Key Dates

Related Announcements

• April 24, 2024 - NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Required). See NOFO PA-24-193.
• April 24, 2024 - NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-24-194.
• April 24, 2024 - NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent K99/R00 Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required). See NOFO PA-24-195.

Issued by

Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)

Purpose

By way of this Notice, The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces an automatic extension until October/November 2025 receipt dates for prospective applicants to the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program. The extension is limited to individuals whose eligibility period under the Parent K99/R00 would have ended between October 2024 – January 2026. 

Who Is Impacted

This Notice provides K99/R00 eligibility extensions for the following prospective applicants:

• Individuals whose final due date for new/resubmission application, based on a 48-month eligibility window, was October/November 2024 will be granted a three-receipt cycle extension (roughly twelve additional months). The last submission with K99/R00 eligibility will be October/November 2025.
• Individuals whose final due date for new/resubmission application, based on a 48-month eligibility window, was February/March 2025 will be granted a two-receipt cycle extension (roughly eight additional months). The last submission with K99/R00 eligibility will be October/November 2025.
• Individuals whose final due date for new/resubmission application, based on a 48-month eligibility window, will be June/July 2025 will be granted a one-receipt cycle extension (roughly four additional months). The last submission with K99/R00 eligibility will be October/November 2025.

To assist potential applicants in determining whether they are eligible for the K99/R00 extension, the following examples are provided:

Example 1: For individuals whose eligibility ended with the October/November 2024 due dates, the extension would allow them to apply in June/July 2025 or October/November 2025..

Example 2: For individuals whose eligibility ended with February/March 2025 due dates, the extension would allow them to apply in June/July 2025 or October/November 2025.

Example 3: For individuals whose eligibility would normally end with the June/July 2025 due dates, the extension would allow them to apply in October/November 2025.

Please note that this eligibility extension applies to AIDS dates for the above receipt cycles. 

Background/Rationale

The NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers with a research and/or clinical doctorate degree from mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. Under standard conditions, individuals must have no more than four years of postdoctoral research experience to be eligible to apply for a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence award.

NIH periodically evaluates and responds to events that may affect the ability of investigators to remain competitive for NIH support. The extension addresses delays impacting grant application submissions, peer review, or award processing timelines between January 1, 2025, through May 31, 2025.  Recognizing the disproportionate effect of system-wide disruptions on early career researchers with strict eligibility timelines, this proactive policy response seeks to minimize unintended impacts while reinforcing NIH's commitment to supporting the next generation of scientists.

Implementation

The eligibility extension listed in this Notice applies only to potential submissions under the parent K99/R00 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Announcements (PA-24-193, PA-24-194, and PA-24-195). 

For eligible applicants submitting new or resubmission applications, extension will be automatically accepted by the NIH. However, prospective K99 applicants who wish to receive extensions for personal or family situations (see Eligible Individuals under Section III of PA-24-193, PA-24-194, or PA-24-195) must continue to provide relevant documentation to the NIH Institute or Center to which their application will be submitted. Multiple extensions for overlapping events will not be permitted. Please contact program official(s) at the NIH Institute or Center to which the application will be submitted for further guidance. 

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Prospective applicants should direct inquiries related to their specific circumstances to the NIH Institute or Center to which their application will be submitted.

General inquiries about this policy should be directed to:

Division of Biomedical Research Workforce
Office of Extramural Research
National Institutes of Health
Email: [email protected]