National NIH K12 Physician Scientist
DiabDocs Program
The National NIH Physician Scientist DiabDocs-K12 Program is now open to scholars who can conduct research at any eligible US institution!
The prime objective of our multi-center National NIH K12 “Diabetes-Docs: Physician-Scientist DiabDocs-K12 Program” (DiabDocs) is to support the academic research career development of the next generation of physician-scientists with a specific focus in basic and clinical diabetes.
Our structured K12 program is designed to provide a mentored research experience together with tailored career development training.
The goals of the program are:
- Create a national cohort of up-and-coming physician-scientist researchers, developing cohesion through shared programmatic training cohort experiences including an annual retreat.
- Expand the geographical and pipeline reach of current diabetes K12 programs so that K12 Scholar candidates can be trained locally while maintaining the historic strengths of the past diabetes K12 programs.
- Develop an outstanding national mentor community to train diabetes physician-scientists and provide a more visible pathway to research careers for medical students/residents/fellows by active recruitment programs and invitations to the DiabDocs retreat and educational programs.
- Ensure consistency and effectiveness of mentoring across research centers through shared mentor training and resources.
In addition to our MPI structure, one of the distinguishing features of our program is including all recently funded K12 Scholar program PIs and their experience as part of the DiabDocs Executive Leadership Committee (ELC) complemented by addition of two Adult Endocrinology physician-scientists with expertise in basic science, health services research, & early career trainee engagement programs. In addition to these ELC investigators, we have engaged physician-scientists from 15 additional institutions without K12 programs in diabetes, but with a strong interest in engaging with DiabDocs. These institutions bring a wealth of expertise including T32, K12, P30, and CTSA funding. DiabDocs will leverage these resources as well as their wide curricula of study and research experiences to provide our K12 scholars high quality training from faculty.
Scholars
Scholars to be supported by the institutional career development program must be at the career level for which the planned program is intended. Scholars are expected to devote a minimum of 9 person-months (75% of full-time professional effort) during the appointment on the K12 award.
Scholars must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. Additional details on citizenship requirements are available in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
Additional Information Relating to Scholars
Scholars appointed to the K12 career development program must:
- Have full-time appointments at the grantee institution.
- Be physician scientists who have completed their adult or pediatric endocrinology fellowship training, or other specialty if justified for diabetes research.
- Are either board-certified or board eligible.
- Intend to continue in a dual research/clinical career, supported by an individual career-development or research award that they obtain as PD/PI.
The Scholars may spend up to three years in the K12 career development program but are strongly encouraged to apply for either an individual Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08) or an individual Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) after 1-2 years of support through the K12 program. Through NIDDK, the physician scientist scholars may receive up to a total of 6 years of combined support through K12/KL2 and K08/K23 grant mechanisms. It is expected that most Scholars will receive 2 years of support on the K12.
At the time of initial K12 appointment, Scholars must have no more than six years of research or research training experience beyond their last doctoral degree. Time spent in clinical training is not considered postdoctoral research training. Scholars must have Early-Stage Investigator status through the duration of their term as Scholar. Mid-career and senior faculty are not eligible to be appointed as Scholars.
Individuals who are or were PD/PIs on NIH Small Research Grants (i.e., R03s) or Exploratory/Developmental Research Grants (i.e., R21s) are eligible for K12 support. However, individuals who are or were PDs/PIs on NIH research projects grants (R01), Project Leads of program projects (P01) or Center grants (P50) or the equivalent, are not eligible for appointment under this K12 program. Individuals who have been previously supported by NIH or non-NIH career development awards are not eligible (such as mentored career training awards identical or equivalent to the K01, K08, K23, or K99). Scholars must not concurrently hold any other PHS award that duplicates the provisions of this award.
NEXT CYCLE OF LETTERS OF INTENT DUE FALL 2025
The DiabDocs program will be soliciting another cycle of letters of intent for applications in Fall 2025 for our mentored career development program from early career physician scientists engaged in research relevant to diabetes and within the scope of NIDDK including basic, translational, clinical, epidemiology/biostatistical, informatics, health services or health policy projects. Most funded scholars will focus on type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, and limited slots are available for persons working in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Awards provide a group of promising investigators the opportunity to be mentored in research-intensive settings at their home institutions to create the research foundation to compete successfully for NIH K08/23 or similar Career Development Awards.
Successful applicants will be early career faculty with experience and training in relevant areas who have demonstrated skills and potential in research and articulate a strong commitment to an academic research career. The full application (due Winter 2026) must outline a clear research project, well-formulated career development plan including mentorship from an experienced scientific mentor, and strong departmental support, including specified protected time for research.
