Grant Funding: How to obtain it and why you should care

Grant funding How to obtain it, and why you should care July 27 th , 2011 Eric Balzer - Danielle Gilkes - Yanique Rattigan

Why obtain your own funding?
Students entering into a graduate program are financially supported.
Program support (first two years)
Mentor support (remaining time until graduation)
What does this support cover?
Tuition costs, registration fees, health insurance, and stipend
Annual stipend range: 18-24K (Depending on geographical location and institutional policy

Why obtain your own funding?
If supported already, what are the incentives?
Makes you look good by demonstrating your ability to finance your research ideas
Good practice for the ‘real world’
Can help organize your research goals
Impressive addition to your CV
Financial benefits
higher stipend (if allowed by the university)
Travel support (for meetings, job interviews, etc.)
Material support (lab supplies, computer)

Getting started: a basic outline
Develop your research plan
Identify funding agencies
Consider all of the components of a complete application
Plan your timeline and arrange for letters of reference
Compose and submit the application

1. Developing the research plan
The research question (the most important aspect of the grant proposal)
You will have to sell your idea to the reviewers
why should they care?
Remember:
A good idea isn’t enough
You will be competing with lots of other smart people. Better to assume that everyone will be proposing a good idea.
A great idea is closer, but still not enough:
Funding resources are limited to only the best ideas.
An outstanding idea is enough, but…
A poorly written application will not be funded, no matter how excellent your research idea is.

1. Developing the research plan
Key criteria used by reviewers during evaluation:
What is novel about the proposed research?
Has anyone published on this topic?
Is the proposed research significant?
How will your research advance the field? (e.g. potential disease therapies/markers)
Is the proposed research feasible
Is it within your means?
Do you have the equipment to accomplish your goal?
Do you and your mentor have the appropriate expertise?
Don’t propose to experiment in space if you don’t have a rocket to get you there

Evaluate competitiveness of proposed research
Is the proposed study in-line with the interests of the targeted funding agency?
Do not submit a lung cancer grant to a foundation which exclusively funds breast cancer research
Competitiveness of the applicant and mentor
Publication history and funding record
Area of expertise should be (and sometimes must be ) directly relevant to proposed area of research
Feasibility and scope
Applications that propose to do too much are rarely funded
Proposed research must be perceived as realistic, given your experience and available resources
Environmental support (mentor, collaborators, student resources)
Material resources (lab equipment and supplies, core facilities)

Getting started

2. Identify funding agencies
Start simple: Talk to others who have submitted grant applications:
Your advisor
Your professors
Peers
Graduate program administrators
See the INBT website for a list of funding opportunities: http://inbt.jhu.edu/research/funding-opportunities/

Funding Agencies (just to name a few…)
Federal
NIH/NCI
DOD
NSF
NASA
Private
Damon Runyon Foundation
American Cancer Society
Burroughs Wellcome fund
American Heart Association

2. Identifying Funding agencies
Grants.gov is a consolidated archive of federal grant mechanisms
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp

Identify Funding Agencies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
provides grant mechanisms for all levels of academic study (undergrad through faculty and center grants)
Is made up of 28 separate institutions
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
and 25 others…

Choosing a funding agency
Consider the stated goals of the agency…
NIH mission statement
Foster fundamental creative discoveries, innovative research strategies, and their applications as a basis to advance significantly the Nation’s capacity to protect and improve health…
Review the available award mechanisms
Pre-doctoral (NRSA F31)
Post-doctoral (NRSA F32, K99/R00)
Faculty (RO1, R21)
Institutional (U54, T32)
Information for each award is included in the program announcement (PA)
Available online at all times at
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm

NIH award mechanisms
All NIH grants are handled through the office of extramural research (OER)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/
210 available award mechanisms

Additional Considerations
Boldness (aka riskiness) of an idea can heavily influence its potential to be funded
Some mechanisms are geared toward high-risk projects (do not require preliminary data)
Read program announcement or contact the program officer to determine suitability of your research for a given award mechanism
Eligibility
Most grants have specific eligibility requirements…
Years of experience (minimum vs maximum)
E.g. many predoc grants require at least 2 years of experience, while most postdoc grants don’t allow more than 5.
Appropriate degree
Citizenship and Minority status for specialty grant programs

Getting started

Central components
Title
Captures the essence of goals and objectives
Abstract
Scientific/Technical
Concise presentation of the central hypothesis
Statement of significance
Summary of methods
Statement of potential impact
Public
All of the above, but written in lay-terms (for non-expert reviewers, such as patient representatives)
Research Plan (aka Project Narrative)
References

