NIH NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) is a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Cancer Institute (NCI) that funds early-stage postdoctoral researchers in cancer-related fields to transition to independent research careers.

The award provides a mentored phase (K99) followed by an independent phase (R00), supporting investigators who do not require an extended period of supervised training beyond their doctoral degrees. Eligible applicants must hold a research or clinical doctoral degree and be postdoctoral fellows who have not yet established independent research careers. The March 11, 2026 due date applies; award amounts vary by project.

PAR-23-287: NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Required) This funding opportunity was updated to align with agency priorities. Carefully reread the full funding opportunity and make any needed adjustments to your application prior to submission. Department of Health and Human Services Part 1.

Overview Information Participating Organization(s) National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) Components of Participating Organizations National Cancer Institute ( NCI ) Funding Opportunity Title NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00 - Independent Clinical Trial Required) K99 / R00 Career Transition Award/Research Transition Award Notices of Special Interest associated with this funding opportunity March 31, 2025 - This funding opportunity was updated to align with agency priorities.

Carefully reread the full funding opportunity and make any needed adjustments to your application prior to submission. April 04, 2024 - Overview of Grant Application and Review Changes for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2025. See Notice NOT-OD-24-084 November 11, 2023 -Notice of Pre-Application Webinar for PAR-23-286, PAR-23-287, and PAR-23-288.

See Notice NOT-CA-24-014 . 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 . Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Number Companion Funding Opportunity Career Transition Award/Research Transition Award Career Transition Award/Research Transition Award See Section III.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility . Assistance Listing Number(s) Funding Opportunity Purpose The purpose of the NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) program is to increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented, NCI-supported, independent investigators.

This program is designed for postdoctoral fellows with research and/or clinical doctoral degrees who do not require an extended period of mentored research training beyond their doctoral degrees. The objective of this award is to facilitate a timely transition of these fellows from their mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty positions.

The program will provide independent NCI research support during this transition to help awardees launch competitive, independent research careers. Researchers in the scientific areas of cancer control, cancer prevention and cancer data sciences are especially encouraged to work with their institutions to apply.

This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for candidates proposing to serve as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or a separate ancillary clinical trial, as part of their research and career development.

Those not planning an independent clinical trial, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial led by another investigator, must apply to companion NOFO ( PAR-23-286 ). 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.

There are several options available to submit your application through Grants. gov to NIH and Department of Health and Human Services partners. You must use one of these submission options to access the application forms for this opportunity.

Use the NIH ASSIST system to prepare, submit and track your application online. Use an institutional system-to-system (S2S) solution to prepare and submit your application to Grants. gov and eRA Commons to track your application.

Check with your institutional officials regarding availability. Workspace to prepare and submit your application and eRA Commons to track your application. 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 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 Extramural Training Mechanisms website. The objective of the NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) is to help postdoctoral researchers complete needed, mentored training and transition in a timely manner to independent tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty positions.

The K99/R00 award is intended to foster the development of a creative, independent research program that will be competitive for subsequent independent funding and that will help advance the mission of the NCI.

This program is designed for postdoctoral fellows with research and/or clinical doctoral degrees who do not require extended periods of mentored research training beyond their original doctoral degrees before transitioning to research independence, which is common for those working in cancer control, cancer prevention and cancer data sciences, as defined in Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Therefore, researchers from these disciplines are particularly encouraged to work with their institutions to apply. This K99/R00 award is intended to support individuals who require no more than 2 additional years of mentored research training and career development (K99 phase) before transitioning to the independent stage (R00 phase) of the program.

Consequently, the strongest applicants will require and will propose, a well-conceived plan for 1 2 years of substantive mentored research training and career development that will help their investigators become competitive candidates for tenure-track faculty positions and prepare them to launch robust, independent research programs.

Individuals must be in mentored, postdoctoral training positions to be eligible to apply for support under the K99/R00 program. If an applicant's candidate achieves independence (any faculty or non-mentored research position) before a K99 award is made, neither the K99 award, nor the R00 award, will be made. The K99/R00 award will provide up to 5 years of support in two phases.

