: 301-402-6251
Email: [email protected]
and Human Services (HHS)
