NCI Special Notes

Funded K07 Grants

Submitting an Application

Peer Review Process

Frequently Asked Questions

Policy-Related Application Process/Review Related Policy/Post Award

NCI Staff Contacts

Introduction

The purpose of the Cancer Prevention, Control, Behavioral and Population Sciences Career Development Award (K07) is to support the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research on cancer prevention, control, behavioral and the population sciences. This mechanism provides support for three to five years of specialized didactic study and mentored research for individuals with a health professional or science doctoral degree who are not fully established investigators and who want to pursue research careers in the cancer prevention, control, population and/or behavioral sciences. The K07 is not renewable.

The candidate must have a Ph.D. degree, a health professional doctoral degree (M.D., Dr. P.H., D.D.S., D. O., D.V.M., Pharm. D.) or equivalent, or be a doctorally prepared oncology nurse, must have a research or academic appointment in the sponsoring institution at the time of award, and must commit a minimum of 75 percent of a full-time professional effort to the conduct of research and research career development.

The candidate must be a citizen of the United States, or a non-citizen national, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt Card or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident at the time of the award. Foreign nationals and individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

The K07 award supports salary (up to $75,000 per year plus fringe benefits), research development support (up to $30,000 per year) for tuition, fees and books, research expenses, statistical services and travel to research meetings, and ancillary personnel costs (mentors, secretaries and administrative assistants).

Program Announcement

NOTE: Please use this Program Announcement until further notice.
PAR-06-381 CANCER PREVENTION, CONTROL, BEHAVIORAL AND POPULATION SCIENCES CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD (K07)

Back to Top NCI Special Notes

This is an NCI-specific program announcement. For all of the policies governing this award mechanism, refer to the Program Announcement: PAR-06-381 CANCER PREVENTION, CONTROL, BEHAVIORAL AND POPULATION SCIENCES CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD (K07).

Data Sharing

Under the NIH Data Sharing Policy, grantees are expected to engage in a timely release of final data sets that have been generated with NIH support for use by other researchers, provide a Data Sharing Plan that will achieve this objective, OR state why data sharing is not possible or appropriate. No Data Sharing Plan is required for the K07 mechanism because it supports career development, rather than, a research grant. It supports salaries and other ancillary costs for individual awardees, but it does not provide support for the generation of research data, directly. With regard to the data generated by mentored career awardees working in research environments funded by NIH research grants, it is the responsibility of the institutions that are awarded these research grants to share the data and provide acceptable Data Sharing Plans to the NIH as part of the research application(s).

