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How to obtain funding: an assistant professor’s guide – robert m. raphael

Spirit of the fighting irish

“To everyone who has ever faced adversity, whether in business, professional or personal life. I admire the person who says: Every day someone does something great. Today that person will be me.” -- Lou Holtz

Writing great grants: a three step recipe

1) Choose a significant problem

  • Bonus points if not much work has been done on the problem
  • More bonus points if you have done the important work

2) Leave no question that you can accomplish your aims

  • Established track record of publications
  • Clear and convincing preliminary data

3) Write a clear, easy to read proposal

  • “Calm down, understand the situation and communicate clearly” – We Were Soldiers

Big hurdles and pitfalls

Navigating the Scylla of building on your accomplishments and the Charybdis of creating new research problems and attacking new research areas, given your situation:

  • Laboratory techniques not yet working
  • Students not yet trained/busy with classes
  • Teaching and other responsibilities
  • Proposing to do too much
  • Not making clear the points and connections that are obvious to you

Final do’s and dont’s

  • Do not necessarily assume the person who reviews your grant will be an expert in your area or know why your research is novel

The response to a revised NIH grant is very important. 

  • Never appear to be angry or emotional.  Just stick to the science.  If a reviewer got something wrong (which often happens), just lay out the facts. 
  • This is hard because you have put so much effort into the grant it’s easy to take comments personally
  • Criticisms are of the science, not of you!

Get grants done in advance and have colleagues read them ! 

  • Resist the thrill of pulling it off on “third and long”

Acknowledgements

Raphael Lab

  • Emily, Yong, Ryan, Jeff, Imran, Jenni, Louise

Thanks for Believing in Us!

  • NSF CAREER
  • Whitaker Foundation
  • Texas Advanced Technology Program
  • National Organization for Hearing Research
  • NIH NRSA (Greeson, Organ)
  • NSF-IGERT
  • Keck Center for Computational and Structural Biology
  • DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship

So you want someone else to pay for your research? - joan e. strassmann (eeb)

  1. Ask important, big questions.
  2. Have several projects at once.
  3. Write clear, well-researched proposals.
  4. Collaborate.
  5. Identify all possible funding sources and learn their cultures.
  6. Don’t let funding consume you. Keep publishing!

Ask important questions

  • Do not redo your Ph.D. or postdoc work.
  • Find a substantially new project if your proposal is rejected twice.
  • Read deeply and broadly (at least 5 articles a day).
  • Be creative.
  • Do not be afraid to do something really different.
  • Talk to lots of people about research.

Do several projects at once

  • Keeps you excited.
  • When one project faces problems, another could be blooming.
  • Increases funding opportunities.
  • Synergy in thinking about different things can suggest novel pathways.
  • Increases your visibility.

Write clear, well-researched proposals

  • The proposal must be impeccable, no typos, clear headers, clear flow from hypotheses to methods.
  • Follow the format of the agency exactly.
  • Include preliminary data and figures.
  • Get sample funded proposals by asking people for them, preferably those not too close to your research.
  • Have several people read your proposal.
  • Leave enough time, at least 3 months.

Collaborate

  • New ideas often come from collaboration.
  • Techniques and approaches can be shared.
  • This is the ONLY way to succeed without turning into a workaholic.
  • Teamwork is fun!
  • Find collaborators from a broader pool than is initially comfortable, and bridge the gaps with frequent meetings.
  • Same-stage collaborators are often best.

Identify all possible funding sources and learn their cultures

  • NSF and NIH are not the only sources of funding.
  • Learn about those grants requiring nominations, and get them.
  • Take advantage of your sponsored research office in learning about private funding.

Keep publishing

  • The search for funding can be discouraging.
  • Keep trying, but don’t forget to keep publishing anyway.
  • Write up your research quickly.
  • Write a minireview, review, perspective etc. at least every 2 years.

Questions & Answers

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Source:  OpenStax, 2007 nsf advance workshop: negotiating the ideal faculty position. OpenStax CNX. Feb 01, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10637/1.1
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