NCI Special Notes

Funded K22 Grants

Submitting an Application

Peer Review Process

Frequently Asked Questions

Policy-Related Application Process/Review Related Policy/Post Award

NCI Staff Contacts

Introduction

The Transition Career Development Award uses the K22 grant mechanism to support "protected time" for newly independent investigators to develop and receive support for their initial cancer-research programs. This award is intended to facilitate the transition of investigators from the mentored to the independent stage of their careers. It applies to clinicians (e.g., M.D.s and Doctoral level Oncology Nurses) who are pursuing basic science careers; clinicians who are pursuing careers in patient-oriented research; and individuals (e.g., Ph.D.s, DPHs, MD.s) pursuing careers in the prevention, control and population sciences. To apply, a candidate must have completed two years or more of postdoctoral, mentored research or have been in an independent position for less than two years at the time of the application. The unique feature of this award is that individuals may apply without a sponsoring institution while they are still in a "mentored" position. Successful postdoctoral applicants will be given up to 12 months to identify an independent, preferably tenure-track, position at a sponsoring institution before an award can be activated. Awardees must apply for an R01 research grant or equivalent prior to the end of the second year of the award. The K22 is not renewable.

The candidate must commit 75 percent of full time professional effort to conducting research and research career development. Candidates on K22 grants can be supported for up to three years and provide salaries up to $75,000 plus fringe benefits and other costs up to $50,000 per year.

Candidate must be a citizen of the United States, or a non-citizen national, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt Card (1-151 or 1-551) or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident.

Program Announcement

Back to Top NCI Special Notes

This is an NCI-specific program announcement. For all of the policies governing this award mechanism, refer to the Program Announcement: PAR-06-455 THE NCI TRANSITION CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD (K22)

Data Sharing

Under the NIH Data Sharing Policy, grantees are expected to engage in a timely release of final data sets that have been generated with NIH support for use by other researchers, provide a Data Sharing Plan that will achieve this objective, OR state why data sharing is not possible or appropriate. Because grantees who hold a K22 grant are independent investigators, they are responsible to share the data and provide an acceptable Data Sharing Plan to the NIH as part of their NIH grant support. It supports salaries and other ancillary costs for individual awardees, but it does not provide support for the generation of research data, directly. With regard to the data generated by awardees working in research environments funded by NIH research grants, it is the responsibility of the institutions that are awarded these research grants to share the data and provide acceptable Data Sharing Plans to the NIH as part of the research application.

