Career Enhancement Award to Advance Research on Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention

Career Enhancement Award to Advance Research on Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (OBSSR). This grant program supports research focused on firearm injury and mortality prevention, covering topics such as accidental injury, intimate partner/dating violence, and youth violence.

It aims to enhance research capacity in this critical area.

Expired PAR-24-070: Career Enhancement Award to Advance Research on Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention (K18 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed} This notice has expired. Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices. Department of Health and Human Services Part 1.

Overview Information Participating Organization(s) National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Components of Participating Organizations Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research ( OBSSR ) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( NICHD ) National Institute on Drug Abuse ( NIDA ) National Institute of Mental Health ( NIMH ) National Institute of Nursing Research ( NINR ) National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities ( NIMHD ) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health ( NCCIH ) All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers.

The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.

Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Disease Prevention ( ODP ) Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office ( SGMRO ) Office of Research on Women's Health ( ORWH ) Funding Opportunity Title Career Enhancement Award to Advance Research on Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention (K18 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed} K18 Career Enhancement Award August 31, 2022 - Implementation Changes for Genomic Data Sharing Plans Included with Applications Due on or after January 25, 2023.

See Notice NOT-OD-22-198 . August 5, 2022 - Implementation Details for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. See Notice NOT-OD-22-189 .

Funding Opportunity Number (FON) Companion Funding Opportunity See Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility .

Assistance Listing Number(s) 93. 307, 93. 279, 93.

313, 93. 242, 93. 361, 93.

865, 93. 866, 93. 213 Funding Opportunity Purpose This NIH Research Career Enhancement Award (K18) program invites applications from experienced investigators seeking to redirect or expand their research programs through the acquisition of new skills and knowledge in the area of firearm mortality and injury prevention research, which is beyond and complementary to their current areas of expertise.

The program will support research training and career development experiences and a small-scale research project that will provide experienced investigators with the scientific competencies required to conduct research relevant to firearm morality and injury prevention research. Eligible candidates are independent investigators at any faculty rank or level.

The proposed project must be related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on their scientific missions. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for applicants proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial .

Under this NOFO applicants are permitted to propose a research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor.

Those proposing a clinical trial or an ancillary clinical trial as lead investigator, should apply to the companion NOFO Open Date (Earliest Submission Date) Letter of Intent Due Date(s) Renewal / Resubmission / Revision (as allowed) AIDS - New/Renewal/Resubmission/Revision, as allowed All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Career Development (K) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts ). Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced.

Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV . When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions. Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Part 1. Overview Information Part 2. Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Other Award Budget Information Section III. Eligibility Information Section IV.

Application and Submission Information Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII.

Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information Part 2. Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description The overall goal of the NIH Research Career Development program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs.

NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) support a variety of mentored and non-mentored career development award programs designed to foster the transition of new investigators to research independence and to support established investigators in achieving specific objectives. Candidates should review the different career development (K) award programs to determine the best program to support their goals.

More information about Career programs may be found at the NIH Research Training and Career Development website. The objective of the Career Enhancement Award for Experienced Investigators (K18) is to provide support for experienced scientists who either wish to broaden their scientific capabilities or to make changes in their research careers by acquiring new research skills or knowledge.

The purpose of this NOFO is to provide such investigators with support for an intensive period of mentored research experience to acquire new research capabilities in research areas supported by the sponsoring NIH Institute(s)/Center(s).

Such experiences will afford candidate investigators protected time to: 1) enrich and expand their expertise and research programs through retooling in new techniques, emerging technologies, and/or scientific areas; and/or 2) redirect their research programs in new trajectories; and/or 3) catalyze research collaborations in new research directions.

It is expected that this initiative will lead to new and/or augmented research programs competitive for NIH funding. The goal of this K18 initiative is to enhance research workforce capacity as rapidly as possible by supporting a program that will help experienced investigators in related or complementary fields to gain research expertise in the field of firearm injury and mortality prevention.

