Grants, Grant Writing & Grant Reviewing T32 Core Lecture series Jeff Curtis Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine University of Michigan Health System Ann Arbor VA Healthsystem
Outline Grants throughout your career focus on entry level Keys to successful grant writing Reviewing current study section design why you should (& at times should not) serve on study sections changes underway in NIH reviews 2
Reading assignment Chapter 9 Getting Funded Insider s s Guide to Peer Review for Applicants (2 page PDF) http://cms.csr.nih.gov/resourcesforapplicants/advice.htm 3
Who gives grants? Federal: NIH NSF VA DoD AHRQ CDC 4
Who gives grants? Foundations ALA: ALA: $60K/y x 3y, (~12/~33) reviews state affiliates ATS: $50K/y x 2y, matching, LOI (~14/~22) ATS: CF Foundation: $90K/y x 2-3y2 FAMRI: FAMRI: traditionally lung cancer but more recently other smoking-related AHA: January deadline AHA: AAAAI: AAAAI: $100K/y x 3y, faculty appt. required (every other year, 1-2) 1 5
Types of NIH Mentored Career Development Awards K01: Mentored Research Scientist Development Award International Research Scientist Development Award K08: Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award K12: Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program Award K23: Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Development Award K25: Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award K99/R00: NIH Pathway to Independence Award K series (mostly) for clinicians exceptions: e.g., Ph.D. in Nursing, PharmD, Clin. Psych exceptions: K01, K12, K25 NHLBI does not support K01 or K12 http://grants.nih.gov/training 6
Intent of K series awards To help promising new investigators achieve independence as clinical researchers (compete successfully for R01 funding) organizing principle of K application should be preparing for the R01 submission at its end 7
TOTAL FUNDING FOR COMPETING RESEARCH CAREER AWARDS BY INSTITUTES AND CENTERS $80 $70 $60 $50 $40 $30 $20 $10 $0 2007 NHLBI NIMH NCI NIDDK NIAID NINDS NIDA NIA NICHD NIAMS NIAAA NIDCD NIDCR NEI NCRR NIEHS NINR NIGMS NHGRI NCCAM FIC NIBIB NLM NCMHD $80 $70 $60 NHLBI NIMH NCI Funding (in millions) $50 NIDDK NIAID NINDS NIDA $40 NIA NICHD NIAMS $30 NIAAA NIDCD NIDCR NEI $20 NCRR NIEHS NINR $10 NIGMS NHGRI $0 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 NCCAM FIC Participating NIH Institutes and Centers NIBIB NLM NCMHD Fiscal Year NIH Extramural Data Book last update May 2008 Data provided by the Division of Information Services, Reporting Branch CD 8
K08 APPLICATIONS AND AWARDS BY PARTICIPATING INSTITUTES AND CENTERS FY 2007 Applications Awards 125 Number of Applications/Awards 100 75 50 25 0 NHLBI NIAID NCI NIDDK NINDS NIAMS NIMH NICHD Participating NIH Institutes and Centers NIA NIDCR NIGMS NIDA NEI NIDCD NIAAA NIBIB NIEHS NCCAM NIH Extramural Data Book last update May 2008 Data provided by the Division of Information Services, Reporting Branch CD 9
K23 APPLICATIONS AND AWARDS BY PARTICIPATING INSTITUTES AND CENTERS FY 2007 Applications Awards 120 100 Number of Applications/Awards 80 60 40 20 0 NIMH NHLBI NIA NIDDK NICHD NINDS Participating NIH Institutes and Centers NCI NIAID NIDA NCRR NIAMS NIDCR NCCAM NEI NIDCD NIAAA NINR NIEHS NIGMS NIH Extramural Data Book last update May 2008 Data provided by the Division of Information Services, Reporting Branch CD 10
Tips for mentored grants explain why you need a mentored award specific, customized training succinctly outlined career goals Research plan: training vehicle launching pad to independence feasible on limited budget $25-50,000/y 50,000/y for training & research 11
VA grants career development program & standard grant (Merit Review Awards) intramural program require 5/8ths appointment (for physicians) not eligible for loan repayment non-clinicians require eligibility determination can include all or part of salary on (larger) budget smaller pool of applicants recent better pay-line (Merits vs. RO1) 12
Limited opportunity applications single application per University Doris Duke Searle Scholars limited total number of fundees Parker B. Francis submission via Development Office Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 13
