Insights and Reflections on Career Development Awards: Challenges, Benefits, and Institutional Support

Authored by the Scientific Education Council

This conversation is an in-depth follow up to the webinar titled, “Navigating the Uncertainty and Opportunity of Training and Career Development Awards.” The Scientific Education Council sat down with a few of the presenters for more insights on Career development awards (CDAs). Access the full interview here. This conversation included the following SBM members:

Kathrin Milbury, PhD-Associate professor, Department of Behavioral Science, Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at MD Anderson Cancer Center. 

Mary Frazier, PhD Candidate- Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, The Virginia Tech University.

Carolyn Bates, PhD- Assistant Professor, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Sciences within the Department of Pediatrics, Kansas University Medical Center.

Lara Traeger, PhD-Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami and Lead, Translational Behavioral Research in Cancer and Aging at the UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

Question: What motivated you to pursue a CDA? 

Dr. Bates: I was motivated to pursue this award because it would allow me to gain independence in my research, and kind of get my feet under me in terms of learning how to conduct multi-site clinical trials and conduct rigorous behavioral intervention research.

Dr. Milbury: I didn't realize at that time what it means to have protected time. One of the major advantages of having protected time is having salary support and time devoted to your research and, very importantly, to your training.

Dr. Traeger: There is so much to learn about leading your own study that I was excited about the possibility of leading my own study, but with a safety net under me in terms of mentorship.

Question: How will/has this award help you transition to independence?

Frazier: I think generally, an F31 allows a trainee to focus on that project. So, a lot of grad students will often be doing multiple projects for their labs. Some of them are relevant to their dissertation […] but oftentimes not all of them are. I think it's more about jumping into it [the grant writing process] and it’s exciting to feel kind of like, Oh, I'm actually a researcher.

Dr. Milbury: In medical academia you are not on hard money, so they [funds] either come from clinical activity or they come just from research funds. And what can happen then for junior investigators who do not have a K award, they often become co investigators on other teams, and then they're supporting other people's research rather than their own… whoever pays your effort obviously has access to your time, and so you develop their research program rather than your own. Pilot data is key […] I felt like I built a base, a broad base, of pilot studies that then allowed me to apply for R01 applications.

Question: How supportive was your institution of your CDA?

Dr. Bates: They provided support through dedicated time while I was writing the award. I had 80% protected time for three years to write the award, and they also provided startup funds to collect pilot data or attend trainings or things like that that would help me submit the career development award.

Frazier: Yes, my institution, specifically my graduate program. They have a lot of resources for their students, because they really like for their students to apply for an F31 while they're in the program. There are, grant officers on site, […]. they offer a class for it, a semester long class where you are actively writing

Dr. Milbury: I was not a faculty member when I submitted my K award application. I was definitely not tenure track. I was a post doc, and my promotion to faculty was contingent upon receiving a K award. Research faculty are those who are 100% soft funded to receive that type of award. I don't think my institution is supportive of tenure track faculty or clinical faculty to submit K award applications. If you are on tenure track, the expectations are R01s. My support came from my mentor in terms of helping develop the application and then also supporting financially, work that was not covered by the K award.

Follow up: What if your institution is not supportive of CDAs?

Dr. Milbury:. Being in a culture where Rs are valued over Ks, and, you know, usually it's because of indirects, because K awards have very little indirect in comparison to R grants. I think the personal, long-term benefit still really outweighs it. Because to study sections, having completed a postdoc, having completed a K award, I think really weighs heavily. So just having a K doesn't mean that you cannot submit other grants, because if you're 75% covered, you still have 25% that you can submit for an R21 and so you start building this pipeline. I would not go back. I would not do it differently. If somebody would have told me, you can choose a K award or an R01, you know, first year assistant professor, I wouldn't have to think about it twice.

Dr. Bates: I think it's really important to know about these institutional priorities. Ask those questions to learn about institutional priorities, because they can be very different.

Our interviewees share more about the challenges and benefits of CDAs, click here for the full interview.

You can also explore these links for more information on K awards, F awards, or different CDAs from American Heart, American Diabetes Association, various cancer organizations and other foundations.