K12 Mentored Career Development Grant RFA

Funding Opportunity Purpose

The Ohio State University Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) calls for applicants for the K12 Mentored Career Development Grant. The K12 program is designed to develop a multidisciplinary cadre of well-trained early-stage faculty investigators from across the health and biomedical sciences through individualized training to engage fully, succeed, and lead in translational research and science. The training programs and educational infrastructure will foster a pipeline of early career clinician scientists with training that promotes scientific curiosity and discovery. We will sustain and enhance a culture in which translational scientists can collaborate to accomplish trans-disciplinary research that results in improved clinical outcomes.

The K12 program is open to any assistant professor at the Ohio State University or Nationwide Children's Hospital on the tenure-track or clinical-track, who are generally three years or less in their appointment at the time of award, and are engaged in clinical or translational research or science. The K12 Award is available for a period of three years (contingent on satisfactory progress), with two years of CTSI funding from the NIH and a third year from the scholar’s home college/department.

The Ohio State CTSI seeks proposals that address scientific questions consistent with our mission to fund research across the Translational Spectrum: the biological basis of health and disease, interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public, and health outcomes research.

Table of Contents

• Section I.       Funding Opportunity Description
• Section II.      Eligibility Information
• Section III.     Application and Submission Information
• Section IV.     Regulatory Components and NIH Prior Approval Regulatory Components and NIH Prior Approval
• Section V.      Application Review Information
• Section VI.     Award Administration Information
• Section VII.   CTSI Contacts

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose

The K12 grant is designed to benefit a wide spectrum of clinical or translational researchers and scientists across Ohio State and Nationwide Children’s Hosptial. The grant provides salary support to ensure protected time for mentored research and didactic training in clinical/ translational research. The overall goal of the program is to equip early career investigators to advance from mentored to independent researchers funded by an NIH R01 award, an individual K award, or equivalent.

The K12 grant funds the following areas of research on the Translational Science spectrum:

T1: Preclinical Research. Preclinical research connects the basic science of disease with human medicine. During this stage, scientists develop model interventions to further understand the basis of a disease or disorder and find ways to treat it. Testing is carried out using cell or animal models of disease; samples of human or animal tissues; or computer-assisted simulations of drug, device or diagnostic interactions within living systems.

T2: Clinical Research. Clinical research includes studies to better understand a disease in humans and relate this knowledge to findings in cell or animal models; testing and refinement of new technologies in people; testing of interventions for safety and effectiveness in those with or without disease; behavioral and observational studies; and outcomes and health services research. The goal of many clinical trials is to obtain data to support regulatory approval for an intervention.

T3: Clinical Implementation. Clinical implementation involves the adoption of interventions that have been demonstrated to be useful in a research environment into routine clinical care for the general population. This stage also includes implementation research to evaluate the results of clinical trials and to identify new clinical questions and gaps in care.

T4: Public Health. Public health includes studying health outcomes at the population level to determine the effects of diseases and efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat them. Findings help guide scientists working to assess the effects of current interventions and to develop new ones.

(See NIH NCATS’ Translational Science Spectrum for more information.)
Please note the following requirements:

• To be considered, all applicants must submit the required Letter of Intent form by 11:59 PM on the date noted above using the online form indicated above.
• Applicants must complete all sections of the entire application. Applications are due by 11:59 PM on the date noted above using the online form indicated above.
• No late LOI or applications will be accepted.
• Prior approval of all research subject to review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is required by the National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Science who funds the CTSI. Full applications identified by review as meritorious for funding will be subject to NIH prior approval prior to the release of funds. Documentation for this federal review will be collected from applicants and submitted after acceptance of the grant. If the NIH/NCATS declines such approval, the CTSI will not be able to support the project.  See Section V, below.

Please direct all questions to Program Manager Katie.O’Shea@osumc.edu.
Note: The CTSI also sponsors the Path to K Award for junior faculty in the health sciences. See Appendix 3 of this document for a comparison of the two programs.