Persons invited to submit full applications will also be invited to a full-day in-person program retreat in
Spring 2026, that will include interviews. Full applications will then be reviewed by the DiabDocs Scientific Review Committee in a study section for funding anticipated July 1, 2026.
At the time of submission of the full applications, persons will be required to provide a formal letter of support, from their Department Chair at current institution, which must include a statement of assurance of 75% protected time for K12 activity + a statement of how the other 25% FTE is allocated. The letter must also describe the department's commitment to the long-term career development of the candidate to become an independent research scientist + provide a statement with the institution's guarantee of a minimum of 50% protected time for 18 months of research after the end of the 3 years of K12 funding, sufficient for the scholar to submit an initial application for a K08 or K23 award and, if needed, to revise and resubmit.
Applicants must be US Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents within the first five years of a faculty appointment as an Instructor or Assistant Professor (or equivalent) at the time of award (July 1, 2026) and able to commit a minimum of 75 percent of full-time professional effort to conducting research and training activities associated with the program (Note: those in surgical specialties must commit 50 percent).
Letters of Intent (LOI) will be due Fall 2025 and must be submitted through a REDCap survey form link and include:
· Demographic and contact information and LOI materials. REDCap Survey Form Link TBA
· One-page statement of intent to apply
· One-page page preliminary specific aims for the proposed research project
· NIH-format Bio sketches from the candidate and proposed mentor(s)
· Proof of US citizenship or lawful permanent resident status (copy of passport/green card)
Interested candidates should apply by submitting the above materials via the REDCap survey form link
TBA in Summer 2025
To send in any questions/inquiries, please email:
DiabDocs Program
diabdocsk12@stanford.edu
Resubmission Guidelines:
- For applicants resubmitting their proposal, a LOI must be received by the recruitment cycle deadline to show interest in the program.
- LOI must include: 1) the original AIMS/Research Plan pages from the original full application and 2) a revised AIMS/Research Plan page demonstrating how the applicant intends to improve the proposal.
- In addition, if invited to submit a full application, applicants must submit a 1-page response to the comments/feedback received from the study section in the previous recruitment cycle. The 1-page response would be required at the full application stage and not the LOI stage.
Current DiabDocs Program Scholars
Program Events
Program Annual Retreat:
Held each year, the DiabDocs-K12 Annual Retreat gathers all program scholars and mentors to present research and network. Participation is expected.
The 2025 DiabDocs-K12 Annual Retreat: March 5-6, 2025, Baltmore, MD (Arrival on March 4, Departure on March 6)
Program Announcements
September 26, 2023
Scientists from Indiana University's School of Medicine have announced a significant milestone in the field of diabetes treatment, marking a substantial breakthrough. In Fishers, a young boy has become the first child in Indiana to be administered a recently approved medication designed to postpone the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D). We are extremely proud and excited for all the incredible work put together by Drs. Jamie Felton, Emily K. Sims and Linda DiMeglio and their teams to bring this research breakthrough to Indiana!
September 18, 2023
National Physician-Scientist “DiabDocs” Program receives $999,750 Helmsley Charitable Trust Grant to Help Address the Critical Shortage of Trained Physician-Scientists Focused on Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)
The National Physician-Scientist “Diabetes-Docs” Program (DiabDocs) has received a $999,750 grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to support academic research career development of the next generation of physician-scientists with a specific focus on type 1 diabetes (T1D). The funding, structured as a grant to Stanford University, is in addition to a supplemental award recently granted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support limited slots available for the career development of physician-scientists with a research focus on type 2 diabetes (T2D).
May 11, 2023
We are excited to announce the first and second cohort of DiabDocs Program Scholars for 2023:
Cohort 1:
Dr. Schafer Boeder (UCSD)
Dr. Charlotte Chen (Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
Dr. Jamie Felton (Indiana University)
Dr. Zoe Qaundt (UCSF)
Cohort 2:
Dr. Samantha Adamson (WUSTL)
Dr. Svetlana Azova (Boston Children's Hospital)
Dr. Kathryn Fantasia (Boston University)
Dr. Timothy Foster (University of Florida)
Dr. Jacob Kohlenberg (University of Minnesota)
Dr. Meghan Pauley (University of Colorado Anschutz)
Dr. Daniel Tilden (University of Kansas Medical Center)
Congratulations and Welcome to our
Program Scholars!
