All eligibility criteria must be met at the time of appoinment.

Candidates for Miami CTSI K12 awards must:

• Be a U.S. citizen, a non-citizen national, or a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
• Have a research or health-professional doctoral degree or its equivalent.
• Meet the NIH Early-Stage Investigator (ESI) criteria: ESI is a Program Director/Principal Investigator who has completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as a PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award.
  • If you are unsure whether you qualify as an ESI, learn about ESI eligibility here. You will be able to download and/or take a screen shot of your ESI end date and status, as calculated by the NIH system.
  • NIH considers requests for extensions of ESI eligibility from researchers who have lapses in their research or research training or have experienced periods of less than full-time effort. Learn more here. (Video available)
• Have a full-time UM faculty appointment. JHS or VA investigators are eligible if their primary mentor is a UM faculty.

Voluntary faculty, Adjunct faculty, Lecturers, Residents, post-doctoral and clinical fellows are not eligible.

• Commit a minimum of 75% time to research and research training over the award period (50% if from surgical disciplines). The remainder of time may be spent in clinical or teaching pursuits and/or research-related activities consistent with the objectives of the awar Candidates must obtain the primary department commitment for 75% (or 50%) research protected time and necessary resources (department letter of support required at submission).
• Demonstrate a commitment to a career in clinical translational science.
• Mentoring requirements:
  • Candidates are strongly encouraged to have a mentor already identified at the time of the LOI submission (May 22, 2023). If a mentor(s) is not identified, the K12 program directors will assist the candidates to select appropriate mentors aligned with the proposed research and career goals.
  • At least one mentor on the mentoring team should have a clinical background.
  • Mentors should hold faculty positions, be supported by NIH or other competitively awarded grants, and be acknowledged experts in clinical and translational science.
  • Applicants are encouraged to reach out to the program directors for advice on the selection of their mentoring team.
• Must commit to apply for individual mentored K awards (e.g., K07, K08, K22, K23) and/or independent awards (e.g., R01, R03, R15, R21, R34, or equivalent applications from other federal agencies) during the K12 award period; if successful, scholars may be required to reduce or terminate their effort depending on program requirements.
• Awardees will be selected based on their anticipated ability to complete the entire two-year (24 month) proposed program. The selection committee will consider whether individuals who have pending NIH research grant applications with fundable scores that would require early K12 termination are appropriate for this award.
• Candidates for the K12 awards are strongly encouraged to participate fully or partially in the Master of Science in Clinical Translational Investigation (MSCTI). Tuition remission for MSCTI courses will follow UM policy on Graduate Tuition Remission Taxation.

The following are not eligible for the K12 award:

• Individuals who are not U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
• Individuals on temporary or student visas.
• Voluntary faculty, Adjunct faculty, Residents, post-doctoral and clinical fellows.
• Individuals who have received funding as a Principal Investigator (PI) on any individual-mentored career development award (e.g., K07, K08, K22, K23).
• Individuals who have previously received funding as PI or MPI on any major federal, VA, state, or foundation award: for example, research projects (R01), First Award (R29), sub-projects of a program project (P01), center grants (P50), or equivalents.