Applying for the NRSA F Series Grants (NIH) Individual Predoctoral NRSA Ruth L. Kirschstein Na9onal Research Service Awards Maria Murray Naviga9ng the Grant Conference 2/1/2013
Reasons to apply • Grant wri9ng experience is valuable • Great award/honor on your CV • $$$$$ • Bioengineering department gives $3000 bonus to winning students • Includes funding for conference travel, lab supplies • Having your own grant money gives you some freedom
2
Kirschstein-‐NRSA pre-‐doctoral fellowships (F31s) Compe9ng applica9ons, awards, and success rates
3 Source: NIH
R01-‐Equivalent grants, New (Type 1) Success rates, by career stage of inves9gator
NRSA Success Rate
4 Source: NIH
Three types of Individual Predoctoral NRSAs • F30: for MD/PhD and other CDs • F31: to promote Diversity • F31: for Disserta9on research related to par9cular ins9tutes of NIH In addi9on, there are Ins9tu9onal NRSAs which are distributed by departments
5
F30 MD/PhD, VMD/PhD, etc. • Up to 6 years of support, excluding other NRSA (e.g., MSTP or other TG) support • Ideal 9me to apply: upon picking thesis lab • Note that not all ins9tutes par9cipate; check the list to see if any are relevant to your research • Deadlines: 4/8, 8/8, 12/8 • Deadlines are when the grant needs to be to the Ins9tute
6
F30 Participating Institutes • • • • • • • • • •
Na9onal Cancer Ins9tute (NCI) Na9onal Heart, Lung, and Blood Ins9tute (NHLBI) Na9onal Ins9tute on Aging (NIA) Na9onal Ins9tute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Na9onal Ins9tute on Deafness and Other Communica9on Disorders (NIDCD) Na9onal Ins9tute on Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Na9onal Ins9tute of Diabetes and Diges9ve and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Na9onal Ins9tute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Na9onal Ins9tute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Na9onal Ins9tute of Mental Health (NIMH)
7
F31 Diversity • Up to 5 years of support, excluding other NRSA support (from training grants) • Ideal 9me to apply: once you have iden9fied your research interests, can be as early as your first year • Virtually all NIH ins9tutes par9cipate • Deadlines: 4/8, 8/8, 12/8 • Deadlines are when the grant needs to be to the Ins9tute
Eligibility can be determined on the announcement website: h?p://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-‐files/PA-‐11-‐112.html 8
F31 Diversity Participating Institutes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Na9onal Cancer Ins9tute (NCI) Na9onal Eye Ins9tute (NEI) Na9onal Heart, Lung, and Blood Ins9tute (NHLBI) Na9onal Human Genome Research Ins9tute (NHGRI) Na9onal Ins9tute on Aging (NIA) Na9onal Ins9tute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Na9onal Ins9tute of Allergy and Infec9ous Diseases (NIAID) Na9onal Ins9tute of Arthri9s and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) Na9onal Ins9tute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) Eunice Kennedy Shriver Na9onal Ins9tute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Na9onal Ins9tute on Deafness and Other Communica9on Disorders (NIDCD) Na9onal Ins9tute on Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Na9onal Ins9tute of Diabetes and Diges9ve and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Na9onal Ins9tute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Na9onal Ins9tute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Na9onal Ins9tute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Na9onal Ins9tute of Mental Health (NIMH) Na9onal Ins9tute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Na9onal Ins9tute of Nursing Research (NINR) Na9onal Center for Complementary and Alterna9ve Medicine (NCCAM)
9
F31 Dissertation • Up to 5 years of support • Ideal 9me to apply: aaer star9ng disserta9on research • Note that not all ins9tutes par9cipate; check the list to see if any are relevant to your research • Deadlines: 4/8, 8/8, 12/8 • Deadlines are when the grant needs to be to the Ins9tute
10
F31 Dissertation Participating Institutes • • • • • • • • •
Na9onal Cancer Ins9tute (NCI) Na9onal Ins9tute on Aging (NIA) Na9onal Ins9tute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Na9onal Ins9tute on Deafness and Other Communica9on Disorders (NIDCD) Na9onal Ins9tute on Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) Na9onal Ins9tute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Na9onal Ins9tute of Mental Health (NIMH) Na9onal Ins9tute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Na9onal Center for Complementary and Alterna9ve Medicine (NCCAM) ( Will no longer par9cipate aaer May 7, 2012)
11
Application Info & Resources • F Kiosk: hdp://grants.nih.gov/training/F_files_nrsa.htm
Select appropriate F30 or F31 program announcement here
• SF424 (R&R): hdp://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm • Individual Fellowship Applica9on Guide
• Grant Officer
• William Burns (SEAS)
• burns@seas.upenn.edu
• Marianne Williams (BGS)
• altland@mail.med.upenn.edu
12
General • All done via eRA Commons of Grants.gov
• CONTACT YOUR GRANTS OFFICER • Grants officer will give you your log on info • Will tell you your actual due date • Will be your best friend during this process J
• Note that YOU are the PI • Your mentor is the Senior/Key Person 1
13
Identifying the institute:
