NIH Career Development Award Checklist (K Series)
Cover Letter
• Required for mentored K awards – must include a list of references; optional for independent K awards, however applicants are strongly encouraged to include this component.
• Cover Letters should include:
o Application title.
o Funding Opportunity (PA or RFA) title of the NIH initiative.
o For mentored K awards, the cover letter MUST contain the same list of referees (including name, department affiliation, and institution) that is included in Other Attachments.
Project Summary/Abstract
• Do not exceed 30 lines of text.
• Provide an abstract of the entire application (candidate, environment, and research). Include the candidate's immediate and long-term career goals, key elements of the research career development plan, and a description of the research project.
Project Narrative
• Using no more than two or three sentences, describe the relevance of this research to public health. Be succinct and use plain language that can be understood by a general, lay audience.
Bibliography and References Cited
• Provide a bibliography of any references cited.
• Each reference must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. Include only bibliographic citations.
• Citation format should comply with the NIH’s Public Access Policy.
• Required for mentored K awards – must include a list of references; optional for independent K awards, however applicants are strongly encouraged to include this component.
• Cover Letters should include:
o Application title.
o Funding Opportunity (PA or RFA) title of the NIH initiative.
o For mentored K awards, the cover letter MUST contain the same list of referees (including name, department affiliation, and institution) that is included in Other Attachments.
Project Summary/Abstract
• Do not exceed 30 lines of text.
• Provide an abstract of the entire application (candidate, environment, and research). Include the candidate's immediate and long-term career goals, key elements of the research career development plan, and a description of the research project.
Project Narrative
• Using no more than two or three sentences, describe the relevance of this research to public health. Be succinct and use plain language that can be understood by a general, lay audience.
Bibliography and References Cited
• Provide a bibliography of any references cited.
• Each reference must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. Include only bibliographic citations.
• Citation format should comply with the NIH’s Public Access Policy.
