Multidisciplinary Urologic Research (KURe) Career Development Program (K12 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DK 17 012

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DK 17 012

The Multidisciplinary Urologic Research (KURe) Career Development Program (K12 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health funding opportunity from the Department of Health and Human Services, administered through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). It is designed to fund institutional, team-based career development programs that train and mentor early-stage investigators who want to build long-term, independent research careers in urology. The core goal is to help clinicians and scientists develop the practical research skills, mentorship support, and protected time needed to transition into independent urologic researchers, with a particular emphasis on benign urologic disease and other urology topics aligned with the NIDDK mission.

This opportunity uses the K12 mechanism, which means the award is made to an institution rather than directly to an individual trainee. The institution then appoints and supports a cohort of mentored “Scholars” under the umbrella of the program. The intended Scholar pool includes MDs, PhDs, and MD/PhDs who are committed to urologic research and need structured career development to reach research independence. A key theme of KURe is multidisciplinary training, so applicant institutions are generally expected to bring together a broad mentoring environment that can span clinical urology, epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical trials, translational science, behavioral science, outcomes research, and other relevant disciplines that strengthen a Scholar’s ability to compete for independent funding later on.

The scientific scope must fit within NIDDK’s urology research priorities. In practical terms, that means the supported research and training should clearly connect to areas within NIDDK’s urology mission space, rather than unrelated urologic oncology or topics outside NIDDK’s portfolio. The FOA’s emphasis on benign urologic disease signals interest in conditions such as lower urinary tract symptoms, urinary incontinence, benign prostatic hyperplasia, interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, pelvic floor disorders, stone disease, and other non-malignant urologic conditions, as long as the proposed research and training approach can be justified as aligned with NIDDK’s stated scientific areas.

A notable feature of this announcement is the “Clinical Trial Optional” structure. That designation means the career development program is permitted to appoint Scholars whose projects involve clinical trials, but it does not require all Scholars to run trials. The FOA explicitly allows several clinical-trial-related paths for Scholars: serving as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial, proposing an ancillary study connected to an existing clinical trial, or gaining meaningful research experience by participating in a clinical trial led by another investigator. This flexibility matters because it allows institutions to train Scholars in rigorous clinical research and trial methodology while matching the level of responsibility to a Scholar’s readiness and mentorship support.

From an applicant eligibility standpoint, the FOA is open to a range of organizations capable of running an institutional training program. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, certain nonprofit organizations (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status), and eligible Native American tribal governments and tribal organizations, with an “others” category that depends on the additional eligibility text in the full announcement. Because this is an institutional K12, the applying organization typically needs to demonstrate it has the faculty mentors, research infrastructure, administrative capacity, and training environment required to recruit, select, and support Scholars in a structured and sustainable way.

In terms of funding and scale, the opportunity is a discretionary grant with an award ceiling of $600,000, and the agency anticipated making about four awards under this specific announcement. The original posting date was October 30, 2017, with an original closing date of February 13, 2018. While those dates reflect the lifecycle of this specific FOA (RFA-DK-17-012), the program description captures the essential intent: to build institutional pipelines that develop the next generation of independent urologic researchers through mentored career development, with optional integration of clinical trials as part of the Scholars’ research training.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Multidisciplinary Urologic Research (KURe) Career Development Program (K12 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.847.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 30, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 13, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for RFA DK 17 012

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