A Guide to the NIH K99/R00 Program

UltimateGoal–
YourOwnLab&Tenure
@YourInstitution
R00–“NewFaculty”Phase
@YourInstitution
K99–“Mentored”Phase
@YourPostdocInstitution
GuidetotheNIHPathwayto
IndependenceProgram(K99/R00)
2016
Preparedby:
Whatis
it?
2
Page IsitRight
forMe?
3
Page WhatDoI
Need?
Page
4
WhereCanI
Learn
More?
5
Page Next
Steps?
Page
6
Whatisit?
• ThePathwaytoIndependenceAwardProgramisdesignedtohelp
outstandingpostdoctoralresearcherscompleteneeded,mentoredtraining
andtransitioninatimelymannertoindependentresearchcareers.
• Thestrongestapplicantswillrequire,andwillpropose,awell-conceived
planfor1–2yearsofsubstantivementoredresearchtrainingandcareer
developmentthatwillhelpthembecomecompetitivecandidatesfor
tenure-trackfacultypositionsandpreparethemtolaunchrobust,
independentresearchprograms.
• ThePathwaytoIndependenceAwardseekstoattractthebestand
brightestindividualsconductingresearchintheUnitedStates,regardless
ofcitizenship.
• TwoPhaseProgram
o MentoredPhase(K99):1-2yearsofpostdoctoralsupport
o IndependentPhase(R00):upto3yearsofsupportcontingent
uponsecuringanindependent(e.g.tenure-trackorequivalent)
researchposition
• EachInstitutewithinNIHhasspecific(andvarying)guidelinesforthe
K99/R00,includingbudgetinformation.Pleaserefertothispagefor
Institute-specificinformation,includingScientificProgramandGrants
ManagementContacts.
Top10Institutes
Applica'ons
Awards
SuccessRate
•  2015:932
•  2014:1114
•  2013:926
•  2012:911
•  2011:932
•  2010:778
•  208
•  246
•  203
•  212
•  180
•  194
•  22%
•  22%
•  22%
•  23%
•  22%
•  25%
NCI
NHLBI
NICHD
NIGMS
NIMH
NINDS
NIDDK
NIA
NIDA
NIEHS
B
(bynumberofgrantsawarded)
2
IsitRightforMe?
Ihave:
• lessthan4yearsofpostdocresearchexperience
• evidenceofresearchproductivity
• acreativeideaforanindependentresearch
project
• somepreliminarydata
• identifiedseveralpotentialinstitutionsintheUS
(differentfromCaltech)whereIwillapplyfor
tenure-trackfacultypositions
Iintend
to:
• spendatleast12moremonthsasapostdoc,upon
award
• pursueresearchrelevanttoNIH
• pursueatenure-trackfacultypositionintheUS
• talkovermyresearchaimsandapproacheswith
colleagues
• reachouttoNIHContactsinmytopicareafor
advice
Ican:
• clearlydescribetherelationshipbetweenmy
mentor'sresearchandmyown
• clearlydescribehowIwillgainindependenceand
separatemyresearchfrommymentor
• obtainastatementofsupportfrommymentor
fortheK99mentoredphaseanddescribingthe
researchImaytakewithmeformyR00
• implementacareerdevelopmentplan,including
trainingintheResponsibleConductofResearch,
thatwillpromotemyindependence
3
WhatDoINeed?
Therearemultiplepiecestotheapplication,butyouwilllikelyspendthe
largestchunkofyourtimebuildingyourResearchPlan/Strategy.
• TheResearchPlan/StrategymustspanbothphasesoftheK99/R00award.
• SpecificAims(1page,doesnotcounttoward12pagemax)–amaximumof
3-4aimsarerecommended,dividedintomentoredandindependentphases.
Avoidbeing“overlyambitious”andtryingtosqueezeintoomuch.
• CandidateInformationandGoalsforCareerDevelopment&Research
Plan/Strategy(12pagestotalforbothattachmentscombined)
ComponentsoftheResearchPlan/Strategy(8-9pages,max)
• Significance(0.5page)–gettothepoint,donotstartwithtriviafromyour
field.Describeyourmostpressingresearchquestionsandputthoseinto
contextofwhatisknowninthefield.Howwillyourresearchfillingaps,
advanceunderstanding,orevenchangethegame?
• Innovation(0.5page)–describewhatisnovelaboutyourquestion,
approach,perspective,oranticipatedresults.
