Senior Research Scientist Award (K05)

Senior Research Scientist Award (K05) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). Supports senior research scientists with research funding, to pursue independent research, and to serve as a mentor to more junior research scientists.

Expired PA-06-555: Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05) This notice has expired. Check the NIH Guide for active opportunities and notices. Part I Overview Information Department of Health and Human Services Participating Organizations National Institutes of Health (NIH), ( http://www.

nih. gov/ ) Components of Participating Organizations National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), ( http://www. niaaa.

nih. gov/ ) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), ( http://www. nida.

nih. gov/ ) Title: Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05) This is a modification of PA-00-021 which was previously released on December 2, 1999. Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued: January 13, 2009 - This PA has been reissued as (PA-09-076).

September 20, 2006 - See Notice NOT-DA-06-013 NIDA Policy Update Mentored and Career Development (K) Awards . Looking ahead: As part of the Department of Health and Human Services' implementation of e-Government, during FY 2006 the NIH will gradually transition each research grant mechanism to electronic submission through Grants. gov and the use of the SF 424 Research and Related (R&R) forms.

Therefore, once the transition is made for a specific grant mechanism, investigators and institutions will be required to submit applications electronically using Grants. gov. For more information and an initial timeline, see http://era. nih.

gov/ElectronicReceipt/ . NIH will announce each grant mechanism change in the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts ( http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/guide/index. html ). Specific funding opportunity announcements will also clearly indicate if Grants.

gov submission and the use of the SF424 (R&R) is required. Investigators should consult the NIH Forms and Applications Web site ( http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/forms. htm ) for the most current information when preparing a grant application. Program Announcement (PA) Number: PA-06-555 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number(s): Release Date: September 20, 2006 Letters of Intent Submission Date(s): Not applicable Application Submission Date(s): http://grants.

nih. gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm AIDS Application Submission Date(s): http://grants1.

nih. gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm#AIDS Peer Review Date(s): http://grants.

nih. gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm Council Review Date(s): http://grants.

nih. gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): http://grants.

nih. gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.

htm Additional Information To Be Available (URL Activation Date): Not applicable Expiration Date: September 2, 2009 (Now Expired January 14, 2009 per PA-09-076 ) The Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05) is intended to provide protected time for outstanding senior scientists who have demonstrated a sustained high level of productivity conducting biomedical research relevant to the scientific mission of the appropriate institute to focus on their research and to provide mentoring of new investigators.

The Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award will use the K05 mechanism. It is expected that most candidates will request five years of support; requests must be for a minimum of three years. Awards may be renewed one time for up to an additional five-year period.

New K05 applications are allowed from former recipients of K05 awards from other NIH Institutes who are submitting K05 applications to NIAAA or NIDA for the first time.

The K05 award will provide salary support of 75 percent of the institutional base salary (up to the current Federal salary cap limit for NIAAA applicants; up to $90,000 for NIDA applicants) for up to five years based on a full-time, 12-month staff appointment, plus fringe benefits.

The candidate must devote a total of 75 percent of full-time effort to the proposed program, with at least 25 percent of that effort directed towards mentorship activities.

Candidates must be outstanding established senior scientists and recognized leaders in their field of research, and be able to demonstrate the need for a period of intensive research focus as a means of enhancing their research career and a need for protected time to conduct their mentoring activities. Senior scientists are expected to mentor from two to five new investigators or junior faculty members per year.

Mentored investigators should hold an independent, non-tenure or tenure-track faculty appointment equivalent to the instructor level or above, and must conduct research relevant to the scientific mission of the awarding Institute while under the mentorship of the K05 award recipient. Candidates are expected to have independent, peer-reviewed research grant support at the time of submitting the K05 application.

Additional funds will not be provided to support the applicant’s research activities. For all new (Type 1) applications, the candidate’s peer-reviewed research grant support can be from any federal granting agency.

For competitive renewal (Type 2) applications, in order to be considered responsive, K05 applicants must have been awarded a research grant (R01), center grant, P01, or cooperative agreement from the K05 awarding Institute. Exceptions on the grant support requirement may be made for applicants performing predominantly theoretical research.

