K-Club is a monthly seminar series established in 2009 to support early career researchers pursuing NIH K awards and other mentored funding opportunities, with sessions covering essential topics like grant writing, transitioning to R funding, and navigating various funding agencies. It also addresses broader aspects of research career development, including mentorship, team management, and communication skills. With a strong focus on real-world insights and actionable strategies, K-Club connects early career investigators with experienced researchers, institutional leaders, and funding experts, fostering a supportive community and a proven resource for academic success. To date, K-Club has hosted 140 sessions featuring over 200 speakers and panelists earning consistently high attendee ratings.
Upcoming Event(s)
K-Club Calendar(search 'K-Club' for all listings)
Click here to register!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is K-Club?
This program is an educational forum to assist fellows and faculty with successful research grant applications, with an emphasis on K grant awards, also called Career Development Awards or CDA's. Although the emphasis is on K grants and discussions are geared towards junior faculty who are preparing a K application, discussions often center around topics that have general interest and extend to other classes and types of research grant awards including NIH R funding and foundation funding.
When is K-Club?
Monthly seminars occur on the second Monday of each month during the academic year and are scheduled from 12:00PM to 1:00 PM.
Where can I access official K-Club communication?
While there is no dedicated K-Club Listserv, you can receive K-Club announcements and reminders through the Georgia CTSA Weekly eRoundup Newsletter and Peds Research Listserv.
- To subscribe to the Georgia CTSA Newsletter, click here
- To get added to the Peds Research Listserv, contact Marco Aguilar at magui23@emory.edu or Maryam Ehteshami at mehtes2@emory.edu
What are the topics?
Many sessions offer practical guidance on critical topics such as writing compelling grant applications, transitioning from K to R funding, navigating NIH and non-NIH funding opportunities, and aligning proposals with specific agency requirements.
In addition to grant-focused content, K-Club addresses broader aspects of research career development, including building mentoring relationships, managing research teams and budgets, communicating science effectively, and preparing for research independence. Other sessions also demystify the grant review process, emphasize the importance of supporting documents, and provide strategic checklists for grant planning and submission.
What is the format?
The format typically consists of an introductory presentation, followed by a panel or group discussion, with input and participation by attendees. Occasionally, K-Club holds more interactive, workshop-style presentations that generally require access to a laptop. In-person sessions are usually held at the Health Sciences Research Building II (HSRB II). While attending in-person provides the most optimal K-Club experience, attendees can still participate remotely in real time via the Zoom option and may also review the slides and recorded session afterwards (see Previous Recordings and Slides tab below).
Who should attend?
- Junior faculty and fellows interested in academic research careers
- Researchers interested in learning more about career development opportunities
- Researchers interested in learning about research grant funding opportunities and research grant application strategies
- All researchers associated with our sponsors are welcome to attend and participate in K-Club
Who sponsors K-Club?
K-Club is sponsored by the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Emory Department of Medicine, the Emory Department of Pediatrics, (K12HD072245) the Emory School of Nursing (5K12ES033593), the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (UL1TR002378), Emory Center for AIDS Research (P30AI050409), and the Winship Cancer Insititute of Emory University (P30CA138292).
What are K grants?
K-awards are also called “Career Development Awards.” This grant mechanism supports PhD’s and MD’s who wish to develop a career in biomedical research. There are many different subtypes of K awards and each has specific outlines and requirements. Mentored Career Development Awards (or “K” awards per the NIH designation) are an important funding mechanism for young investigators who are dedicated to an academic career with a significant emphasis on research (typically at least 75% effort). Detailed information about NIH Career Development Awards can be found at the K Kiosk.
