Funded K25 Grants

Submitting an Application

Peer Review Process

Frequently Asked Questions

NCI Staff Contacts

Introduction

The Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award uses the K25 grant mechanism to support the career development of investigators, with quantitative scientific and engineering backgrounds outside of biology or medicine, who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on behavioral and biomedical research (basic or clinical). It is intended for research-oriented investigators from the postdoctoral level to the level of senior faculty. This award provides support for a period of supervised study and research for professionals who have the potential to integrate their expertise with biomedicine and develop into productive investigators. The project period may be for up to five years with a minimum of three years. Awards are not renewable.

Candidates must have demonstrated research interests with an advanced degree in a quantitative area of science or engineering (e.g., M.S.E.E., Ph.D., D.Sc.), must identify a mentor who has behavioral or biomedical research experience, and must be willing to spend at least 75 percent of full-time professional effort conducting research career development and basic or clinical research. At time of award, candidates must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or other legal verification of such status). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. Former principal investigators on NIH research project (R01), program project (P01), center grants, FIRST Awards (R29), SBIR/STTR awards, sub-projects of program project (P01) or center grants, K01, K08, or K23 awards, or the equivalent are not eligible.

The K25 award provides support in the form of salary (up to $75,000 per year plus fringe benefits), research development support (up to $40,000 for expenses such as tuition/fees, books, supplies/equipment, and travel to meetings), ancillary personnel support, and 8 percent facilities and administrative costs (formerly called indirect costs).

UPDATE: The K25 salary is now capped for competing awards issued after January 1, 2009 at $100,000 per year for a 75% effort (9 person-months) commitment. Please see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-CA-09-022.html for further salary details.

Program Announcement

New Electronic PA required for February 12, 2009 Grant Submission: PA-09-039 Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award (K25) ¹

This replaces PA-06-087 MENTORED QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD (K25) ²

The K25-Mentored Quantitative Research Career Award is for research-oriented investigators, from the postdoctoral level (or equivalent) to senior faculty in a quantitative area of science or engineering outside of biology or medicine (mathematics, statistics, physics, etc.). Candidates should have little or no prior experience in applying their skills to biomedical research but have the potential to integrate their expertise with NIH-relevant research and develop into productive investigators. This award supports a mentored, cancer-focused career development experience in biomedical, behavioral, or bioengineering research. The award provides nonrenewable support for up to five years, with $75,000 annual salary and $40,000 annually for research support. The K25 requires a minimum of 75% effort commitment to the research and career development objectives of the award.

See the NCI Funded Research Portfolio ³ for a current list of K25 awards.

In submitting an application for the K25 Award, the applicant must use the PHS 398 Form (Revised 11/2007) ⁴, 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. It is suggested that you print, if possible, the pages of PHS 398 Form (Revised 11/2007) ⁴ 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 11/2007) ⁴ 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.

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.

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 Subcommittee I ⁵ 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 K25 grant mechanism, see the Review Criteria ⁶ section of the Program Announcement.

1. Is the K25 Award appropriate for an individual who is still in a postdoctoral position?
   It is intended for research-oriented investigators from the postdoctoral level to the level of senior faculty.

2. I am conducting research using database and tool integration for large-scale analysis of genomic/proteomic data including microarray data. Does this research fit into NCI's requirements for the K25 Award?
   If the mentor's research is cancer related and if the investigator is willing to be your mentor, then you may be eligible for the K25 Award. For details access the K25 Program Announcement ², and contact the NCI Training Program (see NCI Staff Contacts ⁷).

For additional information regarding policies and/or guidance in preparing an application for the K25 Award, contact:

Dr. Sonia B. Jakowlew
Program Director
Telephone: (301) 496-8580
Fax: (301) 480-1744
E-mail: jakowles@mail.nih.gov

For information regarding fiscal and/or budget issues, contact:

Grants Administration Branch
Phone: (301) 496-7208
Fax: (301) 496-8601

For information regarding review issues, contact:

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