SENIOR SCIENTIST AWARD (K05)

Release Date:  December 2, 1999 (See update, NOT-MH-05-008)
                                (NIMH withdraws, see NOT-MH-05-005)
                                (See update, NOT-DA-05-005)
                                (Expiration date extended, see NOT-OD-05-011)
                                (see update NOT-DA-05-001)

PA NUMBER:  PA-00-021

EXPIRATION DATE: December 02, 2005 (See modification PA-06-555)

National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
National Cancer Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute of Mental Health
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

PURPOSE

The Senior Scientist Award (K05) provides stability of support to outstanding 
scientists who have demonstrated a sustained, high level of productivity and 
whose expertise, research accomplishments, and contributions to the field 
have been and will continue to be critical to the mission of the particular 
NIH center or institute.  The award provides salary support for award periods 
of up to five years as a means of enhancing the individual recipient"s skills 
and dedication to his/her area of research.   The Senior Scientist Award 
(K05) permits NIH institutes and centers to identify and support 
exceptionally talented investigators who are well established in their field 
of research.  

Since not all of the NIH centers and institutes support this award, potential 
applicants should contact the appropriate NIH program staff listed under 
INQUIRIES, prior to preparing an application.

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000

The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health 
promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS 
led national activity for setting priority areas.  This Program Announcement 
for the Senior Scientist Award (K05) is related to one or more of the 
priority areas.   Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 
2000" at http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/pubs/hp2000.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The candidate must be a senior scientist and a recognized leader in the field 
with a distinguished record of original contributions, must have a record of 
support from a funding institute or center, and must have peer-reviewed grant 
support at the time of the award. Scientists whose work is primarily 
theoretical may, depending on the policy of the institute or center, apply 
for this award in the absence of research grant support.

Applications may be submitted on behalf of candidates by domestic, non-
Federal organizations, public or private, such as medical, dental, or nursing 
schools or other institutions of higher education. Minorities, women, and 
individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.   At the time of 
award, candidates must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the U.S., or 
must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence i.e. in possession 
of a current valid Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-551) or other legal 
verification of such status.   Noncitizen nationals are generally persons 
born, in outlying possessions of the (i.e., American Samoa and Swains 
Island).  Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

MECHANISM OF SUPPORT

Awards in response to this program announcement will use the K05 mechanism.  
Planning, direction, and execution of the program will be the responsibility 
of the candidate on behalf of the applicant institution.  However, the 
institution must demonstrate a commitment to the candidate and the 
candidate"s goals for career development.  The project period may be for up 
to five years (at least three years are required).  Awards are renewable if 
permitted by the policies of the NIH awarding component and the candidate 
still meets the stated requirements.   Prospective candidates are advised to 
discuss this issue with the appropriate contact listed under INQUIRIES.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

A.  Environment:  The institution should have a demonstrated commitment to 
research and a commitment to the continuing development of the candidate as 
an independent scientist.  The institution must provide assurance that the 
candidate is an integral part of its research and academic program.

B.  Program: The award provides up to five consecutive, 12 month 
appointments.  At least 75 percent of the recipient"s full-time professional 
effort must be devoted to the program and the remainder devoted to other 
research-related and/or teaching pursuits consistent with the objectives of 
the award.

C.  Allowable Costs:

1.  Salary: The NIH will provide salary and fringe benefits for the career 
award recipient.  The total salary requested must be based on a full-time, 
12-month institutional salary.  It must be consistent both with the 
established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually 
provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members of 
equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department 
concerned.  If full-time, 12-month salaries are not currently paid to 
comparable staff members, the salary proposed must be appropriately related 
to the existing salary structure.    In no case will the salary provided by 
this award exceed the current legislated maximum salary (in fiscal year 1999, 
the maximum salary is $125,900).  The award will also provide fringe benefits 
on the calculated base salary at the established institutional rate.

Salary limits on career awards are not uniform throughout the NIH and are 
determined independently by each component of the NIH. Therefore, prospective 
candidates should contact the NIH component to which the application is 
targeted to ascertain the maximum contribution to the candidate"s salary.

