# Research Leadership Development Program for Diverse Early Career Scientists

> **NIH NIH R25** · AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION · 2020 · $127,491

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Research Leadership Development Program for Diverse Early Career Scientists
This proposed project is an evidence-informed mentoring and leadership development program for early career
social and behavioral scientist from underrepresented racial and ethnic populations who show promise in
research related to the NIDDK mission but who have not yet received R01 funding and have not ascended to a
leadership position in their respective disciplines or professional associations. Three cohorts of 10 postdoctoral
scholars from underrepresented populations will be recruited to participate over the course of five years. Each
mentee will participate in a two-year mentorship program and will be matched with volunteer mentors who are
leading researches in the area of diabetes and other endocrine and metabolic diseases, have expertise in the
mentees area of interest, and who have a track record of receiving federal funding. In addition to one-on-one
mentoring additional training mechanisms will be used to assist mentees in their career development. These
mechanisms will include: 1) online group training sessions focused on critical topics associated with obtaining
relevant leadership skills and developing a successful research proposal in the area of diabetes, endocrine or
other metabolic diseases. The grant writing topics will be sequenced so that mentees receive critical
information about developing grant proposals at key times in the process of developing their own proposals,
and 2) additional face-to-face meetings and trainings. These in-person trainings will include grant writing “Boot
Camps” intended to provide writing tips, direct/specific feedback on applications and an opportunity for
protégés to refine their applications with dedicated writing time, and “Mock Reviews” during which mentee
applications will be reviewed and scored by a review panel of experts. Reviewers will provide written feedback
with emphasis placed on recommendations for improvement. Mentees will then revise their proposals in
response to the mock review feedback before submitting a final proposal to the identified funding agency. The
program will help mentees to 1) develop and implement a career development plan focused on building the
capacity to conduct independent research, 2) conceptualize, draft, and submit a high-quality research
application to an appropriate federal funding mechanism (particularly NIDDK and other NIH agencies) or
national foundation, 3) obtain the relevant leadership skills necessary to become competitive for leadership
positions in academic careers of interest to NIDDK; and, 4) establish a network of professional colleagues with
similar research interests and a concomitant network of senior researchers who hold leadership positions in
various academic settings.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9913530
- **Project number:** 5R25DK118763-03
- **Recipient organization:** AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Ashley M Butler
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $127,491
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9913530

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9913530, Research Leadership Development Program for Diverse Early Career Scientists (5R25DK118763-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9913530. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*