Mentored Career Development Awards (MCDA)

• Tenured and tenure-track faculty at Kentucky Colleges and Universities (except the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky) engaged in research funded by the National Institutes of Health (via awards with direct costs of no greater than $125,000/year). 

• Trainees who have received baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees and express a strong interest in pursuing careers in biomedical research.

• Awards (direct costs for one year) are up to $25,000 for trainees with baccalaureate degrees, $30,000 for trainees with master’s degrees, and $35,000 for trainees with doctoral degrees. 

• Awards may be renewed for additional years dependent on sufficient documented training and mentoring progress. Renewal proposals are due March 1st.

• Funds can only be used to provide partial salary support for a full-time trainee to be mentored. Salary supports includes both wages and fringe. 

• Awards are May 1st- April 30th.

• Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs are allowable in addition to direct costs.

• Both the faculty mentor and the trainee must be registered in eRA (NIH) Commons.

• Trainees are encouraged to present their research at regional or national meetings. In this case, the trainee may apply for additional travel support from the KY INBRE.

• Faculty and trainee awardees are expected to publish their research results in a peer-reviewed PubMed journal. 

• All publications and presentations must acknowledge support from NIGMS grant # P20GM103436.

• Awardees must submit an annual progress report to the KY INBRE office. 

• The faculty mentor/PI must provide trainee tracking information to the KY INBRE office for a period of five years after the project period ends.

• Awardees are expected to present their research progress at the KY INBRE Annual Research Conference. Expenses to attend this conference will be covered.

Application Review Criteria

KY INBRE program staff will review requests for Mentored Career Development Awards to determine their overall merit. The administrative review criteria described below will be considered in the review process: 

• • The qualifications of the trainee including career goals, research potential, and any relevant experience. 

  • The qualifications of the mentor including research and evidence of adequate mentoring experience and success. 

  • The plan and timeline for the proposed research and career development experiences.

  • Evidence that the proposed experience will expand and foster the research capabilities, knowledge, and/or skills of the candidate. 

  • Evidence that the activities of the candidate will be an integral part of the project, including their participation in the execution, analysis, and reporting of the research.

  • Evidence that the candidate will receive research career mentoring. 

  • If the mentor has received previous KY INBRE funding, evidence of research progress will be evaluated (e.g. publications and trainee accomplishments). 

  • If the candidate has received funding via a previous KY INBRE MCDA, evidence of sufficient progress in research training and career development.

Submission

All proposal components should be saved as a single, flattened PDF and submitted via email to the KY INBRE Program Coordinator: Dr. Bruce Mattingly, email.

If any additional clarification is needed, please contact your institutional lead faculty (if applicable), the KY INBRE Program Coordinator: Dr. Bruce Mattingly, email or the KY INBRE Principal Investigator: Dr. Martha Bickford, email

To assist in the recruitment of promising trainees, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with decisions made within one week from the time of submission. The duration of each award is one year, but faculty/trainee teams are eligible to apply for support each year of the NIH-funded project, contingent upon trainee progress and availability of funds.

Assemble your application in the order listed below using the NIH PHS 398 forms available here. NIH “Instructions for Grant Applications using PHS 398” should be followed unless other specific instructions are given below. Incomplete proposals will be returned without review.

Required components:

• • Form page 1 – Face Page - signed by authorized institutional official

  • Form page 2 – Summary, relevance, project/performance sites, senior personnel, etc

  • Biographical Sketch for the trainee. The personal statement section should include a description of the candidate’s scientific interests, specific research objectives, and career goals. If the candidate has no previous research experience, the “Contributions to Science” section may be omitted. State if the candidate has received any current or previous grant support; if the candidate has, include the grant title or number and inclusive dates of support.

  • Biographical Sketch for each faculty member who will contribute to the research mentoring. The personal statement section should include a description of the investigator’s experience and track record as a mentor. If the investigator lacks experience, it may be appropriate to include an experienced co-mentor.

  • Facilities and other Resources. Identify the facilities to be used (laboratory, clinical, animal, computer, office, other). If appropriate, indicate their capacities, pertinent capabilities, relative proximity and extent of availability to the project. Describe only those resources that are directly applicable to the proposed work.

  • Form Page 4: Detailed budget and justification

  • Copies of the Specific Aims of the funded NIH grant that will provide salary support for the trainee and all other items (e.g., supplies, equipment, etc.) needed to complete the proposed work.

  • Research Training Activities for the Candidate (not to exceed 2 page). Describe how the trainee will contribute to the NIH-funded research project. Describe how the trainee will be involved and supervised in conducting hands-on, rigorous research, including their participation in the execution, analysis, and reporting of the research. Describe how the mentored research will enhance and foster the research capabilities of the candidate. The plan should take into account any barriers and impediments encountered by the trainee to ensure a successful entry and progression into the biomedical workforce. Include an integrated timeline detailing the proposed research activities and anticipated outcomes/milestones. If the application is for renewed support of a trainee previously funded by an MCDA, the training completed during the previous funding period and research training activities planned for the next year should be described.

  • Career Development Plan for the Candidate (not to exceed 1 page). Describe how the mentor will assist the candidate in achieving the objectives and goals described in their Biographical Sketch and facilitate transition to the next stage of their research career. Provide details of the interactions between the candidate and mentor(s), research team and professional colleagues relevant to the overall research experience. The career development plan should be structured, specific and stage-appropriate for the candidate and include parameters such as the frequency of meetings, topics to be discussed, and how progress will be monitored. The timeline should include anticipated outcomes such as submission of publications and/or conference presentations. If the application is for renewed support of a trainee previously funded by an MCDA, the career development plan should also describe any career development objectives completed during the previous funding period.