Back to Top Funded K22 Grants

#	Grant Number	Principal Investigator Name	Project Title	Institution
1	1K22CA125200-01A1	Antony, Paul A	The Role of Antigen-Specific CD4+ T Cells During Immunity To Established Tumors	Johns Hopkins University
2	1K22CA122828-01A2	Bell, Jessica K	The Role Of Toll-like Receptor 3 In Overcoming Cancer Immunoediting	Virginia Commonwealth University
3	1K22CA128951-01	Bose, Ron	Regulation Of Her2/neu By Activation Loop Phosphorylation And ALG-2	Washington University
4	5K22CA111897-03	Dang, Long H	Effect Of HIF-1alpha On Tumor Response To Antiangiogenesis	University Of Michigan At Ann Arbor
5	5K22CA111392-03	Dovat, Sinisa	The Role Of Zinc Finger Genes In Cellular Proliferation	University Of Wisconsin Madison
6	5K22CA118182-02	Ellies, Lesley G	Role Of The Chronic Inflammatory Mediator NO In Early Mammary Ttumorigenesis	University Of California San Diego
7	1K22CA124800-01A1	Erblich, Joel	Stress-Induced Craving And Smoking Cessation: Effects Of Dopamine-Related Genes	Mount Sinai School Of Medicine Of NYU
8	1K22CA120147-01A1	French, Samuel W	Interaction Of TCL1 With A Novel Exoribonuclease	University Of California Los Angeles
9	1K22CA129240-01	Hirano, Naoto	Generation Of Comprehensive Anti-Survivin T Cell Immunity Using An Artificial APC	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
10	1K22CA124793-01	Holgado-Madruga, Marina	Specific Activation Of Gab1 In Oxidative Stress Signaling	Stanford University
11	5K22CA111394-03	Hu, Jing	Regulation Of NF-kappaB2 By TSA: Role Of Acetylation	University Of Pittsburgh At Pittsburgh
12	5K22CA084563-02	Huang, L Eric	Exploring The Molecular Mmechanisms Of Hypoxic Response	University Of Utah
13	5K22CA107212-03	Isaacs, Jennifer S	Hsp90-Dependent Regulation Of HIF-1 Alpha	Medical University Of South Carolina
14	5K22CA102005-03	Kleiner, Heather E	Anticarcinogenic Effects Of Naturally Occurring Coumarins On Mammary Carcinogenesis	Louisiana State University Health Science Center Shreveport
15	1K22CA116258-01A2	Koblinski, Jennifer E	A Laminin Peptide Increases Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis	Northwestern University
16	1K22CA123152-01A1	Laronde-Leblanc, Nicole A	Structural And Functional Studies Of The Human RIO Kinases	University Of Maryland College Park Campus
17	5K22CA113705-03	Leifer, Cynthia A	Enhancing Immunotherapy Through Toll Like Receptors	Cornell University Ithaca
18	5K22CA120545-02	Li, Li	Genetic Epidemiology Of Insulin Resistance Pathway Factors And Colon Cancer	Case Western Reserve University
19	5K22CA113557-02	Loh, Mignon Lee-Cheun	Ras Pathway Mutations In Human Leukemia	University Of California San Francisco
20	5K22CA111393-02	Maluccio, Mary A	The Regin-Angiotensin System In Hepatitis And Hepatoma	Indiana University-Purdue University At Indianapolis
21	5K22CA123146-02	Molinaro, Annette M	Statistical Methods For Predicting Survival Outcomes From Genomic Data	Yale University
22	5K22CA111639-03	Mollick, Joseph A	Using The Allergic Immune System To Target Cancer	Stanford University
23	5K22CA111525-03	Niedernhofer, Laura J	DNA Interstrand Crosslinks, Cancer And Aging	University Of Pittsburgh At Pittsburgh
24	5K22CA118421-02	Peters, Ulrike	Selenium Genetic Variation In Selenoenzymes and Prostate Cancer	Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
25	1K22CA095325-01	Ramchandran, Ramani I	Restin: Mutants, Receptor Cloning And Signaling Studies	Medical College Of Wisconsin
26	1K22CA120626-01	Sabaawy, Hatem E	TEL-AML1 Transgenic Zebrafish Model Of Human Leukemia	University Of Medicine And Dentistry Of NJ-RW Johnson Medical School
27	5K22CA103843-02	Scacheri, Peter C	Role of Menin In Islet Cell Biology And Tumorigenesis	Case Western Reserve University
28	1K22CA113315-01A2	Thomas, Douglas D	Hypoxia Controls Nitric Oxide-Regulated Proteins	University Of Illinois At Chicago
29	5K22CA112538-02	Weng, Andrew P	Notch Signaling In Lymphoid Neoplasia	British Columbia Cancer Agency
30	1K22CA113493-01A2	Zu, Youli	Role of MAP Kinases In Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma	Methodist Hospital Research Institute

Back to Top Submitting an Application

In submitting an application for the K22 Award, the applicant must use the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004), and should download the instructions and the Research Career Development Award form files. Refer to Section III of the instructions, "Preparing an Individual CDA Application", and follow the modified instructions provided in the K22 Program Announcement. It is suggested that you print, if possible, the pages of PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) and carefully review all pages, especially the section titled "NOTABLE CHANGES MADE TO PHS 398. This section contains information to facilitate the completion of your application.

The PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) is also available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, Office of Extramural Research, NIH, Phone (301) 435-0714, Fax (301) 480-0525, E-mail: GrantsInfo@nih.gov.

Because the instructions in the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) do not fully apply to the special needs of the K22 Award, follow the modified instructions that are detailed in the K22 Program Announcement.

Application Receipt Dates and Review Schedule

If the application receipt date falls on a weekend, the application must be postmarked by the application receipt date and received at the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) by the following Monday.

If the application receipt date falls on a holiday, (but not on a weekend), the application must be postmarked by the application receipt date and received at CSR by the following day.

* Start dates are determined by the availability of NCI funds and may not occur until well after the earliest possible start date.