NIAAA will provide up to $25,000 per year to support mentoring expenses incurred by the mentored junior investigators; NIDA will provide up to $25,000 per year to support research-related and/or mentoring expenses incurred only by those mentored investigators who are engaged in predominantly theoretical research, such as modeling or computer simulations.

The NIAAA and NIDA anticipate supporting from 2-5 new (Type 1) K05 awards each per year. The total amount to be awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the quality, duration, and costs of the applications received, the availability of funds, and program priorities of the appropriate institute.

The K05 application may be submitted by any domestic for-profit or non-profit institution or organization; or by a public or private institution such as a university, college, hospital, or laboratory. Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply.

Eligible principal investigators must be U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals, or individuals lawfully admitted for permanent residence, who hold a research or health-professional doctoral degree or equivalent. Candidates for this K05 award may not concurrently apply for or have an award pending for another NIH Career Development Award. Up to two resubmission/amended versions of an application will be accepted.

Awards are not transferable to another principal investigator. See Section IV for application and submission information. Telecommunications for the hearing impaired is available at: TTY 301-451-5936 Part I Overview Information Part II Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description 1. Research Career Objectives Section II. Award Information Section III.

Eligibility Information 2. Cost Sharing or Matching 3. Other - Special Eligibility Criteria Section IV.

Application and Submission and Instructions 1. Address to Request Application Information 2. Content and Form of Application Submission 3.

Submission Dates and Times A. Submission, Review and Anticipated Start Dates B. Sending an Application to the NIH C.

Application Processing 4. Intergovernmental Review 6. Other Submission Requirements Section V.

Application Review Information 2. Review and Selection Process A. Additional Review Criteria B.

Additional Review Considerations D. Sharing Research Resources 3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates Section VI.

Award Administration Information 2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements Section VII. Agency Contacts 1.

Scientific/Research Contacts 3. Financial/ Grants Management Contacts Section VIII. Other Information - Required Federal Citations Part II - Full Text of Announcement Section I.

Funding Opportunity Description 1. Research Career Objectives The Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05) is intended to provide outstanding senior scientists protected time to focus on and enhance their research and to carry out mentoring of new investigators.

Candidates for the Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05) should be recognized leaders in the alcohol, or drug abuse, or related research fields who have demonstrated a sustained, high level of productivity and a distinguished record of original contributions in their field, and whose expertise and contributions to these research fields will continue to be critical to the missions of the NIAAA or NIDA.

Each candidate must demonstrate both the need for protected time to further their field of research and a commitment to serve as a mentor to new investigators or junior faculty who are currently performing or will begin to perform alcohol, or drug abuse, or related research. Mentored investigators should have an independent, full-time appointment at their institution; this can be in either non-tenure or tenure-track positions.

The award provides 75 percent salary support for the K05 applicant for up to five years and may be renewed for one additional five-year period. The applicant must commit a total of 75 percent effort to the proposed program, with at least 25 percent of that effort to the mentoring activities proposed under this award.

K05 applicants are expected to have independent, peer-reviewed research grant funding (such as an R01, P01, U01, or an equivalent grant in excess of $125,000 direct costs per year) at the time of submitting the K05 application to support the proposed research activities. An exception may be considered if the applicant is conducting primarily theoretical work.

Additional funds will not be provided to support the applicant’s research or research activities.

However in keeping with the objectives of this program, NIAAA will provide up to $25,000 per year (based on approximately $5,000 allowed per mentee and a total of 5 mentored investigators) for the benefit of the mentored junior investigators to support expenses incurred in performing activities directly resulting from mentoring recommendations.

NIDA will provide up to $25,000 per year for research-related and/or mentoring support only for investigators who are engaged in predominantly theoretical research, such as modeling or computer simulation. Both NIAAA and NIDA will require the sponsoring institution to ensure that the K05 applicant has the protected time needed to conduct the proposed program including mentoring activities.

