Ralph Nitkin, Ph.D. - RN21E@NIH.GOV

National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR)

Eunice K. Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development (NICHD)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

General commentsGeneral commentsStart with an area where you care about

the outcomes and are interested in the techniques

Preferably an under-occupied niche that has research potential

With time, differentiate yourself from your mentors and colleagues

Build a theme, with balance between low-risk and high-risk projects

ResearchResearch is very different from is very different from Clinical TreatmentClinical Treatment

Seek causative links not just correlative associations

Develop mechanistic hypotheses; predictions

Seek opportunities to control/isolate variables

Design experiments to critically challenge your hypotheses and get conclusive results

Defend your choices: patient population, inclusion/exclusion, subject numbers, dosing, outcome measures, etc.

Self AssessmentSelf AssessmentWhat is your skill set? What is your record of productivity? What does your CV project?Do you have passion and persistence?What is (will be) your research identity?What do you “like” doing?

Choosing your Mentor(s)Choosing your Mentor(s)Complementary but not overlapping background

Research status: publications, grant fundingRecord of mentoring, and committed to youUnderstands your goals and expectationsWorks with you to develop Research Project Consider scientific as well as career mentorsAnd remember: You have to hold up

your side of the bargain

Additional Considerations on your Additional Considerations on your Early CollaborationsEarly Collaborations

There are advantages in not being too original at the start

You must realistically think about rapid productivity

If you work on a close off-shoot of a mentor’s research s/he will be able to help you anticipate and solve methodological problems

If you work on a more distant problem, your mentor will be able to offer guidance but less direct experience

What to look for in a Faculty positionWhat to look for in a Faculty positionRealistic amount of protected time and for how long

[teaching, clinical responsibilities, administrative duties ]Access to patients, technologies, and/or animal facilitiesContinued mentorship & support for career development;

Seek an environment that nurtures your growth People who understand your work and share ideas -

you cannot be effective as a solitary investigatorReasonable start-up package, funded students or fellows,

and summer salary (if on nine-month appointment) Having funding in hand provides leverageYou only have leverage until you take the positionUnderstand the expectations for tenure

Practical ConsiderationsPractical ConsiderationsThink realistically about productivity

(i.e., publications), especially early in your career

Develop mixed portfolio: mostly sure-fire studies with a few high-risk excursions

Develop a stable base of grant funding Guard your time; collaborate effectively

Developing a Research ApplicationDeveloping a Research ApplicationReview current literature and ideas with

mentors and colleaguesDefine and refine the problem under studyDevelop hypotheses and a logical

sequence of approachUse the most direct methods or

approaches to achieve your goals; propose alternative approaches

Why hasn’t this been done before? Will your approach be conclusive?What will be the impact on the field?

NetworkingNetworkingGather access to the necessary

resources, equipment, and reagentsRecruit necessary collaboratorsDocument access to research subjects,

animals, equipment, etcDiscuss your proposal with NIH staff (e.g., current research initiatives, funding mechanisms, study sections)

Preliminary StudiesPreliminary StudiesDemonstrate your competence,

commitment, and standardsSuggests the feasibility of your approach Chance to address potential theoretical

hurdlesDocument ability to use difficult or

highly specialized techniques through:Personal mastery (e.g., past publications,

preliminary data, your writing style)Recruiting collaborators with appropriate expertise

•Training grants and fellowships •Career development awards (K awards)•Smaller foundation grants & pilot studies•Co-investigator on R01 or other major grants•Principal investigator on major grant (R01)•Involvement in larger collaborative studies

Progression of FundingProgression of Funding[NIH model][NIH model]

Training and Career DevelopmentTraining and Career DevelopmentIndividual Fellowships

Graduate students (F31) or Postdoc (F32)

