Mentored Research Career Development (K12) Program In Clinical and Translational Science (formerly KL2)  

2023 Cohort

Important Dates:

Informational Session                         

November 17, 2022, 1:30-2:30pm (Virtual-Register)

Competitive Letters of Intent            

January 9, 2023 by 5:00 pm

Invitations to Apply                              

January 20, 2023

Applications due                                    

March 20, 2023 by 5:00 pm

Estimated funding start date             

July 1, 2023-September 1, 2023

                     (Contingent on successful renewal of the CTSA grant)

 

ELIGIBILITY
APPLICATION PREPARATION/SUBMISSION
REVIEW/SELECTION CRITERIA

ELIGIBILITY

1. Candidates for the KL2 Scholar program are early career faculty (generally Instructor or Assistant Professor) who have a professional doctoral degree or are postdoctoral trainees with an impending academic appointment. KL2 Scholars will be recruited from a wide range of health professions and related fields, including all specialties of medicine and surgery, nursing, psychology and other behavioral sciences, dentistry, pharmacy, pharmacology, epidemiology, biostatistics, biomedical informatics, allied health sciences, health services research, biomedical engineering and other postdoctoral professions. All applicants must have evidence of strong academic achievement and scholarship, as well as personal attributes such as high motivation and integrity.
2. Applicants must be US citizens or non-citizen nationals, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-155) or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident. Applications will be accepted from persons whose residence application is pending, but the residency status must be finalized to receive a KL2 award. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.
3. Applicants must be able to commit at least 75% of full-time professional effort to this Career Development Program and its related clinical/translational science research activities (50% effort may be permitted for surgeons).
4. Applicants who are dually employed by the UT Health Science Center and the Department of Veterans Affairs may be restricted from the KL2 Scholar award, depending upon the extent of commitment (percent effort) to the VA, as federal salaries cannot be considered part of the required 75% KL2 institutional commitment.
5. Applicants must not be, or have been, a Principal Investigator on a R01 award or a Project Leader on a subproject of a Program Project (P01), Center (P50, P60, U54) or other equivalent research grant award. Applicants may also not have another mentored research career development (K-series) grant application under consideration at the time they receive a KL2. Eligible applicants may have received prior support on an Institutional or Individual NRSA grant (F or T) or NIH small grant (R03, R21).
6. Please note that NIH rules preclude individuals funded by the KL2 program from receiving additional federal funds for the portion of effort not covered by the KL2  program.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Recruitment and application processes will be coordinated through the IIMS Office of Research, Education, and Mentoring (OREM) Program

KL2 Program Directors:

Joel Tsevat, MD, MPH     (tsevat@uthscsa.edu)

KL2  Program Support:

Kathlynn Wray (wrayk@uthscsa.edu)                                                                Phone: 567-4330

Register for Informational Session: Email Link

See Application Guidelines

APPLICATION TIMELINE: Applications for upcoming KL2 Scholar positions-Funding begins July 1, 2023-September 1, 2023.   Application reviews and interviews will be completed by early June, and awards will be issued on July 1, 2023 or as funding becomes available.

APPLICATION SUBMISSION: Letters of Intent (required) and invited Applications should be submitted through the online application system.  https://apply-uthscsa.smapply.io/prog/KL2

Letters of recommendation must be on letterhead, with signature.

This is an internal process. No forms should be submitted to OSP.

KL2 PROGRAM APPLICATION TIPS

• Review the Program Description and the KL2 Grant Application Guidelines before preparing a KL2 application.
• Proofread your application thoroughly for accuracy and completeness.
• The deadline for receipt of applications is MARCH 20, 2023 by 5:00pm

 

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: (See 2023 Application Guidelines)

DO NOT SUBMIT TO OSP-Applications are reviewed internally within IIMS/CTSA

• Face Page: Fillable on the online application system
• Project Summary/Abstract: A summary of the proposed career development activities including the applicant’s well articulated career goals and research interests and plans.
• Detailed Budget: Complete both budget years.
• Budget Justification – for the first and second years.
• Applicant’s PHS Form 398 Biosketch (Use New Format) and Other Support Form.
• KL2 Career Development Plan Up to 12 pages total; 11 point Arial font. Summarize your career goals, career development plan, reasons for applying to the KL2 Program, and proposed research. Three sections should include:
  • Candidate Background. 
  • Career Goals and Objectives.
  • Candidate’s Plan for Career Development/Training Activities, including externships. 
  • Mentor Statement 
• Specific Aims (1 page)
• Research Strategy (part of 12 pages)
• Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research
• Institutional Environment
• Statement of “How the Research is Translational”
• Protection of Human Subjects
• Vertebrate Animals
• Select Agent Research
• Bibliography and References Cited
• Diversity Questionnaire
• Letter of Support by Mentor & Department/Division Chair
• Letter of Support by Collaborators or Consultants
• Mentoring Agreement
• Individual Development Plan

 

APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION OF KL2 SCHOLARS

The KL2 Program Directors or designee will review applications for completeness.

Qualified applicants will be selected on the basis of:

• Evidence that the KL2 program will facilitate the applicant’s long-term research and career development goals in clinical and translational science
• Prior research training and demonstrated performance
• Qualifications of the primary mentor and other mentors
• The scope and focus of the research and career development/educational plan provided in the application. Specifically, how well will the KL2 program activities help achieve the applicant’s learning objectives?

 

The KL2 Review Committee will evaluate applications for scientific and technical merit. All applications will be scored on the 1-9 scale used by the NIH Center for Scientific Review. The following factors will be considered during the review:

• Quality of the Applicant
  • Quality of applicant’s academic, research, and publication/presentation record
  • Potential to become a successful investigator in multidisciplinary clinical/translational research
  • Commitment to a career in translational science
  • Potential to benefit from a multidisciplinary mentored research training program
• Quality of Career Plans
  • Consistency of applicant’s career goals with prior and current research experience
  • Likelihood that career plans contribute substantially to the applicant’s scientific and leadership development and necessary skill acquisition to conduct multidisciplinary clinical/translational investigations
• Quality of Proposed Research
  • Scientific and technical merit of the research question, experimental design and methodology
  • Relevance of proposed research to the applicant’s career objectives
  • Appropriateness of research plan to the stage of research development and as a vehicle for developing the research skills as described in the career development plan

KL2 SCHOLAR SELECTION

Overview of Review Process: The review of full applications is performed in 2 phases: (1) scientific review, and (2) applicant interview. The full applications will be reviewed by 3 scientific reviewers (1 of whom may come from an outside institution having a KL2 program), who will score the applications following KL2 program guidelines. During the final phase, applicant scores will be tabulated and ranked, and the top applicants will be interviewed by KL2 program leaders and a community member. Following interviews, KL2 program leaders will meet to discuss and determine awardees. Critiques from the scientific review will be provided to the applicants after awards are announced.

KL2 Scholars will be selected after consideration of the following factors:

• Quality and appropriateness of the applicant for this program
• Quality and appropriateness of the career development plans
• Quality of the proposed research
• Quality of the mentorship team and mentoring plan
• Overall diversity represented in the final scholar group