The NIAAA and NIDA acknowledge the following in offering the Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05). Second, NIAAA and NIDA recognize the achievements that outstanding senior scientists have made in alcohol, or drug abuse, and related research and encourage the continued productivity of these investigators. NIAAA and NIDA also recognize that senior scientists have much to offer new investigators.

Therefore, NIAAA and NIDA offer the Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award as a mechanism to provide recognized and well-respected leaders in alcohol, or drug abuse, or related research with protected time to continue and enhance their research programs and to disseminate their expertise and wisdom in the mentoring of junior investigators.

In addition to their proposed research activities, the applicant will be expected to commit to mentoring from two to five junior investigators through this award. Senior scientists in all areas of alcohol, or drug abuse, or related research are encouraged to apply for this award. See Section VIII, Other Information - Required Federal Citations , for policies related to this announcement.

Section II. Award Information This funding opportunity will use the NIH K05 award mechanism. As an applicant, you will be solely responsible for planning, directing, and executing the proposed research career development and mentoring activities.

This funding opportunity uses the just-in-time budget concepts. It also uses the non-modular budget format described in the PHS 398 application instructions (see http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398. html ). The applicant should follow the instructions for budget information described in the PHS 398, Section III, providing only the total direct costs requested for each year and for the entire proposed period of support, and the supporting budget justification information.

The K05 project award period may be from three to five years. Awards are renewable for one additional project period of up to five years for all K05 award recipients. New (Type 1) K05 applications submitted by investigators who have received a previous K05 award from any NIH Institute other than NIAAA or NIDA will fall under the same guidelines as other new K05 applications.

Awards are not transferable from one principal investigator to another. NIAAA and NIDA anticipate supporting from 2 - 5 new (Type 1) K05 awards each per year. The total amount to be awarded under the K05 program and the number of anticipated awards will depend upon the quality, duration, and costs of the applications received, the availability of funds, and the program priorities of the appropriate institute.

Because the nature and scope of the proposed career development and research mentoring program will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. Awards include funds for salary, fringe benefits, and mentored-training support.

Salary: The Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05) will provide salary for the award recipient of 75 percent of the recipient’s base salary up to the salary cap. The salary cap for NIAAA awards will be up to the current maximum Federally-legislated salary rate in effect at the time of the award per year for up to five years. The salary cap for NIDA awards is $90,000 for each award year.

The actual salary provided by the award is based on the recipient’s institutional base salary for a full-time, 12-month staff appointment. The award requires the candidate to devote 75 percent of full-time professional effort towards conducting the experimental research plan and the mentoring activities described in the application.

For information regarding NIH policy in determining full-time professional effort for career awards, see http://grants. nih. gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-04-056.

html . The 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 of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned.

If full-time, 12-month salaries are not currently paid to comparable staff members, the salary proposed must be appropriately related to the existing salary structure. Confirmation of salary is required prior to the issuance of an award. The award will also provide fringe benefits on the calculated base salary based on the sponsoring institution’s established rate.

The sponsoring institution may supplement the NIH salary contribution up to a level that is consistent with the institution’s salary scale. However, institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the K05 award, and, in no case may PHS funds be used for salary supplementation.

Recipients of a NIAAA K05 award may also derive additional salary compensation from the effort associated with all other federal sources or awards, including any NIH research grant, provided the total salary derived from all Federal sources does not exceed the current legislatively-mandated Federal salary rate limit, and their total percent effort on all federal sources and awards does not exceed 100 percent.

Direct salary is exclusive of fringe benefits, indirect costs/facilities, and administrative expenses. Note that NIDA does not allow additional salary compensation from other federal sources. Research Support: It is expected that candidates for a K05 award will have sufficient, independent research support to conduct their proposed research.

Therefore, additional funds to support the research or research activities of the candidate will not be provided under this award. Mentored Training Support: NIAAA will provide up to $25,000 per year to support expenses incurred by the mentored investigators in performing activities directly resulting from mentoring recommendations.

NIDA will provide up to $25,000 per year for research-related and/or mentoring expenses of only those mentored investigators who are engaged in predominantly theoretical research. The amount requested should be based on up to $5,000 allowed per mentee and a maximum of 5 mentored investigators per year. Note that it is expected that the candidate will mentor between two to five junior investigators per year.

