Grant Writing 101(free advice is worth what you pay for it)

Why listen to me? Continuous NIH funding since 1995

AHA Established Investigator

Recipient of NIH Program Project Grant

NIH funded MERIT award 2008 - 2018

Ex-Chair of NIH CCHF study section (06-08)

Three steps to a proposal

1. Preparation before starting

2. Approach while writing

3. Polishing once finished

Identify your area of interest

Focus on a novel set of hypotheses

Understand the literature

Get some preliminary results

Build on your expertise and successes

1. Preparation before starting

2. Approach while writing

Find your own rhythm and style

Remember who you’re writing this for

Make it flow

Don’t bog down in details

KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid

RTFM: Read The Freaking Manual!

NIH guidelines are very explicit and clear

Read up on what reviewers will be looking for

It’s the National Institutes of HEALTH!

Remember the impact

Are you qualified to do what you propose?

Does your environment help or hurt you?

Get good collaborations and EXPLAIN THEM!

The five essential elements

Hypothesis - a true / false statement of fact

Rationale - why are you doing this?

Experimental approach - how are you doing this?

Anticipated outcome - what do you expect?

Potential problems and alternative approaches - how will you cope if you’re completely wrong or get stuck?

3. Polishing once finishedFix your presentation style

Pretend you’re seeing it for the first time

Make other smart people read it

Give yourself enough time to chill out

Triple check everything in the proposal

So now you’re done,

right?

Get ready to revise

17

Age Distribution of NIH RPG Investigators: 1980

25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90Age

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%Pe

rcen

t of P

Is

Sources: IMPAC II Current and History Files

Average Age New R01 Investigator:

37.2

18Sources: IMPAC II Current and History Files

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%Pe

rcen

t of P

Is

PIs in 1980

25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90Age

Age Distribution of NIH RPG Investigators: 2006

Average Age New R01 Investigator:

42.2

Percent R01-equivalent Awards and Amendment Status

25

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Fiscal Year

Perc

ent o

f Tot

al A

war

dsA0

A1A1

A2A2

When at first you don’t succeedDon’t get angry or take it personally

Ask smart people to read the critiques

Cool off before you start revising

Hey, lose the attitude there, Spanky

Be responsive - do what you’re told

Be polite if there’s a misunderstanding

Remember: the reviewer is ALWAYS right, even when they’re completely wrong

Be persistent! It’s like the LotteryYou can’t win if you don’t play

The more you play, the better your chances of winning

Everybody loves a winner

Feeling sorry for yourself gets you nothing

Channel your energy toward success, not revenge

Be gracious in defeat, humble in victory

Try serving on a study section - you’ll learn a lot

Lots of good resources

NIH staff

Your peers and colleagues

The internet and websites

Get examples of great grants and study them

Classes and training seminars by smart people (like this one)

And remember...

free advice is worth what you pay for it

“The best science will always get funded”