The initial (K99) phase will support up to 2 years of mentored postdoctoral research training and career development. The second (R00) phase will provide up to 3 years of independent research support, which is contingent on satisfactory progress during the K99 phase and an approved, independent tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty position. The two award phases are intended to be continuous in time.

Therefore, although exceptions may be possible in limited circumstances, R00 awards will generally only be made to those applicants' K99 PDs/PIs who accept independent, tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty positions by the end of the K99 award period. Pre-Application Webinar : The NCI anticipates holding a pre-application webinar to which all interested prospective candidates, mentors, administrators, and grant managers are invited.

An NCI program director will explain the goals and objectives of the NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers, discuss the eligibility and nomination requirements, explain the peer-review process, and answer questions. For details on the nomination letter see Sections III and IV.

Information about the pre-application webinar will be available after the publication of the NOFO under the " NCI Early K99 Award " tab of the NCI Cancer Training Branch website .

Note: This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is designed specifically for candidates proposing to serve as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or a separate ancillary clinical trial, as part of their research and career development.

Those not planning an independent clinical trial, or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial led by another investigator, must apply to the companion NOFO ( PAR-23-286 ).

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.

All applications proposing basic science experimental studies involving humans, otherwise referred to in NOT-OD-18-212 as prospective basic science studies involving human participants, that fall within the NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research should apply to the companion NOFO ( PAR-23-288 ).

Please refer to the table comparing Funding Opportunity Types by Clinical Trial Allowability for additional guidance on the most appropriate NOFO for the type of study. Investigators proposing NIH-defined clinical trials may refer to the Research Methods Resources website for information about developing statistical methods and study designs. See Section VIII.

Other Information for award authorities and regulations. Section II. Award Information Grant: A support 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. Required: Only accepting applications that propose an independent clinical trial(s). 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 5 years.

Other Award Budget Information NCI will contribute up to $100,000 per year toward the salary of the career award recipient's candidate. Further guidance on budgeting for career development salaries is provided in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. See also NOT-OD-17-094 .

Intramural: Mentored candidates in the NIH intramural program will be supported by intramural funds provided by the NIH Institute/Center intramural laboratory in which they are conducting their research. Budget details for the mentored phase will be negotiated with the sponsoring intramural laboratory. Salary will be consistent with that offered to scientists in similar, intramural NIH positions.

Extramural: Mentored candidates at an extramural sponsoring institution/organization will be supported by NCI extramural funds. The requested salary must be consistent both with the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members with equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned.

The total cost for the independent phase (R00) may not exceed $249,000 per year. This amount includes salary, fringe benefits, research costs, and applicable indirect costs. The total NIH contribution to salary may not exceed the legislatively mandated salary cap.

See: http://grants. nih. gov/grants/policy/salcap_summary.

htm . 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 and the total percent effort does not exceed 100%.

Other Program-Related Expenses For the extramural K99 phase, NCI will contribute up to $30,000 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.

For the extramural K99 phase, Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities & Administrative [F&A] Costs) are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs. For the R00 phase, indirect costs will be reimbursed at the extramural sponsoring institution’s indirect cost rate. Indirect costs requested by consortium participants are included in the total cost limitation.

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 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 The sponsoring institution may be private (profit or nonprofit) or public, including the NIH Intramural Programs and other Federal laboratories.

The applicant institution will be the mentored phase (K99) institution.

All institution/organization types listed above are eligible for both the mentored (K99) and independent (R00) phase, with the following exceptions: (1) Eligible agencies of the Federal government, such as the NIH intramural program, are eligible only for the mentored phase; and (2) Eligibility of organizations, other than institutions of higher education, for the R00 phase depends on the nature of the appointment, and the ability of the PD/PI to conduct independent research and apply for NIH research (R01 or R01-equivalent) grants.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) 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 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.

The NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2. 3. 9.

