Title: Gold nuggets in the "Nuts and Bolts"
NIH Program Officers (POs) and Scientific Review Officers (SROs) with expertise in biophysics covered NIH proposal preparation do's and don'ts. Although the session was geared to the novice NIH grant writer, there was much to learn for veteran grant writers as well.
Considering how large #bps19 is, relatively few of us attended Tuesday afternoon's valuable session, "The Nuts and Bolts of Preparing Your NIH Grant." Half a dozen Program Officers and Scientific Review Officers with biophysics expertise were in the room and they shared important pointers for new investigators and veteran grant writers as well. They also took the time to talk to people individually.
I wanted to share what I found the most useful or surprising from this session. There were some gold nuggets sprinkled among the presented nuts and bolts!
One of the most important things to do is to "find the best home" for your proposal. There are several ways to achieve this goal:
-Read the NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts. Is there a solicitation that fits your proposed research area?
-Look at NIH Reporter and see what has been funded in your research area.
-Try the online tool Matchmaker (see: https://report.nih.gov/tutorial/matchmaker.aspx). You can copy your abstract and it will suggest, based upon currently funded projects, best matched institute/center, activity code, and study session. Then look those up and see if your work fits.
-Call the proposed Program Officer before you submit. (It never occurred to me to do this!)
Many biophysics proposals go to NIGMS but your topic may fit other institutes. NIGMS mostly funds individual investigator-initiated proposals; their approach is "tell us your good idea." Other institutes have RFAs (requests for applications) on various topics. These other institutes have needs they want filled. Personally, I prefer the open invitation from NIGMS over the "filling a niche" of other institutions.
NIAID has several good examples of successful grant proposals. Utilize these and get the format right. Pay attention to what went into successful proposals.
Other agencies have different rules, but NIGMS wants R21 proposals to be on something new you would not normally do. No preliminary results required.
In your abstract, you must clearly address: What are you doing? Why is it important? How will you do it? It's a good idea to write "The goal of this research is..."
Never try to sneak data under Facilities and Resources sections! (yes, this actually happens!)
Your Biosketch is important. Leave off being a girl/boy scout leader. Write who you are, your role in the project, and why you can do it. Tailor the biosketch to the proposal. Clearly spell out role in proposed work.
Considering "Significance" (one of the proposal scoring criteria), the SRO states to reviewers, "Assume they can do what they propose. How significant would it be?" When you write this section, "little is known about x" is not enough.
Published preliminary results are the best proof that it can be done!
Innovation is important but not necessary.
It's very common for young investigators to be "too ambitious." Be specific about what you're doing and include preliminary data. Include pitfalls and alternative approaches.
Always have someone else read your proposal before submitting. (Do this every time for every proposal).
Always allow yourself days before the due date in case things go wrong.
Figures must be readable.
Good luck with your prospecting fellow BPS members!