During this insightful Webinar, Dr. Christopher Dant digs into the different NIH training and career development programs, discusses what programs are tailored to specific individuals during their career, and provides an overview of how to write a competitive K award. Walk away with a thorough understanding of this mechanism and take your career to new heights. 5 Key Take-Aways: Understanding what a Career Award (K) is, and is not Understanding the differences between the many types of K’s and what’s appropriate for the candidate in their stage of research What goes into the K award, step by step How to optimize the message in a K award with NIH expectations K Award writing strategies and tips from K award recipients and from the NIH Who Should Attend: Anyone interested in a career in academic medicine and interested in an NIH Career Award–postdocs, junior faculty, students

1. NIH Career Development
(K) Awards:
Taking Your
Research Career
to New Heights

2. The following audience questions and expert
comments are from Principal Investigators
Associations’ Webinar, “NIH Career
Development (K) Awards,” presented by Dr.
Christopher Dant.
For more information about this On-Demand
Webinar please visit:
http://www.principalinvestigators.org/nih-
career-development-k-awards-taking-your-
research-career-to-new-heights

3. My question is in regards to NIH K Awards typically requiring
75% effort devoted to the research project and to career
development for 3-5 years. If I am at a research institute, can I
just say 100% is towards the Development Plan if what I am
doing is the research in the Research Plan?
# 1
Attendee Question

4. Expert Comments
Yes. The main thing is that you have the time, at least
nine person months or 75% time. You have to state
that in your application. I would just keep it to that. I
would say, “I can commit at least 75%, possibly full-
time, to this work.” The work, again, is not only the
research you’re doing or what you propose; it’s also all
the training that you’re going to be doing. It’s
everything in a sense.

5. The problem comes in, for example, for clinicians
who are at full-time faculty. They’re on staff, and
they’re seeing patients, and they want to do a K
Award. They usually have to be released from some
of those duties to be able to do the research and
receive mentoring.

6. If they can somehow combine the work that they’re
doing with patients to a K23, for example, then it
works. I wouldn’t say, “I can commit 100%.” I would
just say 75% is the goal, and then, it has to be at least
that, and that’s what you state in your application. If
you’re spending all of your time doing it, that’s great.
That’s what they want. They want you to devote
most of your time to this.

7. Career Development Awards (K awards) are one of
the most successful NIH programs that have helped
launched many productive investigator careers.
Over the past 5 years, K
award funding has
steadily increased NIH-
wide, and in 2011,
overall K award success
rates were 35% across
all institutes.
Learn More

8. # 2
Attendee Question
Are there more favorable applications periods,
June through October, etc.?

9. Expert Comments
No, not really. There are three review cycles
(February 12th , June 12th and October 12th).
One isn’t more favorable than another. It’s not
more favorable in the summer than the winter.

10. The main thing is if October 12th is the next
submission date, and it’s September 10th, you would
not be thinking about October 12th. You would want
to begin preparing for the next submission date
which is February 12th, because you cannot possible
write a K Award in a month, or even two months.
These proposals should take several months to put
together because there’s a huge amount of planning
that goes into them. Again, I would not worry about
which review cycle you submit it in. There’s not plus
or minus to any one of them.

11. Understand what a Career Award (K) is, and is not?
Understand the differences between the many types of
K’s and what’s appropriate for the candidate in their
stage of research?
Know what goes into the K award, step by step?
Know how to optimize the message in a K award with
NIH expectations?
K Award writing strategies and tips from K award
recipients and from the NIH?
Do You…
Learn More

12. Do you recommend
waiting for
preliminary data
before submitting a
K grant proposal?
# 3
Attendee Question

13. 2.5 hour webinar for only $129 exclusive price for slideshare
viewers – must enter coupon code
SLIDESHARE
Sale Price Valid Only Until 09/08/2013
2.5 Hour On-Demand
Webinar Available in
CD-Rom, MP4 and
PDF Transcript
Learn More Buy Now
NIH Career Development(K) Awards:
Taking Your Research Career to New Heights

14. Expert Comments
Yes, I do. I would say that the more you can
show that you’ve done some of this work
already the better. Preliminary data shows
commitment on you part. It’s even better if
you could show some published work on your
proposed project.

16. If you say, “By the next cycle, I’ll have some more
data, and I’ll have a paper published, hopefully,” it
would be a good strategy to wait for that to come
through. Not only will it show that you have a
commitment but it will also demonstrate to the
reviewer that you already have found information
and your hypothesis is partly satisfied by some of the
preliminary data. I think that it shows that the
applicant is already on a trajectory path of answering
these questions and could have more success.

17. So the more preliminary data you can put in, the
better. Again, this is not a R Grant. For an R01, you
will definitely need preliminary data and even for an
R21. Not, probably, as much if you’re new, but it
always helps. I would say err on the side of
additional preliminary data.

18. Dr. Christopher Dant digs into the different NIH
training and career development programs, discusses
what programs are tailored to specific individuals
during their career, and provides an overview of how to
write a competitive K award.
Postdocs, junior faculty and students who are
interested in a career in academic medicine and
interested in an NIH Career Award …
2.5 Hour On-Demand
Webinar Available in
CD-Rom, MP4 and
PDF Transcript

19. If my grant is rejected, how long do I wait to apply again?
# 4
Attendee Question

20. Expert Comments
For K renewals, resubmissions, revisions, the
standard due dates are March 16th, July 16th
and November 16th. Just be sure if your K was
rejected and given a review, you answer all the
weakness clearly in the introduction and
modify the grant to make it clear you’re
addressing all their stated weaknesses. I would
give it some time – at least 2 – 4 months so you
can adequately address all the weaknesses.

21. 2.5 hour webinar for only $129 exclusive price for slideshare
viewers – must enter coupon code
SLIDESHARE
Sale Price Valid Only Until 09/08/2013
2.5 Hour On-Demand
Webinar Available in
CD-Rom, MP4 and
PDF Transcript
Learn More Buy Now
NIH Career Development(K) Awards:
Taking Your Research Career to New Heights

22. Christopher Dant is a faculty instructor at Dartmouth Medical School. His
PhD work was concentrated in cellular and molecular biology. Early in his
postgraduate career, he apprenticed with a Senior Editor at JAMA, and went
on to work as a biomedical writer for life sciences investigators in academia,
private industry, and government agencies. Before coming to Dartmouth, Dr.
Dant was a Projects Director at the Stanford Medical School for grants and
manuscripts and served as the Director of Medical Publications at Genentech
in California. At Dartmouth, he works with investigators in developing grant
proposals and programmatic initiatives, and educates faculty in grant and
manuscript writing skills. He has worked through investigators at the NIH,
NSF, NASA, DOE, and other federal agencies.