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Request for Applications
ITHS KL2 Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Program
ITHS KL2 Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Program Request for Applications
The ITHS KL2 Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Program provides the time, funding, mentorship, and training necessary to foster the early career development of clinical and translational researchers. The program is funded by the NIH and welcomes scholars with faculty appointments from all health professions.
KL2 Scholars are appointed for up to three years of support. The program encourages all types of clinical research, including patient-oriented research, translational research, small- and large-scale clinical investigation and trials, epidemiologic and natural history studies, health services research, and health behavior research.
Open for Applications
Key Dates
- Application Open
August 12, 2025 - Application Deadline
October 13, 2025 - Notification of Awards
Mid-December, 2025 - Appointment Start Date
March 1, 2026
Info Sessions:
Recent RFA Updates
- Eligibility section (updated July 2024)
- How to Apply section—Choose Your Track Step Removed (updated July 2025)
KL2 Q&A Sessions
- Monday, August 18th @ 2pm Pacific Time – Register for August Q&A HERE
- Thursday, September 11th @ 2pm Pacific Time – Register for September Q&A HERE
CHECK THIS OUT—Career Development Event: How to Write a K-Award Application to Maximize Funding
Program Overview
Program Overview
The KL2 program is a career development program for early-career investigators sponsored by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The major components of the ITHS KL2 program are:
- Protected research time: KL2 scholars must devote at least 9 person-months of full-time professional effort to pursuing their proposed KL2 research project and participating in programmatic activities. This requirement protects scholars’ research time and ensures they have the freedom to develop their research projects fully.
- Salary support: The KL2 award covers a minimum of 75% of a scholar’s full-time salary up to $85,000/year. The award also covers benefits proportionally.
- Research and career development funding: KL2 scholars will receive $25,000/year in research funds and up to $2,500/year to devote to travel to professional meetings and conferences.
- Mentorship: KL2 scholars receive additional mentorship from KL2 faculty to complement their career development in translational research.
- Interactive seminars: The program provides in-depth training on skills and competencies critical to conducting translational research. Over the course of a three-year appointment, scholars can expect to receive career development training targeting the 7 Fundamental Characteristics of a Translational Scientist (Gilliland CT, et al.) Seminars also include opportunities for scholars to hone their presentation and writing skills through Works-in-Progress talks and Writing Workshops.
Funding
Funding
The KL2 program provides a minimum of 75% of a KL2 Scholar’s salary (up to $85,000 per year) for up to three years. In return, at least 75% of a KL2 Scholar’s full-time professional effort must be devoted to pursuing their KL2 research project, including the programmatic elements of the KL2 Program. Each KL2 Scholar’s home department, school, or institution will be required to provide institutional support for any KL2 Scholar whose salary support for their committed ITHS KL2 effort exceeds $85,000.
In addition to salary support, KL2 Scholars will receive research funds of up to $25,000/year based on an annual budget review and approval. KL2 Scholars will also receive up to $2,500/year to devote to travel to professional meetings and conferences.
Please note:
- KL2 scholars conducting research that involves human subjects will not be eligible to receive KL2 support until they have completed the NCATS Prior Approval process. This process will be completed in the Just-in-Time period after the award letter is signed and before the appointment begins.
- KL2 support is contingent upon continual scholar progress and compliance with ITHS directives, as well as continued support from the NCATS grant that funds the KL2 program.
Eligibility
Eligibility
The KL2 program is open to investigators at the postdoctoral or early career faculty level who plan to conduct, or are conducting, translational research. If you are at the postdoctoral level and do not currently have a faculty appointment, your department support letter will need to indicate that upon acceptance you will have a faculty appointment. KL2 research proposals are expected to address one or more of the following stages of the translational science spectrum:
- Pre-Clinical Research – Pre-clinical research connects the basic science of disease with human medicine. During this stage, scientists develop model interventions to further understand the basis of a disease or disorder and find ways to treat it. Testing is carried out using cell or animal models of disease; samples of human or animal tissues; or computer-assisted simulations of drug, device or diagnostic interactions within living systems.
- Clinical Research – Clinical research includes studies to better understand a disease in humans and relate this knowledge to findings in cell or animal models; testing and refinement of new technologies in people; testing of interventions for safety and effectiveness in those with or without disease; behavioral and observational studies; and outcomes and health services research. The goal of many clinical trials is to obtain data to support regulatory approval for an intervention.
