Develop Your Career in the KL2 Program
Our goal
The OCTRI KL2 Program is designed to support early-career faculty in their transition to research independence. The mission of this program is to identify and support promising faculty who may benefit from OCTRI support and resources in their efforts to obtain independent research funding.
Key program activities and outcomes
Activities
- Individual development plan
- Customized research curriculum
- Scholar-led weekly Works in Progress
- Quarterly benchmark assessments
- Extramural grant development support
- Priority support from OCTRI services
- OCTRI Research Forum seminars
- Monthly bulletin tailored to early career opportunities and resources
- Small grant program for CTRC support
Outcomes
89% of 2017-2023 cohort have independent research funding
87% of 2007-2016 cohort have R01 or equivalent
Program benefits
Recipients of the KL2 Program receive a two-year career development award to pursue their translational science. Awardees are given protected clinical and translational research training time, formal didactic and experiential training, intensive research experience, and multidisciplinary mentorship. Review additional benefits below.
Benefits
- An individualized research and career development plan
- Educational programs tailored to the scholar, including enrollment in the Human Investigations Program, which offers a Master of Clinical Research, certificate, and/or non-degree courses
- Mentorship and support
- Access to OCTRI resources, including regulatory/IRB and study start up, biostatistics, research design, community engagement, informatics, and services from the Clinical & Translational Research Center
- KL2 and OCTRI Scholar community
Scholar support
- Salary support not to exceed $100,000 annually
- $30,000 research and travel expenses annually
- 0.75 FTE protected research time
- Two years (total) of funding, contingent on progress and availability of funding
Eligibility
The OCTRI KL2 Program is open to researchers from OHSU and regional partners, including Portland State University, Oregon State University, and University of Oregon. Review additional criteria below.
Candidates must:
- Be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.
- Hold a clinical or research doctorate (e.g. MD/DO, DMD/DDS, DNP, PharmD, ND, OD, DC or PhD)
- Have primary, full-time faculty appointment at OHSU, PSU, OSU, or UO
- Awardees must be at least ranked as an Assistant Professor (or equivalent) by the KL2 appointment start date
- Not have prior funding as a principal investigator on an NIH research grant including an R01 or any K series grant
Proposed projects must:
- Involve either clinical or translational research defined as involving human subjects or populations, or research that has direct application to human health
- Involve research conducted domestically
Application information
OCTRI KL2 is now accepting applications for a fall 2025 start date.
View the 2025 RFA for application timeline, details, and award requirements and support.
Deadline: Monday, July 7th 2025 11:59 p.m.
June 16, 2025
Meet the KL2 Scholars
Review scholars, their projects, and mentors below. Scholars and mentors from OHSU unless otherwise noted.
Curtis Lachowiez, MD
Assistant Professor, Medicine - Hematology and Oncology
Identifying and targeting measurable residual disease following azacitidine and venetoclax therapy in acute myeloid leukemia
Mentor: Jeffrey Tyner, PhD
Appointed: 1/1/23
Angie Garinis, PhD, MS
Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology and Audiology
Novel Kinematic Analyses for Detection of Aminoglycoside-Induced Vestibular Loss
Mentor: Timothy Hullar, MD
Appointed: 10/23/23
Alex Speers, ND, MS
Assistant Professor, Neurology
Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of an oral Withania somnifera product in older adults
Mentor: Amala Soumyanath, Ph.D., B.Pharm
Appointed: 12/4/23
Jessica Hebert, PhD
Instructor, Nephrology & Hypertension
Determining mechanisms of longitudinal reproductive impact following recovered maternal AKI
Mentor: Mike Hutchens, MD, MA
Appointed: 8/1/24
Hunter Spencer, DO
Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
Dried Blood Spot Testing in Peer-assisted, Telemedicine-based Hepatitis C Treatment
Mentor: Todd Korthuis, MD, MPH & Ryan Cook, PhD
Appointed: 8/1/24
Noah Hornick, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dermatology
The role of androgens in differentiating checkpoint-induced and spontaneous lichenoid skin disease
Mentor: Amy Moran, PhD
Appointed: 11/1/24
Elizabeth Wood, PhD
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Maternal-placental-fetal inflammatory programming of infant cardiometabolic disease
Mentor: Elinor Sullivan, PhD & Jamie Lo, MD, MCR
Appointed: 1/1/25
Learn about past KL2 Scholars and Projects
Contact us
For more information about the OCTRI KL2 Program, please contact:
Melissa Mudd, MPH
Alliance Manager, KL2 Coordinator
muddm@ohsu.edu
C. Terri Hough, MD, MSc
Director, KL2 Program
houghc@ohsu.edu
Don Sullivan, MD, MA, MCR
Associate Director, KL2 Program
sullivad@ohsu.edu
Contact an OCTRI Navigator to connect with research resources
Awardee Site
KL2 Access to resources and tools
Former OCTRI KL2 Scholar featured by OHSU Foundation
Dr. Cirila Estela Vasquez Guzman is bridging gaps in cervical cancer care.
Are you a physician-scientist?
Check out the new Physician-Scientist Resources web page.
Quick list of OCTRI grant numbers
CTSA award: UL1TR002369
TL1 program: TL1TR002371
KL2 program: KL2TR002370