Program Lead/Presenter: Neeraj Agarwal, Ph.D., Program Director
Council Date: February 3, 2023
Goal:
This concept clearance is for the reissuance of PAR-21-073 NEI Institutional Mentored Physician Scientist Award (K12 Clinical Trial Optional). The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage institutions to propose creative and innovative institutional research career development programs which prepare clinically trained vision scientists for independent research careers.
Rationale:
This initiative is intended to expand and strengthen the community of clinician scientists engaged in basic/clinical research. An increase in the number of well-trained clinical scientists is necessary to achieve a pool of scientists with contemporary, multidisciplinary expertise able to leverage recent advances in ocular genetics, artificial intelligence, computational modelling, ocular therapeutics, bioengineering, and bio-behavioral research to enhance patient treatment and increase scientific momentum in these fields.
Objectives and Scope:
A center core facility consists of an administrative core plus 3 or more resource and/or service cores.
- The objective of this program is to increase the number of clinician scientists trained in basic, clinical, and translational vision research and to promote their career development as vision researchers in academia.
- Clinician scientists from NEI K12 program are expected to apply for individual K08 or K23 following their training.
- The proposed institutional research career development program may complement other ongoing research training and career development programs at the applicant institution but must be distinct from those career development programs currently receiving federal support.
- This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) allows appointment of scholars proposing a separate ancillary study to an existing trial or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial led by another investigator as part of their research and career development.