NIH F Applications and You

Steps for BGS students applying for individual predoctoral NRSAs*

*Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards

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Reasons to apply

Helps jump start dissertation research Grant writing experience is valuable Great award/honor on your CV ~$2,750 for lab supplies, travel Benefits mentor: frees up research

grant funds for other uses

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3 types of indiv. predoc. NRSAs

F30: for MD/PhD and other CDs F31: to promote Diversity F31: for Dissertation research related

to particular institutes of NIH

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F30 MD/PhD, VMD/PhD, etc. Up to 6 years of support, excluding

other NRSA (e.g., MSTP or other TG) support

Ideal time to apply: upon picking thesis lab

Note that not all institutes participate; check the list to see if any are relevant to your research

Deadlines: 4/8, 8/8, 12/8

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F30 Participating Institutes National Institute on Aging (NIA), (http://www.nia.nih.gov/)

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov)National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), (http://www.nidcd.nih.gov)National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), (http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), (http://www.niddk.nih.gov)National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), (http://www.nida.nih.gov)National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS/NIH), (http://www.niehs.nih.gov)National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), (http://www.nimh.nih.gov)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), (http://www.ninds.nih.gov)Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), (http://ods.od.nih.gov)

National Heart Lung Blood Institute (NHLBI) has its own F30 Program Announcement: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-232.html

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F31 Diversity

Up to 5 years of support, excluding other NRSA support (from training grants)

Ideal time to apply: once you have identified your research interests, can be as early as your first year

Virtually all NIH institutes participate Deadlines: 4/13, 8/13, 12/13

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F31 Diversity Participating Insts. National Cancer Institute (NCI), (http://www.nci.nih.gov/)

National Eye Institute (NEI), (http://www.nei.nih.gov/)National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov)National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), (http://www.nhgri.nih.gov/)National Institute on Aging (NIA), (http://www.nia.nih.gov/)National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), (http://www.niaaa.nih.gov /)National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/)National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), (http://www.niams.nih.gov/)National Inst. of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), (http://www.nibib.nih.gov/)National Inst. of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), (http://www.nichd.nih.gov/)National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), (http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/)National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), (http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/)National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), (http://www.niddk.nih.gov/)National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), (http://www.nida.nih.gov/)National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), (http://www.niehs.nih.gov)National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), (http://www.nigms.nih.gov)National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/)National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), (http://www.ninr.nih.gov/)National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), (http://www.nccam.nih.gov/)National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), (http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/)Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), (http://www.ods.od.nih.gov)

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F31 Dissertation Up to 5 years of support Ideal time to apply: after starting

dissertation research Note that not all institutes participate;

check the list to see if any are relevant to your research (most BGS students with these awards are NGG or PHRM)

Deadlines: 4/8, 8/8, 12/8

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F31 Dissertation Participating Insts. National Institute on Aging (NIA), http://www.nia.nih.gov/ 

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), http://www.niaaa.nih.govNational Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), http://www.nida.nih.gov/National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), http://www.nimh.nih.govNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), http://www.ninds.nih.govNational Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), http://www.nccam.nih.govOffice of Dietary Supplements (ODS), http://ods.od.nih.gov/

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Application Info & Resources F Kiosk: http://grants.nih.gov/training/F_files_nrsa.htm

Select appropriate F30 or F31 program announcement here SF424 (R&R):

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/SF424_RR_Guide_Fellowship.pdf Individual Fellowship Application Guide

Forms: Marianne (below) will send you a partially pre-populated

pdf to complete For fellowship-specific biosketch and reference form, go to:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms

Marianne Williams, Finance Office-- for BGS, MD-PhD, and VMD-PhD studentsaltland@upenn.edu

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General All done via eRA Commons of Grants.gov Contact Marianne to set up your account Marianne will fill out basics of the forms for you,

e.g., budget, previous NRSA support, etc. Although electronic submission began in 2009,

successful NRSA applicants from before 2009 are available for general advice; contact the Graduate Student Center or Marianne for student mentors

Your advisor and graduate group chair (and CD director if applicable) are great resources

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Identifying the institute Determine which institute(s) of NIH is the

best fit for your project (discuss this with your PI)

Contact the fellowship program officer at the institute(s) by phone to discuss your proposal and how it might fit with the institute’s scientific goals; see numbers on p. I-3 of the Application Guide

Prepare a cover letter to be submitted with your proposal that refers to the conversation and the program officer by name (part of “Other Attachments”)

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Once you have your partially-completed forms from Marianne Complete the highlighted sections; ask

Marianne if you have any questions Note that YOU are the PI; enter your name,

contact info., and use special fellowship biosketch

Your mentor is the Senior/Key Person 1, aka Sponsor; enter his/her info. and biosketch

If your mentor is a junior faculty member, you might benefit from a Co-Sponsor (a tenured faculty member with relevant research and training experience)

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Research Training Plan 10 page limit, including figures, charts,

tables, and diagrams: combine sections before uploading to monitor length

Pay close attention to instructions on font, headers (none), page numbers (none), etc.

