Neuroscience Funding Institutes and Centers

1
National Institute of Mental Health
CHIPS New Investigators Training and
Career Development Opportunities in Mental
Health Research   Division of Services and
Interventions Research (DSIR)  Enid Light, Ph.D.
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Career Development Support at NIMH The Elephant
in the Room

• There are many areas such as child mental health
  interventions and services research where there
  are severe shortages of researchers in certain
  sub- areas of science

3
Say It Again!!

• There are many areas where there are critical and
  growing shortages of well trained researchers
  vital to the nations mental health research
  needs.
• Research training at NIH and the NIMH will
  continue in these core areas ..

4
One Thing Is Sure

• If you do not submit an application there is 100
  certainty that it will not be funded

5
Diversify Your Funding Portfolio

• Federal Funding (NIMH/NIH, DOD, DOE, NIJ)
• Large Private Foundations (NARSAD, RWJ, Hartford
  etc.)
• Small and Local Private Foundations
• University Seed Grants
• State and local government funds
• For profit organizations

6
Be Aware of Pros and Cons

• Be aware that there are pros and cons to
  obtaining funding from different sources
• Some are easy to spot e.g., ethics of doing drug
  research for the pharmaceutical industry, others
  more difficult (e.g., building up a research
  portfolio in an area tangential to your real
  research interests because of
  availability/doing evaluation vs. research)

7
Selecting the Right Mechanism from NIMH

• Read Announcement on the web
• Advice from colleagues /mentors
• Speak with NIMH/NIH Project officers

8
Finding the Right Grant Mechanism

• Match where you are in your career (pre-doc,
  post-doc, new faculty member)
• Match the type or research (basic, clinical or
  patient oriented, translational, services,
  quantitative)
• Match what types of resources you need (,
  time,training etc)
• Match qualifications/eligibility

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National Institute of Mental HealthResearch
Training and Career Development Timetable
Approx. Stage of Research Training and
Development
Mechanism of Support

Predoctoral Institutional Training Grant (T32)
GRADUATE/ MEDICAL STUDENT
Predoctoral Individual NRSA (F31) Predoctoral
Individual MD/PhD NRSA (F30)
Postdoctoral Institutional Training Grant (T32)
Postdoctoral Individual NRSA (F32)
POST DOCTORAL/ CLINICAL RESIDENCY
Mentored Research Scientist Development Award
(K01) Mentored Clinical Scientist Development
Award (K08) Mentored Patient-Oriented Research
Career Development Award (K23) Scientist
Development Award for New Minority Faculty (K01)
B/Start (R03)
EARLY
Small Grant (R03)
Research Project Grant (R01)
Independent Scientist Award (K02)
MIDDLE
CAREER
Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented
Research (K24)
Senior Scientist Award (K05)
SENIOR
NIMH http//www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/training.cfm
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You Are Here!

• Career Development
• K01,K22,K23,K08,K25 (Mentored Career
  Development)
• Minority Supplements
• Research Grants
• B/START
• R01, R34, R03
• Other Opportunities
• Loan Repayment Program

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NIH Loan Repayment Programs

• http//www.lrp.nih.gov/
• Next cycle opens Sept. 1, 2005
• NIH_LPR List SERV

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Benefits of NIH LRP

• In exchange for a 2 yr commitment to your
  research career the NIH
• Will pay up to 35k per year for your qualified
  educational debt
• Will pay up to 39 of repayment for Federal taxes
• May reimburse state taxes that result from these
  payments

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Loan Repayment Programs

• Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program
• Clinical Research LRP for Individuals from
  Disadvantaged Backgrounds
• Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program
• Pediatric Loan Repayment Program
• Contraception and Infertility LRP

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Five Quick Checks for Eligibility

• Doctoral-level degree
• Government research funding (Fed/state/local) or
  domestic nonprofit research
• US citizenship or permanent residency
• Non-Federal government job
• Qualified educational debt (pay attention to fine
  print)

15
LRP Programs

• Same Benefits
• Same Core Qualifying Criteria
• Research and Review Criteria Tailored to
  Announcement (essentially the same)
• Success Rates in FY2004 very similar e.g.
  approximately 50 new submissions funded and
  around 80 renewals refunded

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Overall Review Criteria

• Appropriateness of previous training and
  experience
• Suitability of proposed research activities
• Assessment of commitment to research career based
  on goals/plan
• Recommendations
• Availability of appropriate scientific colleagues
• Quality and appropriateness of institutional
  resources and facilities

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Popular Program

• Submissions are up
• Pediatric applications went from 204 (2002) to
  over 500 (2004)
• Clinical research applications are up to 1188

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Mentored Career Development Awards
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What Are They?
Mentored Career Development Awards are Meant for
Basic and Clinical Research Scientist Who are in
the Initial Phases of Establishing Their Research
Careers and Who need to Pursue an Additional
Period of Supervised Career Development Beyond
Postdoctoral Training in Order to Become an
Independent Scientific Investigators
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Possible Career Development Application

