Funding Opportunities for Research and Career Development

The following awards are appropriate for fellows and faculty in search of grant support for career development.  Use the links below to identify opportunities appropriiate for you, then follow the links to 'NIH details' for each award to learn more.  You are advised to also review the material organized by the NIH Office of Extramural Funding on Grant Funding Opportunities at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm

Sources of private funding for research are organized in the Private Funding Opportunities Database - (use UVA mail ID and password to access)

  • Awards for Post-Doctoral Fellows
  • Awards for Junior Faculty :   to support development of independent investigators
  • Awards for Mid-career Faculty
  • Awards  for All: Fellows to Senior Faculty
  • Awards for Post-Doctoral Fellows

       F32 - National Research Scholar Award (NRSA Training Grant))

    Eligibility: MD or PhD or other professional degree; no current grant support

    Rationale: Full time research training at the post-doctoral level

    Support: $26,916 to $42,300 per year based on # years post-doc experience; up to 3 years

    NIH details on the F32 or NSRA

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       K08 - Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award

    Eligibility: Clinical doctorate degree and should have initiated postgraduate clinical training; some institutes require finishing clinical subspecialty training; former NIH grant holders not eligible and may not have concomitant PHS grant support of any type; candidates must have potential to develop into independent investigators; those interested in patient oriented research should apply for K-23 award; must have a mentor; must commit 75% of time to research.

    Rationale:  Support to develop outstanding clinician research scientists; focus is on progression to independence.

    Support:  3-5 years with amount determined by each institute but can include 100% of salary and can be supplemented; support for mentors not provided. Each institute provides a different amount for research costs, tuition, and travel.  

    NIH details on the K08 award  Original announcement 10/8/99

    K08: ADDENDUM notice released 4/8/03

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      K22 - Career Transition Award

    Eligibility:  An individual post-doctoral fellow in transition to a faculty position; may not have had more than 5 years of post-doctoral research training excluding clinical training and may not have had a peer reviewed grant in the past

    Rationale: Training is provided for two years at the NIH followed by continued support at an extramural institution for another two years. Programs differ according to the individual institutions.

    Support:  Two years of funding at the extramural institution with up to $75,000 per year of salary support. Up to $50,000 per year in direct costs to support research, travel, tuition, and other costs. This differs for each institute of the NIH.

    NIH details on the K22 award by funding Institute (click on the blue underlined link):

    • NCI  - National Cancer Institute    
    • NEI  - National Eye Institute
    • NHGRI  - National Human Genome Research Institute
    • NHLBI  - National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
    • NIAID  - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
    • NICHD  - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
    • NIDA  - National Institute on Drug Abuse
    • NIDCR   - National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
    • NIDDK  - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
    • NIEHS  - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
    • NINDS  - National Institute Of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
    • NINR - National Institute of Nursing Research

    K99/R00 - NIH Pathway to Independence (PI) Award 

    The Pathway to Independence Award will provide up to five years of support consisting of two phases.  The initial phase will provide 1-2 years of mentored support for highly promising, postdoctoral research scientists.  This phase will be followed by up to 3 years of independent support contingent on securing an independent research position.  Award recipients will be expected to compete successfully for independent R01 support from the NIH during the career transition award period.  The PI Award is limited to postdoctoral trainees who propose research relevant to the mission of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers.

    NIH details on the K99/R00 announced 1-27-06 (PA-06-133)

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    Career Development Award for Junior Faculty - With Goal of Producing Independent Investigators

      K23 - Mentored Patient Oriented Research Career Development Award

    Eligibility:  Same as K-08; all clinical training must be completed including subspecialty training

    Rationale:  Career development for individual focused on a career in patient oriented clinical research. Definition is research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator directly interacts with human subjects. This area of research includes mechanisms of human disease; therapeutic interventions; clinical trials; and development of new technologies. This mechanism was developed as a result of the Nathan panel and Institute of Medicine recommendations to foster patient oriented research. This award is designed to provide transitional training so that one can become an independent investigator in patient oriented research.

    Support:  Up to 5 years of support. Must spend at least 75% of time in research. Up to $75,000 per year in salary support. Institution may supplement salary. Additional $25,000 per year for tuition, research expenses, travel, statistical services. In exceptional circumstances, will provide up to $50,000.

