Significant Impact: from K Award to Your First Big R01

K to R Essentials graduate Caitlin Rancher, PhD shares her journey navigating the K99-R00 transition while developing essential skills for independent faculty success. She discusses how applying a scientific mindset to career challenges transformed uncertainty into opportunity.

In this conversation we discuss:
• The challenge of "going off the written map" when transitioning from structured training to indepe...

When your grant funding suddenly vanishes, panic isn't just common—it's expected. But how you respond to that panic could determine whether your research vision survives or gets sacrificed in the scramble.

Drawing from recent conversations with early-career researchers facing  grant terminations, this episode delves into a crucial dilemma: the instinct to immediately "fix" your funding situation by atta...

The ever-expanding presence of artificial intelligence in our professional lives has reached the sacred territory of research grant writing, raising profound questions about scientific integrity and the nature of academic work. As someone who's spent a fair amount of time exploring these tools firsthand, I'm sharing my perspective on how researchers can navigate the use of these tools without compromising what makes their...

This episode gets a bit personal! Rediscovering a 12-year-old journal unexpectedly transformed my understanding of the work I do now. For weeks, I found myself immersed in the pages of my younger self's thoughts, witnessing my struggles to define personal and professional goals while questioning if I even deserved to have them. What struck me most was seeing the ongoing dialogue I maintained with myself—a practice of brutal ho...

In this episode, I sit down with Amy LeClair, PhD — a medical sociologist and recent K to R Essentials graduate — for a powerful conversation about moving from being a perpetual collaborator to pursuing independent research, describing how she found support through structured mentorship and community during a pivotal career phase. She discusses the challenges of balancing her research on healthcare equity with personal life changes...

Have you ever tried to navigate a major life change completely on your own? As someone who once proudly wore the "I'll figure it out myself" badge, I've learned through experience that community isn't just helpful during transitions—it's absolutely essential.

This episode explores the transformative power of finding your people during the K to R transition. Drawing from my personal journey as ...

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 institutional upheaval. There’s no playbook for how to move through something like this. And yet, you’re still here. Still committed to your work. Still showing up.

In this episode, I want to remind yo...

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.

Brienne shares how her clinical work with older adults and their care partners shaped her research questions—and how she learned to own her expertise through the K to R trans...

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 sharing a moment from inside K to R Essentials that reminded all of us—myself included—how much clarity and confidence can come from reconnecting with our research. Whether it’s grant writing...

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 of clarity—and why it matters. If you’ve ever felt pressure to just do something without a clear plan, or rushed into commitments that didn’t truly serve you, this conversation will help you take...

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 and commitments are until they take a hard look at where their energy is going. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

In this episode, we’re digging into the next step after defi...

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 changes, you need a way to stay grounded in what actually matters—your research and the impact you want to have.

That’s why your North Star is more important than ever. It’s the ...

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, then build the leadership and strategy skills you need to make that vision a reality. In this final stage, we take everything you’ve worked on and map it out into an actionable proposal de...

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 most important exercises we do in this phase is connecting your North Star to the next research idea you’ll pursue and the grant application that will fund it. But for many researchers, this is...

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 this series explores each one.

In this episode, we dive into the second theme: Leadership. One of the foundational principles we emphasize in K to R Essentials is that leadersh...

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 this series explores each one.

The focus of this episode is vision—the foundation of a successful research career. One of the biggest challenges researchers face is articulating ...

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-sabotage. In this episode, we explore how comparison, competition, and critique—although vital in academia—often work against you.

I'll share strategies on how to shift your focus away from o...

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 share practical strategies to stay grounded and focused amidst the unknown.

I dive into the foundational tools that help you cope with uncertainty, including how to foster self-tr...

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 years: end-of-year reflection and intention setting. This simple yet transformative exercise helps me acknowledge wins, integrate lessons, and set a clear vision for the coming year—and now, ...