Expenses could include: (a) tuition and course fees, (b) travel to research meetings or to obtain training, or c) research supplies and equipment for the mentored investigators. Funds provided for mentoring expenses can not be rebudgeted for any other purpose. Ancillary Personnel Support: Salary support for secretarial or administrative assistance, or for other ancillary personnel, is not allowed.

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs: These costs, which were formerly called indirect costs, will be reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs exclusive of tuition and fees, and of expenditures for equipment. Section III. Eligibility Information 1.

A. Eligible Institutions You may submit (an) application(s) if your organization has any of the following characteristics: Public or private institutions, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and laboratories Foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. 1.

B. Eligible Individuals Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research and mentoring activities is invited to work with their institution to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are further encouraged to apply for NIH support.

The following additional eligibility requirements are specific to individuals who seek to become Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05) recipients.

Only U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals, or individuals lawfully admitted for permanent residence who possesses an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551), or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident prior to the time of award, are eligible for this award.

Non-citizen nationals, although not U.S. citizens, owe permanent allegiance to the U.S. They are usually born in lands that are not states but are under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

The candidate for the Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award must be an outstanding senior basic, clinical or behavioral research investigator and a recognized leader in the alcohol, drug abuse, or related research fields with a distinguished record of original contributions, must have a record of obtaining external grant support from a funding institute or center, and is expected to have peer-reviewed grant support from any federal agency at the time of submitting the K05 application.

Scientists whose work is primarily theoretical may apply for this award in the absence of research grant support. Candidates for this award must have a research or health-professional doctoral degree or its equivalent. Such degrees include but are not limited to the Ph.

D. , M. D.

, D. O. , D.

D. S. , D.

M. D. , O.

D. , D. C.

, D. S. W.

, D. P. H.

, Pharm. D. , as well as a doctoral degree in nursing research or practice.

The candidate must have a full-time appointment at the academic institution that is the applicant institution. Candidates who have VA appointments may not consider part of the VA effort towards satisfying the full-time requirement at the applicant institution. 2.

Cost Sharing or Matching This program does not require cost sharing as defined in the current NIH Grants Policy Statement. The most current Grants Policy Statement can be found at: http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/nihgps_Part2. htm#matching_or_cost_sharing 3. Other-Special Eligibility Criteria A candidate for a K05 Award may not simultaneously submit or have an application pending for any other PHS career development (K series) award nor any PHS award that duplicates any of the provisions of the K05 award.

While current recipients of a NIH career development award are eligible to apply, an individual may not hold concurrent career development awards. Key elements and common aspects that will be considered for each application include: A.

Candidate : The candidate must be an outstanding, well-respected senior scientist in the alcohol, drug abuse, or related research fields with a distinguished record of original publications and external grant support. The candidate is expected to have peer-reviewed, independent research support from any federal agency at the time of submitting a new (Type 1) K05 application.

Eligible research grant support includes investigator-initiated research project (R01) grants, P01 grants, center grants, cooperative agreement (U01) awards, or similar NIH grants supported in excess of $125,000 direct costs per year, and comparable awards from other granting agencies.

NIH small research grants (R03), NIH exploratory/developmental grants (R21), or small grants of less than $100,000 direct costs per year from other granting agencies are not considered independent support for purposes of eligibility to apply for K05 award support.

However, current NIAAA or NIDA K05 award recipients who are submitting a renewal (Type 2) application must have been awarded a research grant (R01), center grant, P01 grant, or cooperative agreement (U01) award from the K05 awarding Institute at the time of renewal submission.

Note that former awardees of K05 grants from a NIH Institute other than NIAAA or NIDA are eligible to submit a new (Type 1) application in response to this announcement. These applications will be subject to the same responsiveness criteria and guidelines as other new K05 applications. One exception to the requirement for peer-reviewed, independent research support is made for scientists whose work is primarily theoretical.