Institutional Training Grants (T32)Dept support for graduate and/or Postdocs

Career Development Mechanisms (K awards)New investigator in specific fields or Clinician getting into researchMentored research (3-5 yrs @ 75% effort)Application processes may vary across NIH

institutes

Career Development applicationCareer Development applicationWrite a Career Development planWho are you now and what skills do you

possessWho do you want to be and what skills will

you need; What are your professional goalsWhat kind of training experiences (courses,

lab exposures, collaborations) will get you there

What additional mentorship will you needDevelop a realistic time-line

The Career Development (K award) The Career Development (K award) Application is like an AutobiographyApplication is like an Autobiography

•Show that you are a good candidate:Focus - Productivity – Experiences

•Articulate your Career Goals, both short-term and long-term•Do a needs assessment: strengths/weaknesses•Discuss appropriateness and commitment of your proposed mentor(s)•Propose other didactic experiences, as needed:

courses, workshops, sabbaticals •Research Project (developed with mentor); to get you needed skills, training, credibility, and publications

Give them a “hook”: focus on a mechanism or approach

Not just a technique, patient population, or research tool

What are your career goals?What are your career goals?

What skill set do you need? What are your strengths? Experiences?Where do you need further training, e.g.:

Molecular or cellular biology; GeneticsClinical disorders and patient populations?Pathophysiological processes? Outcome measures and assessment tools?Behavioral and Psychosocial strategies?Bioengineering?Statistics?

Given those research goals . . .Given those research goals . . .

The Research Project The Research Project Experiential: exposes you to needed techniques,

approaches, and/or patient populationsDevelops your research identity and credibilityShows that you understand how to develop and

write a research applicationPotential to translate into publicationsDemonstrates commitment/involvement of

mentorDocument access to patient populations and

specialized resourcesReasonable time-line and expectations

Mentored Research Scientist Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01)Development Award (K01)

Clinical trained in targeted area and have advanced degree (e.g., PhD or MD)

NIH Institutes have their own specialized uses of this mechanism to promote research in certain fieldsFor example, NICHD is currently targeting:

Medical RehabilitationPopulation researchChild abuse and neglect

NIH-wide announcementhttp://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-040.html

NICHD-specific info at:http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not96-

301.html

Mentored Clinical ResearcherMentored Clinical Researcher ((K08 and K23 mechanism)K08 and K23 mechanism)

Clinically trained individual (e.g., MD) . . .

seeking training in basic research = K08 http://gr.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-042.html

seeking training in patient-oriented research = K23 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-043.html

Mentored Quantitative Research Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)Career Development Award (K25)

Quantitative or Engineering background getting into biomedical Research

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-039.html

Pathway to Independence Award Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00)(K99/R00)

Two phase award: 1-2 yrs years mentored support as a postdoc (<$90,000/yr) Then up to 3 yrs support as beginning faculty (<$249,000/year)

Open to non-US citizens

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-036.html

Supplements to already-funded Supplements to already-funded NIH research grantsNIH research grants

To add qualified individuals at any career level (high school through beginning investigator) who:are from under-represented minoritiescome from disadvantaged backgroundshave disabilitiesre-entering research after family obligations

Contact NIH program director of funded granthttp://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-

190.html

NIH Loan Repayment ProgramNIH Loan Repayment ProgramTo repay educational debt (up to $35,000/yr)

Requires up to a two-year commitment to research

Five Loan Repayment programs:Clinical ResearchPediatric ResearchHealth Disparities ResearchClinical Researchers from Disadvantaged BkgsContraception and Infertility Research

http://www.lrp.nih.gov/

New and Early-Stage InvestigatorsNew and Early-Stage InvestigatorsNIH encouraging support for new

investigators “New investigator” status highlighted in

the peer-review processNIH Institutes have extended paylines Shortened review cycle (for ESI)See NIH websites for specific policy

New Investigator = never been PI on an R01 grantEarly Career = New and within 10 yrs of terminal

research degree

You are encouraged to You are encouraged to contact NIH staffcontact NIH staff

• Look through websites of NIH Institutes to identify appropriate “program officials”

• As introduction, email your abstract and “specific aims” pages

• Discuss potential grant mechanisms, funding initiatives, and study section assignments

• After review, program official can help interpret your summary statement and likelihood of funding

• But funding decisions are largely driven by you getting the best possible score from the study section