# Duke KURe Program

> **NIH NIH K12** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $597,639

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Through the Duke KURe program, Duke University provides structured mentoring, customized research
training, and individualized career development for early career level MD, PhD, and MD/PhD faculty and
postdoctoral fellows who are committed to an independent research career in benign urology. During the past
funding period, we have supported 6 KURe Scholars including 1 underrepresented minority. Three Scholars
have acquired independent funding and we currently support 3 Duke KURe Scholars. This competitive renewal
of the Duke KURe program continues our three major goals: 1) Foster diversity by identifying and recruiting
scholars from diverse backgrounds and by providing individualized mentoring and career development support
in an environment of team science. 2) Train the next generation of benign urology researchers by fostering
multidisciplinary research emphasizing the importance of diverse scientific methods. 3) Prepare KURe
Scholars to lead their own multidisciplinary research teams and become the mentors and leaders of tomorrow.
At any one time, we plan to support three Scholars. Each Scholar chooses a KURe mentor from a core group
of recognized senior investigators. A second mentor is chosen to maximize multidisciplinary opportunities and
collaborations, and to support clinical, translational, and basic science approaches. The Duke KURe mentors
have significant expertise in 4 main areas of benign urology: 1) Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction, 2) Urinary
Tract Infection/Inflammation, 3) Pediatric Urology, and 4) Stone Disease. In addition, our mentors employ
different approaches and can guide our Scholars using 1) Basic/Translational Research, 2) Clinical Trials, 3)
Health Services Research, and 4) Systems Biology. As part of the leadership team, the Duke KURe program
includes an experienced faculty career coach, who designed the Leadership Enhancement and Career
Development Coaching Program for KURe Scholars. This is a critical component of our successful program.
The Duke KURe career development program spans two to five years depending on the Scholar’s educational
needs. It consists of intense hands-on research, structured mentoring, didactic course work, seminars, and
workshops on scientific and career development related subjects, and training in responsible conduct of
research. At completion of the program, the Scholars are expected to have published in peer-reviewed journals
and obtain independent funding. Scholars’ progress is monitored by the Program Director and the Advisory
Committee. Program leadership receives frequent feedback from both mentors and Scholars. Program
improvements are made based on such feedback, recommendations by the career coach and the Advisory
Committee, and the results from an independent external review. The Duke KURe is a successful, vibrant
program that has expert mentors, experienced leadership, and the institutional commitment to ensure that a
diverse pool of highly trained scien...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10000767
- **Project number:** 5K12DK100024-08
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Cindy Amundsen
- **Activity code:** K12 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $597,639
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10000767

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10000767, Duke KURe Program (5K12DK100024-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10000767. Licensed CC0.

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