Productivity of National Cancer Institute K Awardees and Their Transition to Independent Funding

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) mentored career development (K) awards program plays an essential role in supporting early-career scientists in the US. This retrospective cohort study utilized publicly available data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) database to obtain data on awards, total costs, and funding mechanisms, and the NIH iCite database to obtain data on publications, citations, and mean relative citation ratio. Principal investigators (PIs) who received NCI mentored K awards between 1981 and 2013 were included, to allow for 10 years of follow-up. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to explore predictors of attaining an R01-equivalent award. 1,778 K awards were awarded by the NCI between 1981-2013, with a median total cost of $128,036 per award/year. Around 43% received an R01-equivalent award over a total of 4,827 person-years, with a median time to award of 5.5 years and an incidence rate of 0.16 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.17) awards per person-year. In multivariable logistic regression models, PIs who received a K08 (OR = 1.47) K22 (OR = 1.72), or a K99 (OR = 1.55) displayed greater odds of attaining an R01-equivalent award compared to K01 awardees (p < .05 for all). PIs based in independent hospitals (OR = 1.45 vs. institutes of higher education), who focused on molecular/cellular research (OR = 1.37 vs. clinical human research), had a greater number of publications per year (OR = 1.40/publication/year), had a higher mean relative citation ratio (OR = 1.65/5 units increase), and published for a longer time interval (OR = 1.09/year), displayed greater odds of receiving an R01-equivalent award (p < .05 for all). In conclusion, productivity metrics, including greater publication and citation rates, were associated with a higher likelihood of successful transition to independence.