• Approach(7-8pages)
o Introduction
o Background
o Preliminarystudies
o Researchdesign(organizedbyspecificaims)
§ Design,procedures,measurements,quality&management,data
analysis
o Expectedoutcomes
o Potentialproblemsandalternativeapproaches/outcomes
o Timelinechart(orflowchart)
o Futuredirections
o (Summaryorconcludingstatement)–recommended
Deadlines
New
Resubmissions
EarliestStartDate
February12
March12
September
June12
October12
July12
November12
April,followingyear July,followingyear
4
WhereCanILearnMore?
Fromtheofficials:
•
•
•
•
PA-16-193:TheCurrentSolicitation
ProgramDetails
NIHNewInvestigatorsProgramFAQ
NIAIDTrainingandCareerSite
• NIAIDPostdocs’GuidetoGainingIndependence
• NICHDConnection:NavigatingtheK99PathwaytoIndependence
• CriteriaandConsiderationsforKCritiques
• SuccessRates
Fromyourpeers:
• TheNewPISetsUpALab
o July1,2014:CompilationofK99/R00Advice
• NYASNavigatingtheK99/R00Award(withslides)
• K99/R00Insightsintothereviewprocess(withslides)
• StructuredtimelinefortheK99/R00award
• HowtoWriteaK99(Mar30,2011)
• ChemicalBiLoLogy
o Howtoputtogether(yourlifeand)aK99/R00proposal
(Jun30,2008&Feb2010update)
• PathwaytoInsanity
o HowtoWriteaK99/R00(in3weeks)(Oct12,2012)
• HowtoWriteaSuccessfulK99-OneCanuck’sPerspective
• 10ThingsIWishI’dKnownBeforeIWroteMyK99
• K99To-DoList(.docxdownloadfromUCI)
5
NextSteps?
Reviewthecurrentsolicitation
Checkforupcomingdeadlines(refertopage4)
Setup,orupdate,youreRACommonsaccount
Puttogetheraroughplanforyourproposal(refertothe“WhatDoINeed?”section
onpage4)
v Talktorecentawardees(fromNIHreporter)
v
v
v
v
ProjectTitle
CHARACTERIZATIONOFMENTHOL'SEFFECTONNICOTINE
REINFORCEMENTANDNICOTINICRECEPTORNEUROBIOLOGY
LINEAGE-BASEDINFERENCEOFCELLSTATETRANSITION
DYNAMICSINDEVELOPMENTANDDISEASE
SPATIO-TEMPORALSIGNALINGDYNAMICSINNEURONALCELL
FATEDECISIONANDPATTERNING
GENETICDISSECTIONOFNEURALCIRCUITSUNDERLYING
TRAUMA;FEAR;ANDSOCIALBEHAVIOR
FUNCTIONSOFPIWIPROTEINSANDSHORTRNASINGERMLINE
GENETICANALYSISOFSLEEPDISORDERSINZEBRAFISH
Administering
IC
ProjectNumber
Activity
Support
Year
ContactPI/Project
Leader
NIDA
1K99DA040047-01A1
K99
1
HENDERSON,BRANDONJARROD
2016
NIGMS
1K99GM118910-01
K99
1
HORMOZ,SAHAND
2016
$90,000
NICHD
1K99HD087532-01
K99
1
LI,PULIN
2016
$100,000
NIMH
NICHD
NINDS
1K99MH108734-01A1
5R00HD057233-04
5R00NS060996-05
K99
R00
R00
1
4
5
ZELIKOWSKY,MORIEL
ARAVIN,ALEXEIA.
PROBER,DAVIDAARON
2016
2012
2011
$90,986
$242,811
$244,021
FY
FYTotal
Cost
$151,200
CurioushowIgotthisinfo?CheckoutourWalk-throughon
usingNIHReporterforK99/R00!
OursearchcontinuesforexamplesofsuccessfulK99/R00grantapplicationsthatwecan
share.SincetheK99/R00sharesanumberofsimilaritieswithK01andR01grants,youcan
startwithapeekatthese.
v KGrantApplicationHelp(withexamples)
v ProposalSamplesfromtheUniversityofToledo
YoumayalsomakearequestforasuccessfulapplicationfromNIHdirectlyunderthe
FreedomofInformationAct–instructionshere.
GethelpfromtheRosenCenter
Ø Brainstormyourapproach
Ø Discussstrengths,weaknesses,opportunities&challenges
Ø Requestproposalreview(s)–atleast2weeksbeforedeadline
Ø ContactKimMayer(kmayerATcaltech.edu)formoreinformationorto
scheduleanappointment(CaltechpostdocsONLY)