The purpose of the NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00) is to encourage and retain outstanding graduate students recognized by their institutions for their high potential and strong interest in pursuing careers as independent cancer researchers. The award will facilitate the transition of talented graduate students into successful cancer research postdoctoral appointments and provide opportunities for career development activities relevant to their long-term career goals of becoming independent cancer researchers.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) does not allow applicants to propose to lead an independent clinical trial, but does allow applicants to propose research experience in a clinical trial led by a sponsor or co-sponsor.

The F99/K00 award is intended for individuals who require 1-2 years to complete their Ph.D. dissertation research training (F99 phase) before transitioning to mentored postdoctoral research training (K00 phase). Consequently, applicants are expected to propose an individualized research training plan for the next 1-2 years of dissertation research training and a plan for 3-4 years of mentored postdoctoral research and career development activities that will prepare them for independent cancer-focused research careers. Please note: It is not required that cancer be the topic of predoctoral work, but it is required for postdoctoral work.

Award Information

NCI intends to commit $1.1 M to fund up to 24 awards in FY2024, and $1.1 M to fund up to 24 awards in FY 2025. Please see the full RFA for more details: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-CA-23-042.html

Important Dates

Each eligible institution is eligible to submit one application per due date. Therefore, UCI may put forward one nomination for this award opportunity and is therefore soliciting applications from qualified predoctoral students interested in pursuing postdoctoral work in cancer research.

Call for Nominations: September 7, 2023
Internal UCI Graduate Division Nomination Due Date: October 13, 2023
The selected applicant will be notified by October 20, 2023
The external deadline to submit an application to NCI is November 17, 2023 by 5:00pm local time of the applicant organization

Nomination Process

To apply, interested applicants should send the following application materials (in a single combined PDF) to Turner Dahl (tdahl@uci.edu):

Specific aims of applicant’s predoctoral to postdoctoral work in cancer research. One page per NIH guidelines (For help please review this guide).
- If the applicant’s pre-doctoral work is not cancer-related, an additional ½ page may be used to present a clear plan for cancer training.
Applicant’s CV

For more information about this opportunity, please review the full RFA at NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00)

Contact

Questions should be directed to Turner Dahl at tdahl@uci.edu.