1. F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship Panel
Grantsmanship:
F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship Panel
May 27, 2016

3. NIH Research Funding Support by Career Stage
Postdoc 3

4. F32: Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award
The purpose of the Kirschstein-NRSA postdoctoral fellowship is to enhance the research training of promising postdoctoral candidates who have the potential to become productive, independent investigators in scientific health-related research fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers.
Due Dates: April 8, August 8, December 8
Eligibility: Permanent Resident or Citizen of the US
Participating NIH institutes and centers: NCI, NEI, NHLBI, NHGRI, NIA, NIAAA, NIAID, NIBIB, NICHD, NIDCD, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIDA, NIEHS, NIGMS, NIMH, NINR, NCCIH
(Check for details on institute participation and mission.)
Duration: typically for 3 years. Awardees incur 2 years of payback. Repay year 1 by staying in research a 2nd year.

5. F32: Competing applications, awards, and success rates
Data and chart description for this slide can be located at
FY 2015: 25% Success Rate 5

6. Updates from the NIH Biosketch format - NOT-OD-16-080
Restructured application instructions - NOT-OD
How to Apply Application Guide -
NINDS is restructuring their F and K awards. The last date of submission for standard F32 applications is Aug 8. New NINDS F32 only open to senior grad students and 1st year postdocs. K01 open to postdocs in years 2-4. NOT-NS

7. Grant Writing Resources
NIAID Grant Resources
NIMH Grant Application Process
FASEB Grantsmanship Training Program

8. Application Components
1/3 Trainee
1/3 Mentor and Training Plan (incl environment)
1/3 Science (esp specific aims)

9. *More than Research  incorporate Training Goals
Main Application Components
Referees: 3 letters of reference are submitted by the writer on eRA Commons
Letters of Support: from collaborators, co-mentors
Mentor Statement
Biosketch: yours and mentors. Includes grades and courses.
Specific Aims - 1 page
Research Strategy – 6 pages
Responsible Conduct of Research – 1 page
Goals – 1 page
Activities planned – 1 page
*More than Research  incorporate Training Goals

10. Review Process
Center for Scientific Review (CSR) – Rosters are posted online with meeting dates
Assigned 3 reviewers (not familiar with details of your work, busy, overworked) from a study section
Scientific Review Administrator
Scores 1-9 are averaged to give an impact score
Study section meets: best scored grants discussed first, final scores after discussion are given as a percentile
Summary Statement of scores
Institute Review
Funding decision

11. Review Criteria Main Review Criteria Overall Impact
Assessment of the likelihood that the proposed training will
enhance the candidate’s potential for a productive, independent
scientific career.
Five Core Review Criteria
Applicant
Mentor(s), sponsors, collaborators
Research Training Plan
Training Potential
Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training
Additional Criteria – Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research

12. Five Core Review Criteria
Fellowship Applicant
Scholastic performance
Productivity commensurate with career stage
Aptitude and enthusiasm
Clarity of stated career goals
Letters of reference
Mentoring committee for pre-docs is a plus
2. Sponsors, Collaborators, and Consultants
Documented mentoring successes
Expertise in the field
Present productivity
Funds available to cover research expenses
Co-mentor to cover weaknesses
Clearly defined roles for mentors and collaborators
3. Research Training Plan
Significance & impact of the proposed research
Logical hypothesis
Clarity, feasibility and alternative strategies
Stats, vertebrate animals, human subjects
Sophisticated technologies and approaches
Likelihood training will lead to publications and degree
Appropriate for the applicant fellow’s stage of research development
4. Training Potential
Is there individualized training that addresses weaknesses and career development needs?
Will participants learn new technical skills, new design approaches?
Do training activities match career goals?
Will training confer an advantage to competitive?
Will the applicant fellow receive requisite individualized and supervised experiences?
5. Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training
Scientific environment
Opportunities for collaborations within and outside institution if needed
Resources available

13. What Reviewers Look for in Fellowship Applications
Impact
Exciting ideas
Clarity of the research and training plans
Realistic aims and timelines– Don’t be overly ambitious
Brevity with things that everybody knows
Noted limitations of the study
A clean, well-written application

14. Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research
Reviewers are asked to state whether the proposed training is “Acceptable” or “Not Acceptable”
Is there formal and face-to-face training?
Are all ethical topics clearly depicted?
Are faculty participating in the training?
Will the total hours of training be at least 8 contact hours?
Are future opportunities/refreshers for continued training listed?
Does retraining occur every 4 years or at every career stage?

15. Details
NIH Policies
Stipend – follows NIH NRSA Levels FY 2016: $43,692 minimum
Institutional Allowance - $7,850 includes health insurance
Travel Allowance - $1,000 per year
BSD Policies:
Stipend supplement of $1,600 (increases to $1800 on 7/1/2016)
Switch from Postdoctoral Scholar to Fellow

16. Extra slides

17. New NIH Format for CVs Important points are:
Complete each section (A - Personal Statement; B – Positions and Honors; C – Contributions to Science; D – Research Support or Scholastic Performance)
Include no more than 5 contributions to science with no more than 4 citations per contribution
Ensure that if you include the optional link to a full list of your published work in a site like My Bibliography that the URL is public, does not require a login or personal information, and doesn’t link to websites that may violate page limit rules
Do not include information, such as preliminary data, that belongs elsewhere in the application
Follow NIH guidance on font type, font size, paper size, and margins (See section 2.6 of application guide)
Use PDF format for your biosketch attachments
Page limit is 5 pages or less
Failure to follow the policy means NIH may withdraw your application from consideration (NOT-OD )

18. Section C: Briefly describe up to five of your most significant contributions to science.
For each contribution indicate:
Historical background that frames the scientific problem
Central finding(s)
Influence of the finding(s) on the progress of science or the application of those finding(s) to health or technology
Your specific role in the described work
For each of these contributions reference:
Up to four peer-reviewed publications
Other non-publication research products, such as:
Audio or video products
Patents
Data and research materials
Databases
Educational aids or curricula
Instruments or equipment
Models
Protocols
Software or netware that are relevant to the described contribution
The description of each contribution should be no longer than one half page including figures and citations.
Also provide a URL to a full list of your published work as found in a publicly available digital database such as SciENcv or My Bibliography, which are maintained by the US National Library of Medicine.

19. SciENcv – importing/populating

20. SciENcv – Citations/Support
Output