January 1, 2023
Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) announces Jamie Felton, MD, their KL2 Scholar, receiving the National NIH K12 DiabDocs Career Development Award starting in 2023. The news focuses on Dr. Felton's experiences with the Indiana CTSI KL2 Scholar Award Program, her future efforts with the DiabDocs grant award and her long-term goals in the field of diabetes research.
Program Administrator, Komal Dasani
FAQs
For a list of DiabDocs Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), please click here
2023 - 2024 DiabDocs Career Development Session Resources:
March 15, 2023:
- "Getting your Great Ideas Funded: Tips from an NIDDK Program Official"
Lisa Spain, Ph.D., NIH Program Director
Slides available here
April 19, 2023:
- "How to start and run a laboratory?"
Decio L. Eizirik, M.D., Ph.D. Professor, Universite Libre de Bruxells (ULB), Belgium
Slides available here
Recording available here
Article shared during session: Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty, Second Edition
Mentoring resources from Indiana University School of Medicine website
May 17, 2023:
- "Understanding the broken US drug pricing system"
George Huntley, Chief Executive Officer, Diabetes Leadership Council
Slides available here
"Pay to Live" song written and performed by Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC) and Diabetes Leadership Council (DLC) CEO and DLC co-founder George Huntley - "Do your little bit of good: a busy clinician's guide to everyday diabetes advocacy"
Brittany Bruggeman, MD, Assistant Professor, Pediatric Endocrinology, UF Health Shands Children's Hospital
Slides available here
Session recording available here
Example of thank you email to legislators for pediatric research advocacy
September 20, 2023:
- "Strategies to Optimize Work-Life Integration"
Julie Welch, MD, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Vice Chair of Faculty Development, and Director of Mentoring Training for the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (ICTSI), Indiana University School of Medicine and Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics, Division Chief, Pediatric Endocrinology, Indiana University
Slides available here
Recording available here
Worksheet shared during session: What does “Work-Life” mean to you?
January 17, 2024:
- "The Art of Self-Promotion: Successfully Marketing your Academic Work"
Nia Mitchell, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine
Example of a website recommendation which demonstrates good self-promotion/marketing academic work techniques
Book recommended during session: Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Article shared during session: The 2023 Joseph W. St Geme, Jr Leadership Award Address: The Magic of Yes
May 15, 2024:
- "Data, Diabetes, and AI: A Primer for Early Career Physician Scientists"
Juan Carlos Espinoza Salomon, MD, Chief Research Informatics Officer, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Director, West Coast Consortium for Technology & Innovation in Pediatrics (CTIP),
Associate Director, Center for Biomedical Informatics and Data Science, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Slides available here
Recording available here Passcode: 9bL&!7BT
October 23, 2024:
- "From Engaging Examples to Elevator Pitches: Strategies to Improve Communication About Your Work with Any Audience"
Krista Longtin, PhD, Assistant Dean, Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, Associate Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Associate Professor, Communication Studies, School of Liberal Arts, Indiana University
Slides available here - Recording available here Passcode: iuX3&5BW
2024 DiabDocs Retreat Resources:
Slides from Retreat:
- "Resources and Funding Opportunities For Training and Career Development in NIDDK Research."
Slides available here - "How to Read and Appraise a Paper." Philip Zeitler, MD, PhD, Professor, Pediatric Endocrionology,
University of Colorado - Anschutz Medical Campus
Slides available here - Keynote Presentation: "Stem Cell Therapies for T1D: Promise and Challenges." Lori Sussel, PhD, Professor, Pediatrics, University of Colorado - Anschutz Medical Campus
Slides available here - Message from Maryaline Coffre, PhD, MS, Program Officer, Helmsley Charitable Trust’s
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) Program
Slides available here
2022 DiabDocs Retreat Resources:
Slides from Retreat:
- "Getting Your Great Ideas Funded:" Message from Lisa Spain, Ph.D., NIH Program Director
Slides available here - Message from William Cefalu, M.D., Director of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases (DEM), NIH
Slides available here - Children with Diabetes® (CWD): A brief overview from our program supporters at the Children with Diabetes® Slides available here
For more information, please visit the CWD® Website
Articles from Retreat:
- Effective Communication Styles Inventory
- Building a Relationship with a Mentee
- National Clinical Care Commission (NCCC) Report to Congress 2021:
Leveraging Federal Programs to Prevent and Control Diabetes and Its Complications - Groupthink (Irving Janis)
the(Sugar)Science Virtual Presentation Resources:
December 2023:
- First Cohort of National NIH K12 DiabDocs Scholars:
12/14/2023: Recording available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UEfxJFq4C8
September 2024:
- Second Cohort of National NIH K12 DiabDocs Scholars:
09/24/2024: Recording available here: https://youtu.be/LxickVMDKlE
09/26/2024: Recording available here: https://youtu.be/VeD8YHATUso
DiabDocs Program Photos
Inaugural DiabDocs Program Retreat in
October 2022 at Sheraton Suites Chicago O'Hare!
