K99

threecoins said:

I have a question regarding the profile of applicants to K99 awards. I am a first year Hem-Onc fellow at a top 10 program. The middle 18-months of fellowship if blocked out for lab research. I will be working with a very well know PI who does mostly second generation whole genome sequencing of tumors. I have almost no bench research experience but I have applied in the past for a R21 ( did not get funded) but received seed funding ( 20 K ) from my institution as a Co-PI with others for work related to circulating tumor cells. I have 15 publications ( reviews, case reports etc) in peer-reviewed journals.

My question is: suppose I write a strong hypothesis-driven translational/basic science grant application with the help of my mentor. Would my clinical / translational research background satisfy the requirements for a K99 award ?

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It won't hurt to try, especially if your have a famous PI that is well funded. In general, though, you are probably a weak candidate for a K99 and will be up against stiff competition. I've heard you want to be published in the field and have significant preliminary data for these types of grants.

threecoins said:

I have 15 publications ( reviews, case reports etc) in peer-reviewed journals.

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Is there a track record for primary research aside from reviews? I've also heard that for K99 you need some published prelim data. K99 is also one of the few grants that are allocated for basic researchers who don't have US permanent residency (i.e. greencard). International postdocs in the basic sciences with a Nature or Science paper or two are not infrequent applicants to K99. However, I think you can still very realistically pitch a K23/K08, which would still guarantee you funding as an assistant professor. Secondly, you can try for a K99 and if it gets turned down resubmit for a K08, but the grants are slightly different as K08 emphasizes mentorship quality, etc. Thirdly, there are also other mechanisms (i.e. R03, etc.) if you fail the K23/K08. The details of which are also not entirely transparent to me--i.e. what type of projects are best suited for what program announcement. I think the imminent goal is to keep yourself funded after the fellowship as an assistant professor, which, if your mentor is agreeable and you make reasonable progress, is usually negotiable in a clinical department, because there's usually also bridging money. It doesn't need to come, immediately, from a federal source. Any type of K protects you for 4-5 years for a first R01 submission, with K99 absolves you from having to do that, but you still have to renew the R00 at the end of the 5th year and convert it into a R01.

From the salary perspective the K99 has no advantage (that I can see). Your department is probably incentivized to keep you if you have promise, even if you don't have funding immediately. From starting a lab and negotiating with a national job search perspective the K99 has a huge advantage, but this issue is not necessarily applicable for most translational (i.e. not bench basic) researchers.

This question may be somewhat poorly posed at this forum, because most of us are still at the pre-K (har har) stage. I would consult your departmental mentors/chair and solicit an internal review committee after the grant is written, even if your mentor is world class. They'll be on board because we are talking about a million dollars in 4-5 years.