212 HCTRECD’s K to R Club: Adapted model to support research independence of Clinical and Translational Researchers in Puerto Rico

Objectives/Goals: A limited number of Hispanic researchers compete successfully for NIH career development and research grants. We adapted an established K Club model from the University of Pittsburgh with high success rates to Hispanics in Puerto Rico (PR). The K to R Club’s goal is to increase the successful submission of K- and R-type NIH grants in the HCTRECD Program. Methods/Study Population: K to R Club is an inviting environment that exposes scholars to established funded investigators in PR from all career stages. It creates a forum to discuss different grant mechanisms and explains the selection, submission, and review process. The Club promotes the right mentor selection and mentoring team. It facilitates networking with principal investigators local/external to share their success stories, career development experiences, and grant submission tips. It offers mock review sessions of sections of the grant proposal to provide feedback from invited established investigators during the grant writing process. The Club meets 1–2 times per month in-person or virtual for 1 hour and anonymous evaluations were submitted after each session. Results/Anticipated Results: K to R Club 1st year had 11 sessions with 15 invited speakers. Sessions included: 1 Kickoff, 2 funding opportunities, 2 coaching, 7 successful stories of Diversity Supplement, and F99/K00, K22, K23, K99/R00, R01, and R21 awardees. The highest attendance was for the Kickoff (48). Evaluations response rates ranged from 15 to 62 with the highest participation from women (78% vs. 22% men). Most respondents were PhD (45%) and MD (29%). K to R Club sessions were rated as excellent (84%), 74% agreed that the sessions changed their knowledge very much, and 78% reported it changed their ability to apply for funding very much. Interest in submitting NIH supplements in 12 months was higher (68%) vs. 6 months (48%). Interest in requesting mock reviews for K or R grants in 6 months (91%) vs. 12 months (17%). Discussion/Significance of Impact: The 1st year of the K to R Club had an active attendance and increased the interest in submission of NIH grants. We are working on strategies to increase evaluations’ response rates to improve and address future session needs due to the low response rates recorded. Currently, the semester is full of mock review sessions for grant applications (4 Ks and 1 R01).