Early Stage Investigators and the Program Perspective Amanda Boyce, Ph.D. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Following up on Dr. Rockey’s talk… Get to know the Program Director for your scientific area Contact them about your research ideas Fit with institute mission and priorities Best grant mechanism or program Best study section for review

Career Development Awards K01 NIA: for early or mid-career award for individuals with some prior postdoctoral research experience K02 FIC: Independent Scientist in Global Health Award – within 7 years of last doctoral degree or fellowship NINDS: Independent Scientist Award – years 1-3, salary, fringe, and supplies – years 4-5: if the applicant obtains an R01 or equivalent grant, salary and fringe K07 NCCAM and NIAAA: Academic Career Award (Development Award) – for more junior investigators who are interested in developing academic and research expertise

Career Development Awards K22 NCI: Transition Career Development Award – within 2 years of first independent cancer research position NIAAA: Career Transition Award – only NIAAA NRSA (F32/T32) trained postdoctorates with between 2 and 6 years of postdoctoral training are eligible to apply – apply as a postdoctorate – grant awarded when in a tenure-track position NIAID: Research Scholar Development – no more than 5 years of postdoctoral training – apply as a postdoctorate – grant awarded when in a tenure-track position NLM: Independent Career Development Award for Biomedical Informatics – within 2 years of first independent cancer research position – OR after a minimum of 2 years of postdoctoral training (apply as a postdoctorate – grant awarded when in a tenure-track position)

New Investigator Specific R03s NIAMS: Small Grant Program For New Investigators NIDCD: Small Grant Program – within 7 years of degree or fellowship NIDCR: Small Grant Program for New Investigators NIDDK: Small Grant Program for NIDDK K01/K08/K23 Recipients NINR: Small Grants for Behavioral Research in Cancer Control

Research Grants Available to All NIDCR Small Research Grants for Data Analysis and Statistical Methodology applied to Genome-wide Data (R03) – “Investigators who have not previously received funding from NIDCR as a Principal Investigator are encouraged to apply.” R21 NIAID: “New investigators who feel unready to compete for an R01 are using the R21 successfully to gather preliminary data for their R01 applications.” NIAMS: “Projects that will be considered a lower priority include new investigator starter grants.” NIDDK: “R21s should NOT be used by new investigators to gather preliminary data for a standard R01.” NINDS: “FY 2009 success rates for NINDS R21 New Investigators: 11% vs. NINDS R01 New Investigators: 19%”

Loan Repayment Program Commit to perform research for 2 years, and the NIH repays up to $35,000 per year of your qualified educational debt and covers the resulting taxes. You must be conducting research in of the following 5 areas: Clinical Research Pediatric Research Contraception & Infertility Research Health Disparities Research Clinical Research for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds

Common Funding Strategies for ESIs Setting a higher (better) payline for ESIs Not making Institute-specific administrative cuts Supporting ESIs for five years (many Institutes only fund 4 year R01s) Partial “bridge” funding

Special Funding Strategies for ESIs NHLBI: priority funding for the first competitive renewal. (1) The individual cannot be a principal investigator on an Independent Scientist and/or other non-mentored career award or on another R01 or a sub-project director on a multi-project award, and (2) must be currently holding a position at a domestic institution with a faculty rank up to and including an Associate Professor or equivalent. NIAAA: ESIs just beyond the NIAAA nominal payline are invited to submit a letter to respond to the summary statement critique. These responses are reviewed by Program staff, and when deemed appropriate, the application may be recommended to Institute leadership for award. NICHD: Special funding consideration will be given to research project grant applications submitted by new investigators supported by NICHD Career Development Awards (Ks).

Get to know the Program Director for your scientific area! To Reiterate… Get to know the Program Director for your scientific area!