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Simplifying the Landscape of NIH Career Development Awards, Including an Opportunity to Provide Feedback
As part of our efforts to simplify and streamline the landscape of NIH funding opportunities, we are sharing information about upcoming updates to individual career development (K) award programs. NIH is consolidating individual K award notices of funding opportunity (NOFOs) into a streamlined set of parent NOFOs organized by program type (NOT-OD-26-098). These updates will make career development awards NOFOs easier to navigate, improve consistency, reduce administrative burden, and align policies across K award programs, beginning with application due dates on or after October 12, 2027.
While the framework for individual K awards is evolving, NIH’s commitment to developing the biomedical research workforce remains unchanged. Supporting the future biomedical research workforce – including early and mid-career scientists – remains one of NIH's highest priorities, as emphasized in our Unified Funding Strategy. K awards will continue to provide protected research time, mentoring, and career development opportunities to help researchers develop the skills needed to launch successful, independent careers across a wide range of scientific disciplines.
What is changing?
For individual K awards, the updated framework:
- Consolidates the number of funding opportunities into a streamlined set of parent funding opportunities
- Streamlines peer review
- Removes the Data Management and Sharing Plan requirement
- Updates certain clinical trial policies
Although some familiar grant types will change, the career development activities they support will continue. Parent funding opportunities will be organized around the type of career development being supported, not historical activity codes.
The table below shows how current K grant types map to the new framework.
| Category | Description | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|
| Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (KR) | Provides sustained protected research time under the guidance of an experienced mentor to help researchers develop independent research careers. Consolidates current K01, K21, K25, and K32 into a single parent opportunity. | Early career researchers (those who have not yet received a significant NIH research award) pursuing research independence who hold research doctoral degrees (such as Ph.D. or equivalent). |
Mentored Clinician Research Scientist Career Development Awards (KC)
| Provides mentored career development for clinician scientists, recognizing the unique challenges of balancing research and clinical responsibilities. Consolidates current K08, K23, and K38. | Early career clinician scientist researchers (those who have not yet received a significant NIH research award) pursuing research independence who hold clinical doctoral degrees (such as M.D., D.O., PharmD, DVM). |
| Investigator Award to Support Mentoring of Early Career Clinician Scientists (KS) | Supports established investigators by providing protected time to mentor and develop the careers of future clinician scientists. Consolidates current K24 and K26. | Mid-career and senior investigators with active research and mentoring roles. |
| NIH Career Transition to Research Independence Award (KT) | Supports postdoctoral researchers transitioning to independent research careers. Builds on current K99 and K22 while emphasizing dedicated research time and career transition. | Postdoctoral researchers with no more than 4 years of postdoctoral research experience who are preparing for independent faculty positions.
|
Activity codes not affected by these updates include:
- Postdoctoral Transition award (K00) – see also this recent Nexus article
- Institutional Career Development Award (K12)
- International Research Career Development (K43)
- Emerging Leaders Career Development Award (K76)
What to know about clinical trials?
The updated framework also clarifies how K awards may support clinical trial activities.
- NIH will no longer support "Independent Clinical Trial Required" K award funding opportunities, and K award funds may not be used to support the conduct of a clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary study to an existing clinical trial.
- Individuals can still participate in clinical trial research experiences led by their mentor(s) or co-mentor(s).
- Investigators who wish to lead a clinical trial as a principal investigator will need to secure separate funding — for example, institutional, philanthropic, or other grant support — for those activities.
NIH recognizes the importance of training investigators to lead rigorous clinical trials and is considering strategies to strengthen clinical trial research training and career development. As outlined in a new Request for Information (RFI), we seek input from the research community on potential approaches, including the structure of clinical trial research experiences within mentored K awards (NOT-OD-26-095). NIH encourages those interested to provide input electronically by September 30, 2026, to help inform deliberations. Additional updates will be shared as they become available.
Data Management and Sharing Plans
To further reduce administrative burden, K award applications will no longer require a Data Management and Sharing Plan. Because K awards are not research grants but instead focus on career development (with the research plan serving as an important component of the overall career development plan), the inclusion of a DMS plan is no longer required.
Peer Review
The new parent funding opportunities will utilize streamlined review criteria that align with NIH's broader efforts to simplify peer review. Reviewers will focus on three scored areas:
- Candidate and Career Development Plans — emphasizing the candidate's development toward independence
- Research Plan — evaluating the quality and feasibility of the proposed research
- Environment and Mentorship — assessing institutional commitment and mentoring support
As always, reviewers will evaluate applications in the context of the candidate's career stage and proposed pathway to research independence. This recent Nexus article shares more about review of career development applications.
So, what should researchers know going forward?
NIH is now updating funding opportunities, application instructions, review criteria, and related guidance to support implementation of these changes. Additional communications — including forecasts, notices, webinars, and other resources — will help applicants, mentors, institutions, and NIH staff prepare for future application cycles.
In the meantime, NIH plans to extend all currently active Parent K NOFOs to expire on July 13, 2027. Active K NOFOs with expiration dates after October 12, 2027, will instead expire on July 13, 2027. If you're planning to apply under a current NOFO, please remember to check its expiration date.
As these changes move forward, one thing remains constant: NIH's commitment to supporting promising scientists at critical stages of their careers and strengthening the nation's biomedical research workforce.