DiabDocs 2022 October
Virtual Program Retreat Participants
DiabDocs 2022 October
In-Person Program Retreat Participants
William Cefalu, MD,
Director of Diabetes, Endocrinology
and Metabolic Disease, NIDDK,
Connecting to the DiabDocs Retreat Remotely!
David Maahs, MD, PhD, Program Director and Mark Clements, MD, PhD,
Scientific Review Committee (SRC) Member
for DiabDocs, at the Program Retreat
Basic Science Presentation from
Raghu Mirmira, MD, PhD, at the
DiabDocs Program Retreat
David Maahs, MD, PhD, Program Director,
Presenting his Closing Remarks at the
DiabDocs Program Retreat
Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH, Program Director,
Presenting her Closing Remarks at the
DiabDocs Program Retreat
Inaugural Cohort of 2022
DiabDocs Program Applicants!
Second DiabDocs Program Retreat
in March 2024 at the
University of Colorado - Anschutz Campus
in Snowy Aurora, CO!
David Maahs, MD, PhD, Program Director,
Introducing Andrea Steck, MD,
Clinical Science Keynote Presenter,
and DiabDocs Co-Director, Scholar Selection
Andrea Steck, MD,
DiabDocs Co-Director, Scholar Selection,
Presenting Clinical Science Keynote Talk
at the 2024 Annual Program Retreat
Philip Zeitler, MD, PhD, DiabDocs Faculty,
Presenting a Talk on Reviewing Manuscripts
at the 2024 Annual Program Retreat
Denver, CO Bracing for its Biggest Storm
of the Season During the
2024 Annual Program Retreat!
Dinner and Basic Scientist
Faculty Keynote Presentation
by Lori Sussel, PhD, Professor, Pediatrics,
University of Colorado – Anschutz Campus
Dinner on the First Night
of the 2024 Annual Program Retreat
DiabDocs Faculty, Scholars, Applicants, and Staff
Engaging in Networking During the Dinner
on the First Night of the
2024 Annual Program Retreat
Lisa Spain, PhD, NIH Program Officer,
with Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH,
Program Director, on the Second Day
of the 2024 Annual Program Retreat
Enjoying Snowy Aurora, CO!
David Maahs, MD, PhD, Program Director,
Welcoming Participants to Second Day
of the 2024 Annual DiabDocs Retreat
DiabDocs Program Directors’ Welcome
to 2024 Annual Retreat Participants
Welcome Message by Program Directors
on the Second Day of 2024 Annual Retreat
DiabDocs Program Scholars' and Applicants'
Introductions at the 2024 Annual Retreat
Introductions of DiabDocs Program Faculty,
Scholars, and Applicants, at the
2024 Annual Retreat
DiabDocs 2024 Annual Program Retreat
In-Person Participants
DiabDocs 2024 Annual Program Retreat
In-Person Participants Out in the
Aurora, CO, Snow!
Dinner on the Second Night of the
2024 Annual Program Retreat
DiabDocs Faculty, Scholars, Applicants, and Staff
Enjoying Dinner Conversations During the
Second Night of the 2024 Program Retreat
Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH,
Conducting a Site Visit
at the Washington University in St. Louis,
for DiabDocs Program Scholar,
Samantha Adamson, MD, PhD, in March 2024
Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH,
Conducting a Site Visit at the
University of Minnesota,
for DiabDocs Program Scholar,
Jacob Kohlenberg, MD, in April 2024
Schafer Boeder, MD, MA, Program Scholar,
at Dinner Meeting with
Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH, Program Director,
and Jamie Felton, MD, Program Scholar,
while Visiting Indiana University as a
K12 Faculty Scholar in April 2024
Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH,
DiabDocs Program Director, Received the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
George Eisenbarth Award for
Major Contributions to
Type 1 Diabetes Prevention in April 2024!
Congratulations Dr. DiMeglio on this
Prestigious JDRF Award and Honor!
Academic Centers Represented Currently in DiabDocs Program
Program Leadership
David Maahs, MD, PhD
Multiple Program Director (MPD)
Professor and Chief, Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, (by courtesy) of Epidemiology and Population Health at The Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital and at The Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, California
Linda DiMeglio, MD, MPH
Multiple Program Director (MPD)
Professor and Chief, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology in the Department of Pediatrics at Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, Indiana