NIDCD Research Career Enhancement Award for Established Investigators (K18 Independent Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required)

Background
The NIDCD Research Career Enhancement Award for Established Investigators (K18) program is designed to enable established, proven investigators to augment or redirect their research programs through the acquisition of new research skills to answer questions relevant to the hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language sciences. The program aims to provide support for experienced scientists to remain current in state-of-the-art techniques, evolving technologies, and the fundamental, translational, and clinical research frontiers related to the hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, and language sciences.

Grant Details
The grant supports basic science experimental studies involving humans that fall within the NIH definition of a clinical trial and also meet the definition of basic research. The proposed project must be related to the programmatic interests of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) based on their scientific missions.

The research career enhancement experience shall take place in a host laboratory over a period of six- to twenty-four months. It will afford candidate investigators protected time to enrich and expand their expertise and research programs through retooling in new techniques, emerging technologies, redirect their research programs in new trajectories within the NIDCD scientific mission or catalyze research collaborations in new research directions.

Eligibility Requirements
Eligible applicants include higher education institutions, nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS status (other than institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, Indian/Native American tribal governments (federally recognized), U.S. Territory or Possession and others. Foreign organizations are not eligible to apply.

The candidate must have a research or health-professional doctoral degree and hold an academic appointment at the applicant institution. At the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

Period of Performance
The research experience shall span a contiguous period of six months to two years. The candidate is required to devote at least 6 calendar months (50% of full-time professional effort) to the K18 program but may devote their full-time (12 calendar months) effort to it.

Grant Value
NIDCD will contribute up to the legislatively mandated salary cap in effect at the time of award per year toward the salary of the career award recipient. NIDCD will also contribute $40,000 per year toward the research development costs of the award recipient. Indirect Costs are reimbursed at 8% of modified total direct costs.

Place of Performance
The research career enhancement experience may take place in a host laboratory at either the applicant institution or another institution with appropriate resources to provide the proposed research career development experience.