The purpose of enhancing workforce capacity is to increase the number and breadth of areas covered by funded NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) that address the pressing public health challenge of firearm related injury and mortality.

As noted above, applications should focus on enhanced research expertise and skills needed to conduct firearm injury and mortality prevention research as it relates to a range of types of violence and injury.

Topics of focus include but are not limited to, accidental injury, intimate partner violence/dating violence, sexual assault, self-directed violence and suicide, child maltreatment, elder maltreatment, youth violence, hate crimes, community violence, and gang violence.

Violence is defined by the World Health Organization as: “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.

” Both direct and indirect (e.g., witnessing) violent victimization events are associated with not only physical injury or mortality, but also a range of acute and chronic physical, mental and behavioral health conditions, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, substance use disorders, and sleep disturbance.

When firearms are involved with violent events (including suicide, intimate partner violence, child or elder maltreatment, youth and gang related violence, sexual assault, and hate crimes), the risk for injury and mortality increases. Firearm related injury and mortality, in particular, constitute an urgent public health crisis with firearms being involved in almost 80% of homicides and over half of all suicides.

The overall death rate by firearms increased 21 percent and the rate of homicide by firearms increased 35 percent from 2019-2022. Additionally, firearm-related suicides increased to their highest ever recorded level in 2022, and firearms remain the leading cause of death for children and youth ages 1-19 years. Significant disparities by race, ethnicity, and poverty remain.

For example, in 2022, firearm suicide rates among Black youth (ages 10-19 years) surpassed that of White youth for the first time. Homicide is also a significant cause of maternal mortality, as a recent study using national death certificate data found that pregnant women in the United States died by homicide (most often from partners) more often than they died of pregnancy-related causes.

Other populations including members of sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups and people with disabilities bear a disproportionate burden of firearm related injury and mortality. Thus, there is a critical need for a robust and well-equipped research workforce to better understand and address this critical public health issue.

More investigators are needed to conduct community-engaged and informed research that provides an evidence base for communities, policy makers, service systems, and others involved in responding to the need for a range of empirically supported, effective, high-quality, cost-effective interventions to prevent firearm-related injury and mitigate its impact.

In addition to preparing the awardee to apply for independent funding to conduct research on firearm injury and mortality prevention, it is expected that this initiative will also lead to new research collaborations that could lead to future NIH funding.

This short-term (up to 24 months) period of mentored research experience should expand the investigator's current expertise and lead to new knowledge and skills and potential new collaborators. The research career enhancement experience may be conducted in a different department within the candidate's home institution or in a different institutional setting from the location where the candidate holds their primary appointment.

Mentoring may occur in-person, virtually, or in combination. The research experience proposed must have the potential to augment the candidate’s research capabilities substantially and provide new research opportunities and benefits that would not be achievable through a collaborative research grant with the mentor(s).

The research career enhancement experience should be tailored to the individual needs and level of experience of the candidate. The career enhancement plan may include (1) a didactic academic enrichment plan, e.g., coursework, seminars, journal clubs, etc., and (2) a small-scale research project focused on firearm injury and mortality prevention.

The research project is expected to expand the candidate's expertise in conducting firearm injury and mortality prevention research. Applicants are expected to identify one or more research mentors with relevant expertise in applicant knowledge-gap areas. The mentor(s) must be established, well-qualified, and willing to support the applicant's short-term research career development experience.

The candidate and the proposed mentor(s) should not already have established, longstanding collaborations at the time of the application. Candidates are expected to either establish new collaborative arrangements or strengthen and enhance relatively new or developing collaborations on a research project on firearm mortality and injury prevention research.