“Measure twice, cut once” Make sure your work is a good fit for the Ins9tute and its mission • Determine which ins9tute(s) of NIH is the best fit for your project (discuss this with your PI) • Contact the fellowship program officer at the ins9tute(s) by phone to discuss your proposal and how it might fit with the ins9tute’s scien9fic goals; see numbers on p. I-‐3 of the Applica9on Guide • Prepare a cover leder to be submided with your proposal that refers to the conversa9on and the program officer by name (part of “Other Adachments”)
14
Submission checklist q Cover Le?er q Abstract q Specific Aims q Research Strategy q Respec9ve Contribu9ons q Selec9on of Sponsor and Ins9tu9on q Responsible Conduct of Research q Goals for Fellowship Training and Career q Ac9vi9es Planned Under This Award q Doctoral Disserta9on and Other Research Experience q Sponsor(s) and Co-‐Sponsor(s) q Biographical Sketch q Project Narra9ve q Applica9ons for Concurrent Support (when applicable) q Introduc9on to Resubmission or Revision Applica9on (when applicable)
Handy Table: hdp://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms_page_limits.htm
15
SpeciQic Aims • Lay out your hypothesis and what you are going to do • Challenge: Scope. Make sure what you are proposing is reasonable in the amount of 9me you have (2-‐3 years) • Page limit: 1
16
Research Strategy Plan • 6 page limit, including figures, charts, tables, and diagrams: combine sec9ons before uploading to monitor length • Pay close aden9on to instruc9ons on font, headers (none), page numbers (none), etc. • SF424 Page I-‐110 • GET HELP: Advisor, Commidee, Labmates, PI, Naviga9ng the Grant Fellows
17
Respective Contributions • Who came up with what • Page limit: 1 • Sample This proposal is an extension of my candidacy exam. I am primarily responsible for the ideas and experiments outlined in this document. Through discussions with my sponsor, Dr. __________, I was able to focus my hypothesis and refine my experimental approach to maximize feasibility. I prepared this document independently but consulted with Dr. ____ for sugges9ons before finalizing the proposal. Figure 2 is the work of a former undergraduate student, ____ . I will perform the described experiments independently. I will seek guidance from Dr. ____ when interpre9ng data and troubleshoo9ng experiments.
18
Biosketch
• See samples online – This is mine
Grades and GRE scores Other scores if applicable (MCAT)
19
Selection of Sponsor or Institution • Why Penn is awesome. • I wrote:
SELECTION OF SPONSOR AND INSTITUTION I selected to adend the University of Pennsylvania to study for my Ph.D. because of the fantas9c reputa9on of the bioengineering department. The University of Pennsylvania has many resources available to make good research possible – physical resources like the atomic force microscope that I plan to use in my experiments, as well as human resources. The professors at Penn are leaders in their fields, and are willing to collaborate with and help students in order to produce quality research. Penn has a strong core of faculty studying mechanotransduc9on – my field of interest (Paul Janmey, Chris Chen, Dennis Discher, Dan Hammer, Rick Assoian, Rebecca Wells). Paul Janmey is a good mentor because in addi9on to being a well-‐respected leader in the field, he also cares about his students and takes the 9me to train them. The situa9on that I have found at Penn will provide me with the educa9on that I need to further pursue my goals.
20
Goals for Fellowship Training and Career • Page of what you want to do
Career
Short & Long Term
Skills to gain 21
Activities Planned Under Award
22
Doctoral Disseration and Other Research Experience
23
Sponsor’s Statement • Instruc9ons on website • Sec9ons • • • • •
Research Support Available (Standard NIH Format) Sponsor’s Previous Trainees/Fellows Training Plan, Environment, Facili9es Number of Fellows/Trainees to be Supervised During Fellowship Applicant’s Qualifica9ons and Poten9al For Reseach Career
24
Project Narrative • Brief descrip9on of your project for a lay person Example: As the body ages, the arteries become s9ffer and this increased s9ffness is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In this proposal, I will look at the changes in the endothelial cells (the cells that line the blood vessel) under both soa and s9ff condi9ons in order to see if the change in the s9ffness of the arteries causes changes in the func9on of the endothelial layer. This is important because it could help to explain why the s9ffening in the arteries causes increased cardiovascular risk.
25
Other Components • • • •
Responsible Conduct in Research (Medical School Form) Human Subjects (Y/N): From Mentor Vertebrate Animals (Y/N): From Mentor Resource Sharing Plan: From Mentor
26
Letters of Recommendation (3-‐5) • NOT mentor/sponsor (since s/he writes statement about your qualifica9ons in the grant) • Usually the graduate group chair, CD head and/or program chair (if applicable), rota9on advisor, thesis commidee member, or faculty research collaborator • Must use fellowship-‐specific form and be submided electronically hdps://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/reference/submitRefereeInforma9on.jsp
27
Steps to Take • ≥30 days prior to deadline: • Grants officer • Think about your proposal, talk to Naviga9ng the Grant about getng a mentor • Get 3 referees on board; make sure they use the required form
• ≥ 10 days prior to deadline: • Complete your forms & adachments • Have your advisor review applica9on
• ≥ 3 days prior to deadline: • Everything in final form for Univ. review
28
Good Luck!! Questions? 29