The institution may supplement the NIH salary contribution up to a level that 
is consistent with the institution"s salary scale, however, supplementation 
may not be from Federal funds unless specifically authorized by the Federal 
program from which such funds are derived.   Because the salary amount 
provided by this award is based on the full-time institutional salary, no 
other PHS funds may be used for salary supplementation.   Institutional 
supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities 
that would interfere with the purpose of the K05.  Under expanded 
authorities, however, institutions may rebudget funds within the total costs 
awarded to cover salaries consistent with the institution"s salary scale up 
to the legislated maximum salary. 

2.  Research Development Support: It is expected that candidates for a KO5 
award will have research support at the time of the award.  However, there 
are some research specialties in which only minimal research support is 
needed, i.e., theoreticians, statisticians, and computer scientists.   In 
such cases, incidental research expenses may be provided at the discretion of 
the individual institute or center. These funds may be used for the following 
expenses:  (a) tuition, fees, and books related to career development, (b) 
research expenses, such as supplies, equipment and technical personnel, (c) 
travel to research meetings or training, (d) statistical and computational 
services including personnel and computer time.     Applicants should request 
additional information from the relevant NIH institute or center listed under 
INQUIRIES.

Ancillary Personnel Support: Salary for secretarial, and/or administrative 
assistance, etc., is not allowed.

Facilities and Administrative Costs: These costs will be reimbursed at 8 
percent of modified total direct costs.

D.  Evaluation: In carrying out its stewardship of human resource related 
programs, the NIH may begin requesting information essential to an assessment 
of the effectiveness of this program.  Accordingly, recipients are hereby 
notified that they may be contacted after the completion of this award for 
periodic updates on various aspects of their employment history, 
publications, support from research grants or contracts, honors and awards, 
professional activities, and other information helpful in evaluating the 
impact of the program.

E.  Other Income: Fees resulting from clinical practice, professional 
consultation, or other comparable activities required by the research and 
research-related activities of this award may not be retained by the career 
award recipient.  Such fees must be assigned to the grantee institution for 
disposition by any of the following methods:

o The funds may be expended by the grantee institution in accordance with the 
NIH policy on supplementation of career award salaries and to provide fringe 
benefits in proportion to such supplementation. Such salary supplementation 
and fringe benefit payments must be within the established policies of the 
grantee institution.

o The funds may be used for health-related research purposes.

o The funds may be paid to miscellaneous receipts of the U.S. Treasury. 
Checks should be made payable to the Department of Health and Human Services, 
NIH and forwarded to the Director, Division of Financial Management, NIH, 
Bethesda, Maryland 20892.  Checks must identify the relevant award account 
and reason for the payment.

Awardees may retain royalties and fees for activities such as scholarly 
writing, service on advisory groups, or honoraria from other institutions for 
lectures or seminars, provided these activities remain incidental and 
provided that the retention of such pay is consistent with the policies and 
practices of the grantee institution.

Usually, funds budgeted in an institute-supported research or training grant 
for the salaries or fringe benefits of individuals, but freed as a result of 
a career award, may not be rebudgeted.   An institute will give consideration 
to approval for use of released funds only under unusual circumstances.  Any 
proposed retention of funds released as a result of an NIH career award must 
receive prior written approval of the institute awarding component.

F.  Special Leave: Leave to another institution, including a foreign 
laboratory may be permitted if the proposed experience is directly related to 
the purpose of the award.  Only local, institutional approval is required if 
such leave does not exceed 3 months.  For longer periods, prior written 
approval of the NIH funding component is required.  To obtain prior approval, 
the award recipient must submit a letter to the NIH funding component 
describing the reason for the period of leave.  The plan for the period of 
leave must be countersigned by his or her department head and the appropriate 
institutional official.  A copy of a letter or other evidence from the 
institution where the leave is to be taken must be submitted to assure that 
satisfactory arrangements have been made.  Support from the career award will 
continue during such leave.

Leave without award support may not exceed 12 months.  Such leave requires 
the prior written approval of the NIH funding component and will be granted 
only in unusual situations.  Support from other sources is permissible during 
the period of leave.  Such leave does not reduce the total number of months 
of program support for which an individual is eligible.  Parental leave will 
be granted consistent with the policies of the NIH and the grantee 
institution.

