Applying to the CNCDP-K12
The Child Neurologist Career Development Program-K12 funds exceptional, customized research training for pediatric neurologists or graduates of neurodevelopmental disabilities. Scholars receive a three-year intensive, clinically relevant, basic and/or patient-oriented research mentorship at their home institution. A team of national experts in pediatric neurology and neuroscience provides additional mentoring and career development.
Full Application Instructions
If invited to submit a full application, please refer to the details below. In-person interviews will be during the CNCDP-K12 Annual Retreat November 8-10, 2024 in San Diego, California. Current scholars and new applicants are expected to attend all days of the retreat.
Preparing the online application:
Upload the following required sections as one PDF file in the online application.
- Specific Aims (1 page maximum). Use the NIH format with 2-3 specific aims, describing the overall goals and the importance of your research project.
- Research Plan (6 pages maximum). Include a discussion of the background, significance, innovation, approach, and methodology of the proposed work. Preliminary data are not required. However, it can be helpful for demonstrating feasibility. Use first-person to distinguish applicant’s work; mentors or others use third-person.
- Statement on Commitment to Diversity (half-page maximum). We are committed to diversity in science across our program and processes. Include a statement that highlights your contributions and commitment to diversity in research and/or the scientific workforce.
- Career Development Plan (3 pages maximum). The applicant and mentor are jointly responsible for describing how support from the CNCDP-K12 award will further the applicant’s career development in pediatric neurology research and how it will lead to a successful transition to a K08 or K23 award. A timeline is very helpful. Specifically, include the following:
- A brief summary of your career path and experience, including a self-appraisal of your training needs and how your mentor and mentorship committee will successfully fulfill your needs (often called a gap-based plan)
- A systematic plan: (1) that shows a logical progression from your prior clinical, research and training experiences to the experiences that will occur during the K12 award period; (2) that justifies the need for further career development; and (3) that utilizes the relevant research and educational experiences of your institution.
- A description the professional responsibilities/activities (including other research projects) that will occur during the K12 award period.
- Literature Cited (no page limit)
- Mentor Statement (3 pages maximum). The primary mentor must provide a statement (not to exceed 2 pages) regarding his/her availability and plan for mentorship of the K12 Scholar, prior mentoring experience (including success of former trainees, especially K awardees and/or physician-scientists), relevant research and educational resources available within the mentor’s lab and institution, as well as his/her current research funding and commitment to provide any needed research support to the scholar beyond what is provided by the K12 award. Provide a clear description of how often the mentor will meet with the scholar, and how the mentor envisions mentoring/training the scholar to achieve the goal of applying for and attaining an individual K award within 3 years. If there are additional co-mentor(s)/secondary mentor(s), a separate co-mentor(s) statement can also be included (maximum 1 page). If there is more than one co-mentor all co-mentors should collaborate on their statement, which cannot not exceed one page. Should the applicant not have any co-mentors, then the primary mentor statement cannot exceed two pages (3 pages maximum total for all mentor statements).
- Biosketch (no page limit). The applicant must submit their NIH formatted biosketch as well as a biosketch for each member of their mentorship team.
- Statement of Institutional Support (no page limit). Written by the Department Chair or equivalent, this statement must confirm the current faculty appointment (or the imminent faculty appointment of a graduating resident/fellow) and must attest that the successfully funded applicant will be able to contribute 75% of full-time professional effort to the K12 award research and career development. This statement must include a specific description of non-research responsibilities to assure that protected time will not be encroached upon by clinical/administrative effort. Clinical effort calculation should be explicit in terms of the following:
- 1/2 day per week is equal to 10% effort
- 1 week of full-time clinical inpatient service is a minimum of 2% effort
- On-call responsibilities cannot occur during protected time for research
- Vacation time must be pro-rated and cannot come exclusively from protected research time
Institutional Funding Expectations:
The institution will be expected to guarantee a minimum of 50% protected time for research subsequent to the end of the 3 years of K12 funding, sufficient for the scholar to submit an initial application for a K08 or K23 award and, if needed, to revise and resubmit. This support, attested to in the statement of institutional support, can be expected to be a minimum of 18 months if revision is necessary.
The institution must state in the application that the scholar will be guaranteed 50% protected time for at least 18 months following conclusion of the K12 funding period. The institution is released from this guarantee if the CNCDP program terminates the funding of a scholar prior to the end of the full 3-year term, or if the scholar fails to pursue research funding subsequent to the 3-year term. Any release from this guarantee must be via communication between the CNCDP and the Department Chair.
The statement of institutional support must have a clear statement about the anticipated cost of the research, the source(s) of any funding that will be required beyond the $38,000 provided as part of the K12 award, and a commitment to provide the resources needed for successful conduct of the proposed research.