BRTP FY27 APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, September 11, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.

The BRTP supports predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees who are committed to pursuing careers in biomedical research and preparing competitive applications for external training awards, including individual fellowships (e.g., NIH F30, F31, NSF, DoD, private foundations) and future institutional training programs (e.g., T32). The program provides protected research time, structured mentorship, and career development to enhance trainees' competitiveness for external funding and independent research careers.

Pre- and postdoctoral trainees conducdeting basic, clinical, or translational research are eligible. Program requirements are as follows:

• Applicants must be working under the mentorship of a faculty member with a primary academic appointment in the School of Medicine, School of Health Professions, or School of Nursing at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
• Previous BRTP awardees and trainees currently supported by other fellowships (NIH F- or T-series awards, Self Graduate Fellows, etc) are ineligible.
• Predoctoral applicants must have completed at least one year of graduate training (or both years of the ACE curriculum for MSTP students) and be enrolled in a PhD-granting program.
• Faculty may serve as Primary Sponsor on only one application per BRTP funding cycle.
• Primary sponsors of predoctoral applicants must hold Graduate Faculty status at KUMC.
• Co-sponsors may be included when they will play a significant role in the applicant's research training and career development.
• Applications should be written primarily by the applicant, with guidance and feedback from the sponsor(s).
• Applicants should describe how participation in BRTP will strengthen a future external fellowship or training grant application.
• Eligibility for NIH fellowship mechanisms (e.g., citizenship requirements) will not be considered during review.
• Beginning with the FY29 BRTP submission cycle, faculty serving as a Primary Sponsor must have participated as a BRTP reviewer during at least one of the preceding three BRTP review cycles to be eligible to sponsor an application.  Faculty who were unable to serve as reviewers because an application was submitted from their laboratory will be considered to have met this requirement. This requirement is intended to ensure that faculty who benefit from the BRTP contribute to the peer-review process that sustains the program.

Awards are contingent upon the availability of funding. BRTP support is provided as salary support during the FY27 award period.

Formatting Requirements

Unless otherwise specified, all application components must adhere to the following formatting requirements:

• Use an NIH-approved font: Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia (11 points or larger); Calibri (11 points or larger); or Computer Modern (10 points or larger).
• Use at least 0.5-inch margins on all sides.
• Figures, tables, charts, graphs, and figure legends must be legible and use a font size that is readily readable.
• Hyperlinks and URLs are not permitted within application documents except where specifically requested.
• Each application component has its own maximum page limit. Page limits are not cumulative or interchangeable (e.g., unused pages from one section may not be applied to another).
• Applications that exceed the page limit for any individual component or otherwise fail to adhere to the stated application or formatting requirements will be administratively rejected without review.

Review Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Applicant Potential and Career Development
   The applicant's commitment to a career in biomedical research, long-term career goals, preparedness for the proposed training, and potential to benefit from BRTP.

2. Research and Training Plan
   Scientific merit, significance, innovation, feasibility of the proposed research, and its potential to support a competitive external fellowship or training grant application.

3. Mentoring Plan and Sponsor Commitment
   Quality of the mentoring plan, commitment of the sponsor(s) to the applicant's scientific and professional development, and the extent to which the mentoring plan is individualized and aligned with the applicant's stated career goals and training needs.

Application Materials

Submit the following application materials through the BRTP REDCap application.

1. BRTP Application Form
2. Statement of Commitment to Submit an External Fellowship or Training Grant Application

3. SciENcv-formatted biosketch
   In accordance with current NIH requirements, all applicant biosketches must be prepared using the NIH Biographical Sketch Common Form and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement through SciENcv. Biosketches prepared using previous NIH biosketch formats will not be accepted. SciENcv is the only method for creating the required forms; downloadable templates are no longer available. Applicants should follow the NIH instructions for preparing a fellowship biosketch using SciENcv.

   • NIH Biographical Sketch Common Form Instructions
   • SciENcv and NIH Biosketch Guidance
4. Research Training Plan

• • Specific Aims (1 page - maximum)
  • Research Strategy (3 pages - maximum)
    • Significance
    • Innovation
    • Approach
  • Literature Cited (no page limit)

5. Candidate Goals and Training Statement (1 page - maximum)
   The Goals and Training Statement should describe your long-term career goals, current stage of scientific development, and how participation in the Biomedical Research Training Program will prepare you for a successful career in biomedical research.
   Please address the following:
   1. 1. Career Goals
         Describe your long-term career goals in biomedical research.
      2. Current Strengths
         Describe your current strengths, including both technical skills and conceptual or scientific strengths.
      3. Training Needs and Skills to be Gained
         Describe the specific skills, knowledge, or experiences you hope to gain through BRTP. Explain how your research and training plan will provide these new skills, knowledge, or experiences. If training will be provided by collaborators, co-sponsors, core facilities, or other experts, describe how they will contribute to your development.
      4. Career Development Through BRTP
         Explain how your proposed research project and participation in BRTP will help you achieve your long-term career goals.
6. Introduction to Resubmission (Optional; 1 page - maximum)
   Applicants submitting a revised BRTP application may include a one-page Introduction describing the major changes made in response to prior reviewer critiques. Summarize how reviewer comments were addressed and highlight substantive revisions to the research or training plan. This page does not count toward the page limits for the Research Training Plan.

7. Sponsor Statement (2 pages - maximum)

   The Sponsor Statement should describe the mentor's commitment to the applicant's scientific and professional development and explain how the proposed mentorship will support the applicant's training goals. The statement should complement, rather than repeat, the applicant's Goals and Training Statement.

   Please address the following:

   1. Mentoring and Training Plan
      Describe your approach to mentoring and your plan for supporting the applicant throughout the Biomedical Research Training Program. Include how you will provide scientific guidance, career development, regular feedback, opportunities for increasing independence, and other professional development experiences. Explain how your mentoring plan is tailored to the applicant's training needs and stated career goals. If the applicant has identified training needs or proposed skills or concepts that fall outside your area of expertise, describe how you will ensure they receive appropriate training and mentorship in those areas.
   2. Assessment of the Applicant
      Assess the applicant's preparedness for the proposed research and potential for a career in biomedical research. Explain why the applicant is well suited for the proposed training by describing the applicant's key strengths, as well as the skills, knowledge, or experiences they should further develop. Explain how participation in BRTP will enhance the applicant's scientific and professional growth.
   3. Mentoring Experience (Optional but Encouraged)
      Briefly describe your mentoring philosophy and previous mentoring experience. Rather than listing former trainees or their career outcomes, provide examples that illustrate your mentoring approach and how you have supported the scientific, professional, or career development of trainees.

   Reviewers will evaluate the extent to which the sponsor's mentoring plan is individualized, aligned with the applicant's stated career goals and training needs, and designed to address any identified gaps in training through appropriate mentorship or additional expertise.

8. Faculty Sponsor Curriculum Vitae
   Submit the sponsor's current KUMC School of Medicine Curriculum Vitae (as generated through FACT).

9. Letters of Support (if applicable)
   Letters of support should be submitted by relevant core directors and/or additional faculty collaborators (not listed as sponsors) who will make significant contributions to the proposed research or training. Please combine all letters into a single PDF.