Benefits of the K12 Award

• 75% salary support (50% for surgeons) (the 75% multiplier is applied up to a salary cap of $160,000), and appropriate fringe benefits.
• Research funds of $15,000 per year for three years from the CTSI for the following types of research and training expenses: (a) research expenses, such as supplies, equipment, and technical personnel; (b) expenses related to required career development courses and activities; (c) travel to scientific meetings or training that the institution determines to be necessary for the individual’s career development experience; and (d) statistical services including personnel and computer time.
• Access to the CTSI professional services and staff including assistance in the areas of biostatistics, subject recruitment, and human subjects research.
• Access to a training curriculum in clinical and translational research methodology and specialized training seminars.
• Individualized career development and mentorship from the trainee’s own appointed scientific committee and the K12 directors.
• Support to develop an R grant or individual K award to fund research at the conclusion of the K12 funding.

Expectations of K12 Awardees

• Commit 75% of your effort to this K12 Scholar Award (50% for surgeons).
• Commit to attending the following CTSI organized K12 Training programs:
  • An orientation to the K12 program and CTSI.
  • The monthly Faculty Development seminar program that covers a variety of topics on clinical and translational science and research and career development (currently on the third Tuesday of each month)
• Leadership Essentials for Investigators (formerly the Business of Science) – a three-day training program in leadership and project management in science (next offered Fall 2028). 
  • The CTSI Annual Scientific Meeting.
  • The Annual meeting of the Association of Clinical and Translational Science (typically held in April) at least once.
  • Grant writing workshop participation in year two: Launch to R or Launch to K.
  • Lead Mentor will attend CTSI mentor training, if he or she has not already done so.
  • Individualized coaching to enhance verbal communication skills
• An Individual Development Plan will be developed in collaboration with K12 leadership and project mentoring teams and monitored every six months (see Appendix 1).
• Brief progress reports will be required during the year.
• An Annual written report

Section II. Eligibility Information

Eligible Applicants

The K12 grant is for full-time, early career faculty at Ohio State University or Nationwide Children's Hospital on the tenure-track or clinical-track (who are generally, three years or less in their appointment at the time of award).

The CTSI follows eligibility criteria for K12 appointments as established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), funding opportunity Mentored Research Career Development Program Award in Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program, FOA PAR-21-336. See Part 2. Section III. 3 at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-21-336.html#_Section_III._Eligibility      

• Citizenship Status: Applicants must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States or have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence and have in their possession an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551) or other legal verification of admission for permanent residence. Non-citizen nationals are persons born in lands that are not States but are under U.S. sovereignty, jurisdiction, or administration (e.g., American Samoa). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible for support, per NIH regulations.
• Candidates must have a research or health-professional doctoral degree or its equivalent (e.g., PhD, DDS, DVM, OD, MD, DO, PharmD, etc.).
• Candidates must not have a pending (in other words, submitted) application for any other PHS mentored career development award (e.g. K07, K08, K22, K23) or equivalent non-PHS peer reviewed grant. 
• Former or current PDs/PIs on any NIH research project grant or other equivalent peer reviewed non-PHS grant are NOT eligible to participate as scholars. (This restriction does not include NIH small grants [R03], exploratory Developmental [R21] or SBIR, STTR [R43, R44 grants]).
• Applicants should not have applied for nor plan on applying for an independent NIH or other equivalent non-PHS extramural research grant in the first year of the K12. [this does not include NIH small grants (R03), exploratory Developmental (R21) or SBIR, STTR (R43, R44 grants)].
• Project leaders on sub-projects of program project (P01) or center grants (P50) are NOT eligible to participate as scholars.
• Candidates who have been funded as PIs on PHS-equivalent non-PHS peer reviewed research grants are NOT eligible.
• Candidates must not hold concurrently another Federally sponsored fellowship, traineeship, or similar Federal award that provides a stipend or otherwise duplicates provisions of the K12.
• Scholars should plan on completing the entire two-year NCATS funded proposed program.
• Summary: Candidates should be early career faculty who can take full advantage of and benefit from the described state-of-the-art research-focused career development program in clinical and translational science. Consistent with the type of mentoring and career development being provided by the CTSA Program, a K12 scholar candidate who is already in the process of applying for an independent mentored career development grant, Program Project Grants/Center Grants or equivalent grant is likely too senior for the K12 award.