These individuals may apply for a K05 award in the absence of research grant support if the institutional commitment includes stability of salary and research support, and the candidate’s record of publications, recognition of scientific leadership and capacity for mentoring are strong. The candidate should demonstrate a strong track record of mentoring new investigators and junior researchers.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate the need for a period of intensive research focus as a means of enhancing their research career and a need for protected time to conduct their mentoring activities. B. Research Activities : It is expected that the award recipient will devote all professional effort described under this award that is not spent on mentoring activities to sustaining and improving their own research programs.

This includes activities that will ensure continued outstanding performance and research capacity in alcohol, drug abuse, or related research. C. Mentoring Activities : It is expected that the award recipient will spend at least twenty-five (25) percent of full-time professional effort on mentoring activities.

It is further expected that the recipient will mentor from two to five new or junior investigators as part of the award. New or junior investigators include those individuals who hold an independent, full-time position at their institution; this can be in either non-tenure or tenure-track faculty positions.

Junior investigators may or may not have conducted alcohol or drug abuse research in the past, but are expected to perform alcohol, drug abuse, or related research under the tutelage of the award recipient during the award period. D.

Environment : The institution must be able to demonstrate a commitment to the K05 applicant as a productive, independent scientist, and that the applicant is an integral part of its research and academic program. The applicant and institution must certify that the applicant will be released from other duties to enable the applicant to devote 75 percent effort to achieve the research and mentoring objectives of this award.

The applicant and institution must assure that there is an adequate pool of candidates for mentoring. Section IV. Application and Submission Information 1.

Address to Request Application Information The PHS 398 application instructions are available at http://grants. nih. gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.

html in an interactive format. Applicants must use the currently approved version of the PHS 398. For further assistance contact Grants Info, Telephone (301) 710-0267, Email: [email protected] .

Telecommunications for the hearing impaired: TTY 301-451-5936. 2. Content and Form of Application Submission Applications must be prepared using the PHS 398 research grant application instructions and forms.

Applications must have a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number as the universal identifier when applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements. The D&B number can be obtained by calling (866) 705-5711 or through the web site at http://www. dunandbradstreet.

com/ The D&B number should be entered on line 11 of the face page of the PHS 398 form. See also Subsection VI. 2.

for additional information. The title and number of this funding opportunity: PA-06-xxx Senior Scientist Research and Mentorship Award (K05) ; must be typed on line 2 of the face page of the application form and the YES box must be checked. SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONS for Career Development awards are located in the PHS 398, Section III.

3. Submission Dates and Times See Section IV. 3.

A for details. 3. A.

Submission, Review and Anticipated Start Dates Letters of Intent Submission Date(s): Not applicable. Application Submission Date(s): http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm AIDS Application Submission Date(s): http://grants1. nih.

gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm#AIDS Peer Review Date(s): http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm Council Review Date(s): http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm Earliest Anticipated Start Date(s): http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule. htm A letter of intent is not required for this funding opportunity. 3.

B. Sending an Application to the NIH Applications must be prepared using the PHS 398 research grant application instructions and forms as described above.

Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application, including the checklist, and five signed photocopies in one package to: Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 1040, MSC 7710 Bethesda, MD 20892-7710 (U.S. Postal Service Express or regular mail) Bethesda, MD 20817 (for express/courier service; non-USPS service) Personal deliveries of applications are no longer permitted (see http://grants.

nih. gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-03-040. html ).

3. C. Application Processing Applications must be submitted on or before the application receipt/submission dates described above ( Section IV.

3. A. ) and at http://grants.

nih. gov/grants/dates. htm .

Upon receipt, applications will be evaluated for completeness by CSR. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. The NIH will not accept any application in response to this funding opportunity that is essentially the same as one currently pending initial merit review unless the applicant withdraws the pending application.

The NIH will not accept any application that is essentially the same as one already reviewed. This does not preclude the submission of a substantial revision of an application already reviewed, but such application must include an Introduction addressing the previous critique. Information on the status of an application should be checked by the Principal Investigator in the eRA Commons at: https://commons.

era. nih. gov/commons/ .

