Funding Opportunity Description
The objective of the AHRQ Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08) is to support an intensive mentored research career development experience, comprised of didactic study and/or mentored research opportunities in health services research, for individuals with clinical doctoral degrees (e.g., MD, DDS, DMD, DO, DC, OD, ND, DVM, PharmD, or PhD in clinical disciplines) through the provision of salary and research support over a sustained period of protected time (3-5 years). The expectation is that, through this sustained period of research career development and training, awardees will launch independent research careers and become competitive for new research project grant (e.g., R01) funding.

The award may be used by candidates with different levels of prior research training and at different stages in their career development. For example, a candidate with limited experience in health services research may use an award to support a career development experience that includes a designated period of didactic training followed by a period of closely supervised research experience. A candidate with previous health services research experience and training may not require extensive additional didactic preparation, and may use an award to support a career development experience that focuses on an intensive, supervised research experience.

Applications must be responsive to AHRQ’s mission, which is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable and affordable, and to work within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used. Within the mission, AHRQ’s specific research priority areas of focus are described at: http://www.ahrq.gov/funding/policies/foaguidance/index.html.

The research sponsored and conducted by AHRQ develops and presents scientific evidence regarding all aspects of health care in the United States. It addresses issues of organization, delivery, financing, utilization, patient and provider behavior, outcomes, effectiveness and cost. It evaluates both clinical services and the system in which these services are provided. These scientific results improve the evidence base to enable better decisions about health care, including such areas as disease prevention, appropriate use of medical technologies, improving diagnosis and treatment in cost-effective ways, long-term care, and reducing disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic status. AHRQ welcomes any area of health services research relevant to AHRQ's priority areas as a mentored K08 research project topic.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to focus on topical areas unique to AHRQ, demonstrating how expected results can be used or made available for use to enhance healthcare quality. Results should be directly relevant to stakeholders, such as providers and practitioners, administrators, payers, consumers, policymakers, and insurers.

Candidates are encouraged to address health services research issues critical to AHRQ priority populations, as defined in section IV.7.

Promoting equity is an important societal goal. AHRQ intends that research funded by the agency contribute to this goal by addressing equity. Candidates are encouraged to include a focus on the reduction of disparities in healthcare outcomes and quality among underserved populations in their research training.

Candidates must conduct mentored K08 research projects which focus on health care delivery in the United States. AHRQ will not accept international health care research projects.

Special Note: To ensure that applications are responsive to AHRQ's priorities as well as NOFO requirements, consultation with AHRQ scientific/research contact prior to application submission is encouraged.