K Awards: The Journey of a Thousand Steps
Authors: Stephanie L. Santoro, Mary Linton B. Peters
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2021)

Ideas and OpinionsDecember 2021K Awards: The Journey of a Thousand StepsStephanie L. Santoro, MD and Mary Linton B. Peters, MD, MSStephanie L. Santoro, MDDivision of Medical Genetics and Metabolism, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (S.L.S.) and Mary Linton B. Peters, MD, MSDivision of Medical Oncology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts (M.L.B.P.).Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M21-2692 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Grants are a metric of academic advancement, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding is highly coveted. The K mechanism is a category of NIH grant for clinicians and research scientists who wish to become independent investigators (1). Specifically, the K08 and K23 awards are mentored awards for clinicians that provide support for supervised research and career development activities. Both require a minimum of 75% of full-time effort and are intended for postdoctorate, residency, or early-career clinicians who hold a clinical doctoral degree (1). Importantly, these programs enable aspiring physician-scientists to achieve higher rates of subsequent NIH funding (2).In ...References1. Research Careeer Development Awards. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Accessed at https://researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/career-development on 20 September 2021. Google Scholar2. Okeigwe I, Wang C, Politch JA, et al. Physician-scientists in obstetrics and gynecology: predictors of success in obtaining independent research funding. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017;217:84.e1-84.e8. [PMID: 28315665] doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2017.03.007 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. NIH Data Book: Data by Gender. NIH RePORT. 8 April 2021. Accessed at https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/category/16 on 20 September 2021. Google Scholar4. Biernat M, Carnes M, Filut A, et al. Gender, race, and grant reviews: translating and responding to research feedback. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2020;46:140-154. [PMID: 31088206] doi:10.1177/0146167219845921 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Atkisson MS. Handbook for Planning and Writing Successful Grant Proposals. Atkisson Training Group; 2021. Google Scholar6. Yang OO. Guide to Effective Grant Writing: How to Write a Successful NIH Grant Application. 2nd ed. Springer; 2012. Google Scholar7. Káradóttir RT, Letzkus JJ, Mameli M, et al. Your ticket to independence: a guide to getting your first principal investigator position [Editorial]. Eur J Neurosci. 2015;42:2372-9. [PMID: 26286226] doi:10.1111/ejn.13048 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Schafer AI. The academic job offer: what to expect and how to negotiate. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2009:734-5. [PMID: 20008260] doi:10.1182/asheducation-2009.1.734 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Voytko ML, Barrett N, Courtney-Smith D, et al. Positive value of a women's junior faculty mentoring program: a mentor-mentee analysis. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2018;27:1045-1053. [PMID: 29813008] doi:10.1089/jwh.2017.6661 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Rutkove SB. Choosing and working with a mentor. In: Biomedical Research: An Insider's Guide. Springer; 2016:25-29. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3655-7_5 Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Division of Medical Genetics and Metabolism, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (S.L.S.)Division of Medical Oncology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts (M.L.B.P.).Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M21-2692.Corresponding Author: Stephanie Santoro, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114; e-mail, [email protected]harvard.edu.Author Contributions: Conception and design: M.L.B. Peters, S.L. Santoro.Drafting of the article: M.L.B. Peters, S.L. Santoro.Critical revision for important intellectual content: M.L.B. Peters, S.L. Santoro.Final approval of the article: M.L.B. Peters, S.L. Santoro.Administrative, technical, or logistic support: S.L. Santoro.This article was published at Annals.org on 16 November 2021. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics December 2021Volume 174, Issue 12Page: 1735-1737KeywordsCareers in researchFellowshipsGender identityMentorshipPeer reviewRacial and ethnic issuesResearch fundingResearch grantsScientists ePublished: 16 November 2021 Issue Published: December 2021 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2021 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...