Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (Parent K23 Independent Clinical Trial Required)
Last verified by NonDilute: 2026-04-29. Official notice and agency instructions control.
If you're a clinician with an MD/DO/DMD ready to build an independent research program around patient care, NIH will fund your salary and mentorship for 5 years—but only if you run your own clinical trial.
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What this is
This is a career-development grant from NIH for individuals with clinical doctorates (physician, dentist, etc.) who want to establish themselves as independent patient-oriented researchers. You get up to 5 years of support including your salary, a mentor, and research funds—but you must conduct an independent clinical trial as a key requirement. This is ideal for clinicians ready to shift from pure practice into research leadership, not for commercial startups or non-clinical researchers.
Who can apply
You must hold a clinical doctoral degree (MD, DO, DMD, DPM, etc.), be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and have a commitment to patient-oriented research. Eligible organizations include universities, medical centers, nonprofits, and some government entities. Solo clinicians must apply through an eligible institutional sponsor. Small for-profit businesses and startups are technically eligible but this is fundamentally a researcher-development award, not a commercialization grant.
Eligible applicant types
- Special district governments
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- Small businesses
- Independent school districts
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Private institutions of higher education
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Full description — from the agency
The purpose of the NIH Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) is to support the career development of individuals with a clinical doctoral degree who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on patient-oriented research.
Topics: clinical research career development · patient-oriented research · NIH K23 · mentored research award · independent clinical trial · early-career clinician
Public-source funding discovery only. This summary is generated from public agency data and may be incomplete or stale. NonDilute is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government agency. Official notices and agency instructions control. NonDilute does not determine eligibility, provide grant-writing advice, or guarantee funding.