Discover Funding Opportunities

The purpose of the NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) program is to increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented, NCI-supported, independent investigators. This program is designed for postdoctoral fellows with research and/or clinical doctoral degrees who do not require an extended period of mentored research training beyond their doctoral degrees. The objective of this award is to facilitate a timely transition of these fellows from their mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty positions. The program will provide independent NCI research support during this transition to help awardees to launch competitive, independent research careers. Researchers in the scientific areas of cancer control, cancer prevention and cancer data sciences are especially encouraged to work with their institutions to apply. This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is for basic science experimental studies involving humans, referred to in NOT-OD-18-212 as prospective basic science studies involving human participants. These studies fall within the NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research.

The purpose of the NIDCD Research Career Enhancement Award for Established Investigators (K18) program is to enable established, proven investigators to augment or redirect their research programs through the acquisition of new research skills to answer questions relevant to the hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language sciences. This K18 award supports career enhancement for established investigators who have demonstrated expertise in their field and are seeking to expand their research capabilities through skill acquisition. The program is offered by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and falls under NIH Assistance Listings 93.173 - Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders.

The purpose of the NIDCD Mentored Career Development Award for Postdoctorate Au.D./Ph.D. Audiologists (K01) is to support comprehensive and rigorous postdoctoral research and career development experiences in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences of promising Au.D./Ph.D. audiologists who have the potential to become productive, independent investigators in scientific health-related research fields relevant to NIDCD's mission. This grant provides mentored career development support for postdoctoral audiologists with both clinical and research training. The program is designed to facilitate the transition of Au.D./Ph.D. audiologists into independent research careers focused on deafness and communication disorders. The award supports mentored research experiences that will prepare recipients to conduct independent research in areas aligned with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders mission.

The NIH Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) is designed to support the career development of individuals with a clinical doctoral degree who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on patient-oriented research. This program provides mentored research career development support for clinician-investigators who are committed to conducting patient-oriented research and who require additional supervised research experience to transition to independent research careers. The K23 award is intended for individuals who are in the early stages of their independent research careers and have the potential to develop into productive, independent investigators in clinical research. The program emphasizes the importance of mentored training and career development activities to enable recipients to achieve research independence in patient-oriented research.

The purpose of the Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25) is to attract to NIH-relevant research those investigators whose quantitative science and engineering research has thus far not been focused primarily on questions of health and disease. The K25 award will provide support and 'protected time' for a period of supervised study and research for productive professionals with quantitative (e.g., mathematics, statistics, economics, computer science, imaging science, informatics, physics, chemistry) and engineering backgrounds to integrate their expertise with NIH-relevant research. This program aims to develop careers of quantitative scientists and engineers by providing mentored research experience in health-related fields. The award supports investigators transitioning their expertise into biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research relevant to NIH's mission.

The NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Awards (K08) program is designed to prepare qualified individuals for careers that have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the Nation. This program represents the continuation of a long-standing NIH program that provides support and "protected time" to individuals with a clinical doctoral degree for an intensive, supervised research career development experience in the fields of biomedical and behavioral research, including translational research. The K08 award provides structured mentorship and funding to enable clinical scientists to develop the skills and expertise necessary to become independent researchers.

The NIH Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) provides support and protected time (three to five years) for an intensive, supervised career development experience in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences leading to research independence. Although all of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) use this support mechanism to support career development experiences that lead to research independence, some ICs use the K01 award for individuals who propose to train in a new field or for individuals who have had a hiatus in their research career because of illness or pressing family circumstances. Other ICs use the K01 to support career development in specific fields. This career development award is designed to help researchers transition to independent research positions through mentored training and research experience.

The NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is designed to increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented, NIH-supported, independent investigators. This program facilitates 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. The program provides independent NIH research support during this transition in order to help awardees launch competitive, independent research careers. The K99/R00 mechanism specifically supports basic experimental studies with humans required, providing funding across multiple NIH institutes and centers. This funding opportunity is designed to bridge the critical gap between postdoctoral training and independent faculty positions, helping talented early-career investigators establish themselves as independent researchers.

The NIH Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24) provides support to mid-career health-professional doctorates for protected time to devote to patient-oriented research (POR) and to act as research mentors primarily for clinical residents, clinical fellows and/or junior clinical faculty. This program supports health professionals who are actively engaged in patient-oriented research and wish to dedicate a portion of their time to mentoring the next generation of clinical researchers. The award provides salary support and research development resources to enable recipients to maintain their research programs while serving as mentors. The program aims to strengthen the research capabilities of clinical investigators and build capacity in patient-oriented research through effective mentorship and research training.

The purpose of the NIH Independent Scientist Award (K02) is to foster the development of outstanding scientists and enable them to expand their potential to make significant contributions to their field of research. The K02 award provides three to five years of salary support and protected time for newly independent scientists who can demonstrate the need for a period of intensive research focus as a means of enhancing their research careers. This Parent Funding Opportunity Announcement is for basic science experimental studies involving humans, specifically prospective basic science studies involving human participants. These studies fall within the NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research. Types of studies that should be submitted include studies that prospectively assign human participants to conditions (i.e., experimentally manipulate independent variables) and that assess biomedical or behavioral outcomes in humans for the purpose of understanding the fundamental aspects of phenomena without specific application towards processes or products in mind. The proposed project must be related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on their scientific missions.