Back to Top Funded K07 Grants

#	Grant Number	Principal Investigator Name	Project Title	Institution
1	Andrew, Angeline Sanderson	CA102327	Bladder Cancer Prognostic indicators	Dartmouth College
2	Bandera, Elisa V	CA095666	Phytoestrogens, Alcohol, and Endometrial Cancer Risk	Univ of Med/Dent NJ-R W Johnson Med Sch
3	Barnes, Anna H	CA118412	The Genetic Epidemiology of Nicotine Dependence	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
4	Birmann, Brenda M	CA115687	Energy Balance, IGF Dysregulation and Multiple Myeloma	Brigham and Women's Hospital
5	Bock, Cathryn H	CA119109	Oxidative Stress, Antioxidants and Racial Disparities in Prostate Cancer	Wayne State University
6	Brewster, Wendy R	CA092044	Hormonal Factors in Invasive and LMP Ovarian Cancers	University of California Irvine
7	Britton, Julie A	CA093447	Energy Balance and Breast Cancer in Arican Americans	Mount Sinai School of Medicine of NYU
8	Burnside, Elizabeth S	CA114181	A Computer Model to Improve Breast Cancer Diagnosis	University of Wisconsin Madison
9	Byrne, Margaret M	CA101812	Resource and QOL Consequences of Lung Cancer Screening	University of Miami School of Medicine
10	Camp, Nicola J	CA098364	Genetic Analysis Techniques for Common Cancers	University of Utah
11	Carlos, Ruth C	CA108664	Mammography Visits to Improve Colon Cancer Screening	University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
12	Chan, Andrew T	CA107412	Prospective Studies of Colorectal Adenoma	Massachusetts General Hospital
13	Chen, Ru	CA116296	Protein Biomarkers for Detection of Pancreatic Cancer	University of Washington
14	Cooley, Mary E	CA095118	Behavioral Oncology Career Development	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
15	Dellavalle, Robert P	CA092550	Melanoma Chemoprevention	University of Colorado Denver/HSC Aurora
16	Dennis, Leslie K	CA104556	Sun Exposure and Melanoma in Agricultural Workers	University of Iowa
17	Diaz, Joseph A	CA106780	Colorectal Cancer Decision Aids in Primary Care	Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island
18	Duffy, Christine M	CA123337	Measuring Preferences for Fertility in Breast Cancer for a Decision Aid	Rhode Island Hospital (Providence, RI)
19	Elkin, Elena B	CA118189	Effects of Mammography Capacity and Accessiblity on Utilization and Outcomes	Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Res
20	Etzel, Carol J	CA093592	Risk Models:Environment Versus Metabolic Polymorphisms	University of Texas MD Anderson Can Ctr
21	Farace, Elana	CA093948	Neurocognitive Prognosis in Survivors of Brain Tumors	Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr
22	Ferrante, Jeanne M	CA101780	Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening in Obese Women	Univ of Med/Dent NJ-R W Johnson Med Sch
23	Flood, Andrew P	CA108910	Insulin Resistance, the IGF Axis, and Colorectal Cancer	University of Minnesota Twin Cities
24	Fromme, Erik K	CA109511	Systematic Approaches to Supportive Care in Prostate Ca	Oregon Health & Science University
25	Fu, Qiang John	CA104119	The Genetics of Smoking; The Transtheoretical Model	Saint Louis University
26	Fuemmeler, Bernard F.	CA124905	intergenerational Research on Obesity Prevention: From Correlates to intervention	Duke University
27	Giordano, Sharon H	CA109064	Adherence Among Older Women with Breast Cancer	University of Texas MD Anderson Can Ctr
28	Glueck, Deborah H	CA088811	Power and Sample Size Methods for Mammography Trials	University of Colorado Denver/Hsc Aurora
29	Hassan, Manal M	CA106458	Molecular Epidemiology of Chronic Liver Diseases	University of Colorado Denver/HSC Aurora
30	Hay, Jennifer L	CA098106	Perception of Gene-Environment Cancer Risks in Melanoma	Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Res
31	Heckman, Carolyn J	CA108685	Skin Savvy Study	Fox Chase Cancer Center
32	Hershman, Dawn	CA095597	Osteoporosis Prevention in Early Stage Breast Cancer	Columbia University Health Sciences
33	Hostetter, Galen H	CA113494	Molecular Profiles of Colorectal Adenomas bBy Array CGH	Translational Genomics Research Inst
34	Hur, Chin	CA107060	The Prevention of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma	Massachusetts General Hospital
35	Hurley, Karen E	CA109236	Multiple Risks, Decisions & Behaviors in the Genomic Era	Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Res
36	Jacobs, Elizabeth T	CA106269	VDR Variants, Nutrient intakes, and Adenoma Recurrence	University of Arizona
37	Jo, Angela	CA120837	The Role of Churches in Cancer Prevention and Control Among Korean Americans	University of California Los Angeles
