Institutional Mentored Career Development Award (Parent K12) (Clinical Trials Not Allowed)

The overall goal of the NIH Research Career Development programs is to help ensure that a pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. More information about career programs may be found at the NIH Extramural Research Training and Career Development website.

This NOFO encourages applications from domestic organizations that propose well-designed, rigorous institutional research career development programs in the mission area(s) of the participating ICs.

Supported K12 scholars will be provided with salary and research support for a period of "protected time" to support a tailored career development plan designed to facilitate the scholar's transition to research independence. Proposed institutional career development programs are expected to build on the existing research foundation of appointed scholars to more fully develop the scholar's knowledge and skills to enable them to lead an independent research program that advances knowledge to enhance the Nation's public health.

Program Considerations

General Considerations: 

Applicant organizations are expected to have the requisite faculty, staff, potential scholars, and facilities on site to conduct the proposed institutional program or sufficient infrastructure to facilitate the recruitment and appointment of scholars nationally if that is the nature of the program proposed. In most cases, it is anticipated that a substantial number of program faculty will have active research projects in which participating scholars may gain relevant experiences consistent with their research interests and goals. The proposed institutional research career development program may complement other, ongoing research training and career development programs at the applicant institution, but the proposed career development experiences are expected to be distinct from those career development programs currently receiving Federal support.

The proposed program is expected to align with the mission of the IC to which the application is submitted. ICs will not support projects, regardless of the results of peer review, if they do not align with current programmatic priorities. Therefore, potential applicants are encouraged to consult scientific/research staff at the intended IC listed in Section VII before preparing an application. A description of ICO priorities can be found on the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices website.

Funded programs are expected to be tailored to the organizational context(s) and have clearly defined goals and objectives. Awards should foster safe and supportive research training environments that maximize success for all individuals in the program, demonstrate effective oversight of scholar development, and promote the use of evidence-informed mentoring practices.

Tailored career development plans: This award may be used to support scholars with different levels of prior research training and at different stages of their professional development.  As such, programs are expected to develop individualized career development plans for each scholar as congruent with their stated goals and current skill and knowledge levels. Applications should address the process for how these plans are developed and used during the scholar's appointment to ensure successful transition to the next career stage. Programs are also expected to includecohort development activities that allow scholars to learn from each other, work effectively in teams with colleagues, and communicate scientific advances to a wide variety of audiences (discipline specific and the public).

Mentor training/expectations: Effective and well-prepared mentors are integral to the development and advancement of scholars in their research careers. Funded programs are expected to support effective mentorship by ensuring all program faculty complete formal mentor training and continuing education to enhance the ability of mentors to facilitate the transition of scholars to research independence. 

Institutional commitment: Funded programs are expected to provide safe and supportive research environments. Awardee institutions are also expected to provide a robust research foundation (institutional programs) for appointed scholars or sufficient infrastructure to facilitate, monitor, and coordinate the progress of mentor-mentee pairs (national programs). For specifics on IC-specific program priorities and solicited program structures, please see IC-specific information on the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices website.