2 Electronically Submitted Applications states that failure to complete registrations in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission. 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) NOTE: Candidates for this NOFO are strongly encouraged to obtain confirmation of their eligibility from NCI before seeking institutional nomination. It is incumbent upon the candidate to provide evidence that all eligibility criteria have been met.

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 seek institutional nomination and work with his/her mentor and organization to develop an application for support. Multiple PDs/PIs are not allowed.

K99/R00 candidates must have no more than 2 years of postdoctoral research experience as of the relevant application due date. Individuals must be in mentored, postdoctoral training positions to be eligible for support under the K99/R00 program. If a candidate achieves independence (i.e., any faculty or non-mentored research position) before a K99 award is made, neither the K99 award, nor the R00 award, will be issued.

Consistent with the NIH Extension Policy for Early Stage Investigator Status (ESI) , NIH will approve an extension of one year for childbirth within the 2 year K99 eligibility window.

Applicants with candidates who will be PD/PIs on a K99 application must provide the child’s date of birth in the extension request justification submitted to IC program officials and/or scientific/research contacts listed in the NOFO at least 12 weeks before submitting an application.

In addition, parental, medical, military, or other well-justified leave for personal or family situations of generally less than 12 months duration is typically not included in the 2-year eligibility limit, nor is clinical training with no research involvement (e.g., full-time residency training). Only time dedicated to research activities counts toward the 2-year limit.

Part-time postdoctoral research training, related to personal or family situations or occurring during a research residency or fellowship, will be pro-rated accordingly. Additional clarifications are provided under Frequently Asked Questions. Potential candidates are encouraged to discuss their individual situation with an NCI Scientific Program Contact listed below in Section VII.

Agency Contacts before applying. There is no citizenship requirement for K99 applicants. An applicant may be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States, 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), or be a non-U.S. citizen.

For applications submitted on behalf of non-U.S. citizens with temporary U.S. visas, visa status during each phase of the K99/R00 award must allow the PD/PI to conduct the proposed research at the applicant institution.

For the K99 phase of the award, the applicant institution is responsible for determining and documenting, in the K99 application, that the candidate’s visa will allow him or her to remain in the U.S. long enough to complete the K99 phase of the award.

For the R00 phase of the award, the U.S. institution at which the R00 phase of the award will be conducted is responsible for determining and documenting, in the R00 application, that the PD/PI’s visa will allow the PD/PI to remain in the U.S. for the duration of the R00 award.

Candidates for the K99/R00 award must have a clinical or research doctorate (including PhD, MD, DO, DC, ND, DDS, DMD, DVM, ScD, DNS, PharmD or equivalent doctoral degrees). Clinicians (including those with MD, DDS, DVM and other licensed health professionals) in a clinical faculty position that denotes independence in clinical responsibilities but not in research may also be eligible for the K99/R00 award.

Individuals are NOT eligible if they: Have currently or previously held an independent research faculty or tenure-track faculty position, or its equivalent, in academia, industry or elsewhere; or Have more than 2 years of related postdoctoral research training at the time of initial application or resubmission; or Have been an independent PD/PI on NIH research grants (e.g. R01, R03, R21), NIH career development awards (e.g., K01, K07, K08, K23, K25), or other peer-reviewed NIH or non-NIH research grants over $100,000 direct costs per year, or Project Leaders on sub-projects of program project (P01) or center (P50) grants or the equivalent.

Ph. D. (or equivalent research doctorate degree) candidates in positions other than postdoctoral fellow positions: It is recognized that some institutions appoint postdoctoral fellows in positions with other titles although they are still in non-independent, mentored training positions.

Candidates in such positions are encouraged to obtain confirmation of their eligibility from the relevant IC before they begin to prepare their applications. It is incumbent upon the candidate to provide evidence that their position complies with the intent of this eligibility requirement.

If a potential applicant is in a position that is not clearly identifiable as a postdoctoral training position, candidate should provide the relevant NIH Institute or Center an official statement of the institution’s policy (e.g. published position description in an official institutional document) which documents the position as a mentored, postdoctoral training position. Clinicians (including those with M. D.

, D. D. S, D.