Examples of novel skill combinations that might result from the mentored training include, but are not limited to: For investigators with research expertise in risk factor and/or prevention/intervention work in related or adjacent fields (e.g., substance use, mental health, violence, palliative care), mentored career development experience in firearm injury and mortality prevention research For investigators with methodological expertise in relevant approaches (e.g. community engaged research, policy research, implementation science) the opportunity to gain skills and research experience specific to the unique challenges of conducting firearm injury and mortality prevention research For investigators with a record of productivity in health disparities or health equity research focused on a particular population who experience a disproportionate burden of firearm violence, the opportunity to gain relevant expertise in conducting firearm injury and mortality prevention research Scale and Scope of the Research Project This NOFO is designed specifically for applicants who are proposing research studies that are not testing interventions.

Such projects might include: 1) studies to identify mutable risk or protective factors at the individual, family, community, or societal level that impact vulnerability to firearm injury, 2) variables that could impact the implementation, scalability and/or sustainability of existing or new preventive interventions, which may serve as targets in future intervention development; 3) development and testing of new research tools, measures, or methods; or 4) testing the feasibility of integrating existing data sets to understand factors affecting access, quality or outcomes of firearm injury and mortality prevention interventions.

Such research might take the form of: Conducting secondary analysis of a mentor's data set that includes a relevant sample of those at risk for or have experienced firearm-related injury Supplementing data collection to expand the scope of the candidate's or mentor's ongoing study of related risk to address a relevant research question Initiating an appropriately sized, non-clinical trial pilot study related to improving the ability to identify individuals at risk foror protection from firearm injury and mortality or improving our understanding of the developmental, situational, structural and contextual factors associated with firearm injury and mortality.

When feasible, the research project should expand the candidate's direct experience with individuals, families, and communities experiencing or at risk for experiencing high levels of firearm injury and mortality and/or with the systems (e.g., healthcare, education, legal/justice) that work to prevent such violence or injury and its impacts over time.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider the use of common data elements when feasible and appropriate, including measures outlined in the PhenX Toolkit ( www. phenxtoolkit. org ).

The structure and budgetary constraints associated with this career enhancement award will limit the scope of the research that can be achieved. Applicants will need to address the feasibility of completing their project within these constraints.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Scientific Contacts listed for additional guidance about IC-specific priorities in firearm injury and mortality prevention research as outlined in NOT-OD-23-039 Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention Research.

For NIMH, priorities for research on violence in the context of mental illness are also detailed in NOT-MH-22-095 , NIMH Priorities on Research on Aggression and Violence Against Others NIH defines a clinical trial as "A research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes."

( NOT-OD-15-015 ). NIH not only supports trials of safety and efficacy, it also supports mechanistic exploratory studies that meet the definition of a clinical trial and are designed to explore or understand a biological or behavioral process, the pathophysiology of a disease, or the mechanism of action of an intervention.

These studies may focus on basic and/or translational discovery research in healthy human subjects and in human subjects who are affected by the pathophysiology of diseases and disorders. By addressing basic questions and concepts in biology, behavior, and pathophysiology, these studies may provide insight into understanding human diseases and disorders along with potential treatments or preventive strategies.

NIH also supports biomarker studies that meet the definition of a clinical trial and that may provide information about physiological function, target engagement of novel therapeutics, and/or the impact of therapeutics on treatment response.

NIH thus supports studies that meet the definition of clinical trials (as noted above) but do not seek to establish safety, clinical efficacy, effectiveness, clinical management, and/or implementation of preventive, therapeutic, and services interventions. Research proposed in applications must be ideologically and politically unbiased as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement (GPS) sections 4. 1.

10 and 4. 1. 17 NIH funds may not be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun control or to support lobbying activities, as outlined in Section 4 of the NIH GPS .

Note: This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial. Under this NOFO are permitted to propose a research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor.

Those proposing a clinical trial or an ancillary clinical trial as lead investigator, should apply to the companion NOFO (PAR-24-073). See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Section II. Award Information Grant: A financial assistance mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity. Application Types Allowed The OER Glossary and the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide provide details on these application types.

Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials. Note: Applicants may propose to gain experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor/co-mentor as part of their research career development. Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications. Award budgets are composed of salary and other program-related expenses, as described below. The total project period may not exceed 2 years.

Other Award Budget Information NIH will provide salary and fringe benefits for the award recipient (see Table of IC-Specific Information, Requirements and Staff Contacts). Further guidance on budgeting for career development salaries is provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

In addition, the candidate may derive additional compensation for effort associated with other Federal sources or awards provided the total salary derived from all Federal sources does not exceed the maximum legislated salary rate (see http://grants. nih. gov/grants/policy/salcap_summary.

html ) and the total percent effort does not exceed 100%. See also NOT-OD-17-094 . Other Program-Related Expenses NIH will contribute $50,000 per year toward the research development costs of the award recipient, which must be justified and consistent with the stage of development of the candidate and the proportion of time to be spent in research or career development activities.

These funds may be used for the following expenses: (a) tuition and fees related to career development; (b) research-related expenses, such as supplies, equipment and technical personnel; (c) travel to research meetings or training; and (d) statistical services including personnel and computer time Salary for mentors, secretarial and administrative assistants, etc. is not allowed.

Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities & Administrative [F&A] Costs) are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs. NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this NOFO. Section III.

Eligibility Information Higher Education Institutions Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education Private Institutions of Higher Education The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education: Hispanic-serving Institutions Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education) Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education) For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses) City or Township Governments Special District Governments Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized) Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized) Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government U.S. Territory or Possession Independent School Districts Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Faith-based or Community-based Organizations Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement , are not allowed. Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the SF 424 (R&R) Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award.

All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. Failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.

3. 9. 2 Electronically Submitted Applications for additional information.

System for Award Management (SAM) – Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually . The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code.

NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code – Foreign organizations must obtain an NCAGE code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) - A UEI is issued as part of the SAM. gov registration process.

The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application. eRA Commons - Once the unique organization identifier is established, organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their Grants. gov registration; all registrations must be in place by time of submission.

eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application. Grants. gov – Applicants must have an active SAM registration in order to complete the Grants.

gov registration. Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s)) All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons.

If the PD/PI is also the organizational Signing Official, they must have two distinct eRA Commons accounts, one for each role. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks. All PD(s)/PI(s) must be registered with ORCID .

The personal profile associated with the PD(s)/PI(s) eRA Commons account must be linked to a valid ORCID ID. For more information on linking an ORCID ID to an eRA Commons personal profile see the ORCID topic in our eRA Commons online help .

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator) Any candidate with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is invited to work with their mentor and organization to develop an application for support.

Individuals from diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and women are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. See, Reminder: Notice of NIH's Encouragement of Applications Supporting Individuals from Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups as well as Individuals with Disabilities , NOT-OD-22-019 . Multiple PDs/PIs are not allowed.

By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card USCIS Form I-551, or other legal verification of such status).

PIs who have been awarded a NIH grant or contract with one or more speciifc aims related to firearm mortlaity or injury prevention are not eligible for this funding opportunity. Candidates for the K18 award must have a research or health-professional doctoral degree. This award is intended for well-established investigators who have established records of independent, peer-reviewed Federal or private research grant funding.

Applicants are not required to have active research grant support at the time of application for this award. This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1. 2 Definitions of Terms .

3. Additional Information on Eligibility Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct, and each is from a different candidate. NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.

3. 7. 4 Submission of Resubmission Application .

An individual may not have two or more competing NIH career development applications pending review concurrently. In addition, NIH will not accept: A new (A0) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of an overlapping new (A0) or resubmission (A1) application.

A resubmission (A1) application that is submitted before issuance of the summary statement from the review of the previous new (A0) application. An application that has substantial overlap with another application pending appeal of initial peer review. (See NIH Grants Policy Statement 2.

3. 9. 4 Similar, Essentially Identical, or Identical Applications ).