Project Narrative
Further broken into subsections (contained in one document)
Specific aims section
Background & significance
Preliminary studies
Research design & methods
Statement of impact / significance
Facilities
Will address each of these in following slides

Specific Aims Section
Most important component of your application
Template for the entire proposal
Should be a concise outline of your application
Provides background to educate the reviewer
Identifies gaps in current understanding
Identifies the problem(s) caused by this gap
Explains how your proposed research will address this problem

First paragraph:
Opening sentence should establish the relevance of your proposal to the goals of the funding agency.
Educate reviewers on what is known and what is unknown in the field.
Use key literature references to build your foundation
Explain the need to address the unknowns, and how this will advance the field.

Second Paragraph:
Proposes a solution to the problems outlined in the first paragraph.
Speculates on the reportable outcomes to arise from a solution to this problem
Vaccines, therapies, reduced cost, improved material properties, etc…
Collectively, these provide the objective and rationale for the proposed work

Third paragraph:
Define central hypothesis
Provide support for the hypothesis
Introduce specific aims
Bold, bulleted statements that describe how you will test your central hypothesis
2-3 specific aims is standard for most applications (2 for short applications; 3 for lengthier ones like RO1)
Include sub-aims
(2-3 per specific aim)

Example: Specific Aims
[paragraph 1]
[paragraph 2]
[paragraph 3] begins with…
We propose to test the central hypothesis that apples are not oranges. This hypothesis is based primarily on the following evidence [provide itemized list of examples in paragraph form] . Predictions of this hypothesis will be tested via the following independent specific aims:
Aim1: Determine whether both apples and oranges are citrus fruits
Aim 1a) taste and smell both fruits
Aim 1b) chemically analyze samples of each fruit for acid content
Aim 2: Determine whether apples and oranges share a common origin
Aim 2a) clarify the tree on which each fruit grows
Aim 2b) sequence and compare the DNA of apples and oranges
introduce the problem to be addressed and the potential benefits of doing so

Background Section
Provides an in-depth summary of relevant information within the field
Critically analyzes existing literature and provides key foundational references
Documents a solid theoretical basis for the study
Outlines why the proposed research is important by identifying the gaps in current understanding and emphasizing the problems that result from these gaps.
States how your proposed research will address or resolve the problem in question.

Additional Sections
Preliminary Data
may or may not be required, depend on the agency requirements, and specific terms of the award
Research Design & Methods
Discuss the methodology and necessary materials that will be used to test hypotheses within each specific aim
Make sure to include statistics where appropriate
Describe the expected result of each experiment
Acknowledge potential weaknesses in your design and provide alternative strategies (no experiment is perfect)
Statement of Relevance
If the aims are achieved, how will scientific knowledge be advanced?
What will be the effect on the field?
Define some reportable outcomes

Additional Components
Application Forms
Institutional Information
Eligibility Statement
Generally signed by a Dean or your Mentor
Letters
Reference / collaboration / support (departmental, institutional, etc)
Personal Background
Curriculum Vitae or Biosketch
Statement of Current / Pending Support
Statement of Career Goals
Transcripts
Proposed Budget
Supplies, equipment, and travel
Statement of Work
Timeline for the Proposal (Experiment by Experiment)

Common mistakes
Failure to …
Effectively document why the problem is important
Distinguish empirical preliminary findings from speculation
Establish a strong case for novelty of the research via insufficient analysis of the literature
Consider and integrate alternative perspectives and approaches
Leave enough time to:
Write and edit the proposal
Assemble necessary documents
Obtain reference letters (notify referees 1 month in advance, at a minimum)

Getting started

General Tips for Writing
Science writing is not like English composition
More is not better
Avoid wordiness and complex statements
Short and sweet
Be succinct, clear, and to-the-point
State the facts
limit speculation and conjecture to sections where it is appropriate (e.g. in establishing hypothesis or interpreting results)
Save, save, save
Do not overwrite drafts…save documents as versions
Be open to criticism
Ask someone without a vested interest to read through your proposal and give you as much feedback as they are willing.
Get used to having your writing torn apart during the editing process (it’s a good thing)

Questions?
Thanks for your attention

Prepared and presented by the Johns Hopkins Institute for NanoBioTechnology postdocs… Eric Balzer, Yanique Rattigan and Daniele Gilkes

Grant Funding: How to obtain it and why you should care

by Mary Spiro

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Grant Funding: How to obtain it and why you should care Presentation Transcript