About the Program
What: The West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI) is offering the K-Club program to provide guidance and advice to early-stage investigators planning to apply for an October 2018 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Mentored Career Development Award – a K series grant. The K-Club program is structured as a facilitated group writing process (approximately 3 investigators to 1 faculty facilitator) which features a series of 2 hour “works-in-progress” sessions over a 12–14 week period prior to an upcoming NIH K-cycle submission. Each session focuses on a different part of the grant with emphasis on strategies to improve communication of ideas. Prior to each session, participants send their latest version of the relevant sections to all K-Club members and the faculty facilitator. All participants will arrive to the next session having read the others’ grant sections to provide thoughtful, constructive feedback to their colleagues.
Why: The NIH Mentored Career Development Awards are designed to assist individuals in developing their knowledge, technical competences and other professional skills needed to successfully evolve as an independent investigator. The K grant requires specific elements that differ from traditional investigator-initiated research, and it is these unique sections that are the focus of this program.
When: The K-Clubs meet every other week on Tuesday or Friday mornings, over a 12-week period followed by a final review of the entire proposal. During the week when the K-Club is not scheduled to meet, participants are expected to meet with their mentor(s) to obtain feedback and continue development of the Approach section.
Who should consider applying: Faculty appointed as Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Clinical Specialty Fellows and Postdocs interested in clinical and/or translational research careers.
Eligibility: To be eligible for the K-Club candidates must:
- Meet the current NIH Eligibility requirements for the K application of interest.
See https://researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/career-development.
- Be conducting clinical and/or translational research and committed to submitting an application for a K series award at the end of the K-Club.
- Have published at least 1 or more first-authored peer-reviewed papers in their area of research interest.
- Applicants must be willing to commit to meet with their K-Club group every other week for a period of 12 weeks and participate in a final review of your completed application.
An application is required. Information sessions for those considering applying to participate in K-Clubs will be held well in advance of the submission deadlines and announced via the WVCTSI ENews and Website.
- Applications for participation in the summer 2018 K Grant Writing Group must be submitted via email to Joan Lakoski, Ph.D., (joan.lakoski@hsc.wvu.edu) by 5 p.m. EST on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.
How to Apply: The following constitutes the application for the WVCTSI K-Club:
- A draft of your Specific Aims page.
- Your NIH Biosketch.
- The name and contact information of your planned primary mentor and a list of any other proposed co-mentors for this application, including their areas of expertise.
- A letter of support from your Department Chair. This letter must include:
- a commitment to provide you with protected time for your participation in the WVCTSI K Grant Writing Group;
- a commitment to providing you with the required percent effort of protected time upon receipt of a K award (minimum of 50%-75% effort, depending on clinical specialty); and
- a statement that the Chair will provide salary support should your current salary exceed the NIH salary cap. Applications that do not include a letter of support from your Department Chair will not be considered further.
K Grant Writing Groups (K-Clubs) Timelines
Contact for Additional Information: Joan M. Lakoski, PhD, Director of Proposal Development, WVCTSI (email: joan.lakoski@hsc.wvu.edu) is available to address questions regarding this program.