38	Juarez, Gloria	CA106351	Support for Hispanic Breast Cancer Patients and Caregivers	City of Hope/Beckman Research Institute
39	Ka'Opua, Lana Sue Ilima	CA105088	Faith-Based Breast Cancer Screening intervention	University of Hawaii at Manoa
40	Katz, Mira L	CA107079	Patient Activation to increase Colon Cancer Screening	Ohio State University
41	Kilbridge, Kerry Laing	CA085754	Prostate Cancer Utilities Among African American Men	Massachusetts General Hospital
42	Kiviniemi, Marc T	CA106225	Affect and Decision-Making for Cancer-Related Behaviors	State University of New York at Buffalo
43	Ko, Cynthia W	CA089218	Epidemiology of Hepatocellular Carcinoma	University of Washington
44	Kohrman, Matthew K	CA093605	Learning From Others: Smoking Cessation in Urban China	Stanford University
45	Koroukian, Siran M.	CA096705	Cancer-Related Disparities in the Elderly Population	Case Western Reserve University
46	Kulasingam, Shalini L	CA113773	An interdisciplinary Use of Models for Cancer Prevention	Duke University
47	Lao, Christopher D	CA111653	Development of a Melanoma Chemoprevention Model	University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
48	Lehmann, Lisa S	CA093717	Truth Telling in Oncology	Brigham and Women's Hospital
49	Lewis, Carmen Lynn	CA104128	Colon Cancer Screening Decisions in Late Life	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
50	Lin, Jennifer Hsiang-Ling	CA112529	Hormones, Hormone-Related Genes, and Colorectal Cancer	Brigham and Women's Hospital
51	Loescher, Lois J	CA106996	Risk Perception/ Communications/ Reduction Behaviors	University of Arizona
52	Ma, Xiaomei	CA119108	Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Previous Exposures, Survival, and Quality of Life	Yale University
53	Matthews, Charles E	CA109363	Energy Homeotasis and Cancer: Biomarkers and Lifestyles	Vanderbilt University
54	Mceligot, Archana J	CA101964	Diet, DNA Repair Genes and Breast Cancer Risk	California State University Fullerton
55	Mcgregor, Bonnie A	CA107085	Can Stress Management Improve Vaccine Immune Response	Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
56	Mcwilliams, Robert R	CA116303	Genetic Epidemiology of Young-Onset Pancreatic Cancer	Mayo Clinic Coll of Medicine, Rochester
57	Meyerhardt, Jeffrey A	CA097992	Predictors of Outcome in Colorectal Cancer	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
58	Morgan, Douglas	CA125588	Gastric Cancer Epidemiology Initiative in Central America	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
59	Murff, Harvey J	CA114029	Mechanisms and Management of Familial Colon Cancer	Vanderbilt University
60	Muscat, Joshua E	CA104231	Epidemiology of Protein Glutathiolation	Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr
61	Mustian, Karen M	CA120025	Aerobic and Resistance Exercise for Cancer-Related Fatigue During Radiation	University of Rochester
62	Nanney, Marilyn S.	CA114314	Improving Utah School Food Environments	University of Utah
63	Ogino, Shuji	CA122826	Molecular Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
64	Okuyemi, Kolawole S	CA090334	Addressing Light Smoking in African Americans	University of Minnesota Twin Cities
65	Oliver, M. Norman	CA099983	Prostate Cancer in Blacks: Role of Poverty and Diet	University of Virginia Charlottesville
66	Oliveria, Susan A	CA094002	The Secondary Prevention of Melanoma	Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Res
67	Pal, Tuya	CA108987	Clinical Relevance of Mismatch Repair in Ovarian Cancer	H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Ctr & Res Inst
68	Palos, Guadalupe R	CA102482	Effects of Cancer Symptoms on Minority Caregivers	University of Texas MD Anderson Can Ctr
69	Parker, Patricia A	CA093562	influence of Uncertainty and Communication on Adjustment	University of Texas MD Anderson Can Ctr
70	Parry, Carla	CA108565	Qol and Service Needs of Leukemia/Lymphoma Survivors	University of Colorado Denver/HSC Aurora
71	Patel, Divya A.	CA120040	Mass Spectroscopy-Based HPV Detection in Cervical Cancer Screening	University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
72	Peterson, Neeraja Boyapati	CA122827	Matrix Metalloproteinase Gene Polymorphisms and Breast Cancer Risk and Sruvival	Vanderbilt University
73	Ponce, Ninez A	CA100097	Socio-Ecological Variables/Cancer Screening Behaviors?	University of California Los Angeles
74	Primack, Brian A	CA114315	Media Literacy to Prevent Adolescent Smoking initiation	University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
