NCI Launches Career Development Program for New Scientists

National Cancer InstituteFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Tuesday, May 27, 1997, 9:00 AM Eastern Time, NCI Press Office

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has launched a new and dynamic program on the campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to give outstanding new scientists their first opportunity to conduct independent research.

Approximately 10 scientists will be selected the first year for the NCI Scholars Program. Scholars will receive intramural funding for up to four years of intramural research support at the NCI, including salary, space, equipment, and staff. The program will provide up to $600,000 in total costs per scientist over the four-year period. Scholars then will be eligible for two more years of noncompetitive funding at an academic institution.

"The overall goal is to help the scientists become established as independent investigators by providing protected time for new scientists to establish their research programs without the pressures of writing grants, teaching and other academic obligations," said NCI Director Richard D. Klausner, M.D.

The NCI Scholars Program will enhance the ability of NCI laboratories and branches to attract talented new scientists, and will help academic institutions identify new investigators who can launch and maintain a successful research effort.

"For decades, NIH has trained scientists who have left NIH to become leaders in their fields," commented NIH Director Harold Varmus, M.D. "This program continues that tradition. It is a program that will invigorate medical research, by using the unique interactive environment of the NIH to develop top-notch scientists who will then pursue their careers in academic institutions throughout this country."

In its first year, NCI will support Scholars in the following broad fields of research:

cell biology, cancer genetics, and immunology, with emphasis on chromatin structure, gene regulation, signal transduction, cell transformation, cell cycle, and apoptosis;

environmental and genetic determinants of cancer, with emphasis on genetic susceptibility, occupational exposures, infectious agents, pharmacoepidemiology, radiation exposures, methodologic and statistical research, and molecular epidemiology;

exploratory technologies concerned with the human genome, genetic instability, the molecular biology of angiogenesis, and the translation of basic findings to the clinical setting.

Selected Scholars will participate in the program in two phases. In the first phase, lasting up to four years, they will work as independent investigators in sponsoring NCI departments. The final two years will provide up to $125,000 annually (plus fringe benefits) for research at an academic institution, under a special career transition award (K22) grant from the NIH. Transition to a K22 grant is not automatic; approval will be based on a formal scientific progress review no later than the end of the third year of participation in the program.

Scientists with no more than five years of postdoctoral research training in basic, clinical, or population-based research on cancer, and who have outstanding scientific ability, are eligible for the program. Years of clinical training are not counted against the five years. Applications are due July 30, 1997, for appointments beginning as early as Dec. 31, 1997. Each application will be prioritized for scientific and technical merit after a special NCI study section review. Candidates with the highest priority scores will be invited to the NIH to give seminars and be interviewed. Candidates and NCI investigators will prioritize their choices. Final selection will be made by an NCI selection committee based on priority score, interview, and the matching process.

The announcement for the NCI Scholars Program is on the Web at : http://www.nci.nih.gov/hpage/extra.htm click on: Division of Extramural Activities, extramural activities, request for applications, CA-97-007.

For further information, potential candidates can also contact Vincent J. Cairoli, Ph.D., chief, Cancer Training Branch, Executive Plaza North, Room 520, Rockville, Md. 20892-7390. Phone (301) 496-8580, fax (301) 402-4472, e-mail: VC14Z@nih.gov

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