K12 Application

Application Submission Process and Forms: 

Note: Required Letter of Intent due December 5, 2025

K12 Proposals are submitted via Duke’s MyResearchProposal online application software. 

Submit the completed online application form and provide all supporting documents. 

A complete K12 application includes: 

  1. Completed application form.
     
  2. Your primary mentor’s NIH biosketch. 
     
  3. Duke CTSA K12 Primary Mentor Expectations.  This document defines the roles and responsibilities of the CTSA K12 scholar’s primary mentor.  Applicants are encouraged to review this document with his/her primary mentor and upload a copy with the application. 
     
  4. Professional Effort Commitment Letter. Please submit a letter indicating an approved plan for protecting 75% of your total professional effort (at least 30 hours per week) for the CTSA K12. For surgeons or others in procedural-based specialties, effort requirements may be reduced to at least 50%. If you are a senior research fellow, this letter must also provide assurance that you will have received a faculty appointment prior to or by the start of the CTSA K12. 
     
    • If you are applying from NCCU, the Dean must sign this letter. 
    • If you are applying from Duke, your Department Chair/Division Chief must sign the letter. 

    This is the same document that was submitted for the required Letter of Intent. 
     
  5. Four Letters of Support 

    • Letter from your proposed primary mentor indicating his/her willingness to devote sufficient time and energy to serve in this capacity. This letter should include a specific and detailed mentoring plan, including how frequently the mentor will meet with you. 

    • Letter from your Division Chief/Center Director indicating that he/she has approved a plan for protecting 75% of your total professional effort for the three years of K12 funding. If you do not have a Division Chief/Center Director, then please submit letters of support from two individuals (other than your primary mentor). 

    • Letter of support from one individual (other than your primary mentor) who is knowledgeable about your prior accomplishments and suitability for this program. If you do not have a Division Chief/Center Director, then please submit letters of support from two individuals (other than your primary mentor). 

    • Letter from your Department Chair indicating that he/she has approved a plan for protecting 75% of your total professional effort for the three years of K12 funding. If you are a senior research fellow, your Department Chair must provide assurance that you will have received a faculty appointment prior to or by the start of the K12 appointment. 

  6. Specific Aims 
    • Not to exceed 1 page 
       
  7. Research and Career Development Plan:  A description of no more than 5 pages of your proposed research and career development program, including: 
    • Research Project Title and description of the specific research project you propose to pursue (prepared in collaboration with your proposed mentor), including background and significance, research design, and methods. 
    • Career Development Plan, including career goals, didactic course work that will prepare you for your research project and/or your future research career (classes, seminars, workshops, etc.), how the award will contribute to career goals, and a mentoring plan (prepared in collaboration with proposed mentor--frequency of meetings, other activities, and support from mentor). Upon selection, awardees will meet with program leadership to review the proposed didactic training and develop an individualized curriculum. 
    • A detailed timeline of research and didactic activities
    • Commitment to complete core curriculum elements: 
      • Tailored Didactic Course Work 
      • Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research 
      • K12 Scholar Seminar Series 
      • Team Science Curriculum 
      • Population Health Research Curriculum 
      • Mentorship Training 
      • Duke School of Medicine, NCCU and external Career Development Training 
      • KAPPnext 

      Please note that the five-page limit does not include references.

  8. Your NIH Biosketch. For this application, you may include papers that have been submitted and are currently in review as long as they are clearly marked as such. 

  9. If you have published papers, provide citations of up to three that you consider most representative of your research goals and potential. 

  10. Completed NIH budget form (for the entire budget) and budget justification. Please complete the NIH Entire Budget form. 
    Access the Budget form template.  
    Access instructions on how to complete the budget form.  (Section 4.5)
    When completing your budget forms, please keep the following in mind: 
    • On average, a total direct cost budget of $125K is available for each 12-month budget period (exclusive of fringe benefits) with: 
    • $103,500 available for Scholar salary 
      • Per NIH guidelines, up to $103,500 in salary support is allowed per year for each scholar. Fringe is not included in the $103,500 cap. You can have a base university salary up to $138,000 with 75% effort allocated to the grant and still stay within the cap ($138,000 x 75% = $103,500). If your university salary is over $138K then the portion that exceeds the $138K salary support will be cost-shared to your department. 
    • Up to $2,000 in travel expenses 
    • Up to $20,000 available for research-related expenses (lab supplies, technical personnel, tuition, equipment, etc.)

IMPORTANT: Note that all amounts are dependent on available funds and are subject to change. 

When completing the online application, please have all supporting documents available to submit online.  All supporting documents must be submitted as pdfs. 

Additional supplemental documents will not be accepted. 

Selection criteria 

Applications are reviewed by a Review Committee (RC). The RC will score applicants using NIH criteria. The CTSA K12 Principal Investigators will make the final selection. 

The number of scholars funded each cycle (annually) is dependent on the availability of funds. 

Review criteria include: 

  • Candidate’s prior accomplishments and stated commitment to pursue a career in clinical and/or translational research; 
  • Quality, relevance, and likelihood of success of the proposed research project; 
  • Quality and appropriateness of didactic training plans, career development activities, and commitment and expertise of mentors; 
  • Commitment of the scholar to three years of research training; 
  • Commitment of the home department and availability of research/laboratory infrastructure; and 
  • All candidates must be eligible to receive NIH support: i.e., U.S. citizens or holding a permanent resident card. 

Benefits: 

  • Salary support for 75% of total professional effort (9 calendar months of your total effort) for up to 3 years 
  • Travel funds of up to $2,000 per scholar per year  
  • Research-related costs of up to $20,000 per scholar per year 

Benefits are contingent upon available funds.