Other Eligibility Information

• Applicants must have Principal Investigator status from the Ohio State ERIK/Office of Research Eligibility information can be found at: https://research.osu.edu/building-your-research-program/becoming-principal-investigator/pi-status-and-research-scientist 
• Applicants and mentors must become CTSI members by completing a CTSI membership form. https://ctsi.osu.edu/about/membership 
• Your College Dean or Department or Division Chair (whoever is authorized to make these commitments) must agree to the release time and salary support requirements of the K12 by signing the application.

Section III. Application and Submission Information

This grant program involves a two-phased application process: a Letter of Intent to Apply (LOI) and a Full Application.
This funding announcement will serve as the instructions and guidelines for both the LOI and the Full Application submissions.

Phase One: Letter of Intent

To be eligible, it is required that you indicate your intention to apply via the K12 Letter of Intent through an online REDCap form, which can be found at the text and hyperlinked web address above.

All Letters of Intent must be submitted through the online process by 11:59 PM EST on the date listed at the top of this RFA.  No late Letters of Intent will be accepted.

The LOI form requires you to:

• Submit a project title and Abstract (250 words)
• Attach your NIH Biosketch
• Complete an eligibility checklist will clearly tell you if you are eligible to go on to apply for the K12. You should review carefully the eligibility criteria above before applying.
• Signature page acknowledging support for protected time and salary coverage if funded.

The LOI will be used to

1. Assess your eligibility for the K12 award 
2. Let program staff know of your intent to apply for the K12 Award in order that they may organize the Study Section.
3. Allow program leadership to know that you have the support of your home department, division, or college to apply. If you are awarded a K12 grant, it will have an impact on your department, division, or college. Therefore, you need to talk your chair (department or division) or Dean about your intent to apply for this grant and acquire their supportive signature indicating they know of your application plans and support you. The K12 leadership does not want to select a person for the grant only to find out that their home department will not support the release time and other commitments called for by the RFA.

You will be notified if you should or should not proceed with the application.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Program Manager, Katie.O’Shea@osumc.edu or 614-685-5972

Phase Two: Full Application

This funding announcement will serve as the instructions and guidelines for Full Application submissions.
Applications and supporting materials are to be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST on the date noted at the top of this RFA. No late applications will be accepted.

Please read these instructions carefully before going online to apply. 
All documents asked for in the application must be submitted online in PDF format with the file named using the following guideline < lastname_firstname_K12_Application_2026 >

Investigators are strongly encouraged to visit the CTSI website to search for and make use of other CTSI resources relevant to your project. 

K12 Application Components

The K12 Application is in a Redcap survey. The link Is at the top of this document. Part of the application is a response to questions in the Redcap survey. The other part is the application document that you upload to the survey.

K12 Application Survey Responses.

1. This section includes personal information such as Employee ID Number, Ohio State name.#, ERA Commons username, ORCID number (see orcid.org), campus address, email address.
2. In this section, you will identify your current academic title and how many years in that position. 
3. Project Title and Abstract (250 words)
4. Regulatory Status: IRB, IACUC, IBC. Protocol numbers or plans for protocol approval.
5. List of Mentors

K12 Application Document. 

The following are combined into one PDF document.

