In the existing climate of reduced funding dollars, the future and survival of your research rests heavily on your grant-writing abilities. The competition is growing by the hour therefore crafting a winning proposal is vital. Principal Investigators Association brings to you 9 vital tips from veteran grant winners that will assist in writing your next NIH grant application. This is brought to you as a training tool by the PIA, which is an independent organization. The presented information is not connected with the NIH or the NSF nor are they endorsed by these agencies. All views expressed are those personally held by the authors and are not official government policies or opinions.

1. to Get the Most
from Your NIH Application
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Email: info@principalinvestigators.org

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grant application manuals, executive reports and a year-long series of online
seminars — all devoted to helping you improve performance and spend
more time doing what you love: the research.
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4. Pretend that you’ve got an hour to
address an advanced biology class
atPretendexcellentanhigh address an advanced
an that you’ve got hour to school or an
biology class at an excellent high school or an especially
especiallycollege freshmen. What would you tell them
bright group of bright group of college
freshmen. What research, its impact, and why they
to give the flavor of your would you tell them
to give excited? flavor of your research,
should get the
its impact, and why they should get
excited?

5. Don’t be obsessed with showing off how much
you know, and don’t go into great experimental
detail or include a lot of background on the
history of your field.

6. Take the long view of “impact.”
Reviewers want to know how the research you’re doing
will change the field and translate into an impact in
human health. So if you’re doing a basic study of, say,
DNA repair enzymes, you need to say, “Even though this is
basic research, it’s needed for new drug development.
Think that far ahead.
Tell reviewers the ultimate utility of your research — even
if it’s five years down the road.

7. Make your train of thought crystal
clear. You know the logical
connections in your head. You know
why you’re doing a specific
experiment.
Don’t forget to tell the reviewers.
Some of what they’re evaluating is your
thought process — your summary of
the significance of your research and
your summary of its impact.

8. Introducing Science Pro Insider
The only Free Monthly eNewsletter
focused on providing best practices on
obtaining grant funding, lab management,
career advice and much more!
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Visit http://bit.ly/SciencePro
Inside November’s Issue:
• Communicating Data-Rich Results – Key Success Factors
• How to Leverage Connections for Private Funding
• R01 or R21? Choose The Appropriate Grant Type
• Dealing with the ‘Negative’ Staffer in your Lab

9. Don’t use words you don’t need.
A 12-page form, as opposed to a 25-
page form, means there’s a great deal
of pressure on you to show your
thought processes in a direct and
architectural way.
Show that you know what’s
important and what’s superfluous.
Chlorine
Argon Platinum
Nitrogen
Fluorine Gallium
Lithium
Manganese Hassium
Potassium
Sulfur
Praseodymium
Vanadium

10. Get a complete draft done at least
10 days before it’s due and find
someone who’s not involved in the
project — don’t use a post-doc in
your lab — to check it out.
That person can find the logical
holes and can help you outline the
impact.

11. Use the word “impact” as needed.
It shows you paid attention
to the new criteria for grants.

12. End your grant with a paragraph that says what the
government gets at the end of the day if it funds your
research.
That’s exactly what “impact” is.
The difference between significance and impact is, basically, that
significance is whether what you’re doing is worth doing and
impact is what the NIH gets after it’s funded you. You can be
explicit: “At the conclusion of this research program, we will have
identified [fill in the blank] and we will have determined [fill in the
blank] and we will be on our way to developing [fill in the blank].
That’s impact.

13. NIH R01 Grant Application Mentor:
An Educational How-to Manual
• 299 Pages – 8 Unique Sections – Covering each
important facet of the NIH R01 process
• A 50 min. recording “Crafting Your R01 Proposal
Like the Pro’s: 10 Insider Tips Revealed”
• How-to Advice from veteran grant winners
• Insights, techniques and checklists to help you
write more effectively and with confidence
• BONUS! Includes sample language from funded
applications
Although I have served as an NIH grant reviewer for For More Information
more than 20 years, the R01 Grant Application Mentor http://bit.ly/R01Grant
has significantly enhanced my efforts as a reviewer and
in the preparation of my own R01 grant this year.
- Dr. Joseph C. Hall, Professor Norfolk State University