    Infrastructure:  Candidates must participate in courses in data management, epidemiology, study design, hypothesis development, drug development etc. as well as legal and ethical issues associated with research in human subjects. 

    NIH details on the K23 award  Original announcement 10/8/99

    (K23): ADDENDUM notice released 4/8/03

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    Midcareer Award to Provide Mentorship Support For Established Investigators

         K24 - Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient Oriented Research

    Eligibility: Investigators within 15 years of specialty training. Outstanding clinical scientists who are actively engaging in patient oriented research. Must have competed successfully for funding and have record of publications. They must have current grant support from NIH or other sources. They must have record of supervising junior investigators. They must spend at least 25% and up to 50% of time on patient oriented research.

    Rationale: Support to provide ability to actively pursue patient oriented research and to serve as a mentor for the next generation of patient oriented investigators. The award is designed to further both the research and mentoring endeavors of outstanding patient oriented investigators and to enable them to expand their potential for significant contributions to their fields and to act as mentors for beginning clinician researchers. A primary intent is to allow these individuals more protected time for patient oriented research and for mentoring. Patient oriented research is defined as for the K 23 category.

    Support: Up to five years and salary up to 50% (or $62,500 with cap). 

    NIH details on the K24 award - REVISED June 8, 2004

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    Mid-Career Awards to Allow Investigator To Change Area of Research

       K01 - Mentored Research Scientist Development Award

    Eligibility: Doctoral degree, current PI on PHS grant not eligible, past PI in different area is eligible

    Rationale:   Allow an investigator to learn a new area or in an area enhancing the candidate's research productivity

    Support: Up to five years.

    NIH details on the K01 award Original announcement 12/2/99
    K01: ADDENDUM notice released May 8, 2003
    NOT-AI-04-033  notice June 4, 2004 - NIAID announces support for applications in clinical research in the areas of Epidemiology, Modeling Techniques, and Outcomes Research

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       F33 - National Research Service Award for Senior Fellows

    Eligibility: Doctoral or professional degree with at least 7 subsequent years of relevant research or professional experience with an established an independent research career. 

    Rationale:   Experienced scientists (at least 7 years post-doc) who wish to make major changes in the direction of their research careers or who wish to broaden their scientific background by acquiring new research capabilities.  In most cases, this award is used to support sabbatical experiences for established independent scientists.

    Support: Provides an annual stipend to help meet the fellow’s living expenses, an allowance for tuition and fees and health insurance in accordance with NIH policy, and an annual institutional allowance.  Stipend is determined individually at the
    time of award based on the salary or remuneration from their home institution on the date of award.

    NIH details on the F33 award

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    Awards for All: Fellows to Senior Faculty :

      K25 - Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award

    Eligibility:  Candidates must have an advanced degree in a quantitative area of science or engineering: M.S.E.E., Ph.D., D.Sc., etc. and have demonstrated research
    interests in their primary quantitative discipline.  Former principal investigators on NIH research project (R01), program project (P01), center grants, FIRST Awards (R29), sub-projects of program project (P01) or center grants, K01, K08 or K23 awards, or the equivalent are not eligible.
     

    Rationale:  Intended 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.  Examples of appropriate quantitative scientific and technical backgrounds  include:  mathematics, statistics, economics, computer science, imaging science, informatics, physics, chemistry, and engineering.

    Support:  Up to five years with a minimum of three years.  Salary up to 100% of the PI's institutional base annual salary in any given year, must be based on a full-time, 12-month staff appointment. Awards are not renewable. Candidates must make a commitment of at least 75% effort to research and research career development activities of this award, and the remainder of the effort must be committed to other career development activities consistent with the overall purpose of the award.

    Infrastructure:  The institution must have a well-established research and biomedical, behavioral, or bioengineering career development program, or have demonstrable ties to such programs.  The institution must be able to demonstrate a commitment to the development of the candidate as a productive, independent investigator.  The candidate, mentor, and institution must be able to describe an in-depth, multi disciplinary career development program (courses and research) that will utilize the relevant research and educational resources (whether at the institution or at a site with which there are demonstrable ties).

    NIH details on the K25 award 

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