1. Personal Statement

A one-page personal statement addressing the following points:

• Who are you? Why have you chosen a career in research?
• What was your previous research experience?
• How do you believe this training program will change the trajectory of your career or enhance your movement towards your goals

2. Career Development Plan

A two-page career development plan addressing the following points:

• What are the gaps in your training this program will help fill?
• How will you fill those gaps?
• The ole of your mentors (see below for instructions on your mentoring team)
• How will the K12 grant support and develop you to meet your longer term goals as a clinical and translational researcher? (Including plans for subsequent grant applications)
• How you will meet the NIH requirements for instruction in the responsible conduct of research (see https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-22-055.html for more information).See Appendix 2, below, for training options.

3. Scientific Mentorship Team 

Your Scientific Mentorship Team must consist of at least three members. Your team must include among its membership a Lead Mentor, a statistical mentor and one other mentor (additional mentors are optional).

Lead Mentor
The applicant will identify a faculty member mentor in his or her area of clinical or translational research. Under guidance from your mentor, you will prepare a proposal that describes the research project to be undertaken. Your mentor (or each co-mentor) is responsible for:

• Providing career development and counseling;
• Guiding and encouraging the design and execution of an original, high quality, research project;
• Collaborating with the mentorship team to support the K12 Scholar;
• Attending CTSI sponsored events, including a mentor training program and an on-boarding session, as well as other meetings with program leaders and administrators as needed.

The letter of support from your lead mentor should acknowledge his or her understanding of these requirements and describe their mentoring plan for your development. The letter should also describe the Mentors experience with mentoring, including number of mentees.

Biostatistician. Your mentorship team must include one biostatistician.
At least One Additional member of the mentorship team

The Mentorship Team provides additional expertise in the scientific area of research chosen for the project, complementary to the interests of the lead mentor. It is highly desirable that the other member of your Mentorship Team be drawn from another discipline so that he or she can provide transdisciplinary input into your project. Your mentorship team members may also include a university faculty member who is not a regular member of the graduate faculty (e.g., an adjunct professor), a university staff member, or a qualified individual outside the university who can provide expertise in your discipline.

4. Research Plan

This section can be up to 7 pages.

The three-year research plan should include:

• Specific Aims and hypothesis of the project
• Significance of the problem. State how the proposed project will improve scientific knowledge and/or change the field of study; what will be the (short- or long- term) impact of the research on human health; what will be the long-term impact of the proposed research on health inequities.
• Innovation – explain how the proposed project challenges current practice or creates a novel approach to the problem.
• Approach – Describe the overall strategy, methodology and analyses to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project, noting in particular how it is clinical and/or translational. Discuss potential problems, alternative strategies and include a list of milestones/benchmarks for success anticipated to achieve the aims. For materials and methods, highlight powerful non-routine approaches, summarize routine approaches and address statistical approach. Note: no clinical trials beyond the end of Phase IIA can be funded.
• Preliminary/supportive data that help demonstrate feasibility can be included where appropriate.

References to Scientific Literature. This section is not included in the 10-page limit but please try not to exceed 3 pages.

5. NIH Biosketches

You must upload (as PDFs) NIH formatted biosketches of yourself, your lead mentor and everyone else on your Mentor Team.
Biosketch forms and instructions can be found here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm

6. Letter(s) of Support 

Letters of support are required from: your Lead Mentor and each member of your mentorship team.
Include these letters in your application PDF.
The Letters should acknowledge awareness and support of the project and address the role and qualifications of the mentor for the project.

Address the letters to:

Luan Phan, MD
Clinical and Translational Science Institute 
376 West Tenth Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210

Section IV. Regulatory Components and NIH Prior Approval

If your research requires regulatory approval from the Institutional Review Board and/or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, your application packet must include sections on human subjects and/or animal research. If your proposal Is funded the human subjects and animal research will need Prior Approval from the NIH before you can begin your research. These sections and NIH Prior Approval are discussed in this section. For more information, contact CTSI Regulatory Specialist april.green2@osumc.edu 

1. NIH / NCATS Prior Approval

The National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Science, who funds the CTSI, requires that they give prior approval of all research subject to review by IRB or IACUC. Funded K12 applications be subject to NIH prior approval prior to release of funds. 