- Clinical Implementation – Clinical implementation involves the adoption of interventions that have been demonstrated to be useful in a research environment into routine clinical care for the general population. This stage also includes implementation research to evaluate the results of clinical trials and to identify new clinical questions and gaps in care.
- Public Health – Public health includes studying health outcomes at the population level to determine the effects of diseases and efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat them. Findings help guide scientists working to assess the effects of current interventions and to develop new ones.
Eligibility Update July 2024: Due to a change in NIH requirements beyond ITHS control, KL2 applications will only be accepted for individuals with an appointment (or expectation of appointment) at one of ITHS partner institutions: University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, or Seattle Children’s Research Institute.
Faculty at non-partner WWAMI institutions: The KL2 Monthly Seminars & Mentorship will be accessible to our WWAMI scientific community through the KL2 Seminar Fellows Program. Additionally, ITHS can offer support for development and review of career development award proposals to WWAMI early-stage faculty. The level of support provided will be determined by ITHS capacity, applicant needs, and alignment to ITHS mission and priorities. Please reach out to ithsedu@uw.edu for more information.
Eligibility Requirements
To be considered eligible for the KL2 program, applicants must:
- Have an appointment (or expectation of appointment upon acceptance) at one of ITHS partner institutions: University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, or Seattle Children’s Research Institute.
- Be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Permanent residents must have a U.S. Permanent Resident Card (form I-551) or other verification of their legal status as a permanent resident at the time of application. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.
- Be at an early stage of their career. Applicants should not have been in a tenure-track Assistant Professor position for more than three years at the time of application.
- Have a research or health-professional doctoral degree applicable to clinical research. These degrees include: MD, PhD, DrPH, DO, DDS, DMD, OD, DC, PharmD, ND, PsyD.
- Be able to commit a minimum of nine calendar months of full-time professional effort for career development and research activities associated with the program.
Applicants are ineligible for the KL2 Program if they are:
- Simultaneously participating in clinical fellowships leading to clinical certification (with some exceptions, see FAQ).
- Simultaneously submitting or have pending an application for any other PHS mentored career development awards that duplicate any of the provisions of the KL2 program.
- An individual making a mid-career change into clinical research.
- A former or current principal investigator on any NIH research project grant or equivalent non-PHS peer reviewed research grants that are over $100,000 direct costs per year, or a project leader on sub-projects of program project (P01) or center grants (P50). Note: this exclusion does not apply to cases of NIH Small Grants (R03) or Exploratory/ Developmental (R21) grants or their equivalents.
Additional Information
- The KL2 program cannot support research with a focus on global health or research located outside of the United States.
- Exceptions to the 75% effort requirement may be made for limited specialties (e.g., 50% effort for surgeons and other procedural-based specialties requiring greater clinical effort to maintain clinical skills such as ENT, Orthodontics).
An ITHS membership is required to apply. To become a member, please complete the ITHS Membership Form.
How to Apply
How to Apply
The KL2 Program application consists of standard demographic information, a biosketch from the NIH template, and a detailed and thorough description of your proposed project. In addition, you will need three letters of recommendation.
Key Dates
All materials, including the Letters of Recommendation, must be received by 11:59 p.m. on October 13, 2025.
- Application Deadline
October 13, 2025 - Notification of Awards
Mid-December, 2025 - Appointment Start Date
March 1, 2026
Step 1. Obtain Letters of Recommendation
Letters should be submitted online through the LOR form.
You will need three letters of recommendation:
- Department, Division, or Institutional Letter of Support
(Note: this letter must address the requirements listed under “Institutional Commitment to Candidate’s Research Career Development” on page K-96 of the NIH Career Development Instructions) - Primary Mentor Letter of Support
- Candidate’s Choice for Letter of Support
Applicants: Please direct people submitting letters for you to the Letter Submission Form as early as possible. All letters of recommendation are due on October 13, 2025.
You can either:
1. Copy the following link and deliver it any way you’d like (e.g. craft your own email).
https://www.iths.org/KL2-Letters
– OR –
2. Enter a few details into a form, and we’ll send the link to them for you.
Step 2. Combine the following items into a single PDF file prior to accessing the online application
- NIH Biosketch (Non-Fellowship)
- The non-fellowship biosketch template and instructions are available on the NIH site.
- Personal Statement (1 page maximum)
- Create a personal statement detailing your interest in the KL2 program and how the program will help further your career as a translational researcher.