75	Punglia, Rinaa S	CA118269	Decision-Making Regarding Radiation Therapy in Breast Cancer'	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
76	Qureshi, Abrar A	CA108978	Population-Based Approach to Skin Cancer Epidemiology	Brigham and Women's Hospital
77	Reyes-Gibby, Cielito C	CA109043	Gene Polymorphism & Treatment-Symptoms in Lung Cancer	University of Texas MD Anderson Can Ctr
78	Rini, Christine	CA104701	Predicting Surgical Decisions of High-Risk UC Patients	Mount Sinai School of Medicine of NYU
79	Ristvedt, Stephen L	CA102177	Dispositional influences on Early Detection Behaviors	Washington University
80	Rosenzweig, Margaret Q	CA100588	Disparate MBC Symptom Severity and Management Barriers	University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
81	Roussos, Stergios T	CA102644	Physician Anti-tobacco Services for Latino Patients	San Diego State University
82	Setiawan, Veronica Wendy	CA116543	Genes, Hormones and Breast Cancer Risk	University of Southern California
83	Shinn, Eileen H	CA093512	Depression Screening & Treatment in Ovarian Cancer	University of Texas MD Anderson Can Ctr
84	Shipp, Michele P	CA092142	What Accounts for Racial Disparties in Colon Cancer	Ohio State University
85	Shokar, Navkiran	CA107052	Colorectal Cancer Screening in a Diverse Population	University of Texas Medical Br Galveston
86	Shrubsole, Martha J.	CA122451	Diet, Genetics, Epigenetics and Colorectal Adenoma Risk.	Vanderbilt University
87	Simon, Christian M	CA108457	Internet Use and informed Consent	Case Western Reserve University
88	Skinner, Halcyon G	CA109361	Prospective Studies of Pancreatic Cancer Epidemiology	University of Wisconsin Madison
89	Soliman, Amr	CA090241	Epidemiology of Colon Cancer in A Special Population	University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
90	Stanton, Cassandra A	CA095623	Peer Group Networks and Adolescent Smoking	Butler Hospital (Providence, RI)
91	Steck, Susan E	CA102640	Gene-Nutrient interactions and Breast Cancer	University of South Carolina at Columbia
92	Steel, Jennifer L	CA118576	Comprehensive Electronic Support System for Treatment of Cancer-Related Symptoms	University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
93	Stoffel, Elena M	CA120448	Genetic Testing and Cancer Screening in Hereditary Cancer Syndromes	Brigham and Women's Hospital
94	Stolley, Melinda R	CA093946	Reducing Breast Cancer Recurrence Risk in Black Women	University of Illinois at Chicago
95	Sutherland, Lisa A	CA113949	TV Watching Exposure, Eating and Nutrition Study	Dartmouth College
96	Swartz, Michael D	CA123109	Bayesian Hierarchical Risk Models: Nutrition, Genes, & Environment interactions	University of Texas MD Anderson Can Ctr
97	Swartz, Richard	CA113641	Bayesian Methods for a Longitudinal CAT	University of Texas MD Anderson Can Ctr
98	Thomas, Nancy E	CA102096	Melanoma NRAS/BRAF Mutations: A Population-Based Study	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
99	Toffler, William L	CA121457	Behavioral & Social Sciences as Core Elements of the Medical School Curriculum	Oregon Health & Science University
100	Vachani, Anil	CA111952	Molecular Epidemiology of Lung Cancer	University of Pennsylvania
101	Velie, Ellen M	CA094984	Energy Balance and Breast Cancer in Black & White Women	Michigan State University
102	Visvanathan, Kala	CA111948	K07 Preventive Oncology Academic Award	Johns Hopkins University
103	Viswanathan, Akila	CA117979	Inflamation and The Risk of Endometrial Cancer	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
104	Winickoff, Jonathan P	CA100213	Changing Pediatric Practice to Address Parental Smoking	Massachusetts General Hospital
105	Wolfe, Joanne E	CA096746	Improving Care for Children with Advanced Cancer	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
106	Wright, Julie A	CA113643	Pediatric Behavioral informatics to Prevent Cancer	Boston Medical Center
107	Yasmeen, Shagufta	CA122461	Comorbidities and Breast Cancer Among Elderly Women in the State of California	University of California Davis
108	Yen, Tina Wf	CA125586	Lymphedema incidence and Risk Factors Among Older Breast Cancer Patients	Medical College of Wisconsin
109	Zebrack, Bradley J	CA100380	Quality of Life Assessment in Childhood Cancer Survivors	University of Southern California
110	Zeigler-Johnson, Charnita M	CA106730	Prostate Cancer and Genes of the One-Carbon Cycle	University of Pennsylvania
111	Zick, Suzanna M	CA102592	Ginger for Chemoprevention of Colorectal Cancer	University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Back to Top Submitting an Application

