Determining eligibility

We expect that ITHS KL2 Scholar applicants will be postdoctoral level trainees or at the early junior faculty level who plan to conduct, or are conducting, clinical and translational research. In general, applicants should not have been in a tenure-track Assistant Professor position for more than two years at the time of application.

ITHS KL2 Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Scholars (KL2 Scholars) must:

1. Be US citizens or non-citizen nationals, or an individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence who possesses an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551), or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident prior to appointment.  Individuals with temporary or student visas are not eligible
2. Have a clinical doctorate or Ph.D. degree or its equivalent. Clinical doctorate degrees include, but are not limited to, the M.D., Dr.P.H., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., O.D., D.C., Pharm.D., N.D.(Doctor of Naturopathy), Psy.D., as well as epidemiologists, behavioral scientists, and nurses with doctoral degrees.
3. Not have prior funding as principal investigator on an NIH research grant, including an R01 or any K series grant; or PI of a subproject of a program project grant (P01), center grant (P50, P60, U54); or other equivalent grant awards. Candidates are eligible if they have been supported by an NRSA grant (F or T) or an NIH small grant (R03 or R21).
4. Not simultaneously submit or have pending an application for any other PHS mentored career development award (e.g., K07, K08, K22, K23), that duplicates any of the provisions of the KL2 program.
5. Be able to commit 75 percent of full-time professional effort (under very limited circumstances, the commitment of effort can be reduced to 50 percent) in this Career Development Program and its related research activities.

Additional eligibility information:

• This program accommodates Scholars with a variety of interests. (Please see the FAQ about the different tracks in the KL2 Program.) Scholars interested in the Translational Division may spend substantial time in the laboratory, but some research with human subjects is expected.
• This program will strongly encourage applications from outside the UW School of Medicine, and from members of all the Health Science Schools. This includes the Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, Public Health and Community Medicine, Social Work, and Dentistry. In addition, the program strongly encourages applications from individuals not yet affiliated with the University of Washington.
• If a potential Scholar is already studying under an existing KL2, he/she is still eligible for this program. However, the cumulative length of time under NIH-sponsored KL2 programs should be no more than 5 years. Since the minimum amount of time any one Scholar may spend in this Trans-NIH KL2 program is two years, he/she may not have had more than three years of support under the previous KL2 program. Furthermore, the applicant would need to justify additional mentored research training or training in a team context.
• KL2 funds cannot be used to support clinical fellowship training. However, fellows who have completed the part of their fellowship needed for sub specialty certification are eligible to apply. For example, although a Medical Oncology fellowship may last 3-4 years, fellows who have completed 2 years may be eligible to sit for the boards, and are therefore eligible.  In general, applicants should be board eligible for their specialty or subspecialty when they enter the KL2 Program.
• Exceptions to the 75% effort requirement may be made for limited specialties (e.g., 50% effort for surgeons requiring greater clinical effort to maintain surgical skills, or 100% support for Scholars participating in full-time research fellowships and who are not yet faculty members)
• The award is not intended for individuals making mid-career changes into clinical and translational research.