Significant Impact: from K Award to Your First Big R01

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...

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 healthcar...

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 fr...

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 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 t...

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 gran...

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 conversat...

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 defining...

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....

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...

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 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...

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 arti...

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...

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 foste...

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...

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 opportunities as a statistician working across diverse subject matter areas, and how the program helped her build confidence, clarify her career goals, and embrace her role as...

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 helped her focus on her work’s core mission: clinician moral well-being. Clare’s work as a nurse scientist and bioethicist explores the impact of moral well-being on clin...

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-driven research career, rooted in her personal mission to develop cancer therapies for women’s health. Tune in to this episode as we explore: How Kristin’s vision dri...

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 challenges and rewards of managing a dual role in clinical care and health services research and the transformation that led her to fully commit to her research goals. Tune...

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. This transition isn’t just about changing titles—it’s about transforming how you approach your work, your confidence, and your path forward. I share observations from working with gradu...

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 University. Liza shares her journey of navigating the complexities of research, grant writing, and leadership as a clinician scientist. From her experience in the K to R Essentials p...

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 experience of navigating the challenges of academic life. From figuring out how to ‘adult’ as a PI to understanding the power of mentorship and community, Cindy opens up about the many tr...

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. Scheduled for Thursday, October 17, at 10:30 AM PST/1:30PM EST, this info session is a golden opportunity for early career researchers to get a comprehensive overview of the gro...

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 ambitions. It’s a concept we explore in K to R Essentials and one that can make or break your long-term success. I want you to dream big—so big it feels a little delusional. But dream...