The Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at the University of Michigan is requesting applications for the HEAL[i] National K12 Clinical Pain Career Development Award (HEAL K12).
The HEAL K12 is a mentored career development program designed to provide protected time for clinician scientists to focus on training in and conducting clinical pain research. Award provide up to $100,000/year in salary, fringe benefits up to $32,000, $2,500 for travel to professional meetings, and $50,000/year in research support costs, for up to 3 years, plus indirect costs at 8%. The maximum total request should not exceed $199,260.
This award is intended for scholars who may not be ready for a traditional K-award or independent research (e.g. R-series awards), come from institutional environments that cannot adequately support the scholar’s career and/or research objectives, and/or who are unable to form a mentoring team that would make them competitive for a training or independent research award in clinical pain research.
Applicants will have at least one home-institution mentor who will serve as their primary mentor. The HEAL K-12 program will then work with the scholar to match them with a senior pain research mentor of national stature as well as mentors with lived pain experience. Training will occur primarily at the scholar’s home-institution. Scholars will commit a minimum of 75% of their effort to this award.
[i]The Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, is an aggressive, trans-NIH effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis. Launched in April 2018, the initiative is focused on improving prevention and treatment strategies for opioid misuse and addiction and enhancing pain management. For more information, visit: https://heal.nih.gov
Eligibilty
- The candidate must aspire to be a clinical pain researcher housed within any educational or health services institution in the U.S. that has resources to conduct clinical research.
- Candidates will hold a clinical doctoral degree (e.g., MD, DO, DDS, PharmD, DPT or PhD) and be faculty within the first five years of appointment or postdoctoral fellows with a pending faculty appointment.
- Scholars must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the U.S. or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment.
- The department or division Chair of the candidates’ home institution must commit to providing the candidate a minimum of 75% protected time for this training.
HEAL K12 scholars will develop their own tailored training program that include:
- Remote didactic training in pain science.
- Completion of a clinical research project, that could be used to provide pilot data to support future grant applications.
- Didactic course work in regulatory sciences, research ethics, biostatistics, patient/community engagement and/or specialty electives relating to topics of interest.
- Attendance at career development seminars, pain conferences, and the 3-day NIH PURPOSE Conference on Pain Education (required).
- Presentation of research through local, national, and international events, UM Pain Short Course (required).
- Cross-disciplinary mentoring designed to assist with career development and research.
The HEAL K12 award follws a 2-tier application process
Tier-1: 2-Page Letter of Intent
The candidate submits a Letter of Intent (LOI) that includes:
- A brief description of the proposed research project or the nature of the planned research. (250 words)
- A brief description of the nature of training that is needed (e.g., gaps in prior training) to be proposed in the full application. (250 words)
- One primary home institution mentor name and NIH biosketch (required)
- Eligibility Statement (1 page). The Eligibility Statement describes an applicant’s need for the HEAL National K12 award and the unique perspectives their candidacy brings to the clinical pain research workforce. The candidate should comment on one or more of the following:
- Why the candidate needs or would benefit from the HEAL National K12 award prior to submitting a traditional K-award or independent research (R) award
- Why the candidate’s home institution cannot adequately support his/her career and/or research objectives without the HEAL National K12
- Where they heard about the Heal K12 program (conference, website, colleague, etc.).
- An up-to-date NIH Biosketch should accompany the LOI.
Competitive candidates will be invited to submit a full application following LOI review.
LOIs should be submitted as one pdf document to UM-HEALK12@umich.edu
Tier- 2: Full Application
Invited applicants will submit a full career development grant proposal with the following:
- Specific Aims, Candidate Background, Career Development Plan, and Research Strategy
- Persons with Lived Experience (PWLE) Engagement Plan
- Mentor(s) and institutional letters of support
- Budget and budget justification
- Additional instructions and templates will be provided at the time of the invitation.
Review Process
- LOIs will be reviewed by HEAL K12 Directors and NIH Program Staff
- Full applications will be reviewed by the HEAL K12 study section. Finalists along with their primary home mentor will be invited for an interview with the HEAL K12 directors.
Key Dates
Key Dates
Informational Webinar: September 15, 2025
Letter of Intent Due Date: October 15, 2025
Invitation to Apply: November 5, 2025
Full Application Due Date: February 5, 2026
Award Announcements: May 1, 2026
Program Start Date: June 1, 2026
Additional program information can be found at: https://heal-k12.med.umich.edu/
For questions regarding the LOI, submission process, or program requirements, or to request a pre-submission consultation, please email: UM-HEALK12@umich.edu
Informational Webinar on September 15th from 4PM-5PM EDT, please register here: https://umich.zoom.us/meeting/register/qLnQnPnTQEGVv7mBwQ7Tyg