At the time of award, the candidate must have a “full-time” appointment at the academic institution. Candidates are required to commit a minimum of 50% of full-time professional effort (i.e., a minimum of 6 person-months) to their program of career development.

Candidates may engage in other duties as part of the remaining 50% of their full-time professional effort not covered by this award, as long as such duties do not interfere with or detract from the proposed career development program. Candidates who have VA appointments may not consider part of the VA effort toward satisfying the full time requirement at the applicant institution.

Candidates with VA appointments should contact the staff person in the relevant Institute or Center prior to preparing an application to discuss their eligibility. After the receipt of the award, adjustments to the required level of effort may be made in certain circumstances. See NOT-OD-18-156 and NIH Grants Policy Statement , Section 12.

3. 6. 4 Temporary Adjustments to the Percent Effort Requirement for more details.

Before submitting the application, the candidate must identify a mentor who will supervise the proposed career development and research experience. The mentor should be an active investigator in the area of the proposed research and be committed both to the career development of the candidate and to the direct supervision of the candidate’s research.

The mentor must document the availability of sufficient research support and facilities. Candidates are encouraged to identify more than one mentor, i.e., a mentoring team, if this is deemed advantageous for providing expert advice in all aspects of the research career development program. In such cases, one individual must be identified as the primary mentor who will coordinate the candidate’s research.

The candidate must work with the mentor(s) in preparing the application. The mentor, or a member of the mentoring team, should have a successful track record of mentoring individuals at the candidate’s career stage. Where feasible, the recruitment of women, individuals from diverse racial and ethnic groups, and individuals with disabilities as potential mentors is encouraged, given their ability to serve as role models.

The mentor(s) or mentoring team must demonstrate appropriate expertise, experience, and ability to guide the applicant in the organization, management and Mentor(s) Institutional Environment The applicant institution must have a strong, well-established record of research and career development activities and faculty qualified to serve as mentors in biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research. Section IV.

Application and Submission Information 1. Requesting an Application Package Buttons to access the online ASSIST system or to download application forms are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Career Development (K) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed in this notice of funding opportunity to do otherwise. Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced.

Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review. For information on Application Submission and Receipt, visit Frequently Asked Questions – Application Guide, Electronic Submission of Grant Applications . All page limitations described in the How to Apply - Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

Instructions for Application Submission The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply - Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO. All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

Other Project Information All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile Expanded All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed. All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

PHS 398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form The PHS 398 Career Development Award Supplemental Form is comprised of the following sections: Other Candidate Information Mentor, Co-Mentor, Consultant, Collaborators Environment & Institutional Commitment to the Candidate Other Research Plan Sections All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed.

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions: Candidate Information and Goals for Career Development Describe the candidate's commitment to a career as a health related research scientist.

Describe the candidate's research efforts and accomplishments in health related research to date as an independent investigator, including publications, prior research interests and experience, and history of research support. Present evidence of the candidate's potential to augment their research career and to ultimately advance scientific progress through this career enhancement plan.

Provide evidence of the candidate's ability to interact and collaborate with other scientists, particularly those from other disciplines. Career Goals and Objectives​ Describe the candidate's research career trajectory to date and future career goals and objectives and explain how these relate to the proposed research career development enhancement program.

Justify the need for further career enhancement in order to achieve the candidate's future research goals. Demonstrate how the proposed career enhancement program and the research, educational and mentoring resources of the sponsoring laboratory and institution will further the stated research career goals.

Candidate’s Plan for Career Development/Training Activities During Award Period The candidate and the mentor are jointly responsible for the preparation of the career development plan. The candidate and mentor may propose a mentoring team. Describe the career development plan, tailoring it to the candidate's goals, prior experience and career level, as well as to the intent of the K18 program.

Provide a systematic plan for progression of career enhancement and research experiences for the period of the award and beyond, including a timeline for the phasing of the career enhancement and research activities. Explain how the career development