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Clinical Research
Clinical Research Career Development
 

The NCRR Division for Clinical Research Resources (DCRR) participates in Clinical Research Career Development programs of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These programs are designed to attract talented medical students, physicians, dentists, and similar professionals to the challenges of clinical research. The NIH Director’s Panel on Clinical Research Report defines clinical/patient-oriented research as adopted by NIH in 1997.

 
Clinical Research Career Development Opportunities
 
(K12) Mentored Clinical Research Scholar (CRS) Award - This award provides support to institutions to establish career development programs for physicians and dentists so they may develop the research skills necessary to become independent, clinical/patient-oriented investigators. The program must include activities that provide candidates with a comprehensive understanding of clinical research approaches that are fundamental and not necessarily disease-specific. The lead mentor, who works closely with the candidate to develop a tailored career development plan, should be an established clinical researcher who holds a faculty position. Candidates for the program are selected from among recently trained physicians and dentists. If an institution hosts an NCRR-supported General Clinical Research Center (GCRC), then the GCRC resources should be utilized to facilitate the program. The NCRR Clinical Research Resources Directory lists GCRC locations. An institutional program director and an advisory committee should oversee the integrated, didactic, and mentored CRS award program. Funds provided by this award may be used to support full or partial completion of an advanced degree such as an M.S. or Ph.D. in clinical investigation or an M.P.H. The maximum duration of support for a candidate cannot exceed five years. Candidates selected for a CRS award may be eligible to apply to the NIH Loan Repayment Program for clinical investigators. NCRR is not currently accepting applications for the CRS award; however, the inactive Request for Applications provides additional detailed information on the award's criteria.

The CRS award is a pilot program for NCRR and, therefore, will be evaluated in several years for possible expansion.

 
(K23) Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award - This award provides support to investigators who are committed to clinical/patient-oriented research, so they may further develop their clinical research careers. The three to five years of supervised study and research supported by the K23 award provide clinically trained professionals with an opportunity to develop independent research skills and to gain experience in advanced methods and experimental approaches needed to carry out patient-oriented research. To be eligible for an NCRR-supported K23 award, a candidate must have (1) an M.D., D.D.S., or equivalent; (2) an academic appointment at an institution that hosts a General Clinical Research Center (GCRC); (3) the approval of the GCRC Program Director to use GCRC resources to accomplish the research goals outlined in the application; and (4) a mentor who is an active GCRC-based investigator. The K23 Program Announcement provides additional details. Other information about applying to NCRR is provided in Supplement II: Clinical Associate Physician (CAP) and K23 Awards of the Division for Clinical Research Resources Program Guidelines (Draft - March 17, 2004). Refer to the Table of Contents for a link to Supplement II. Candidates selected for a K23 award may be eligible to apply to the NIH Loan Repayment Program for clinical investigators.

The NCRR Clinical Research Resources Directory lists GCRC locations and provides contacts for each center.

  • Concurrent Support from a Career Development Award and a Research Grant:

    In late 2003, NIH modified its policy on mentored career development awards to allow award recipients to hold concurrent salary support from their career development award (K awards) and a competing research grant when recognized as a Principal Investigator or subproject Director. Additional information can be found in NOT-OD-04-007 of the NIH Guide.
 
(K24) Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research - This award provides support to clinicians to allow them protected time to (1) devote to clinical/patient-oriented research; (2) enhance their clinical research skills in order to conduct meritorious patient-oriented research; and (3) mentor beginning clinical investigators. Target candidates are outstanding clinical scientists who are engaged in patient-oriented research, are within 15 years of their specialty training, can demonstrate the need for a period of intensively focused research as a means of enhancing their clinical research careers, and are committed to mentoring. An investigator applying to NCRR's K24 program who is at an institution that hosts a General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) must use the GCRC resources and must include with the grant application a letter of commitment from the GCRC Program Director or the Principal Investigator. For additional information, refer to the NCRR Division for Clinical Research Resources Program Guidelines (Click on Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24) under "Other Grant Programs" in the Table of Contents.) and the K24 Program Announcement. The NCRR Clinical Research Resources Directory lists GCRC locations and provides contacts for each center.
 
Mentored Medical Student Clinical Research Program - Through a competitive award process, NCRR provides supplemental funding to General Clinical Research Centers to establish institutional programs that will introduce medical students to potential careers in clinical research. The GCRCs are the focal point of this award program because they provide the necessary infrastructure and environment to expose medical students to both didactic training and the clinical practice of patient research. For additional information, refer to page 13 of the NCRR Division for Clinical Research Resources Program Guidelines (Draft - March 17, 2004). Medical students who are interested in this program are encouraged to directly contact a GCRC Program Director listed in the Clinical Research Resources Directory.
 
Clinical Associate Physician (CAP) Award & Minority Clinical Associate Physician (MCAP) Award - The NCRR CAP and MCAP award programs are no longer offered. However, current CAP and MCAP award grantees, who were funded prior to April 2000 when the programs ended, may continue to use their grant funding in accordance with the guidelines for the CAP and MCAP programs. Refer to Supplement II: Clinical Associate Physician (CAP) and K23 Awards, p. II-1. The K23 mechanism, which supports the Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award, will replace the CAP and MCAP.
 
 
Requests for Applications (RFAs), Program Announcements (PAs), and Notices (NOTs)Back to Top
Clinical Research RFAs, PAs, and NOTs
Inactive Clinical Research RFAs, PAs, and NOTs
 
GuidelinesBack to Top
Arrow Bullet Guidelines for the Clinical Research Programs--November 2001 - describes the purpose, scope, and nature of each DCRR program, including funding eligibility and application requirements and instructions.
Arrow Bullet Guidelines for Additional Time and Support for Clinical Associate Physician (CAP) Awards Additional time and support for 1 or 2 years is offered to CAP and Minority Clinical Associate Physican (MCAP) awardees who will have completed 3 years of training during fiscal year 1999 or are training currently within a 3-year project period (i.e., under guidelines that were in effect prior to February 1, 1998, or were given certain features of new guidelines via revised awards in FY'99).
 
Publications, Plans, and ReportsBack to Top
Arrow Bullet Fact Sheet on Clinical Research Career Development
Access to all NCRR Publications
 
News and EventsBack to Top
Access to all NCRR News Releases
Events
All Clinical Research Professional Meetings/Workshops
 
Other LinksBack to Top
Arrow Bullet Links Related to Research Career Development and Training
 
ArchivesBack to Top
Arrow Bullet Inactive Clinical Research RFAs, PAs, and NOTs
 
 

For further information, contact:

Director, Division for Clinical Research Resources
National Center for Research Resources
National Institutes of Health
One Democracy Plaza, Room 906
6701 Democracy Boulevard, MSC 4874
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4874
Telephone: 301-435-0790
FAX: 301-480-3661
e-mail: CRADIR@mail.nih.gov

 

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