The goal of the SOPH Career Development Award (K*) Review program is to provide SOPH faculty an in-depth assessment of grant applications prior to submission.

Review Process: 3 phases

Six months prior to the NIH deadline:
The PI submits their aims page to an NIH project officer and schedules a phone call to ensure the responsiveness and fit of the proposed research. The PI requests a comprehensive checklist/to-do list from the departmental grants administrator.

Twelve weeks prior to the NIH deadline:
The PI submits their specific aims page to the SOPH Office of Research. The Office will have the aims reviewed by at least two members of the SOPH Research Advisory Committee. Written or oral feedback will be provided to the PI within 5 business days.

Six weeks prior to the NIH deadline:
The PI has their complete grant application package reviewed. The PI may choose from the following review options and/or may discuss an additional review option with the Associate Dean for Research.

• Option 1) The complete application package is reviewed by UAB faculty through a CCTS panel.
• Option 2) The complete application package is reviewed by UAB faculty identified and organized by the Office of Research.
• Option 3) The complete application package is reviewed by someone (e.g., faculty member, former NIH Project Officer) external to UAB. The PI should be willing to pay the external reviewer a modest honorarium using their discretionary funds or, upon approval of their chair, departmental resources.

* We envision this program applying to all Career Development Award submissions, regardless of sponsor. We have used the NIH K mechanism as an example.

Additional Resources and Guidance

The Office of Research can help identify reviewers and will work with the PI to ensure that the reviews are scheduled well in advance. At each phase of the review, the PI and their mentor (and/or other senior members of their Department) will meet to discuss feedback and next steps. The Associate Dean for Research is available to participate in these meetings.

Investigators are also encouraged to meet with SOPH Office of Research personnel to review the grant submission to-do list, discuss review timelines and the assistance that the Office can provide to the PI, including Biosketch reviews, reviewing and/or drafting “non-science” sections (letters of support, human subjects sections, etc.), English language editing, scientific editing, and overall grantsmanship.

All SOPH early-stage investigators strongly encouraged to participate in the CCTS grant writing programs.

Timelines**

**If deadline falls on holiday or weekend, the due date is the next business day.