4. Intergovernmental Review This initiative is not subject to intergovernmental review . All awards are subject to the terms and conditions, cost principles, and other considerations described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The Grants Policy Statement can be found at http://grants. nih. gov/grants/policy/policy.

htm . Pre-Award Costs are allowable. A grantee may, at its own risk and without NIH prior approval, incur obligations and expenditures to cover costs up to 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or competing renewal award if such costs: are necessary to conduct the project, and would be allowable under the grant, if awarded, without NIH prior approval.

If specific expenditures would otherwise require prior approval, the grantee must obtain NIH approval before incurring the cost. NIH prior approval is required for any costs to be incurred more than 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or competing renewal award.

The incurrence of pre-award costs in anticipation of a competing or non-competing award imposes no obligation on NIH either to make the award or to increase the amount of the approved budget if an award is made for less than the amount anticipated and is inadequate to cover the pre-award costs incurred.

NIH expects the grantee to be fully aware that pre-award costs result in borrowing against future support and that such borrowing must not impair the grantee's ability to accomplish the project objectives in the approved time frame or in any way adversely affect the conduct of the project. See NIH Grants Policy Statement http://grants. nih.

gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part6. htm . 6.

Other Submission Requirements Applications must be prepared as described by the PHS 398 research grant application instructions for career development awards. However, Letters of Reference and Statements by Sponsor(s) are not required. The following provides additional guidance for addressing the requirements of the K05 Senior Scientist Research Mentoring Award.

Budget requests should be prepared according to the instructions in form PHS 398. Provide only the total direct costs for each year and for the entire proposed period of support.

In addition within the direct costs limitations of up to $25,000 for mentoring support for all NIAAA K05 awards or $25,000 for research-related and/or mentoring support only for theoretical investigators on NIDA K05 awards, provide a description of all potential courses, supplies, equipment or other mentoring costs that could be used to facilitate and achieve the mentoring objectives of this award.

Candidates should describe their research experiences to date, including their scientific skills and accomplishments and their record of research grant support. Please note that candidates are expected to have current peer-reviewed research grant support at the time of application. Candidates should also provide a narrative describing their long-term research and career objectives.

Since mentoring is an essential component of the K05 award, candidates should describe their past and current involvement in mentoring new and junior investigators.

This information should include the number of past and current mentored investigators, the scientific and professional backgrounds of these mentored investigators, the candidate’s role in their mentoring (e.g. research advisor, clinical mentor), and a description of the specific scientific projects that were pursued while under mentorship.

To further judge the success of past mentoring, the candidate may list relevant research accomplishments, scientific publications, and the ability to obtain external grant support by their mentees, and provide any other information that describes how the candidate’s mentoring activities enhanced the career development of the mentored investigators.

The candidate must provide evidence of a continuing and productive commitment to a research career that is relevant to the mission of NIAAA or NIDA by submitting a statement of research career interests, including short-term and long-term research goals, and a description of specific activities that will sustain the candidate’s outstanding performance and the capacity to address relevant research problems.

The candidate should also explain how the award will benefit the candidate by release from duties unrelated to research. It is important to convey the need for protected time to pursue a vital research program and to engage in the mentoring of new scientists.

The mentoring plan should include a description of the institutional setting as it pertains to the available pool of potential junior investigators from which the mentees will be selected.

The candidate should identify the initial group of junior investigators to be mentored, including a brief description outlining the previous training and specialization of these individuals, the frequency and kinds of mentoring activities to be conducted for each individual, and the proposed period of interaction between the candidate and mentee.

The mentoring plan should provide details on the recruitment, selection and supervision of additional junior investigator(s) and an estimate of the total number of junior investigators expected to be mentored over the course of the award period.

Candidates should seek to promote diversity in their mentoring relationships by recruiting individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

K05 award candidates should describe any financial and material support from their own funded research and research resources that will be available to their mentees, and provide any other information concerning their roles as mentors to junior faculty. The candidate’s proposed percent commitment to the mentoring plan should also be stated.

Environment and Institutional Commitment Evidence should be provided of institutional commitment for enhancing the candidate’s research