I am in a bit of a conundrum. I am a postdoc supported by a T32 and got an excellent score on an NIH Career Development Award (K) application on the first submission, it is likely to be funded, but if I start the K when the sponsor wants me to, then I would have to resign 6 months into my year of T32 support. When I applied to renew my T32, my T32 administrator said I had to stay on for at least 9 months, which I reluctantly agreed to, and figured that I could petition the NIH to delay the start of my K in the (best case) scenario that it is funded on the first try. Well we are now here, and my PO affiliated with the K now says that the sponsor won't be willing to delay the K start date until my T32 ends.
So now I am in a bind - either resign from the T32 early and possibly burn bridges with my T32 program (and/or be saddled with the NIH stipend payback requirement? not sure if that would apply here), or resubmit the K for another cycle and risk not getting it funded with the right timeline(!).
Not sure if it matters that the T32 and the K are from different NIH sponsors, both are in non-profit research, so in my opinion the "rule" of paying back salary if you leave for industry shouldn't apply here. Also, the K would be at the same institution as the T32 but in a different department.
I'm frustrated - how can we as T32 postdoc trainees be expected to apply for K's and other grants that will allow us to transition to the next stage of our careers if we cannot be certain the timing will line up perfectly, especially given low the probability of getting a K funded?
Any suggestions on how to handle this? Anyone ever seen this situation before?