Grant Writing for New Applicants
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| Fundamentals |
| Make it clear that you have your own resources. |
| Show that you understand the literature. |
| Provide as much a preliminary data as possible. |
| "Less is more." |
| Consider using the application again. |
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New and early-stage investigators must work harder to sell themselves.
- Make sure your potential shines through the application. Show that you:
- Have your own resources and institutional support.
- Are independent.
- Are able to lead.
- Reveal your independence as an investigator through your publications -- first and last authors are more impressive than those in the middle.
- Impress peer reviewers by showing your understanding of the literature and the strengths and weaknesses of your methods.
- Look up the members of the study section, and cite their work if relevant. You can find them at CSR Study Section Roster Index.
- Provide data to support your Specific Aims and hypotheses. Remember that reviewers expect less preliminary data from you. It's okay to use data that are not yours as long as you identify your source.
- In your resources section, describe your institution's investment in your success, including startup funds, lab space, and mentoring.
"Less Is More"
- Reviewers are more inclined to give you a fundable score if you ask for less money and fewer years and propose a modest amount of work, i.e., few specific aims.
- They also expect early-stage investigators to have fewer preliminary data, resources, and publications compared to established PIs. Write your biosketch so it shows to your advantage all the qualifications needed to lead the project.
- Leave out all nonessential information.
- Do not try to impress reviewers with a lot of background information. Reviewers may know much more about a field than you do.
Using Your Application More Than Once
Every project NIH funds must be unique. By law, NIH cannot support a project already funded or pay for research already done, so you cannot have overlap with your other applications.
Under various circumstances, however, NIH allows you to reuse the same application. Read more in Which types of unfunded applications may I reuse, and how do I proceed?
Though you may not send the same application to more than one Public Health Service agency at the same time, you can apply to an organization outside the Public Health Service (go to Agencies and Programs) with your NIH application. NIH will not fund it if you get that award.
Find more information in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
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