Funding Opportunities

The overall purpose of the NIH Research Career Development program is to help ensure that a pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) support a variety of mentored and non-mentored career development award programs designed to foster the transition of new investigators to research independence and to support established investigators in achieving specific objectives. Candidates should review the different career development (K) award programs to determine the best program to support their goals. More information about Career programs may be found at the NIH Research Training and Career Development website. The goal of the NIH Emerging Leaders Career Development Award (K76) is to help develop a cadre of scientists prepared to take an active leadership role in transformative change that will lead to improved research or healthcare outcomes. This program supports basic or clinically trained faculty members who seek additional research, professional career and leadership skills essential for assuming a leadership role in an increasingly global biomedical workforce. NIH Emerging Leaders are early-stage investigators conducting research who have shown early signs of leadership and who will use this award to further develop the tools, skills and resources to have a significant impact as leaders in their field of expertise. These skills will prepare them to assume academic leadership roles and independent careers in an emerging discipline within their professional specialty. Background The small number of individuals skilled in geriatrics, and the even smaller number pursuing research on aging, are inadequate to address the burgeoning needs of the rapidly growing aging population. A key goal of this initiative, therefore, is to foster the careers of emerging clinician-scientists who possess the skills necessary for academic leadership in aging and geriatrics. As a result, this award is intended to prepare early-stage investigators for academic research leadership, as well as provide mentoring in their scientific research area of interest. Its focus is on building a cadre of investigators and leaders to advance knowledge and skills in a new field, methodology, or approach, both through their own research and through their leadership, in the broader community of their specialty. The Beeson Program NIA uses the NIH Emerging Leaders Career Development Award to administer the Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging K76 program. The program is named after Dr. Paul B. Beeson, who profoundly influenced the career paths of many physicians, including several who now form the core leadership in geriatric medicine. Dr. Beeson was Chairman of Medicine at Emory and Yale Medical Schools, Nuffield Professor at Oxford University, and Professor and Distinguished VA Physician at the University of Washington. He chaired the first Institute of Medicine study on "Aging and Medical Education" in 1978. His leadership as an editor of the Cecil Textbook of Medicine greatly influenced medical education. From his research and patient care base, he grew increasingly interested in the process of aging, and this interest led to a commitment that included his editorship of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The aims of the program are as follows: • To provide support for career development and to advance the leadership skills of clinician scientists conducting clinically relevant basic, translational or clinical, and patient-oriented research (POR) in disciplines relevant to aging and geriatrics. • To deepen the commitment of research institutions to promote transformative academic research and leadership in aging and geriatric medicine by linking mentors to emerging scientists with a commitment to future leadership in aging research and policy. Research Objectives This NOFO provides an opportunity for candidates to expand their research area of interest and pursue activities consistent with the expectation of future leadership in the candidate's chosen field related to aging or older adults. Awardees will be provided salary and research support for a sustained period of "protected time" (3 to 5 years) for career development and to advance the leadership skills of clinician-scientists. NIA welcomes applications in all fields of aging research, including basic, translational, genetic, biological, neuroscientific, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences research on aging. A current high-priority topic for NIA is research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (ADRD). The full range of research methods appropriate to completing the proposed investigation is encouraged, including basic and translational research and cell or computational models, provided that the application makes clear the eventual clinical relevance of the proposed work. It is expected that scholars will contribute significantly to the research and scientific literature associated with the field of aging research. Please note that the Beeson K76 program does not support independent clinical trials.