Research Updates in Kidney and Urologic Health
NIH Changes Policy on Mentored Career Development Awards
Concurrent Support from Research Grant Now Allowed
In February 2004, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) implemented a policy change to allow recipients of mentored career development awards (K Awards) to hold concurrent support from their career award and a competing research grant when recognized as a principal investigator or subproject director. To be eligible, K Award recipients must be in the last 2 years of their support period. Recipients will be permitted to reduce the level of effort required for the career award and replace that effort with an NIH research grant or subproject as long as they remain in a mentored situation. This policy will permit candidates who are ready to apply for and receive NIH research support to continue to benefit from the period of protected time offered by the career development award.
| The intent of the Career Development Program is to provide a final mentored period of support to facilitate the transition of the candidate to independence and to allow the candidate to accumulate the data and expertise needed to apply for an initial R01 grant. |
NIH mentored career development mechanisms are designed to help recent graduates of doctoral programs in the biomedical and behavioral sciences prepare to be independent researchers. The Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) provides support for an intensive, supervised career development experience in one of the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences leading to research independence. To be eligible for a K01, the applicant must have a Ph.D. The goal of the NIDDK K01 program is to ensure a future cadre of well-trained scientists.
Applicants who obtained an M.D. are eligible for either a K08, if they are pursuing basic research, or a K23, if they are pursuing patient-oriented research. The K25 is a mentored quantitative research career development award that assists individuals with an advanced degree in quantitative research (physics, mathematics, chemistry, and so on) who wish to apply their skills to biomedical sciences.
The intent of the Career Development Program is to provide a final mentored period of support to facilitate the transition of the candidate to independence and to allow the candidate to accumulate the data and expertise needed to apply for a regular research grant.
In some cases, the former NIH policy delayed the period of transition to independence until the career award was completed or nearly completed. This policy often led to a hiatus in research support and an increased likelihood that career award recipients would not make the transition to independent research support. Some Institutes at the NIH discontinued mentored career awards as soon as a candidate received independent research funding. With this announcement, the NIH will no longer cut off a career award when the recipient receives an NIH research project grant or when the recipient is named as the director of a subproject on a multi-project NIH grant. This policy is consistent with the NIH Roadmap initiative in terms of promoting the career development of clinical researchers. This change in policy should facilitate the transition of all mentored career award recipients to independent NIH research support.
For competing research applications submitted by February 1, 2004, and beyond, mentored career award recipients in the last 2 years of career award support are encouraged to obtain funding from NIH either as principal investigator on a competing research grant award or cooperative agreement, or as project leader on a competing multi-project award. Requested budgets for a competing research grant or a subproject on a multi-project grant should include appropriate amounts for the salary and associated costs for the career recipient's effort. At the time the research grant is awarded, the effort required on the career award may be reduced to no less than 50 percent and replaced by effort from the research award so that the total level of research commitment remains at 75 percent or more for the duration of the mentored career award. This change in policy applies to the following mentored career award mechanisms: K01, K07 (developmental), K08, K22, K23, and K25, as well as to the individuals mentored through institutional K12 awards.
More information about the requirements for concurrent funding can be found online.
For additional information concerning this change, contact
Walter T. Schaffer, Ph.D.
Acting Director, Office of Extramural Programs
NIH Research Training Officer
6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 3537
Bethesda, MD 20892–7922
Phone: 301–435–2687
Email: ws11q@nih.gov
For information on NIDDK career and training programs, contact
Terry Rogers Bishop, Ph.D.
Director, Training and Careers Program
Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases
2 Democracy Plaza, Room 619
Bethesda, MD 20892–5458
Phone: 301–594–7717
Email: bishopt@extra.niddk.nih.gov
NIH Publication No. 04–4531
May 2004
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