Get early input from advisor & GG chair! 1. Intro (resubmissions only) 2. Specific Aims 3. Background and Significance 4. Preliminary Studies/Progress Report 5. Research Design & Methods

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Other Components Human Subjects (Y/N): From Mentor Vertebrate Animals (Y/N): From Mentor Resource Sharing Plan: From Mentor Respective Contributions: See sample on

next page Selection of Sponsor and Institution:

Write a paragraph on each Responsible Conduct of Research:

Finance Office provides latest BGS version

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Respective Contributions - sample RESPECTIVE CONTRIBUTIONSThis proposal is an extension of my candidacy exam. I am

primarily responsible for the ideas and experiments outlined in this document. Through discussions with my sponsor, Dr. __________, I was able to focus my hypothesis and refine my experimental approach to maximize feasibility. I prepared this document independently but consulted with Dr. ____ for suggestions before finalizing the proposal. Figure 2 is the work of a former undergraduate student, ____ . I will perform the described experiments independently. I will seek guidance from Dr. ____ when interpreting data and troubleshooting experiments.

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Candidate Information Degree Sought and Field of Training Current/Prior NRSA Support: Finance Office provides Applications for Concurrent Support (Y/N) Goals for Fellowship Training [Attach]: See

instructions; up to 2 page; make sure goals relate to institute’s goals

Activities Planned Under Award [Attach]: Brief table, usually indicating 100% research

Doctoral Diss/Research Exper [Attach]: Important to describe previous research experience, including rotations, as well as dissertation info.; see instructions; up to 2 pages

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Other Components

Budget:Finance Office will provide

Appendix:Optional – not clear what if anything needs to be provided here for F applications

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Research & Related Project/Performance Site Location(s):

Use your lab address Other Project Information: See

instructions Misc. Y/N Questions Project Summary/Abstract [Attach] Project Narrative [Attach] Bibliography & References Cited [Attach] Other Attachments: See next slide

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Research & Related, Cont.

Other Project Information, Cont. Other Attachments

Sponsor Page (Details on Next Slide) Cover letter requesting assignment [Attach] List of Referees [Attach] Training Potential [Attach] Additional Education Info. [Attach]:

Any grades or test scores not listed on biosketch

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Sponsor

Sponsor Page of “Other Attachments” Research Support Available [Attach] Previous Trainees [Attach] Training Plan, Environment & Research

Facilities [Attach] # of Trainees Supervised During

Fellowship [Attach] Applicant’s Qualifications and Potential

for Research Career [Attach]

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Additional “Other Attachments”

If a Diversity applicant, letter from BGS Director [Attach]

If an F30 applicant, statement on institutional environment and commitment to training (Skip Brass letter available from MD/PhD office)

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Letters of Recommendation (3-5) NOT mentor/sponsor (since s/he writes

statement about your qualifications in the grant)

Usually the graduate group chair, CD head and/or program chair (if applicable), rotation advisor, thesis committee member, or faculty research collaborator

Must use fellowship-specific form and be submitted electronicallyhttps://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/reference/submitRefereeInformation.jsp

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Steps to Take ≥30 days prior to deadline:

Contact Finance Office, altland@upenn.edu Provide sponsor with link and forms; graduate

group chair can help with info. about training Get 3 referees on board; make sure they use the

required form ≥ 10 days prior to deadline:

Complete your forms & attachments Have your advisor review application

≥ 3 days prior to deadline: Everything in final form for Univ. review

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Grant Application Package

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Application Page 1

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Application Page 2

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RESEARCH & RELATED: Senior Key Person Profile (Expanded)

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PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form

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PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form, cont.

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PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form, Cont.

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RESEARCH & RELATED: Project/ Performance Site Location(s)

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RESEARCH & RELATED Other Project Information

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11. Other Attachments, detail