What You Need to Know About Making the Transition From NIH K Award to R01
I’ve spoken to quite a few folks lately who are all worried about the same thing:
Not being able to secure R01 funding before their Career Development Award runs out.
In other words:…
…falling off the K cliff.
If you’re a couple of years into your K award, that I’m-on-track feeling has probably worn off.
You’re probably lying awake, tossing and turning because you’re worried that you’re off track.
Because you might have realized by now that…
what got you your K award isn’t going to get you an R01.
It’s a completely different beast.
So what are some of the things you need to think about as you transition from your K award to your first big NIH R01?
Well, those things are:
Strategy
Timing
STRATEGY
Strategically speaking the R01 is completely different from your K award. You’re no longer focusing on your potential to become an independent scientist, you’re supposed to BE independent now, with your own research ideas and plan to move forward. You do get special consideration as an Early Stage Investigator (ESI), but you need to demonstrate that you’re a competent PI.
You also need to think about publications, collaborators, and all the other components that will help you score well on your application (check out my YouTube series on writing a strong R01 to see what I mean).
So: not only do you need a strong research idea, you need to present yourself as a strong investigator with good collaborators and a good track record of publications.
Which leads us to the second point you need to think about: timing.
TIMING
One of the most important things you need to keep in mind is the length of the grant review process and the likelihood of being funded on the first try.
If you’re writing an R01 for the first time, you’ll need to give yourself months to prepare a strong application.
And when you add in the amount of time it takes to move through the review process, and the low chances of getting funded on the first try, you’re probably looking at a process that takes at least 18 months, if not longer.
It’s a long, drawn out process that will likely require multiple attempts. So keep that in mind as you think about when you want to start writing your R01 - it doesn’t matter what you wrote in your K award application! Just get started.
If you want some help to make sure you successfully transition from a K award to an R01, my team and I can help. Take our K to R readiness assessment to see where you need to focus your efforts.