You’re a new parent and a scientist. Somewhere between the sticky hands, tantrums, and lack of sleep, you’re 10 years into your academic career from earning your MD and/or PhD and you haven’t made the transition to an R yet. Your circadian rhythm is messed up from dealing with night feedings and nightmares (occasionally your child’s), so you’re starting to eye 4 AM as grant-writing time to quiet your funding anxiety. Sidebar: Don’t. Even superhumans need sleep. Sound familiar?
Exhale. As it turns out, the NIH recognizes this impossible tap dance derails your career progress a bit and has offered a temporary stay of execution: the Early Stage Investigator (ESI) extension request. If you gave birth, it’s an automatic 12 months per child. Dads, partners, adoptive parents, listen up, this is for you too. More on this later. Here are step by step instructions to complete this request in under 5 minutes. If only teaching your kid to deposit feces somewhere other than their pants were this easy!
- Log in to eRA Commons
- Click on Personal Profile
- In the Education Section, click Edit
- While in the Education section, scroll down to Early Stage Investigator Status and click ESI Extension Request.
- Enter the number of months you’re requesting. The NIH automatically approves 12 months per each child you gave birth to during the ten-year period after your terminal degree. For example, if you had two kids, enter 24 months. If you did not give birth, you can also request an extension in the same manner, but it will be reviewed on a case by case basis. The length of time they are likely to approve for these scenarios was not clear.
- Answer “Yes” to: Are you requesting an extension for childbirth(s) during your initial 10 years ESI period?
- Select a gender answer.
- Indicate # of children and their birthdays.
- Click save and submit.
- Breathe sigh of relief. Convince yourself the ballpoint pen scribbled all over your laptop and keyboard by your toddler is “chic” and fire it up to start working on your next grant with a newfound sense of optimism. Commit to doing something fun with your adorable children (disaster muppets?) this weekend too.
For more information (see Section IV): https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-investigators/faqs.htm#5358
Additional Resources
Grant funding strategy: Which grants to apply for?