V. M. and other licensed professionals) in positions not designated as postdoctoral positions: Following clinical training or fellowship training periods, clinicians often obtain a clinical faculty position that denotes independence in clinical responsibilities but not in research.

A clinical faculty member who does not hold an independent research faculty position may be eligible for the K99/R00 award, and should contact a Program Director at the relevant NIH Institute for guidance. Clinicians in such positions are encouraged to obtain confirmation of their eligibility before they begin to prepare their applications.

Such individuals may also wish to consider other career awards ( see K Kiosk ) available for junior faculty development. The following is provided as an aid to distinguish independent from non-independent positions: However, it is not sufficient merely to cite one or more of the following items to document eligibility.

Evidence for non-independence may include: The candidate’s research is entirely funded by another investigator’s grants. The candidate’s research is conducted entirely in another investigator’s assigned space. According to institutional policy, the candidate cannot hire postdoctoral fellows or technical staff or be the responsible supervisor of graduate students.

According to institutional policy, the candidate is not allowed to submit an application as the PD/PI of an NIH research grant application (e.g., R01). The candidate lacks other rights and privileges of faculty, such as attendance at faculty meetings. Conversely, evidence for independence, and therefore lack of eligibility, includes: The candidate has a full-time faculty position.

The candidate received a start-up package for support of their independent research. The candidate has research space dedicated to their own research. The candidate may attend faculty meetings, be the responsible supervisor for graduate students, and/or hire technical support or postdoctoral fellows.

The candidate is eligible to apply for independent research funding as the PD/PI of an NIH research grant. This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. 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 ).

Each eligible institution (defined as having a unique UEI number or NIH IPF number) may submit up to a combined total of four applications (one in Cancer Data Science, one in Cancer Control Science, one in Molecular/Precision Cancer Prevention, and one in Other Cancer Research) to any companion NOFO or any combination of companion NOFOs ( PAR-23-286 , PAR-23-287 , and/or PAR-23-288 ).

(A) Cancer Data Science: For the purposes of this K99/R00 award, cancer data science is defined as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry in which quantitative and analytical approaches, processes, and systems are both developed and used to extract knowledge and insights from increasingly large and/or complex sets of data.

This includes cancer-focused data integration and visualization, systems biology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, informatics, genomics, precision oncology, and developing analytics for epidemiological or biostatistical studies.

(B) Cancer Control Science: For the purposes of this K99/R00 award, cancer control science is defined as basic and applied research in the behavioral, social, and population sciences to create or enhance interventions that, independently or in combination with biomedical approaches reduce cancer risk, incidence, morbidity, and mortality, and improve quality of life.

This includes research in epidemiology, behavioral sciences, health services, surveillance, cancer survivorship, and healthcare policy.

(C) Molecular/Precision Cancer Prevention: For the purpose of this K99/R00 award, early translational research in cancer prevention is defined as basic research to understand mechanisms of cancer formation, development and progression of cancer precursors, and to translate basic biological knowledge into novel human interventions and human-centered adaption of current interventions with the potential to reduce cancer risk, incidence, and mortality, and improve quality of life.

This includes but is not limited to research in molecular and systems biology, diagnostics, vaccine and drug development, pharmacology, and biomedical engineering. (D) Other Cancer Research: For the purposes of this K99/R00 award, "Other Cancer Research" includes all scientific fields supported by the NCI that are not included in (A), (B) or (C).

Applicants proposing research in (D) "Other Cancer Research" may apply only if it is reasonable to expect their candidates to transition to independence with an abbreviated period of mentored research training beyond their original doctoral degrees." 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 75% of full-time professional effort (i.e., a minimum of 9 person-months) to their program of career development. Candidates may engage in other duties as part of the remaining 25% 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. R00 Phase. Although candidates are required to devote no less than 75% of their full-time, 12-month professional effort to research (i.e., full-time for 9 person-months), the required 9 person-months of research effort need not be devoted exclusively to the R00-supported research.

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 for high-quality research. 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 individuals from underrepresented 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