Information provided in the human subjects research and/or vertebrate animals research sections of your application will be used to put together prior approval documentation. Depending on your research, other information will be required. CTSI staff will reach out to applicants selected for funding as soon as a signed letter of offer is received to work with potential K12 scholars to collect all of the necessary documentation. Once submitted to the NIH, the Prior Approval process takes approximately 1 to 2 months to complete. Therefore, the sooner the packet is submitted, the more likely it is that NIH approval will have been received by the announced start date of the K12.

Please Note:

A. Necessary regulatory approval before submission of the K12 application is highly recommended. A protocol approved by the appropriate review board (IRB, IACUC, IBC) is required before a Prior Approval submission to NCATS can be made. Therefore, the sooner your project has the appropriate regulatory approval at Ohio State, the sooner it can be submitted to NIH for Prior Approval. 

B. Study Team CITI and GCP training. If your project is subject to Prior Approval, part of the documentation required is that all study team members have obtained CITI training or equivalent training in human research protections as well as GCP training. If the project involves the use of animals, all study team members must obtain the relevant animal use training. Applicants should not delay in confirming that all research team members have completed and are up to date in their required training. Incomplete records will delay the submission of the Prior Approval application. See the Office of Responsible Research Practices website for study team training requirements. https://research.osu.edu/research-responsibilities-and-compliance/responsible-conduct-research   

If the NIH/NCATS declines Prior Approval, the CTSI will not be able to support the project.

2. Human Subjects Research
If your project requires IRB approval, it is considered human subject research for purposes of this grant. Therefore, as required by federal regulations (45 CFR 46) and NIH policy, applications that propose to involve human subjects must address in separate section of your application after your research plan:

Risks to Human Subjects.
Describe Human Subjects Involvement, Characteristics, and Design, Sources of Materials and Potential Risk, including:

• description and justification for the proposed involvement of human subjects
• characteristics of subject population (number, age range and health status)
• inclusion/exclusion criteria
• rationale for involvement of vulnerable populations (e.g. fetuses, pregnant women, children, prisoners, institutionalized individuals, or others)
• role of collaborating sites where research will be performed
• description and justification of research procedures (including dosage, frequency, etc. of intervention)
• description of what research material, data and information will be collected
• access to personally identifiable information collected and retained
• management and protection of materials and information
• all potential risks to subjects (physical, psychological, financial, legal, or other) including likelihood and seriousness
• any alternative treatments or procedures

Adequacy of Protection Against Risks
Describe Recruitment and Informed Consent and Protections Against Risk, including:

• how subjects will be recruited
  • description of informed consent, parental permission and assent
  • waiver for any elements of consent
  • how risks described previously, including privacy and confidentiality, will be minimized
  • additional protections for vulnerable populations
  • ensuring necessary medical/professional intervention for adverse events

Potential Benefits of the Proposed Research to Human Subjects and Others
Describe how potential risks to subjects appear reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits

Importance of the Knowledge to be Gained
Describe how potential risks to subjects appear reasonable in relation to the importance of the knowledge that may result from the study?

Data and Safety Monitoring Plan/Board
If the proposed research includes a clinical trial, describe an appropriate Data and Safety Monitoring Plan that includes:

• A description of a monitoring plan, who will be responsible for monitoring and the process by which Adverse Events (AEs) and Unanticipated Problems (UP) will be reported to all relevant regulatory bodies.
  • A Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for multi-site clinical trials involving interventions that entail potential risk to the participants, and generally for Phase III clinical trials

2. Vertebrate Animal Research

If the proposed work involves live vertebrate animals, federal policy requires applicants to address the criteria noted below. This includes work involving animals obtained or euthanized for tissue harvest and generation of custom antibodies. Please address the following in separate section of your application after your research plan:

Description of Procedures (Vertebrate Animals Section)
Provide a concise description of the proposed procedures to be used that involve live vertebrate animals in the work outlined in the Research Strategy section. Identify the species, strains, ages, sex and total number of animals by species to be used in the proposed work. If dogs or cats are proposed, provide the source of the animals.