Under unusual and pressing circumstances, an awardee may submit a written 
request to the awarding component, requesting a reduction in professional 
effort below 75 percent.   Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case 
basis during the award period.  It will not, however, be permissible to 
provide less than 50 percent effort under this award.  The nature of the 
circumstances requiring reduced effort might include medical conditions, 
disability, or pressing personal or family situations such as child or elder 
care.  Permission to reduce the level of effort will not be approved to 
accommodate other sources of funding, job opportunities, clinical practice, 
or clinical training.   In each situation, the grantee institution must 
submit documentation supporting the need for reduced effort and an assurance 
of a continuing commitment to the scientific development of the awardee.  
Further, the awardee must submit assurance of his or her intention to return 
to full-time professional effort (at least 75 percent) as soon as possible.  
During the period of reduced effort, the salary and other costs supported by 
the award will be reduced accordingly.

G.  Termination or Change of Institution: When a grantee institution plans to 
terminate an award, the NIH funding component must be notified in writing at 
the earliest possible time so that appropriate instructions can be given for 
termination. 

If the awardee is planning a move to another eligible institution, career 
award support may be continued provided the individual submits a written 
request for transfer, countersigned by the appropriate institutional business 
official, describing the reasons for the change.   The awardee must establish 
in this request that the specific aims of the research program to be 
conducted at the new institution are within the scope of the original peer 
reviewed research program.   Staff within the NIH funding component will 
review this request and may require a review by an initial review group 
and/or the appropriate National Advisory Council or Board. Upon approval of 
this request, a new career award application must be submitted by the new 
institution far enough in advance of the requested effective date to permit 
review.  The period of support requested in the new application must be no 
more than the time remaining within the existing award period.  

A final progress report, invention statement, and Financial Status Report are 
required upon either termination of an award or relinquishment of an award in 
a change of institution situation.

INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and 
their subpopulations must be included in all NIH supported biomedical and 
behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and 
compelling rationale and justification is provided that inclusion is 
inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of 
the research.  This policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 
(Section 492B of Public Law 103-43).

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
"NIH Guidelines For Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical 
Research," which have been published in the Federal Register of March 28, 
1994 (FR 59 14508-14513) and in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 
23, No. 11, March 18, 1994 available on the web at the following URL address:  
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not94-100.html
 
INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) 
must be included in all human subjects research, conducted or supported by 
the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them.  
This policy applies to all initial (Type 1) applications submitted for 
receipt dates after October 1, 1998.

All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the 
"NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Children as Participants in 
Research Involving Human Subjects" that was published in the NIH Guide for 
Grants and Contracts, March 6, 1998, and is available at the following URL 
address: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html

Investigators also may obtain copies of these policies from the program staff 
listed under INQUIRIES.  Program staff may also provide additional relevant 
information concerning the policy.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

This is a generic NIH program announcement for the Senior Scientist Award 
(K05) . Therefore, all candidates are strongly encouraged to contact the 
staff person in the relevant institute or center listed under INQUIRIES. Such 
contact should occur early in the planning phase of application preparation. 
Such contact will help ensure that applications are responsive to the goals 
and policies of the individual institute or center.

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 
(revision 4/98) and should use the instructions in Section IV of the 
application kit.  The application will be accepted on or before the receipt 
dates indicated in the application kit.  Forms are available at most 
institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of 
Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 
6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, Phone (301) 710-0267, FAX: (301) 480-0525, Email: [email protected].  Forms are also 
available on the NIH Website at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. 

To identify the application as a response to this program announcement, check 
"YES" on item 2 of page 1 of the application and enter "PA-00-021 SENIOR 
SCIENTIST AWARD."

Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application with Checklist, and 
five signed photocopies, in one package to:

Center for Scientific Review
National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040 - MSC 7710 
Bethesda, MD  20892-7710 or 
Bethesda, MD  20817-7710 (for express/courier service)

Applicants must follow the instructions in the form PHS 398 (revision 4/98).  
The narrative for this award should be divided into three sections: (1) 
Candidate, (2) Career and Research Plan, and (3) Institutional Environment.

