1. Key Elements in Applying for a Clinical Research Grant Niloofar Afari, PhD Associate Professor University of CA, San Diego Director of Clinical Affairs VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health nafari@ucsd.edu

2. Key Elements  Finding the right collaborators  Refining your idea  Finding the right granting agency and mechanism  Telling a good story or the “Art of Grantsmanship”

3. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health Collaboration  Grant writing is an inherently collaborative process  Co-investigators are important  Lots of input from different people  Mentor  Program officer  Co-investigators  Respected researchers in the field  Feedback is necessary to refine the idea  Give ample time for feedback  Don’t be shy about asking for help

4. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health Agencies and Mechanisms  Proposal has to fit with the mission and objectives of the agency  Contact granting agency program officers to ask questions and get clarification  Find information about funding levels so that you can come up with a reasonable budget  Talk to colleagues who have served on or have received grants from the agency  Find models of successful applications  Keep an eye out for relevant PAs and RFAs http://www.hfsp.org/how/ArtOfGrants.htm

5. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health Granting Agencies  National Institutes of Health  www.nih.gov www.nih.gov  Veteran’s Administration Office of Research and Development  www.research.va.gov www.research.va.gov  Department of Defense  cdmrp.army.mil  National Science Foundation  www.nsf.gov www.nsf.gov  Private Foundations

6. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health NIH Institutes & Centers NIH Institutes & Centers

7. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health NIH Mechanisms  Predoctoral and Postdoctoral training grants (NRSA)  Career Development Awards  Research Grants  R01 – Funding up to 5 years for discrete, specified, circumscribed research projects  R03 – Funding up to 2 years for pilot study or secondary analysis of existing data  R21 – Funding up to 2 years for exploratory and developmental research  R34 – Funding up to 3 years for development of essential elements of a clinical trial  K99/R00 - Pathway to Independence

8. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health VA R&D Programs

9. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health VA R&D Mechanisms  Career Development Award  Merit Award  Pilot Grants  Implementation Grants

10. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health Telling a Good Story  The goal is to write an application that is:  Clear  Focused  Logical  Original, novel, innovative  Feasible  With testable hypotheses  Make it obvious for the reviewers

11. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health The Proposal  Start early  Follow the instructions carefully and exactly  Pay attention to details  A sloppy application = a sloppy researcher  Organize with headings and subheadings

12. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health Key Sections  Title  Abstract  Specific Aims  Critical literature review  Preliminary data if necessary  Research Design details

13. VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. ~Author Unknown ~Author Unknown