Significant Impact: from K Award to Your First Big R01
For women faculty, transitioning from a Career Development (K) Award to your first NIH R01 is about more than just writing a fundable grant.Host and expert NIH Grant Consultant Sarah Dobson guides early career researchers through the roadmap for overcoming the hurdles of being a woman in academia and avoiding the K cliff. She’s ready to see passionate and tenacious women K Award recipients level up to R01 funding and build impactful, thriving, and fulfilling research careers.Visit https://sarahdobson.co to learn more.
Episodes
85 episodes
When It Feels Like You Can't Catch A Break
If you’ve been feeling like you just can’t catch a break, this episode is for you.In the last five years, early-career researchers have had to navigate two major crises—first the pandemic, and now a new wave of funding instability and in...
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Episode 77
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14:25
Featured K to R Essentials Graduate: Brienne Miner, MD MHS
In this episode, I sit down with Brienne Miner, MD MHS—a physician, researcher, and recent K to R Essentials graduate—for a powerful conversation about what it really looks like to step into your role as a PI with clarity and purpose....
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Episode 76
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32:13
A Strategic Reset When You’re Feeling Powerless
When the funding landscape feels chaotic, it’s easy to spiral into overwhelm or freeze in place. But one of the most powerful things you can do right now is come back to the work that grounds you. In this episode, I’m...
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Episode 75
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14:52
Short-Term Panic vs. Long-Term Strategy: How to Make Better Career Decisions
When the decisions you make are often short-term, reactionary, and misaligned with where you actually want to go. In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between making decisions from a place of fear versus a place ...
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Episode 74
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14:45
Overcommitted and Off-Track? How to Reclaim Your Time for the Work That Matters
Defining your North Star—the long-term vision for your research—is one thing. Actually aligning your daily work with it? That’s where things get tricky. Most researchers don’t realize just how misaligned their time an...
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Episode 73
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15:40
Navigating Institutional Chaos Without Losing Sight of Your Career Goals
With so much uncertainty in higher education, research funding, and institutional policies, it’s easy to feel like the ground is constantly shifting beneath you. But instead of reacting to institutional panic or the latest funding cha...
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Episode 72
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17:09
K to R Essentials Behind the Scenes: The Proposal Development Plan That Saves You Time & Stress
This episode wraps up our K to R Essentials Behind the Scenes mini-series with a look inside the final month of the program—Planning. If you’ve been following along, you know that we start with the big-picture vision for your career, ...
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Episode 71
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17:16
K to R Essentials Behind the Scenes: How to Strategically Map Your Next Steps
In this episode of K to R Essentials Behind the Scenes, we’re diving into strategy—the third month of the program and where we shift from big-picture vision work into pragmatic, strategic decision-making. One of the m...
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Episode 70
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12:25
K to R Essentials Behind the Scenes: Cultivating Leadership from Within
This episode continues our special miniseries, K to R Essentials Behind the Scenes, offering an inside look at our coaching calls. K to R Essentials is structured around four key themes—Vision, Leadership, Strategy, and Planning—and t...
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Episode 69
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11:13
K to R Essentials Behind the Scenes: How We Clarify Your Vision
This episode kicks off a special miniseries, K to R Essentials Behind the Scenes, offering an inside look at our coaching calls. K to R Essentials is structured around four key themes—Vision, Leadership, Strategy, and Planning—and thi...
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Episode 68
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11:21
How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others (Revisited)
In the high-stakes world of academia, competition is everywhere—from landing a faculty position to securing grant funding. It's easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others, but instead of success, this can lead to self-sab...
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Episode 67
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9:36
Protecting Your Capacity for Thoughtful Research in 2025 and Beyond
Learning to navigate uncertainty is essential for a successful research career. In this episode, I reflect on the challenges we face as researchers—both in the broader funding landscape and our personal and professional lives—and shar...
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Episode 66
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8:30
End-of-Year Reflection and Intention Setting: Tools to Close the Year with Clarity
As the year comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and prepare for what’s next. In this solo episode, I’m sharing a practice that has been a cornerstone of my personal and professional growth over the last five yea...
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Episode 65
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14:43
Featured K to R Essentials Graduate: Jaime Speiser, PhD
In this episode, I sit down with Jaime Lynn Speiser, PhD, an associate professor of Biostatistics and Data Science and a recent K to R Essentials graduate. Jaime shares her experience of navigating the unique challenges and opportunit...
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Episode 64
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25:16
Featured K to R Essentials Graduate: Clare Whitney, PhD MBE RN
In this episode, I speak with Clare Whitney, PhD MBE RN, an assistant professor, and a recent K to R Essentials graduate. Clare shares her journey from feeling stretched too thin to finding her “North Star” in research, which has help...
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Episode 63
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16:34
Featured K to R Essentials Graduate: Kristin Anderson, PhD
In this episode, I sit down with Kristin Anderson, PhD, a K to R Essentials graduate and assistant professor at the University of Virginia. Kristin shares her inspiring journey from an uncertain start to a clearly defined and purpose-...
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Episode 62
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40:12
Featured K to R Essentials Graduate: Caroline Sloan, MD MPH
In this episode, I sit down with Caroline Sloan, MD MPH a recent graduate of the K to R Essentials program and a general internist, as she shares her journey of building a purpose-driven research path. Caroline reflects on the challen...
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Episode 61
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26:50
What Becomes Possible When You Start Thinking Like a PI
What becomes possible when you stop thinking like a mentee and start thinking like a PI? In this episode, I’m diving deep into what happens when you make the crucial shift in your research career from mentee to PI. Th...
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Episode 60
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14:39
Featured K to R Essentials Graduate: Liza Behrens, PhD RN
What does it take to transition from a K Award to an R01 with confidence and clarity? In this episode, I sit down with Liza Behrens, a recent K to R Essentials graduate and assistant professor of nursing at Penn State...
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Episode 59
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26:12
Featured K to R Essentials Graduate: Cindy Veldhuis, PhD
How do you navigate the transition from postdoc to independent PI without losing your sense of direction? In this episode, I chat with Cindy Veldhuis, a recent graduate of K to R Essentials, who shares her candid expe...
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Episode 58
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23:29
Get your K to R Essentials Program Questions Answered Live
Are you ready to navigate the journey from K award to your first R01 with confidence? Join us for a special bonus episode as we dive deep into an upcoming info session for the next cohort of the K to R Essentials program. Schedul...
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0:50
The Balance Between Dreaming Big and Taking Action: Delusion vs. Discipline in Your Career
Have you ever felt like your career ambitions were just too big, maybe even impossible? In this episode, I’m diving deep into the critical balance between delusion and discipline when it comes to pursuing your career ...
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Episode 57
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10:26
The Myth of Being Behind: How to Shift Your Perspective and Stay on Track
Do you ever feel like you’re constantly behind in your career? In this episode, I’m tackling the common but misguided belief that we’re not where we should be. So many of us feel like we’re behind, but that feeling is...
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Episode 56
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6:23
Featured K to R Essentials Graduate: Gillian Tarr, PhD CPH
Have you ever felt like your career path was a bit scattered or not quite aligned with what you truly want to be doing? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Gillian Tarr, an Assistant Professor at the University of Mi...
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Episode 55
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20:10