UCLA CTSI KL2 Program overview for the KL2 Info session held on September 14.

1. 2024 Funding Opportunity Seminar
w ww.ctsi.ucla.edu ▪ b r i n g i n g C T S I i n n o v a t i o n s t o t h e g r e a t e s t h e a l t h n e e d s i n L o s A n g e l e s
UCLA CTSI KL2 PROGRAM
Directors Mitchell Wong, MD, PhD
Ella Nemeth, PhD
Site Directors Chris Evans, PhD Victor Chaban, PhD MS Scott Filler, MD Denis Magoffin, PhD
UCLA CDU Lundquist Cedars

2. KL2 Award Overview
Career development support for junior faculty within the UCLA CTSI
Consortium
Interdisciplinary, translational science (basic, clinical and HSR)
Similar in structure to an NIH K CDA application

3. Support
Annual award, renewable for up to 3 years and contingent on the
UCLA CTSI competitive renewal.
Support: $130k total/year
$75k salary plus benefits
$53k benefits, research support, tuition/coursework, and statistical support
$2k travel

4. Eligibility
Doctoral or professional/research degree
Faculty title July 1 of start date
Commit 75% of effort to KL2 (50% minimum for some specialties
like surgery)
U.S. Citizen or non-citizen national, permanent U.S. resident

5. Eligibility (Prior/Pending Grants)
May have had a small grant (R03, R21)
May have had prior K12 funding, but total K12 + KL2 funding cannot
exceed 5 years.
Cannot be PI on prior or current for:
NIH R01 or equivalent grant (direct costs>$100k per year)
K08/K23 or other NIH K award
VA Career Development or R01 Equivalent grant
Pending K/R award application under review in similar area

6. Annual Application Timeline
Pre-Application deadline: October 2, 2023
Invitation for full application: mid-November 2023
Full Application deadline: February 22, 2024 5pm
Applicant interviews: May 2024
Awardees will be notified by late May-early June 2024
Grant start date July 1, 2024 (No exceptions)

8. KL2 Pitfalls and advice
1. Research should test a hypothesis
2. Qualitative research caution
3. Find the right size of project
4. Education plan
5. Candidate’s statement & path to
independence
6. Biosketch tips

9. Research should test a hypothesis
Caution if aims are exploratory, fishing expeditions, or
needs assessments
Aims Hypothesis
We will identify the predictors of disease X outcomes There are predictors of disease X
We will explore the barriers and facilitators of getting
treatment Y
There are barriers and facilitators of treatment Y
We will identify health care needs for pop Z Pop Z has health care needs
Aims Hypothesis
Examine regional vs. general anesthesia on in-
hospital delirium
General anesthesia increases the risk of in-hospital
delirium
Examine associations between medication costs and
use of generic medications with adherence
Underuse of generic medications and
high out of pocket costs contribute to poor adherence
Examine rates of undiagnosed depression in primary
care offices
Screening for depression in primary care offices is
underused.

10. Qualitative research can be risky
Exploratory
Substitute for:
• Theory
• Conceptual models
• Hypotheses
• Review of literature

11. Goldilocks' dilemma
Too limited vs. too ambitious
Find balance in scope, resources, timeline
Acknowledge and directly address feasibility issues
Err on the side of too ambitious

12. Rule of 3’s for the Education Plan
3 Aims
3 Educational objectives
3 Mentors
Tie together aims, education objectives, mentors

13. Example of Education Plan Overview
Activity Details Description
Objective 1: biochemistry (Mentor: James Watson)
Course Biochem 101 glycolytic pathway
Seminar photosyntesis overview of XYZ
Workshop lipid metabolism mechanisms of treatment
Objective 2: statistics (Mentor: James Heckman)
Course Stats 203 survival analysis
Seminar coding in R methods for coding
Workshop data intepretation graphic analysis of results
Objective 3: Social networks (Mentor: Nicholas Christakis)
Course psych 203 social support and impact
Course sociology 404 Social network analysis
Tutorial Network structure Tutorial with Dr. Christakis on network structure, dyad analysis, centrality
Responsible conduct of research
Course biomath 505 Ethics in conduct of research, IRB, …
Career Development
Seminar K Scholars Society Grant writing, mentoring, communication, leadership and team science

14. Example of K Award Timeline

15. Candidate’s Statement
Not a summary of educational/training pathway
Highlight research findings/impact/implications
Emphasize publication trajectory
Show the reader your pathway of research interests (not training)
What is the BIG research question you will investigate over your career?
Excite the reader about your 10-20 year plan (Link K to R01)
Describe career path distinction from mentor (if needed)

16. Biosketches
Include link full bibliography
Do NOT list:
–abstracts
–Publications that are not peer-reviewed
–Publications that are not original science

17. Overview of Resources
Grant writing bootcamps
Successful Grants Library
K Scholars Society

18. Grant Bootcamps
Longitudinal grant writing seminars
Twice yearly: Fall (October-February) & Spring (April-September)
First time K or R grant submissions
Selection process based on developed aims page
Group writing seminars (4-8 persons)
2024 KL2 applicants may participate in the Spring bootcamp only.
https://www.cognitoforms.com/UCLA2/GrantWritingBootcamp

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20. The Grant Library
• Successful (K, R, U) grants and new format NIH Biosketches
• Secure platform for sharing grants
• Video instructions on how to request access:
– http://ctsi.ucla.edu/funding/pages/sample
• To access:
– http://intranet.ctsi.ucla.edu
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23. UCLA CTSI K Scholars Society
Monthly career development seminars and WIPs
Invitation only to K/CDA awardees within UCLA CTSI institutions
Recommend including K Scholars Society in CDA education plan.
https://ctsi.ucla.edu/funding/pages/boilerplates
2-year curriculum:
- Training in grant writing, communication, team science, entrepreneurship and leadership
- Professional grant writer consultations
- Mock study sections
- Scientific networking
- Priority for grant writing studios