K Cohort
The Louisville Clinical & Translational Research Center’s K Cohort Program provides grant-related guidance from senior faculty to successfully prepare your application for a Career Development Award.
Program Overview
The K Cohort is for junior scientists planning to apply for a Career Development Award in the upcoming year.
- Receive input on your application materials to ensure they address significant, innovative, and fundable questions.
- Identify appropriate resources and potential mentors/collaborators.
- Receive expert advice and critiques from UofL faculty who have previously secured K grants and have served on study sections.
Why a Career Development Award? K Awards vs. R01
K Awards are designed for high success: The goal of the K award mechanisms is to transition a scientist to independence. Awarding a K grant is an investment in the individual's career.
The success rates for mentored K-awards (K01, K08, K23) are often more than double the success rate of a newly submitted R01.
| AWARD MECHANISM | GRANT TYPE | AVG SUCCESS RATE | PURPOSE |
| K08 | Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award | ~44% | Supports physician-scientists (M.D. or equivalent) committed to a career in laboratory-based or translational research. |
| K23 | Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award | ~38% | Supports clinical investigators who have a clinical degree (M.D., D.D.S., etc.) and are pursuing patient-oriented research. |
| K01 | Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award | ~36% | Supports a mentored research career development experience for investigators from various backgrounds (Ph.D. or equivalent). |
| K99/R00 | Pathway to Independence Award | ~24% | Two-phase award: 1-2 years mentored (K99), followed by up to 3 years independent (R00). The K99 phase is generally highly competitive but has a better success rate than R01. |
| R01 | Research Project Grant | 19%-21% | Supports a fully independent research project. This represents the average likelihood across all competing R01 applications. |
Program Details
The K Cohort is a structured set of faculty-facilitated work-in-progress (WIP) sessions, focused on writing an early-career, mentored grant.
This K Cohort Program is part of the University of Louisville's $24 million Clinical and Translational Research Development (CTRD) award, which includes $11.7 million from the NIH, aimed at expanding clinical and translational research initiatives.
Duration: Span of 5 months, 8 sessions total
Frequency: Biweekly with a Mock Study Section
Format: Virtual, MS Teams and in-person
Dates: The K Cohort runs twice a year in the fall and spring
Cost: Participation in the K Cohort is offered at no cost.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Meet the current NIH Eligibility requirements for the K application of interest.
- Have published at least 1 or more first-authored peer-reviewed papers in their area of research interest.
- Applicants must be willing to commit to meet with their K Cohort every other week and participate in a final review of your completed application.
- Intention to submit the proposal within ~6 months after completion of the cohort.
Once your application is reviewed and approved for eligibility, a request will be sent to your department chair for final approval and acceptance into the cohort.
Participant Expectations
WORK-IN-PROGRESS (WIP) Meetings: During the program, mentees are expected to actively participate in biweekly small group meetings with senior faculty and peers. Work-in-progress meetings entail each mentee sharing sections of their application to receive specific, personalized feedback. Between biweekly sessions, mentees will write and refine sections of their K application receiving continuous feedback throughout the development process.
NIH BOUVIER GRANT Course: The Cohort does not cover grantsmanship skills, but does require mentees complete the NIH Bouvier Course, Mastering the K Series. Graduate students, faculty and staff have access to Bouvier courses when registering using the UofL/Bouvier Registration page: UofL Course Library (Register with your organizational email).
K Cohort Mentors
The K Cohort appreciates the support and guidance from our mentors.
2025-2026 K Mentors: Irina Kirpich, Josiah Hardesty, David Magnuson, David Powell, and Ryan Doster.
K Mentors advise mentees on developing sections of their proposal, find answers to issues that may surface, and locate potential collaborators and mentors to ensure a well-rounded application.
HOW TO APPLY
The UofL Louisville Clinical & Translational Research Center is currently accepting applications for the Spring 2026 Cohort. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and require that you upload your NIH formatted biosketch and specific aims page.