Grants for Beginning Investigators

Several federal agencies set aside a portion of their grant funding to assist new faculty members in starting their research careers. These specially targeted programs increase fundability as they significantly reduce the applicant pool to specific areas of study and other qualifications. Below are three examples of beginn ing investigator programs that are often applied for at OHIO:

1. National Institutes of Health – Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) - provides support for an intensive, supervised career development experience in one of the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences leading to research independence. Candidates for this award normally must have a research or health-professional doctorate and postdoctoral research experien ce at the time of application. In addition, the candidate must be able to demonstrate the need for a three, four, or five-year period of additional supervised research as well as the capacity and/or the potential for highly productive independent research. The proposed career development experience must be in a research area new to the applicant and/or one in which an additional supervised research experience will substantially add to the research capabilities of the applicant. The candidate must provide a plan for achieving independent research support by the end of the award period.

2. National Science Foundation – Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program - is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mis sion of their organization. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.

3. American Cancer Society's Research Opportunity Grants for Beginni ng Investigators - Research Opportunity Grants provide rapid, one-time funding for novel ideas or for targeting urgent problems with immediate human benefit. One time awards are made for up to $72,000 total cost for one year.

The above tips and examples are just some of the ways to go about finding a potential sponsor for your work. Whatever path you have chosen to identify funding prospects, the ORSP staff will help you through the process. Once you hav e found a sponsor, the next section, the Grant Submission Process will guide you through applying for a grant at OHIO.

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