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Early-Career Investigators Workshop

The AUA’s Early-Career Investigators Workshop (ECIW) provides early-career physician-scientists and urologic researchers with an opportunity to learn and receive mentorship from established, well-funded investigators in urologic research. This collaborative workshop offers insights into the scientific review process, information about independent funding sources, and individualized grant writing guidance. By providing participants with a solid grant writing foundation, the next generation of urology researchers gain the skillset to successfully compete for their own research program funding to facilitate future urologic discovery.

The ECIW curriculum consists of the following elements:

  • Mentorship
  • Didactic Instruction (On-Demand and Live)
  • Virtual Specific Aims Workshop (Live Webinar)
  • Grant Funding Mechanisms Webinar (Live Webinar)
  • Individual and Small Group Proposal Reviews and Critiques with Senior Scientific Advisors
  • Mock Study Section
  • Grant Review/Revision

2026 Call for Applications

2026 Early-Career Investigators Workshop Call for Applications
2026 Early-Career Investigators Workshop Participant Agreement Form

Eligibility Requirements

All applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria by the application submission deadline:

  • Be active in urologic research as evidenced by involvement in scientific or clinical urologic research projects.
  • Have not previously received extramural R01 or independent investigator funding as a Principal Investigator.
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Mentorship Groups

This workshop’s dual-track training program will provide the most relevant training experience to participants. All applicants will be reviewed and, if selected to attend the Early-Career Investigators Workshop, will be assigned to one of the following grant development groups:

  • Early-Career Mentee Group: Early-career faculty and other eligible participants who will not submit a career development or independent research grant application within 12-months after the workshop.
    • MD or equivalent: ACGME Residents, Clinical Fellows, trainees currently enrolled in fellowship programs (K12, T32, U2C/TL1), Faculty
    • PhD: PhD Candidates, Research Scholars, Post-Doctoral Fellows, Faculty
  • Advanced-Career Mentee Group: Investigators in the process of preparing applications for K- or R-type research grants with submission deadlines in Spring or Summer 2027.

Application Process

All applicants must submit the following application documents as prompted in the Proposal Central “Letter of Intent” section:

  1. Participant Agreement Form with all necessary signatures (document can be downloaded from the application in Proposal Central)
  2. NIH-formatted biosketch or equivalent (five-page maximum) of the applicant, including a list and status of all extramural grant submissions for the past two years. For guidance, see https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm
  3. A draft Specific Aims Page (one-page maximum) for the research project intended for a future grant application. Charts, photos, and/or figures are included in this one-page limit, please ensure it is not a crowded format. For guidance, see https://grants.nih.gov/grants-process/write-application/advice-on-application-sections#specific-aims
  4. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  5. Applicant's personal statement (one-page maximum) that states the career goals of the applicant.
  6. Letter of Support (two-page maximum) from the applicant’s mentor detailing the research environment, institutional support, commitment to the applicant’s research and career development, and reasons why the applicant should be selected.
  7. (Advanced Mentee Group only) A preliminary Research Proposal that contains, at minimum, a hypothesis and experimental plan outline. Other sections may include additional background information and supporting data. The Research Proposal must be at least four pages, not including references cited.
  8. (Advanced Mentee Group only) A copy of grant review summary sheets and scores if the proposed research has been previously submitted for funding and was scored but not funded. Grants, summary sheets, and scores are treated as confidential documents and will not be shared externally to the Office of Research.

Selection Procedures

Approximately 30 participants will be accepted into the program, and all ECIW participants will be assigned to either the Early Career Mentee or Advanced Career Mentee group and will then be assigned their own faculty mentor. Group assignments are intended to ensure the participants’ current grant status aligns with programmatic content and intent of the workshop.

Key Dates

The following due dates should be considered when submitting your application to the 2026 Early Career Investigators Workshop. Failure to participate in workshop activities may result in removal from the program.

  • Virtual Specific Aims Workshop on Friday, September 4, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
  • Grant Funding Mechanisms Webinar on Thursday, September 24, 2026, from 4:00 – 6:30 p.m. ET
  • Early-Career Investigators Workshop (In-person) on Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, 2026

Application Deadline

Applications for the 2026 program will be accepted until Monday, June 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Application deadlines will not be granted. Late submissions will not be considered. 

For more details, please refer to the Call for Applications. To obtain more information, please contact Marielle Marktanner, Research Education Coordinator at mmarktanner@auanet.org.