How do I find out about grant opportunities? search Grants.gov (25 federal agencies) subscribe to NIH listserve: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/listserv.htm Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) RFAs vs. Program announcements one-time announcement, highly focused specific funds & target number Special Emphasis panel 14
NIH Grant submission cycle 15
on s B re ak f o r Q ue s ti (1) 16
Grant Writing: it all starts with an idea Novel, even controversial know the scientific literature Potential to impact public health advancing basic science alone not in NIH mission Testable Realistic 17
Grant writing: timing plan realistically 4-66 months budget explicit time on calendar each week allow time for review & revision at multiple stages shoot to fund on 1 st round submit only your best work 18
Importance of starting early almost a year from submission to funding need more data for RO1 (when already on faculty)? consider R03, R21 19
http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/ 20
Grant writing: teamwork identify collaborators complementary better than similar realistic commitment recruit senior colleagues as committee separate from collaborators review at all stages initial idea, aims & rationale, drafts of proposed work, later drafts 21
Grant writing success: 4Cs, 6Rs Clarity Content (central hypothesis) Cutting edge Coherence of concepts write, read, rest, re-read, read, revise, repeat 22
Most will only read the 1st page Succinct Statement of Problem logical funnel leading to your study Note that Abstracts may go online (CRISP) Testable Central Hypothesis Specific Aims must test hypothesis Write your own review sound-bites the reviewer can quote 23
A A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound Turgenev Fathers & Sons 24
Do s s & don ts at the keyboard (1) Do be meticulous about instructions & page length Do summarize existing knowledge succinctly but Don t rely on Background section a grant is an infomercial, not a term-paper 25
Do s s & don ts at the keyboard (2) Use language & formatting as signposts This aim involves three types of approaches The design of next set of experiments is similar, with the exception that Don t t use appendices to skirt page limits reviewers are not obliged to read 26
Do s s & don ts at the keyboard (3) Leave white space Redesign figures specifically to be readable in the grant original in paper redrawn for grant simply shrunk 27
Importance of front sheets What are they? biosketches budget & budget justifications letters of support When are they due? How important are they? grant not submitted without them reviewers really do care 28
on s B re ak f o r Q ue s ti (2) 29
Study Sections http://cms.csr.nih.gov/resourcesforapplicants/inside thenihgrantreviewprocessvideo.htm
Why serve on study sections? huge learning experience science grantsmanship networking national reputation counts towards tenure decision speaking invitations recruitment tool (training grant & career development) public service 31
Study section considerations substantial amount of work three times yearly, 4 year commitment 7-12 proposals per reviewer all your grants may be triaged review by Special Emphasis panels NIH does not owe you for serving Center for Scientific Review (CSR) vs. NIH Institutes http://cms.csr.nih.gov/peerreviewmeetings/advice4reviewers.htm 32
How are reviewers selected? recommended by societies ACCP, APhysS, ASIM, AAI, SLB recently RO1-funded investigators 33
What happens at a study section? closed meeting managed by Chair & SRA (Scientific Review Administrator) Members & Ad hocs usually 3 reviewers/proposal review 60-130 proposals streamlining science reviewed separately vote your conscience http://cms.csr.nih.gov/ 34
Why the NIH is concerned http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/ 35
A A change is gonna come shorter applications (12 page R01) scale scale (from 41-point to 7-point) 7 impact, investigator, innovation, feasibility, environment plus global ranking at the end to recalibrate 36