General Questions
What is the K12 grant number?
K12NS130673
Who is the sponsor of the HEAL K12 program?
The National Institutes of Health
What professional degrees are eligible for the HEAL K12 award?
The HEAL K12 program is specifically for practicing and/or licensed clinician scientists. Thus, you must hold a doctoral level degree in a clinical profession (e.g., MD, Ph.D, DPT, etc). If your doctoral degree is not clinical then you are not eligible for this award.
What is the minimum effort allowed if selected?
75% minimum effort required towards the K12.
Is the $100,000 salary cap inclusive of salary and fringe, or just salary?
The 100,000 is just salary, not fringe. The fringe for the PI/Applicant would come out of the remaining $87,500.
Is the $100,000 salary cap for the grant charged salary, and not the overall base salary of the applicant?
Yes, we recognize that some applicants will have a higher base salary but that is a cap imposed by National Institutes of Health.
Do I have to relocate to the University of Michigan if accepted?
No, you will stay at your home institution and be subcontracted to cover the 75% effort, benefits, research, and travel.
Am I eligible to apply in the last year of my postdoc?
Yes.
Do I have to remain at the institution I apply from?
Sometimes people have a faculty appointment at the institution from which they are applying but after receiving the award, transition to a faculty appointment at a different institution. This is ok. The K-award can travel with you to the new institution.
Do I need to have a faculty appointment to apply?
You need to have a faculty appointment at the institution that houses your home mentor and where you will be conducting the research by the time the HEAL K12 starts, which is typically early June. If you are in your final year of a post doc and will be going to a different institution, you still need to have a faculty appointment and guaranteed 75% protected time at the institution where you will be completing the K-award.
If I am a VISA holder, am I eligible to apply?
No, you need to be a US citizen or green card holder.
What are the registration fees for the required annual PURPOSE meeting and Summer Pain Short Course?
Registration is free for both meetings.
I have another type of K under review at NIH, am I eligible to also submit an application for the HEAL K12?
You cannot have two NIH K awards under review at the same time. We purposefully have our review occur within a single NIH cycle to accommodate that, our applications are due in February, and we complete the reviews and let candidates know if they are selected before the early June NIH deadline. That way if you are not chosen for funding by the K-12 program you can use those reviews and apply for your own independent K at that deadline. Submitting a letter of intent for the K12 would not count as having a K under review.
I wasn't accepted the first time I applied, am I eligible to reapply?
Yes, you can prepare a new application and there is no need to address responses to written critiques from your last application.
LOI Questions
Is there a template for the LOI?
No, follow NIH formatting with .5 margins and Arial 11pt.
Do I need references in my LOI?
References are optional in the LOI.
Can my LOI be over 2 pages?
No, the LOI is to be a brief outline of your project and need for the K12.
Should my home mentor and where I heard about the HEAL K12 be included in the LOI or in the body of the email I send?
Home mentor and where you heard about the HEAL K12 should be in your LOI.
My institution receives a high amount of funding from the NIH, will this make me ineligible or seriously impact my chances of being competitive for the award?
Clearly articulate why the pain researchers at your institution would not be able to give the pain mentorship you need in your LOI.
Should the brief research proposal for the LOI include background and significance regarding our proposed project or should it be solely focuses on the project itself?
Your LOI should include a brief background why you are proposing the study. The study itself will not be critically reviewed in the LOI, instead explicitly describe why you need mentoring from the K12.