In submitting a competing K07 Award, the applicant must use the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004), and should download the instructions and the Research Career Development Award form files. Refer to Section III of the instructions, "Preparing an Individual CDA Application". It is suggested that you print, if possible, the pages of PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) and carefully review all pages, especially the section titled "NOTABLE CHANGES MADE TO PHS 398. This section contains information to facilitate the completion of your application.

The PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) is also available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, Office of Extramural Research, NIH, Phone (301) 435-0714, Fax (301) 480-0525, E-mail: GrantsInfo@nih.gov.

Application Receipt Dates and Review Schedule

If the application receipt date falls on a weekend, the application must be postmarked by the application receipt date and received at the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) by the following Monday.

If the application receipt date falls on a holiday, (but not on a weekend), the application must be postmarked by the application receipt date and received at CSR by the following day.

* Start dates are determined by the availability of NCI funds and may not occur until well after the earliest possible start date.

Back to Top Peer Review Process

Upon receipt, competing applications will be reviewed both by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for completeness and for conformance to all eligibility requirements and special provisions and requirements. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant without further consideration.

Those applications judged to be complete and eligible will be evaluated, according to the review criteria listed in the Program Announcement by a peer review group convened by the Division of Extramural Activities of the NCI. A second level of review will be conducted by the National Cancer Advisory Board that will ensure that the application meets the broad program needs and priorities of the NCI and the National Cancer Program before an award can be made.

For review criteria for the K07 grant mechanism, see the REVIEW CRITERIA section of the Program Announcement: PAR-06-381 CANCER PREVENTION, CONTROL, BEHAVIORAL AND POPULATION SCIENCES CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD (K07).

Back to Top Frequently Asked Questions

Policy-Related

1. How are the salary levels and other costs associated with Career Development Awards determined?
Each Institute and Center at the NIH has the authority to determine the upper salary levels and other cost levels for Career Development Awards (i.e., K-awards) as a matter of Institute policy. Thus, the NCI's levels do not necessarily equal or match the levels supported by another Institute. For the NCI, all individual career awards for "mentored" postdoctoral scientists and for junior faculty, establishing their first independent research programs, use the same salary and "other cost" levels.

2. Should I apply for 3, 4 or 5-year Career Development Award?
Unless it is very clear that you do not need five years of support, it is always better to apply for the maximum of 5 years. Let the peer reviewers delete future years based on their professional assessment of your need for "mentored" training before you can become independent investigator.

3. What happens if I already have considerable postdoctoral experience and want to pursue additional training or change fields?
This will depend upon the strength of your rationale for extending your period of postdoctoral training and on the perceptions of reviewers. If reviewers see your application as just another postdoctoral experience, it is not likely to succeed. But if they view your application as an essential step in a carefully considered career development plan to gain the multi-disciplinary skills necessary to become an independent investigator in your field of choice, this will be considered positively.

4. What's the difference between a "mentor" and a "sponsor"?
The various announcements and PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) use mentor, sponsor and preceptor interchangeably. There is no difference.

5. What is the importance of the sponsor(s) or mentor(s)?
The sponsor will be critical to the success of your application in terms of how well the sponsor's research matches your career goals and objectives, and the quality of the sponsor's track record in training individuals who have become successful independent investigators. With today's increasingly multi-disciplinary, translational research emphases, it may be more logical and a stronger application to develop a program that includes more than one sponsor over the period of training.

6. Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to receive a career award?
At the time of award, you must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. noncitizen national, or have been lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a permanent resident. Please see the bottom of the Research Career Development Award Table of Contents Substitute Form Page 3, which can be downloaded in MS Word or PDF format. You are required to use this Substitute page to indicate your citizenship status. No award can be made until this is confirmed.

7. Can I apply for a research grant from the PHS and still keep my career development award?
Yes, but you cannot receive any additional salary from another Federal grant if it were to be funded even if the career award does not equal your actual salary. The institution can pay you additional salary from non-Federal sources or from grants from Private funding organizations, as long as it does not exceed the institutional salary scales.

8. If I submit a research grant application (e.g., R01) after receiving a Career Development Award, how does the NCI reconcile the percent level of effort commitment and salary on the research grant application with the requirements of the Career Development Award?
The NCI usually allows recipients of Career Awards to retain an awarded investigator-initiated research grant, with the following restrictions:

• The percent level of effort commitment of the Career Award cannot be reduced below 75 percent (the exception being the K05 and K24 awards).
• Salary support cannot be derived from the investigator-initiated research grant if the grant is a federal grant.
• The total percent level of effort commitment on the Career Award and the research grant cannot exceed 100 percent. The percent effort commitment permitted on the research grant will be negotiated at the time of award and will depend on the degree of overlap between the specific aims of the two funding sources. (Please contact the NCI Staff Contacts for the Career Award for additional detailed information on this issue.)

APPLICATION PROCESS/REVIEW RELATED

9. What is the "career development plan" that is always referred to in the NIH Announcements?
The career development plan is the combination of the candidate's goals and objectives, combined with the specific opportunities available in the mentor's research group within the environment of the institution. In addition, it incorporates those elements of the research plan needed to achieve the objectives of the career development plan. For additional information, see the section PREPARING AN INDIVIDUAL CDA APPLICATION, Part F CAREER DEVELOPMENT PLAN, in the instructions for the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004).

10. Why do I need to send extra copies of my career award application?
These extra copies are vitally important to the timely processing and review of your application. The copies to the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), which is the central receipt point for all grant applications to the NIH, ensures that the application is given the appropriate grant number and assigned to the National Cancer Institute for peer review. CSR does the critical logging in and processing of the paperwork. Unlike the regular research grants (e.g., R01s), CSR does not organize or conduct the peer review system for career awards. Each institute and center at the NIH manages its own peer review system for career awards. The extra copies that you send directly to the NCI ensure that the review process is initiated in a timely way and avoids the possibility that CSR can mishandle or lose your application.

11. Should I send a cover letter with my career award application?
The first processing step by Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is to assign funding responsibility for your application to an institute; this is called the "referral" process. If your research is obviously cancer research, then it will be assigned to the NCI. But if you feel that your application is cancer research and are concerned that it could be assigned to an institute other than the NCI, then a cover letter explaining the significance of the research to cancer will be helpful. Also, if you feel that your research is related to cancer research and other areas of research, it may be to your advantage to provide an explanation. CSR can give an application a "dual referral" and make an assignment to two or more institutes. For example, if your application is related to cancer and aging the grant number would begin with a CA/AG or an AG/CA, reflecting CSR's view of the primary emphasis of the research. When there is a dual assignment, this ensures that more than one institute can consider your application for funding.

12. How important is the font size in preparing the application?
This is very important. Follow the directions for Format Specifications in the instructions for the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004), or your application will be returned by CSR

13. Can I supply additional information after I have submitted my Career Award application to the NIH?
Yes, but this must be submitted after receiving approval from the NCI Scientific Review Administrator (SRA) in charge of reviewing your grant. You must identify your SRA, explain your situation, receive approval and send the additional information in time to provide reasonable opportunity for the reviewers to include it in their evaluations. Examples of additional information that is important for reviewers to examine would be new experimental data that strengthens the rationale for pursuing the research project and manuscripts that have been accepted for publication, especially if they are to peer-reviewed journals.

14. Should the signature of the Sponsor be included with Statement of the Sponsor in a research career development award application?
Yes. Reviewers want verification of everything in the plan by the signature of the sponsor. The absence of the signature could compromise the review of your application.

