Strategies for Obtaining NIH Funding as a Junior Investigator

1. Strategies for obtaining NIH
funding as a junior investigator
Jason S. Stumhofer, Ph.D.

2. Funding sources
 Government – NIH, DOD, FDA,
NIGMS, NASA, etc
 Private – AHA, ACS, ADA, ANRF

3. Useful references
 www.grants.gov
 www.nih.grants.gov
◦ List of parent announcements and RFAs for
grants
 NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
LISTSERV
◦ Weekly TOC that lists new NIH funding
opportunities and notices
 NIH RePORTER – Can determine if
anyone is currently funded in an area of
research you are interested in pursuing

4. Plan! Plan! Plan!
 Know your due date
◦ Under about about grants tab is a list of
due dates
 Know your organization: NCI, NIAID,
NIDDK, etc.
 Know your study section
◦ Which one to send application to – Talk to
your program officer (PO)
◦ Active members
◦ Scientific review officer (SRO)

5. Grant application types
 Know differences between different
grant applications
 Understand eligibility criteria
 New investigator status
◦ Early career investigator status (10 year
period after Ph.D. or M.D. awarded)

6. Be aware of application changes
 Always download the latest instruction
book
 Recent changes implemented by NIH:
Rigors and Transparency
– Scientific premise
– Rigorous experimental design for robust and
unbiased results
– Consideration of relevant biological variables
– Authentication of key biological and/or
chemical resources
Simplification of vertebrate animal section

7. Budget types
 Modular budget
◦ $250,000/yr no justification
 Non-modular budget
◦ Must justify the costs in the budget
◦ Allows one to ask for more money above
the modular budget amount

8. Writing Tips
 Know your audience
◦ Keep abbreviations to a minimum
 Do not be afraid to be repetitive
 Significance
◦ Address scientific premise here
 Innovation
◦ New techniques?
◦ Challenging a dogma or paradigm?
 Approach
◦ Strong preliminary data
◦ Make sure if you are utilizing a new technique that you can prove that
you can perform the technique
◦ Make sure you acknowledge pitfalls and describe alternative
approaches
 Use models
 Beware of data fishing expeditions

9. KISS principle
 Keep It Simple Stupid
 Is this something I can accomplish as
a young investigator?
 Do I have experience performing the
techniques used in the research
strategy?
 Can I accomplish this within the set
time period?

10. Office of Grants and Scientific
Publications (OGSP)
 Located in the Winthrop Rockefeller
Cancer Center
 Use requires forward thinking
 DeAnn Hubberd, MA
dehubberd@uams.edu
501-686-6004

11. NIH Study Section
 Composed of peers in your area of
research
◦ Standing and potentially ad hoc members
 Two-three people will review your
grant and score it based on:
1. Significance
2. Investigator(s)
3. Innovation
4. Approach
5. Environment

12. NIH Study Section
 Bulk of initial score based on
approach
 The number of applications discussed
is based on the number submitted for
review to the individual section
 Only grants discussed at study section
receive a reported score
 Score can improve or worsen during
discussion

13. NIH Study Section
 Your reviewers are your advocates.
 Scored grant is a positive
 A non-scored grant is an uphill battle
 Talk to SRO or PO if you do not
understand your review critiques

14. Introduction for resubmission
 Start out by thanking the reviewers for
their positive comments and
suggestions
 Acknowledge there were issues with
the first submission and cite how
changes are denoted in application
(italics, highlighted, line in margin)
 Address the major concerns first
◦ Usually found in summary statement in
review

15. Questions?

16. Jason Stumhofer, Ph.D.
 Assistant Professor MBIM Department
◦ Rm 521A Biomedical Building I
 501-526-6180
 jstumhofer@uams.edu