Candidate:  Include information on background, training and experience.  In 
addition to completing the biographical sketch requested in the application 
kit, the candidate should provide an overview of the clinical and/or research 
experience to date, including a list of scientific accomplishments and the 
record of research funding.  Candidates should also describe their current 
involvement in science education including training/mentoring future 
researchers and other activities that could be considered science advocacy or 
science education.  Candidates must describe a plan to obtain or provide 
instruction in the responsible conduct of science.  Finally, there should be 
a summary of future career goals, a statement of short-term and long-term 
research goals, and a statement of how the award will benefit the candidate 
by release from duties unrelated to research.

Career and Research Plan: The candidate must provide evidence of a continuing 
and productive commitment to a research career that is relevant to the 
mission of the funding institute or center by submitting a statement of 
research career interests and a three-part plan:

o a description of specific activities that will sustain the candidate"s 
outstanding performance and the capacity to address relevant research 
problems,

o a description of the research that the candidate proposes to pursue during 
the period of support, including fully developed, high-quality career and 
research plans that demonstrate a commitment to the research goals of the 
awarding institute.  Provide plans for obtaining research support for such 
activities,	

o a description of science education activities in which the applicant 
intends to participate.  Candidates are expected to engage in mentoring, and 
where possible, other science education activities that will enhance training 
or public understanding of science.

Institutional Environment: The awardee institution must document a strong, 
well-established research program related to the candidate"s area of research 
interest including a high-quality research environment with staff capable of 
productive collaboration with the candidate.  The sponsoring institution also 
must provide a statement of commitment to the candidate"s research career.  
Specifically, evidence must be provided to assure the applicant is on a full-
time faculty appointment and that the appointment is not contingent upon 
receipt of this award.  The institution must also ensure the feasibility of 
the proposed research plan, by describing the availability of and access to 
clinical populations, laboratory space, and other resources.  The sponsoring 
institutions must also describe actions it will take to ensure that the 
candidate will be able to devote at least 75 percent of his/her full-time 
professional effort to research.  

A description of the department"s overall research program and details of 
relevant research are required.  The department chairperson or research 
director is to submit information on the institution"s research programs, 
plans for development of these programs, and specific plans for the 
candidate.  

Budget:  Budget requests must be provided according to the instructions in 
form PHS 398. 

REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

Applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Center for Scientific 
Review and for responsiveness to this program announcement by the appropriate 
Institute or Center staff.  Incomplete or non-responsive applications will be 
returned to the applicant without further consideration.  Applications that 
are complete and responsive to the program announcement will be evaluated for 
scientific and technical merit by a peer review group convened by the 
sponsoring NIH Institute/Center or by the NIH Center for Scientific Review in 
accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures.  As part of the 
initial merit review, all applications will receive a written critique.  
Applications may undergo a streamlined review process.  In this process, only 
those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the 
top half of applications under review, will be discussed, assigned a priority 
score, and receive a second level review by the appropriate national advisory 
council or board.

The following review criteria will be applied:

Candidate

o A consistent record of outstanding research productivity including program 
research funding and record of publication of scientific reports, including 
publication of influential research papers or seminal theoretical papers,

o Recognition as a leading senior scientist as judged by peers,

o Leadership of a productive research program, 

o Ability to develop and maintain a high quality environment for training and 
mentoring investigators,

o The candidate"s current involvement in science education, science advocacy, 
and scientific integrity training,

o The extent to which the award will enable the candidate to devote full-time 
to research and research-related activities and will permit release from 
teaching, administrative, clinical, and other non-research related 
responsibilities,  and the

o Likelihood of continuing and significant contributions to scientific 
knowledge.

Career Development and Research Plan

o Scientific and technical merit of the research plan,

o Significance of the research plan and the probability of significant 
contributions to scientific knowledge,

o Long-term substantive plan for future research,

o Consistency of the career development plans with the candidates" career 
goals, 

o Quality of plans for mentoring and science education activities, and

o Adequacy of plans to include children, women, and minorities in any planned 
clinical studies. 

Institutional Environment and Commitment to the Candidate

o Adequacy of the facilities and general environment as it relates to the 
proposed research and career development program,

o Availability of collaborative opportunities with other investigators,

o Reputation of the applicant institution and the candidate"s department as a 
center of active, high-quality research, and

o Institutional support of the candidate"s commitment to research and 
research training.

AWARD CRITERIA

The institute or center will notify the applicant of the board or council"s 
action shortly after its meeting.  Funding decisions will be made based on 
the recommendations of the initial review group and council/board, the need 
for research personnel in specific program areas, and the availability of 
funds. 

