Except for the K99/R00, investigators must be U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals, or permanent residents with a valid Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551) at the time of the award. People on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

Investigators

Submit applications electronically. Read the supplemental instructions for K awards in part 7 of the Application Guide SF424 (R&R) – Adobe Forms Version A.
Keep the following policies in mind:
- NIAID will not accept K-series applications proposing to conduct new, independent clinical trials.
- NIAID supports K01 and K02 awards in epidemiology and outcomes research.
- During the last two years of a mentored career development award (K01, K08, K22, K23, K25), NIH will permit investigators to receive concurrent salary support from any peer-reviewed grant from any federal agency if they meet the criteria listed on Career Development Awards in our Advice on Research Training and Career Awards.
- NIH’s public access policy applies to K grants. Read more at Writing a Career Development Award Application.
- NIH allows the following adjustments, which require prior approval from NIAID. Read the January 21, 2009, Guide notice for full details.
  - Part-time appointments and temporary reduction in percent effort -- awardees may reduce their appointment to part-time or reduce their effort to less than nine person months.
    - Investigators may not simultaneously request both options.
    - Requests must contain several items, including a justification for the change, a revised mentoring plan from current mentor, and a revised statement of institutional commitment.
  - Off-site career development and leave of absence -- investigators may spend part of their project period at another institution. They may also take a leave of absence without award support.
    - In both cases, being away for less than three months requires the grantee organization's approval; more than three months requires NIAID's approval. Time away may not exceed 12 months.

For detailed information on K awards, such as eligibility and award duration, go to Career Development Awards (K) and the Career Development Grants questions and answers on the Research Funding Web site.

Program Officers

Complete program officer checklists for competing and noncompeting applications.
Work with grants management specialists and applicants or awardees to resolve time and effort issues.
Review and approve or disapprove prior approval requests for the following. Note that change of PI is not allowed given the purpose of career awards.
- Change of sponsor or mentor -- assess whether a person has the appropriate scientific background and available time to be the PI’s primary sponsor or mentor.
- Change in scope.
- Change of institution.
- Part-time appointments.
- Percent effort reduction.
- Off-site career development and leave of absence (three months or more).

Grants Management Specialists

Issue awards following requirements of each career grant mechanism.
Calculate PI's salary the same way you would for research grants. For details, GMP staff can see GMP's Career Awards SOP.
Include special terms of award noted on program officer checklists as well as standard terms of award.
Work with program officers on prior approval requests and notify grantees of the outcome.
- For changes to a PI's sponsor or mentor, be sure you get the following:
  - A letter signed by the PI, the proposed new sponsor or mentor, and the institutional business official.
  - A copy of the current biosketch and other support for the proposed new sponsor or mentor.
For information on the NIAID Research Scholar Development Award (K22), GMP staff can see GMP's Guidelines for the K22 Application and Award Process.
For information on the Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00), see the Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00) SOP or GMP staff can see GMP's Pathway to Independence (K99-R00) Awards SOP.

For more responsibilities, GMP staff can see GMP's Career Awards SOP.

Contacts

Office of Special Populations and Research Training

AITrainingHelpDesk@niaid.nih.gov

Grants Management Program

Julie Waugh

For questions specific to funded career development awards, contact the appropriate grants management specialist.

If you have knowledge to share or want more information on this topic, email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base.

Links

Career Development Awards

Information about NIH Career Development (K) Grants

NIH training site

NIAID Funding Policy and Process SOP

Quick Facts on Research Training and Career Development Awards

Look It Up

See the Glossary for terms.