The KURe Career Development Program | Duke Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Multidisciplinary K12 Urologic Research Career Development Program

Funding opportunity for Duke junior faculty, fellows and postdocs with doctoral degrees

Save the Date! Multidisciplinary Benign Urology Research Symposium April 9, 2027

About the KURe Program

The KURe recruits talented clinical, translational and basic science researchers (MD, DO, PhD, MD/PhD) who are interested in building an independent research career using collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches to benign urological research questions. Junior faculty, fellows and postdocs from any Duke department and interested in research applicable to benign urology may apply to the KURe program. For additional information, contact friederike.jayes@duke.edu or cindy.amundsen@duke.edu.

The KURe Program is a part of CAIRIBU, funded through NIDDK. CAIRIBU’s K12, P20, and U54 centers and programs are united around the overall objectives of improving understanding of the mechanisms of urogenital diseases and developing clinical therapies for treating them. Duke's KURe Program is a K12 Institutional Career Development Grant that provides scholars with career development training and support to develop the skills necessary to become outstanding independent investigators able to lead multidisciplinary research teams. Scholars receive salary support up to $100,000 per year for 75% of full professional effort (50% -75% if a surgical specialty). Research and Career Development Support up to $40,000 per year will be provided for research supplies, equipment and technical personnel; tuition and fees related to didactic courses or career development; and travel to research meetings. Scholars are expected to publish and apply for independent grant funding by Year 3.

KURe scholars also participate in the Research Scholars Educational Training (ReSET) Program which provides structured, real-time grant writing support and welcomes all ob/gyn trainees, faculty and K12 scholars. Lectures and workshops are held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at Baker House Room 214 from 9:00 - 10:30 AM. Scholars, are you submitting an external grant in the next 3-6 months? Request a personal Grant Development Support (GRADS) Team to help you get your grant out the door. Learn more on the ReSET website.

Letter of Intent

A Letter of Intent must be submitted to the Program Director for review prior to completing an application. Submission of the LOI begins a discussion of your career goals, proposed project, mentor selection, and eligibility with the Program Director. We will contact you to let you know if you are eligible to apply. The LOI should be emailed to the Program Director: Cindy Amundsen, MD at cindy.amundsen@duke.edu and Program Coordinator: Friederike Jayes at friederike.jayes@duke.edu.

The LOI must include the following information:

1. Applicant’s full name
2. Degree(s) and date(s) awarded (if MD with residency/fellowship, also include when you finished residency/fellowship)
3. Department, Division, School
4. Academic rank and position
5. NIH biosketch
6. Project title and a two-sentence description of the research project
7. Brief description of the planned project (1 page max)
8. Brief description of professional development goals (1 page max)
9. Proposed mentor(s), at least one from the list of approved mentors