Jen NRSA Panel

Panel Discussion: Pre-doctoral NRSA (F31) Jennifer Onksen Ph.D Candidate, Pharmacology October 23, 2009

Outline  

Accessing instructions and forms Overview of the NRSA   

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Eligibility Format Deadlines

Review and scoring of your application Tips and suggestions

NRSA - Instructions & Forms 

Application and Electronic Submission info accessed at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm

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SF424 (R&R) - Individual Fellowship Application Guide for NIH and AHRQ For preparing and submitting applications via Grants.gov  Replaces the paper PHS 398 forms  Detailed instruction from how to use the grants.gov submission program to what font types are acceptable 

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Forms for reference letters, biographical sketches

Eligibility for F31 

All NIH grant submissions require a FOA 

PA-09-208 - NRSA for Individual Predoc Fellows  Participating Organizations - NIA, NIAAA, NIDCD, NIDCR, NIDA, NIMH, NINDS, NCCAM, ODS  Proposal must fall in a research area within the scientific mission of a participating institute

NIMH --> Divisions--> Areas of Priority 70% of applications are reviewed

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Eligibility for F31 ď Ź ď Ź

Applicant must be at dissertation research stage Applicant must be citizen or non-citizen national of the US, or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (Form I-551 or other legal verification). ď Ž

Temporary or Student visas are NOT eligible

Format     

Training goals/activities, site Applicant biographical sketch (CV) Previous research experience Training Plan Sponsor’s information 

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Biographical sketch - including support, previous trainees, environment, facilities, applicant’s potential

Letters of reference (3)

Training Plan     

Introduction if Resubmitting Specific Aims Page Background / Significance Preliminary Studies Research Design / Methods     

Rationale Hypothesis Experimental Approach Interpretations/Limitations Methods

1 2 3 4

10 pages

Deadlines  

December 8th, April 8th Contact letter of reference providers by Nov 1 Send the required forms  Reminder contact before Thanksgiving break 

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Cover letter

Enclosed please find my research proposal, “Title”. This proposal is in response to PA ____.  Please assign this application the following 

Institute/Center:  Scientific Review Group: 

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Reason for Request:

Application Review & Scoring 

What is scored?    

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Candidate/Applicant Sponsor Environment Research Training Proposal/Plan Training Potential

Review Process (approximate dates)  

Late December - App assigned to institute/center Mid March - SRG will review and score 

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Percentile score based on categories above

After review, written comments made available Contact PO, discuss score, decide to rewrite or not Late May, advisory council meets

Tips and Suggestions   

Start Early!

Get feedback from diverse audiences Grantsmanship 

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Communicating to the reviewer that your proposed project is relevant, feasible, and that YOU can successfully carry out the work Text should be clear, concise, free of grammatical errors Include a timeline Be thorough Mastery of proposed methods  Availability of equipment  Coursework relevant to project 

Tips and Suggestions 

Training Plan 

Interpretations and limitations

Meaning of possible outcomes  Alternative approaches (can be hypothetical) 

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Reference Letters 

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Choose people who can speak to your research abilities AND potential to succeed based on communication/ leadership qualities, desire to succeed in science

If resubmitting  

Break down introduction to address each reviewer’s comments Italicize portions of text that have been altered