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NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases 75 years: 1950-2025 75 years: 1950-2025
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K Awards: Career Development

Most recent NIDDK funding announcements: K awards

The K awards at NIDDK

A limited competition small grant program (R03) is available to NIDDK K01, K08, and K23 awardees to provide additional, independent support.

The NIDDK supports several types of K awards:

  • Only US citizens or permanent residents are eligible for the K01, K08, K23, and K25; the K99/R00 is open to citizens or non-citizens.
  • If you are a clinicianand are doing basic research, you are eligible for a K08.
  • If you are a clinician and you interact directly with patients for your research (not just to fulfill your commitment to your department), you are eligible for the K23 award.
  • If you are a Ph.D. or a non-board eligible M.D. and have between 2-7 years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of application, you may be eligible for a K01.
  • If you are a non-biomedically trained Ph.D. (mathematics, organic chemistry, etc.) moving into biomedical research, you may be eligible for a K25.
  • The NIDDK does not support the K02 award for more senior scientists.
  • The NIDDK does not support the K24 award for midcareer scientists.
  • The Pathway to Independence award (K99/R00) is a two-phased approach to shortening the post-doctoral period for outstanding fellows.

Our overview (below) of all the K awards offered by the NIDDK gives you the conditions of each award in abbreviated form.  Read the entire notice of funding opportunity for full details.

*urologic surgeons may request less than a 9 calendar month (75%) commitment.
Mechanism Eligibility and Conditions Length Mentor Needed P.I. Salary
Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) Ph.D., or comparable nonclinical degree, usually within 7 years of having received degree, minimum of 9 calendar months (75%) effort 3-5 years, not renewable Yes Up to $90,000, plus fringe benefits
Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08) M.D., or comparable clinical degree, minimum of 9 calendar months (75%) effort* 3-5 years, not renewable Yes Up to $100,000, plus fringe benefits
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) M.D., or comparable clinical degree, minimum of 9 calendar months (75% ) effort* 3-5 years, not renewable Yes Up to $100,000, plus fringe benefits.
Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25) Advanced degree in quantitative area of science or engineering, minimum of 9 calendar months (75%) effort 3-5 years, not renewable Yes Up to $90,000, plus fringe benefits
Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent research degree, with no more than 4 years of postgraduate research training who needs only 2 more years of mentored support before securing a faculty position at a U.S. institution.  No citizenship requirement. 2 years for the mentored K99; up to 3 years for the independent R00 phase. ONLY for the K99 phase.
K99 = up to $75,000 (within the K99 total cost cap of $90,000/yr);
 
R00 = at the institutional level, up to the NIH maximum (within the R00 total cost cap of $249,000/yr)

Eligibility

We encourage K-awards in all areas of research supported by the NIDDK.  All mentored K awards require that the awardee:

  • Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States (does NOT apply to K99/R00)
  • Be located at a U.S. institution
  • Have preliminary data on which to base his/her hypothesis-driven 3 to 5-year research project in an area of interest to the NIDDK
  • Have at least one mentor
  • Devote 9 calendar months (75 percent) worth of effort to the K award

Deadlines

New Applications

  • February 12
  • June 12
  • October 12

Staff Contact

Contact the appropriate program director from the list of Career Development Staff Contacts

Last Reviewed November 2023