- Download Personal Statement Template
- Research Proposal (2 page maximum, not including references)
- Create a hypothesis-based research proposal that includes a mentorship plan.
- Download Research Proposal Template
- Project Timeline (1 page maximum)
- Create a timeline table detailing the progression of your proposed project over the three-year KL2 program appointment
- Download Project Timeline Template
- Resource Sharing Plan (if required)
Step 3. Complete the online application form
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
KL2 Program
How is the KL2 program funded?
The NIH KL2 Mentored Clinical Research Scholars Program is funded through NCATS as part of a broad Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Initiative.
How many funded positions will there be each year?
We hope to select three KL2 scholars each year.
Yes. KL2 scholars are allowed to receive concurrent support from federal sources, as long as the effort dedicated to other grants does not reduce their KL2 effort to below 9 person-months (or .75 FTE) and the support is for a different project with separate goals.
How is this award different from NIH individual Career Development Awards (CDA)?
Specific information regarding individual CDAs
- NIH Career Development Awards – Individual mentored CDAs
- NIH Career Development Awards – Individual non-mentored CDAs
Individuals who have already obtained an individual K-award will not be eligible to apply for our KL2 award.
The KL2 award is an Institutional Mentored Research CDA. It is similar in intent, scope, and funding to individual mentored K awards. All NIH Mentored CDAs have the same general level of effort requirements. However, there are several important differences. The application materials and time of notification are much shorter. A personal interview is required.
A core curriculum will be provided that will develop general scholarship in a breadth of clinical research topics. Intensive clinical research mentorship is also a primary focus of the CTSA KL2 award.
Finally, awards will be determined by a committee comprised of UW, Seattle Children’s, Fred Hutch, and other ITHS partner faculty and affiliated investigators.
Early career researchers are normally limited to 6 years of K-support overall. Since the ITHS KL2 program is designed for three years of support, applicants should not have received more than three years of K12 or KL2 support prior to applying. Furthermore, the applicant would need to justify additional mentored research training or training in a team context.
We have not established explicit limits on time since training. However, this award is best suited for applicants who are early in their professional careers. This award is not meant to serve as support for applicants already established in their field, nor is it meant to aid in a career change. Individuals who have achieved the rank of associate professor are not eligible.
KL2 scholars must hold a doctoral level degree. We are seeking individuals at an early stage of their career, even while they are in sub-specialty training. We expect that KL2 scholars will be postdoctoral level trainees or junior faculty who plan to conduct, or are conducting, clinical and translational research. Some KL2 scholars may be at the tenure-track/assistant professor level when they enter the program, but we hope most KL2 scholars will be at a much earlier stage. We expect that KL2 scholars will become assistant professor or tenure-track clinical research faculty either during or after they progress through the program.
KL2 scholars who achieve promotion to the rank of Associate Professor will have their appointments terminated at the end of the grant year in which this promotion is achieved.
Please see this link for more information: NIH Career Development Award – Eligible Individuals (see left-hand side table of contents for section navigation)
Can this program be combined with a clinical fellowship?
No.
KL2 funds cannot be used to support clinical fellowship training. However, fellows who have completed the part of their fellowship needed for subspecialty certification are eligible to apply. For example, although a Medical Oncology fellowship may last three to four years, fellows who have completed two 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.
The KL2 program cannot support any investigators with a focus on global health and research located outside of the United States. While appointed to the KL2 program, scholars may not participate in any research work or travel outside of the United States and Canada (with the exception of international travel for conference attendance). Conducting research in the United States with foreign samples and data is allowed.
Do I have to be a member of a specific Health Science School to apply?
No. This program strongly encourages applications from members of all health science disciplines across the 3 eligible institutions (UW, Fred Hutch, and Seattle Children’s). This includes the Schools of Pharmacy, Nursing, Public Health and Community Medicine, Social Work, Dentistry, and Medicine.
Is it possible to see an example of a successful application?
Yes, please email us at ithsedu@uw.edu to request a successful application. Please include a short summary of your proposed research and area of interest on the translational science spectrum (Pre–clinical Research, Clinical Research, Clinical Implementation, and/or Public Health).
Contact Us
Contact Us
For information regarding this program, contact:
MILU WORKU
Manager of Training Programs
Institute of Translational Health Sciences
850 Republican Street, Box 358051, Seattle, WA 98109
Email / 206.543.0542 / fax 206.616.9250
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