The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) supports promising postdoctoral researchers as they transition from mentored training to independent, tenure-track or equivalent research positions in cancer research.
This PAR-23-287 mechanism is specifically for candidates who plan to serve as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, clinical trial feasibility study, or separate ancillary clinical trial. The combined K99/R00 award provides up to five years of support, with the final application deadline on October 14, 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
- Candidates must have a clinical or research doctoral degree, including PhD, MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DVM, ScD, PharmD, or equivalent.
- Applicants must be in a mentored, non-independent postdoctoral research position when applying.
- Candidates may have no more than 2 years of postdoctoral research experience as of the relevant application deadline.
- Applicants who already hold an independent research faculty or tenure-track position are not eligible.
- Candidates generally may not have previously served as independent PI on an NIH R01, R03, R21, major NIH career development award, or comparable research award exceeding $100,000 in direct costs per year.
- Candidates must commit at least 75% of full-time professional effort, equivalent to 9 person-months, to research and career development.
- There is no U.S. citizenship requirement; U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and eligible non-U.S. citizens may apply through a qualifying sponsoring institution.
Funding Details
- Total project period: Up to 5 years.
- K99 mentored phase: Generally 1–2 years.
- K99 salary support: NCI contributes up to $100,000 per year, plus applicable fringe benefits.
- K99 research development support: Up to $30,000 per year.
Deadline
- Final application deadline: October 14, 2026.
- Time: 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization.
- Earliest project start: July 2027.
- NOFO expiration: October 15, 2026.
Further Information
- Each eligible institution may submit up to a combined total of four applications across PAR-23-286, PAR-23-287, and PAR-23-288, subject to the scientific-area restrictions in the NOFO. (Grants.gov)
- Foreign components are permitted under NIH rules, but foreign subawards/subcontracts are not permitted under the current policy applicable to this NOFO.
- Official program page: View the NIH NOFO
- Simpler.Grants.gov: View the grant opportunity
- Grants.gov: View on Grants.gov