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Request for Applications
ITHS K12 Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Program
ITHS K12 Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Program Request for Applications
The ITHS K12 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.
ITHS K12 Scholars are appointed for up to two 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.
Application period closed
Key Dates & Information
- Application Open
September 14, 2026 - Application Deadline
November 2, 2026 - Notification of Awards
January, 2027 - Appointment Start Date (Planned)
April 1, 2027 - Awards Available
2027: One (1) Award (Clinical Implementation Research Focus)
2028: Three (3) Awards (One of each for Pre-Clinical, Clinical, & Public Health Reseach Focus Areas)
2029: Five (5) Awards (Research Focus Areas To Be Announced)
Program Overview
Program Overview
The ITHS K12 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 K12 program are:
- Protected research time: ITHS K12 scholars must devote at least 9 person-months of full-time professional effort to pursuing their proposed ITHS K12 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 ITHS K12 award covers a minimum of 75% of a scholar’s full-time salary up to $110,000/year. The award also covers benefits proportionally.
- Research and career development funding: ITHS K12 scholars will receive $25,000/year in funds to support their research projects and career development activities like travel to professional meetings and conferences.
- Mentorship: ITHS K12 scholars receive additional mentorship from ITHS K12 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 two-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 ITHS K12 program provides a minimum of 75% of an ITHS K12 Scholar’s salary (up to $110,000 per year) for up to two years. In return, at least 75% of an ITHS K12 Scholar’s full-time professional effort must be devoted to pursuing their ITHS K12 research project, including the programmatic elements of the ITHS K12 Program. Each ITHS K12 Scholar’s home department, school, or institution will be required to provide institutional support for any ITHS K12 Scholar whose salary support for their committed ITHS K12 effort exceeds $110,000.
In addition to salary support, ITHS K12 Scholars will receive research and career development funds of up to $25,000/year based on an annual budget review and approval, including travel to professional meetings and conferences.
Please note:
- ITHS K12 scholars conducting research that involves human subjects will not be eligible to receive ITHS K12 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.
- ITHS K12 support is contingent upon continual scholar progress and compliance with ITHS directives, as well as continued support from the NCATS grant that funds the ITHS K12 program.
Eligibility
Eligibility
The ITHS K12 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 departmental support letter will need to indicate that upon acceptance you will have a faculty appointment.
ITHS K12 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 (this year’s focus) – 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 Requirements
To be considered eligible for the ITHS K12 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 (75% FTE) of full-time professional effort for career development and research activities associated with the program and intend to remain in the program for 2 years.
- Have a mentorship team of 2 or more individuals that includes one mentor with a clinical background. Clinical mentors may have prior history of clinical care, or be currently practicing; this includes physicians (MD, DO) and other healthcare professionals (e.g., DDS, PharmD, ND, DNP, ANP-C, DPT).
Applicants are ineligible for the ITHS K12 Program if they are:
- Simultaneously participating in clinical fellowships leading to clinical certification (with some exceptions, see FAQ).
- Simultaneously submitting or have a pending application for any other PHS mentored career development awards that duplicate any of the provisions of the ITHS K12 program. Additionally, awarded K12 Scholars are not eligible to apply to NIH K career development awards during their first year of the 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 ITHS K12 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 ITHS K12 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. PDT on November 2, 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-93 of the NIH Career Development Instructions) - Primary Mentors 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 November 2, 2026.
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 ITHS K12 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.
- Download Research Proposal Template
- Career Development Plan & Mentorship Panel (1 page maximum)
- Create a career development and mentorship plan.
- Download Career Development Template
- Project Timeline (1 page maximum)
- Create a timeline table detailing the progression of your proposed project over the two-year ITHS K12 program appointment
- Download Project Timeline Template
- Resource Sharing Plan (if required)
Step 3. Complete the online application form
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
KL2 Program
I need help identifying a clinical mentor; can ITHS assist?
Yes. Please email us at ithsedu@uw.edu to request a consultation.
How is the ITHS K12 program funded?
The NIH K12 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 ITHS K12 scholars each year.
Yes. ITHS K12 scholars are allowed to receive concurrent support from federal sources, as long as the effort dedicated to other grants does not reduce their ITHS K12 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 ITHS K12 award.
The ITHS K12 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 K12 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 K12 program is designed for two years of support, applicants should not have received more than four years of ITHS 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.
ITHS K12 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 ITHS K12 scholars will be postdoctoral level trainees or junior faculty who plan to conduct, or are conducting, clinical and translational research. Some ITHS K12 scholars may be at the tenure-track/assistant professor level when they enter the program, but we hope most ITHS K12 scholars will be at a much earlier stage. We expect that ITHS K12 scholars will become assistant professor or tenure-track clinical research faculty either during or after they progress through the program.
ITHS K12 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.
ITHS K12 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 ITHS K12 program.
The ITHS K12 program cannot support any investigators with a focus on global health and research located outside of the United States. While appointed to the ITHS K12 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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