Martha R.C. Bhattacharya, PhD Washington University in St. Louis

Martha R.C. Bhattacharya, PhD Washington University in St. Louis

John Russell, DBBS Shirley McTigue, DBBS Kate Ruzicka, DBBS Karen Dodson, Faculty Affairs Faculty and Postdoc Mentors!

Awareness of fellowship opportunities and deadlines Basics of writing a research proposal Understanding of review process for common fellowships BIG GOAL: Increase fellowship awards to Wash U DBBS students

From Wash U s and your PI s point of view: salary and tuition support (i.e. more money for your lab for your research) Prestige for your institution From your point of view: Higher stipend, extra money for computer or travel Prestige for you if you have graduate funding, more likely to get postdoctoral funding, etc. A bit of independence More control over your timeline

Fri Oct 8 nd : outline with abstract, 3 specific aims and experimental sub-aims due (e-mail) Wed Oct 13 th, 4:15-5:30: group critique with faculty/postdocs Fri, Oct 22 nd : 2 page draft of research proposal due (e-mail) Wed Oct 27 rd, 4:15-5:30: group critique Nov 22 nd : NSF Fellowship Apps Due! **SIGN IN WITH E-MAIL ADDRESS TO PARTICIPATE!!!**

Governmental Support: National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense Private Foundations: American Heart Association, PhRMA Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation Minority Fellowships: Ford Foundation, Soros Fellowships for New Americans, Merck Fellowships

Each is different! For example: Fellowship Citizenship Requirement Minority Focused Year Eligible Subject National Science Foundation American Heart Association Ford Foundation Yes No 1 st + 2 nd Basic Science No No 2 nd -3rd Heart Disease/ Dev t Yes Yes 1 st only Any

American Heart Awards 9 Army (DOD, Breast Cancer) 1 NDSEG Fellowships 1 NIH Fellowships (F series) 32 NSF Awards 9 American Soc. for Plant Biologists 1 EPA Star Fellowship 1 Microbiology Fellowships 1 PhARMA Fellowships 1

Midwest Affiliate: Success Rate # Applications Reviewed: 107 # Applications Awarded: 36 Success Rate: 22.79 percent Proposal Evaluation: Significance: Does this study address an important problem broadly related to cardiovascular disease or stroke? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods and technologies that drive this field? Approach: A new fellow may not have had adequate time to generate preliminary data. Applicants can present preliminary data generated by the sponsor. The assessment of preliminary data, whether generated by the sponsor or the applicant, should be put into perspective so that bold new ideas and risk taking by beginning investigators are encouraged rather than stymied.

To be eligible for the NSF GRFP, you must: * be a US citizen, US national, or permanent resident alien * be in a research-focused Master's or Ph.D. program in an NSF-supported field * have completed no more than twelve months of full-time graduate study (or the equivalent) by the beginning of fall term 2010

Available ONLY to international students (non-us citizens/green card holders) DBBS students: brief (one-half page) description of the nature and significance of the proposed thesis research to Shirley McTigue by 11/1/2010 10 students will be nominated within all HHMI-supported fields (all sciences, engineering, math, CS, plant biology)

Research Proposal (2-10 pages) Personal Statement/Career Goals Statement CV or Previous Research Experience 3 Recommendations Undergraduate Transcript NSF GRFP Application Guidelines

The point here is to show you can think! First Years: Pick something you are comfortable with, or have already done some reading on Can be rotation project, but CLEAR WITH YOUR ADVISOR FIRST Can also be work stemming from your undergraduate or other research experiences Second years: your thesis research

Title Abstract/Summary Specific Aims (List; usually 3) Background and Significance Specific Aims 1 -expt1,2 (3), including methods Specific Aims 2 and 3 (same as 1) Conclusion and Restate Significance

Most important part! (If they don t like this, they won t read the rest.) Capture the enthusiasm of the reviewer, and convince them to be on your side. Things to watch out for: -dependent (domino) aims: if one fails, the others will too -technically challenging, or not likely to work (some screens) -lack of specifics: spell out what you want to do!

Clear description of what is known and not known Why are your hypotheses and methods important? Citations important. Gives evidence of your competence in this scientific field.

For NSF: very small amount of room! Illustrative only: model, one image, chemical reaction, etc. is okay. For other, longer proposals: yes, if you have it. For NIH NRSAs: you NEED data (apply late 2 nd or early 3 rd year). High quality, unpublished data demonstrating that you can do these expts, and supporting your hypothesis.

Follows order of specific aims Detail methods, or provide citations Clear rationale for interpreting results: -if I get result X, I would conclude Y, follow up with Z. -if I get result X, I would conclude Y. This could be because A, B, or C. I could rule out possibilities by doing instead. -include caveats: shows your ability to think!

Common Errors in Grant Writing: 1. Squid Technique : The author is doubtful about facts or reasoning and retreats behind a cloud of ink. 2. Mystery story: keep reviewer guessing about your central hypothesis until the last paragraph.

Begin with clear statement of hypothesis and its significance. Write in a simple journalistic way: short sentences in logical sequence. Make sure message is crystal clear. Your reviewer has a limited amount of time: help them get the message early. Bold/underline major points!

Intellectual Merit importance to advancing knowledge your qualifications to complete project creativity/originality well organized access to resources necessary Broader Impacts Criteria advance discovery while promoting teaching and learning broaden the participation of underrepresented groups enhance the infrastructure for research and education Share results broadly with the public Benefit to society

Broader impact criteria matter a LOT! outreach, diversity, presentations of your science to others 2 main reviewers give two scores based on intellectual merit and broader impacts Can go to a 3 rd person if 2 reviews differ Ranked by score. Top 50% of available slots are filled by score alone. Bottom 50% are filled by consideration of other criteria (gender/geography/etc.)

Must be focused on a BASIC science question. Your research proposal will be declared INELIGIBLE if it has disease-related goals. Example: you work on a mouse model of cancer Good Topic: Mechanistic questions about cell division control Bad: Cancer metastases and effects on physiology

What excites you about science, or a career in science **What you are doing/plan to do to give back to the community (after getting $$ from the government)** Emphasize communication of science with others (other scientists or general public) Poster sessions, tutoring, volunteer work

Same principles of good writing apply here: topic sentences, concise, to the point. Use your own personal statements for graduate school applications as a template for this. Examples: http://dbbs.wustl.edu http://www.rachelcsmith.com/nsf.html

Put most significant experience first, or current lab work (if GR2) Talk about your results and conclusions, any publications you have been or will be a part of, broader impact of your work Can list rotations, but only briefly. Comments about each should be roughly proportional to their significance on your CV

Applicants can improve their chances of obtaining strong reference letters by doing the following: choose people that can speak to your abilities and potential, rather than someone with a prominent title Provide referees sufficient time Discuss the application and share your essays with them Inform them that reference letters should reflect both your intellectual merit and broader impacts if necessary, remind referees about deadline.

Request Transcripts from your Undergraduate instituion be Sent to You (GR2s get one from Wash U) Really, get a bunch. You ll need them. Ask for letters of recommendation

Outline and Abstract by Fri Oct 8 nd : 1 succinct paragraph stating significance, problem/question, approach, and potential impact 3 specific aims (goals for your experiments) Subaims under each with brief method for your experiment This should all fit easily on one page, possibly ½ a page.

2-page draft by Friday Oct 22nd Check sample proposals for formatting ideas Use abstract and specific aims to write a two page proposal. No references needed (but you will need to put them in later!) Submit by e-mail to your group and leader.