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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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%”

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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).

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