• If you need substantial training and career
  development to answer both the specific question
  and to pursue your overall research program, a
  career development mechanism may be appropriate
• Statistics training does not rise to the level of
  substantial unless you are planning to be a
  biostatistician

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Mentored Career Development Awards (Mentored -
Ks)

• K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award
• K01 Scientist Development Award for New Minority
  Faculty
• K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award
• K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research
  Development Award
• K25 Mentored Qualitative Research Career
  Development
• K22 NIMH Transition to Independence

22
What Are the Requirements?

• Duration 3-5 years
• Minimum Research Effort 75
• Renewability None
• Support Salary Research
• (Up to 90K Up to 50K- NIMH)

23
Who Can Apply?

• US Citizen, Non-Citizen National, or Permanent
  Resident
• Research Doctoral Degree (K01)
• Clinical Doctoral Degree (K01/K08/K23)
• Current PI of PHS Career Development (K) and
  Research (R) Awards Ineligible
• Former PI of PHS Career Development (K) and
  Research (R) Awards Ineligible (Except R03, R21)

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K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development
Award

• Provides a mentored research experience for
  research scientists who need to gain additional
  expertise in a new research area, or one in which
  an additional supervised research experience will
  substantially add to the research capabilities of
  the applicant

25
K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award

• Provides a Mentored Research Experience for
  Clinically-Trained Professionals to Establish
  Independent Careers in Basic and/or Clinical
  Research

26
K01 Scientist Development Award for New Minority
Faculty

• Provides New Minority Faculty Members with the
  Necessary Time and Assistance Early in Their
  Academic Careers to Initiate a Program of
  Research that will Facilitate Their Transition to
  Research Independence
• Commitment of a full-time faculty position

27
K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career
Development Award

• Provides a Mentored Research Experience
• for Clinically Trained Professionals to
• Establish Independent Careers Focusing
• on Patient-Oriented Clinical Research

28
K22 Transition to Independence

• Initial training at NIMH Intramural Research
  Program (up to 3 years)
• Transition to independent research at domestic US
  extramural program (up to 2 years)

29
How are They Reviewed?

• Candidate Commitment to and Potential as an
  Independent Investigator
• Career Development Plan Scientific Development
• Research Plan Vehicle for Developing
  Enhancing Research Skills
• Mentor Qualifications and Commitment
• Institutional Commitment

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Research Supplements to Promote Diversity and
Supplements to Promote Reentry into Biomedical
and Behavioral Science

• Supplements supported to eligible research
  grants
• Like a mini K award
• NIMH has specific guidelines for submission and
  review that are posted to the NIMH web-site
• Apply early in the fiscal year!

31
Reentry Highlights

• Up to 3 years support
• Part(50)/full time
• Enhance/update research skills lost during an
  interruption to research from 1-8 years. Left
  active research with doctoral level research
  staff or faculty position and doctoral degree
• Application about 4 pages

32
Review Criteria for Supplements

• Qualifications of candidate
• Plan for research experience
• Evidence from PI experience w/enhance research
  potential
• Evidence that activities are integral part of
  project
• Evidence of candidates effort to initiate reentry
• Evidence of adequate mentoring
• Evidence that research will achieve objectives

33
Diversity Supplements

• Individuals in Postdoctoral Training
• Investigators Developing Independent Research
  Careers

34
Investigator Level

• Short-term Support to faculty members to conduct
  full-time research 3-5 months a year during the
  summer or other portion of the academic year over
  a maximum of 4 years
• Long-term Support is usually provided for up to
  2-years at a minimum of 75 effort during each
  12-month period

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What Determines Which Supplement Awards Are Made?

• Supplements are like Mini-K Awards
• Review Criteria Include the following candidate,
  career development plan, research plan,
  relationship to parent grant, mentorship plan and
  previous history of mentoring by sponsor
• Overall factors include scientific merit, program
  considerations, availability of funds

36
Research Awards (R03)
NIMH Behavioral Science Track Award for Rapid
Transition (B/START)
Designed to facilitate the entry of newly
independent investigators into behavioral science
research by supporting small scale, exploratory
projects or for a project that entails relatively
novel research approaches
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NIMH Behavioral Science Track Award for Rapid
Transition (B/START)
Provisions

• Duration of support- 1 year
• Does not require a mentor
• Research support- Up to 50,000
• Non-renewable
• Pages- 7 (1 page intro for revised
  applications)
• Relatively rapid turn around

38
Further Highlights of B/START

• Eligibility restricted to newly independent
  investigators (limited pool)
• Small scale exploratory/pilot research
  application must be tight and demonstrate that it
  is feasible
• Dates June 1, Feb 1, Oct 1 (submission and resub)
• Awards are made to individuals