Back to Top Peer Review Process

Upon receipt, competing applications will be reviewed both by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for completeness and for conformance to all eligibility requirements and special provisions and requirements. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant without further consideration.

Those applications judged to be complete and eligible will be evaluated, according to the review criteria listed in the Program Announcement by a peer review group convened by the Division of Extramural Activities of the NCI. A second level of review will be conducted by the National Cancer Advisory Board that will ensure that the application meets the broad program needs and priorities of the NCI and the National Cancer Program before an award can be made.

For review criteria for the K22 grant mechanism, see the REVIEW CRITERIA section of the Program Announcement: PAR-06-455 THE NCI TRANSITION CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD (K22)

Back to Top Frequently Asked Questions

Policy-Related

1. How is eligibility determined for the K22 Career Transition Award and who is responsible for making this determination?
NCI Program Staff determines eligibility. The first determination is made at the time the application is submitted to assess whether you are 1) either in a "mentored" postdoctoral position at the time of the application, 2) or if you have been in an independent faculty position, or the equivalent, for less than two years at the time of the application submission deadline, and 3) have had continuous "mentored" postdoctoral experience prior to attaining the position. However, if you have been in an independent position for more than two years, regardless of the circumstances, you are ineligible. Some applicants have been in an independent position for several years but chose to continue under a mentor to further their training and wish to interpret their eligibility beginning at the time when they truly initiate their own independent research. The NCI interpretation is not based on when you began to do independent research, but is based on the date of appointment to a position from which you could have started your independent research.

The second determination is made after the review of the application. If your application is competitive for funding, the NCI will seek to confirm the following in a written "Statement of Environment and Institutional Commitment" from the institution:

• The existence of a strong research environment that will enhance and complement the candidate's research interests, and provide opportunities for scientific interactions and multi-disciplinary collaborations.
• Adequacy of the institution's commitment to ensure that 75 per cent of the candidate's total effort will remain devoted to the development of a research project and a successful independent research career.
• Adequacy of the institution's formal arrangements with the candidate to provide a permanent, preferably tenure-track, position, adequate facilities for conducting a research program and the other resources needed for the development of a research project and a successful independent research career.

If the NCI judges the "Statement of Environment and Institution Commitment" to be a sound plan and commitment to the candidate, an award will be made. If the NCI judges this Statement to be deficient, it will give the institution a chance to improve the nature of the position for the candidate. The NCI will not make a K22 award until the Program Staff approves this Statement.

2. Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to receive a career award?
At the time of award, you must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. noncitizen national, or have been lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a permanent resident. Please see the bottom of the Research Career Development Award Table of Contents Substitute Form Page 3, which can be downloaded in MS Word or PDF format. You are required to use this Substitute page to indicate your citizenship status. No award can be made until this is confirmed.

3. If I submit a research grant application (e.g., R01) after receiving a Career Development Award, how does the NCI reconcile the percent level of effort commitment and salary on the research grant application with the requirements of the Career Development Award?
The NCI usually allows recipients of Career Awards to retain an awarded investigator-initiated research grant, with the following restrictions:

• The percent level of effort commitment of the Career Award cannot be reduced below 75 percent (the exception being the K05 and K24 awards).
• Salary support cannot be derived from the investigator-initiated research grant if the grant is a federal grant.
• The total percent level of effort commitment on the Career Award and the research grant cannot exceed 100 percent. The percent effort commitment permitted on the research grant will be negotiated at the time of award and will depend on the degree of overlap between the specific aims of the two funding sources. (Please contact the NCI Staff Contacts for the Career Award for additional detailed information on this issue.)

Application Process/Review Related

4. Why do I need to send extra copies of my career award application?
These extra copies are vitally important to the timely processing and review of your application. The copies to the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), which is the central receipt point for all grant applications to the NIH, ensures that the application is given the appropriate grant number and assigned to the National Cancer Institute for peer review. CSR does the critical logging in and processing of the paperwork. Unlike the regular research grants (e.g., R01s), CSR neither organizes nor conducts the peer review system for career awards. Each institute and center at the NIH manages the their own peer review system for career awards. The extra copies that you send directly to the NCI ensure that the review process is initiated in a timely way and avoids the possibility that CSR can mishandle or lose your application.

