- What the F? Deciding When to Submit an NRSA Fellowship
In a previous “What the F?” post, I discussed the NRSA fellowship and why you should consider writing one. The next step in the fellowship application process is to decide when to apply. The usual answer is “as soon as possible”. The NIH wants to support your training, so it ...
- Shark Tank for Scientists: NIH’s SBIR/STTR Grants
Have you ever searched for something in NIH RePORTER and seen some unusual grantee organizations in the results, maybe ones with “Inc.” or “LLC” in the name rather than “University” or “Medical Center”? If so, you’ve come across grants made to small businesses through the SBIR/ST...
- What the F? An Introduction to the NRSA Fellowship
In fiscal year 2024, NIH awarded approximately $200 million to support pre- and postdoctoral trainees through its National Research Service Awards (NRSA) individual fellowship programs.
What exactly is an NRSA individual fellowship and why should you apply for one? I’ve manage...
- Writing Your K or CDA Progress Report
Writing your annual progress report is both an art and a science. T. Alp Ikizler, MD, mentor of so many early career faculty trainees he’s lost count and winner of the 2016 Award for Excellence in Mentoring Translational Scientists at Vanderbilt, shared his thoughts on how to put...
- Not that Kind of Letter: Tales of Rejection
I have been thinking about rejections in science. Rejections come in all shapes and sizes, from the grant you need to build your program, to an awesome rotation student picking another lab, to a manuscript rejection at yet another journal. While I definitely had my share of rejec...
- Discover What’s Getting Funded with NIH Matchmaker
To compete well for grants, you need to know what’s getting funded. Enter NIH Matchmaker. The service takes text about your science and shows you the projects that are most like yours. Reading the abstracts yields insight into the kinds of aims reviewers find attractive, a...
- Mapping the Path for a K or R Submission
When submitting a grant, sixteen weeks out is the magic number for starting the process. (For the NIH deadlines, this means start working at the deadline before your target: For the June deadline, early February is the optimal time to begin, and so on.) Understanding the path...
- If They Can’t Trust You with Stats, They Won’t Trust You with Money
For most grants you write, here is all you need to do to get them funded:
1. Convince me that it will be a crime against humanity if the science doesn’t get done, and that
2. No one in the world besides you can do it.
Simple.
For grants with a clinical trial, thou...
- Keeping Your Eye on the R01 Ball
This post condenses a Q&A led by Alex Smith, MD, MS, MPH and Katherine Hartmann, MD, PhD, on the topic of K to R conversion at the annual 2018 meeting of the Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Awards in Aging. The round table included Beeson Scholars, who ...
- Ten Insider Tips: What Your Grants Manager Wishes You Knew
Your grants manager is a key person in ensuring smooth submission of your grant. Here’s what every grants manager wants you to know:
1. Notify your grants manager at the very beginning of the grant writing process. This will help them schedule their time and give your grant th...
