166: Evaluating future research engagement of National Institutes of Health (NIH) Career Development Award KL2/K12 Scholars at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

NIH Research Training and Career Development K12 and their equivalent, KL2, grant programs are designed to support newly trained clinicians or Scholars appointed by the awardee institution to develop the former’s independent research skills. One measure of these programs’ success is the rate at which K12/KL2 Scholars who complete their training apply for and receive future research grants. The future percentage of NCATS’ K12/KL2 Scholars that applied and were awarded were compared to Scholars supported by other NIH Institutes, Offices and Centers (ICOs) over fiscal years 2006-2024. After completing their appointments, a higher percentage of NCATS Scholars applied for and received NIH grants compared with other NIH ICO-supported Scholars. Possible explanations for these differences (e.g., quality of the K Program, quality of the research application, research intensity of Scholars’ institutions) will be explored through multivariate analyses in the future.