5. How important is the font size in preparing the application?
This is very important. Follow the directions for Format Specifications in the instructions for the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004), or your application will be returned by CSR.

6. Who will review my career award application?
A scientific review group organized by an NCI Scientific Review Administrator will review your application. It will have the necessary expertise to judge the merit of your application, the suitability of the sponsor, the institutional commitment, and your potential to develop into an independent investigator.

7. How will reviewers evaluate my application?
The reviewers will evaluate your application using the review criteria provided in the NIH/NCI announcement that corresponds to the particular career development award that applies to you. It is very important that you prepare your application in response to these criteria because your ultimate success in receiving funding will depend upon how well your application addressed these criteria. For review criteria for the K22 grant mechanism, see the REVIEW CRITERIA section of the Program Announcement: PAR-06-455 THE NCI TRANSITION CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD (K22).

8. What should my application contain if it deals with human subjects, clinical trials or vertebrate animals?
If the study deals with human subjects, you must answer all parts of item 4 on the face page of the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) application. NIH requires documentation of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval at the time of award. The application should also address the points concerning Gender and Minority Inclusion and Inclusion of Children as Participants, OR provide sufficient information/justification for exemptions. This information can be found in the Human Subjects Research section of the instructions for preparing a PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) application.

If the study involves a clinical trial, you will need to include an abbreviated data and safety-monitoring plan showing that the sponsoring institution does have an operational mechanism for data and safety monitoring of clinical trials.

If you are using vertebrate animals, you must answer all parts of item 5 on the face page of the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) application and follow the instructions in the Vertebrate Animals section of the instructions for preparing a PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) application.

Without the proper information on Gender and Minority Inclusion, Inclusion of Children and Vertebrate Animals, an award cannot be made. If an application is fundable, the NCI must be provided with the human subject IRB certification before an award can be made; and, where appropriate, a detailed data and safety monitoring plan.

9. Can I supply additional information after I have submitted my Career Award application to the NIH?
Yes, but this must be submitted after receiving approval from the NCI Scientific Review Administrator (SRA) in charge of reviewing your grant. You must identify the SRA, explain your situation, receive approval and send the additional information in time to provide reasonable opportunity for the reviewers to include it in their evaluations. Examples of additional information that is important for reviewers to examine would be new experimental data that strengthens the rationale for pursuing the research project and manuscripts that have been accepted for publication, especially if they are to peer-reviewed journals.

Policy/Post Award

10. How does the "Letter of Intent to Commit Funds" work?
If a candidate in a mentored postdoctoral position applies for a K22 without an institutional affiliation and the application receives a peer review competitive for funding, the NCI will provide the candidate with a "Letter of Intent to Commit Funds." The candidate has one year from the date on the letter to find and negotiate a position that will satisfy the requirements of this award. The NCI fully expects candidates to use the "Letter of Intent to Commit Funds" as a leveraging instrument to negotiate the best faculty position (or equivalent) possible.

11. If I have an award and would like to ask for post award changes, how do I go about this?
You must contact the NCI Grants Administration official to determine the appropriate procedures to use in making a request for post award changes in your grant. This also applies to any of your needs that require a prior approval from the NCI. In general, you will have to make a request that is signed by you and a business official of your institution. After receiving the request, the Grants Administration official will consult with the NCI scientific program staff as necessary to determine whether the request can be approved.

12. Can I apply for a research grant from the PHS and still keep my career development award?
Yes, but you cannot receive any additional salary from another Federal grant if it were to be funded even if the career award does not equal your actual salary. The institution can pay you additional salary from non-Federal sources or from grants from Private funding organizations, as long as it does not exceed the institutional salary scales. Remember, in the case of a K22 Career Transition Award, you must provide evidence before the end of the second year of support that you have submitted a research grant to the NIH or to an equivalent funding organization.

Back to Top NCI Staff Contacts

For additional information regarding policies and/or guidance in preparing an application for the K22 Award, contact:

Dr. Sonia B. Jakowlew
Program Director
Telephone: (301) 496-8580
Fax: (301) 402-4472
E-mail: jakowles@mail.nih.gov

For information regarding review issues, contact:

Referral Officer
Division of Extramural Activities
Phone: (301) 594-1403
Fax: (301) 402-0275

Back to Top