15. Who will review my career award application?
Your application will be reviewed by a scientific review group organized by an NCI Scientific Review Administrator. It will have the necessary expertise to judge the merit of your application, the suitability of the sponsor, the institutional commitment, and your potential to develop into an independent investigator.

16. How will reviewers evaluate my application?
The reviewers will evaluate your application using the review criteria provided in the NIH/NCI announcement that corresponds to the particular career development award that applies to you. It is very important that you prepare your application in response to these criteria because your ultimate success in receiving funding will depend upon how well your application addressed these criteria. For review criteria for the K07 grant mechanism, see the REVIEW CRITERIA section of the Program Announcement: PAR-06-381 CANCER PREVENTION, CONTROL, BEHAVIORAL AND POPULATION SCIENCES CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD (K07).

17. Should I follow "just in time procedures" for providing "Other Support" documentation in the preparation of a Career Development Award?
Yes. However, the PHS 398 Form asks that the sponsors/mentors provide "Other Support" documentation. Applicants often overlook this. It applies to all career development awards supported by the NCI; whether they are for "mentored" individuals (i.e., K01, K07, K08, K23), for junior faculty (i.e., K22), for institutions (i.e., K12) or for established mid-career investigators (i.e., K05, K24). The peer reviewers will want to see this information. Without it, the review of your application can be compromised.

18. Does my career plan have to include Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research?
Yes. This is a Congressional legislative requirement. There should be either clear documentation that you have completed this training at a previous time or substantive activities related to instruction on the responsible conduct of research that will be incorporated into your research training plan. Most programs consider training in the following areas: conflict-of-interest, responsible authorship, policies for handling scientific misconduct, policies regarding use of human and animal subjects, and data management/record keeping. This aspect of your training will not affect the merit score given to your application, but if this training in not in the application, it cannot be funded until proper arrangements have been made.

19. What should my application contain if it deals with human subjects, clinical trials or vertebrate animals?
If the study deals with human subjects, you must answer all parts of item 4 on the face page of the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) application. NIH requires documentation of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval at the time of award. The application should also address the points concerning Gender and Minority Inclusion and Inclusion of Children as Participants, OR provide sufficient information/justification for exemptions. This information can be found in the Human Subjects Research section of the instructions for preparing a PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) application.

If the study involves a clinical trial, you will need to include an abbreviated data and safety-monitoring plan showing that the sponsoring institution does have an operational mechanism for data and safety monitoring of clinical trials.

If you are using vertebrate animals, you must answer all parts of item 5 on the face page of the PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) application and follow the instructions in the Vertebrate Animals section of the instructions for preparing a PHS 398 Form (Revised 9/2004) application.

Without the proper information on Gender and Minority Inclusion, Inclusion of Children and Vertebrate Animals, an award cannot be made. If an application is fundable, the NCI must be provided with the human subject IRB certification before an award can be made; and, where appropriate, a detailed data and safety monitoring plan.

POLICY/AWARD RELATED

20. If I have a K07 award and would like to ask for post award changes, how do I go about this?
You must contact the NCI Grants Administration official to determine the appropriate procedures to use in making a request for post award changes in your grant. This also applies to any of your needs that require a prior approval from the NCI. In general, you will have to make a request that is signed by you and a business official of your institution. After receiving the request, the Grants Administration official will consult with the NCI scientific program staff as necessary to determine whether the request can be approved.

Back to Top NCI Staff Contacts

For additional information regarding policies and/or guidance in preparing an application for the K07 Award, contact:

Dr. Shannon M. Lemrow
Program Director
Telephone: (301) 496-8580
Fax: (301) 402-4472
E-mail: lemrows@mail.nih.gov

For information regarding fiscal and/or budget issues, contact:

Grants Administration Branch
Phone: (301) 496-7208
Fax: (301) 496-8601

For information regarding review issues, contact:

Referral Officer
Division of Extramural Activities
Phone: (301) 594-1403
Fax: (301) 402-0275

Back to Top