Application deadline: April 12, 2027
Appointment start date between May and July 2027
Eligibility
Scholars should have no more than five years of postdoctoral research experience and not more than ten years should have elapsed since receiving the terminal doctoral degree. Mid-career and senior faculty are not eligible. Scholars must be a US citizen or have a valid green card. Applicants can be associated with any Duke department and should be pursuing a research career related to benign urology.
Research areas supported by this initiative must be related to the mission of the NIDDK. Areas of interest may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Basic research such as cell and molecular biology, genomics and proteomics, biochemistry, physiology, developmental biology, tissue engineering, immunology, pathology, neurobiology and microbiology
- Expertise in clinical sciences such as urology, infectious disease, gastroenterology, gynecology, endocrinology, anesthesiology, neurology, gerontology and radiology
- Epidemiology or biostatistics
- Physical sciences expertise in fields such as physics, bioengineering, chemical and mechanical engineering
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
Application Process
You will need to submit the following documents:
- NIH biosketch
- Your current CV (dated)
- Your project title and a 2-sentence description of your project.
- A personal statement (2 pages max) that includes:
- Description of long-term career goals.
- Professional development plan: Description of career development goals (include coursework, training, etc.) for the next 2-3 years.
- Describe how your mentor(s) will support you in your career development endeavors.
- Description of how the KURe program will help meet your career and professional development goals.
- Plan for securing 75% protected research time and commitments for your 25% non- KURe time.
- A brief research proposal (2-3 pages plus references; .5 margins, Arial 11 font) for a specific project to be accomplished during the next 2-3 years. The project must support collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches to benign urological research. Describe how your mentor(s) will support you in your research.
- Provide a budget for your proposed KURe research project (limit $40,000/year).
- Plan for future funding (1 page): Briefly describe what question your future major grant application will investigate. Describe how the completion of your proposed KURe project and your proposed career development goals will support that future major grant application.
- Letters of Support
LOS from your proposed mentor(s), from at least one other person knowledgeable about your prior accomplishments and suitability for this program, and from your department chair or division chief. The department chair/division chief letter should indicate their agreement to designate 75% (9 person months; or 50% effort and 6 person months for surgical specialties) of your total professional effort towards KURe-related research and career development, and specify steps that will be taken to assure this protected time. Read the KURe LOS form carefully, add your name at the top, and send to the letter writers. LOS writers may send the letter to you for uploading in the application, or they may send the letter directly to Dr. Cindy Amundsen (cindy.amundsen@duke.edu) and Dr. Friederike Jayes (friederike.jayes@duke.edu).