Justifications (Vertebrate Animals Section)
Provide justification that the species are appropriate for the proposed research. Explain why the research goals cannot be accomplished using an alternative model (e.g., computational, human, invertebrate, in vitro).

Minimization of Pain and Distress (Vertebrate Animals Section)
Describe the interventions including analgesia, anesthesia, sedation, palliative care and humane endpoints to minimize discomfort, distress, pain and injury.

Method of Euthanasia 
State whether animals will be euthanized or not. If yes, state whether or not the method to be used is consistent with American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) guidelines. If not, provide a justification for methods of euthanasia that are not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals.

3. Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources

If applicable, include an authentication plan that states how you will authenticate key resources, including the frequency, as needed for your research. Briefly describe methods to ensure the identity and validity of key biological and/or chemical resources used in the proposed studies -- Key biological and/or chemical resources include, but are not limited to, cell lines, specialty chemicals, antibodies and other biologics. Do not include authentication data in your plan.

Section V. Application Review Information

Each application will be read by three reviewers. Applications will receive an Impact Score (NIH 1-9 scale). Individual components will also be scored 1-9. 

The overall impact will reflect an evaluation of the trainee, the mentoring team, the training plan and the proposed research. All are equally weighted, and the study section will assess the overall fit of the components together. The K12 is training grant, not merely a research grant.

K12 Scholars will be selected based on a competitive application process in which the following will be key review considerations that determine funding:

• The transdisciplinary/translational science and quality of the research project
• The qualification of the applicant
• The experience of the mentorship team
• The quality of the training plan

A review panel will make recommendations to the K12 External Advisory Committee, who will approve funding up to two K12 scholars. All applicants will receive reviewer comments on their applications.

Section VI. Award Administration Information

Award Notices

Meritorious applications will receive formal notice in the form of a Letter of Offer provided to the applicant. A completed and signed CTSI Award Acceptance Letter is required before the start date. 

Award Requirements

• Clinical trials beyond the end of Phase IIA cannot be supported by this grant.
• If this award provides support for one or more clinical trials, by law (Title VIII, Section 801 of Public Law 110-85), the "responsible party" must register “applicable clinical trials” on the ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration System Information Website.
• This award is issued in accordance with, and is subject to, the conditions set forth in PAR-21-293 “Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (UM1), which are hereby incorporated by reference as special terms and conditions of this award. This RFA may be accessed at: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-196.html#_Other%20Award%20Budget%20Information  

Reporting

K12 program directors will work with scholars and their mentors to develop and Individual Development Plan (see Appendix 1, below, for more detail). Every three months, scholars will be asked through a REDCap survey  to update the IDP. Every 6 months you will be asked to provide brief progress report on training and research. There will also be meetings every 6 months with the program directors, scholar and lead mentor to review the scholar’s progress. The brief annual report will also include a 5-minute presentation about the scholar’s experience on the K12 grant to the K12 External Advisory Board, who approved annual reappointment based on steady progress.

Citation Requirements: Awardees are required, by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants policy to include a specific acknowledgment of grant support on all products (publications, patents, presentations, posters) resulting from this award. The specifics for this grant and sample text will be provided to grantees.

Compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy: Award recipients are required to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy. This includes submission to PubMed Central, upon acceptance for publication, of an electronic version of a final peer-reviewed manuscript resulting from research supported in whole or in part by the NIH. The staff of Prior Health Science Library can help investigators navigate the Public Access Policy processes.

Section VII. CTSI Contacts