INQUIRIES

Written and telephone inquiries concerning this PA are encouraged especially 
during the planning phase of the application.  Below is a listing of each 
institute"s or center"s program or grants management contacts.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Ernestine Vanderveen, Ph.D.
Division of Basic Research
6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 402, MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD 20892-7003
Telephone:  301-443-2531
Fax:  301-594-0673
E-mail:  [email protected]

Harold Perl, Ph.D.
Division of Clinical and Prevention Research
6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 505, MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD 20892-7003
Telephone:  301-443-0788
Fax:  301-443-8774
E-mail:  [email protected]

Darryl Bertolucci
Division of Biometry and Epidemiology
6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 514, MSC 7003
Bethesda, MD 20892-7003
Telephone:  301-443-4898
Fax:  301-443-8614
E-mail:  [email protected]

National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute uses the K05 grant mechanism exclusively to 
provide stability of support for established investigators in cancer 
prevention, control, behavioral and population sciences to allow them 
protected time to devote to research and to act as mentors for young 
investigators.  Investigators must be able to commit up to 50 percent effort 
to the program.

Lester S. Gorelic, Ph.D. or Andrew Vargosko, Ph.D.
Office of Centers, Training and Resources
National Cancer Institute
6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 7011, MSC 8346
Bethesda, MD  20892-7390
FAX:  (301) 402-4472
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

National Institute on Drug Abuse
Andrea Baruchin, Ph.D. 
Office of Science Policy  and Communications 
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5230
Rockville, MD 20892-9591 
Telephone:  (301) 443-6071 
FAX:  (301) 443-6277 
Email: [email protected]

Charles W. Sharp, Ph.D. 
Division of Basic Research 
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 4271
Rockville,  MD  20892-9591 
Telephone:  (301) 443-1887 
FAX:  (301) 594-6043 
Email:  [email protected]

Arthur Horton, Ed.D. 
Division of Clinical Research
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 4237 
Rockville, MD  20857 
Telephone:  (301) 443-4060 
FAX:  (301) 443-2317 
Email:  [email protected]

Ann Blanken 
Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research 
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5146
Rockville, MD  20857 
Telephone:  (301) 443-6543 
FAX:  (301) 443-9847 
Email:  [email protected]

Jamie Biswas, Ph.D. 
Medications Development Division 
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 4109  
Rockville, MD  20857 
Telephone:  (301) 443-5280 
FAX:  (301) 443-2599 
Email:  [email protected]

National Institute of Mental Health 
Henry Khachaturian, Ph.D.
Office of Science Policy and Program Planning
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8208 
Rockville, MD  20892-9667
Phone: (301) 443-4335
FAX:  (301) 443-4225
Email:  [email protected] 
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/rtcd.htm

Walter Goldschmidts, Ph.D.  
Division of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Research
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7196
Rockville, MD  20892-9645
Phone: (301) 443-3563
FAX: (301) 443-1731  
Email: [email protected] 

Della Hann, Ph.D.  
Division of Mental Disorders, Behavioral Research and AIDS
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room6217
Rockville, MD  20892-9621
Phone: (301) 443-9700 
FAX: (301) 480-6000 
Email: [email protected] 

Enid Light, Ph.D.
Division of Services and Intervention Research
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7160
Rockville, MD 20892-9635
Phone: (301) 443-1185
FAX: (301) 443-4045
E-mail: [email protected]

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Neal B. West, Ph.D.
Program Officer
Building 31/ Room 5B58
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 402-5867
Fax: (301) 402-4741
E-mail: [email protected]

AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS

The Senior Scientist Awards are made under the authority of Title III, 
Section 301 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act as amended (Public Law 78-
410, as amended, 42 USC 241).  The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42 Part 
52, and Title 45 part 74, are applicable to this program.  This program is 
described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.121.  This 
program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of 
Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review.

The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a 
smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products.  In 
addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking 
in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which 
regular or routing education, library, day care, health care or early 
childhood development services are provided to children.  This is consistent 
with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of 
the American people. 

Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices

	Office of Extramural Research (OER)			National Institutes of Health (NIH) 9000 Rockville Pike Bethesda, Maryland 20892			Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)