Outline Grant writing made easy A personal account Sohail Z Husain, - - PDF document

4/2/2012 1

Grant writing made easy

Sohail Z Husain, M.D. Chair, NASPGHAN Research Committee Associate Professor of Pediatrics Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC & the University of Pittsburgh

Outline

• A personal account
• Importance of grant writing
• Nuts and bolts of grant writing

My training and research

Yale Fac Pitt SUNY‐B Tufts NYU Yale Fe. Yale Fac.

Know thyself: Things I learned about myself

• I always feel like I want more

formal training

• But I am always learning on

the job and constantly reading

• I learn in an environment in

I learn in an environment in which I can interact with people who have similar or intersecting research interests

• But, as much as possible, I

need to be organized and deliberate about what I do

My career goals

• Long term

– Develop novel, therapeutic strategies for pancreatitis – Elucidate critical mechanisms that mediate the disease

• Short term

– Establish credibility (papers) – Sustain research space, time, team(grants)

My story about grant funding

Pitt T32 K08 AGA CHRC R03 NASPGHAN R01‐RyR R01‐Cn Other grants ideas DOD Yale Fe. Yale Fac. T32 ‐DOD ‐R01 Renewal ‐Pancreatitis recovery ‐In vivo imaging of the pancreas ‐Program project on the genetic of pancreatitis ‐Pancreatitis consortium

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Grants: Lessons learned along the way

• More than half of my grant applications were not

funded

• One certainty: You will not get funded if you don’t

apply

• Constantly strategizing

– Phase sheets of projects – Bigger picture development plots – Lab structure – Publication and grant plans – Lab meetings are often strategy sessions

Why should you love to write grants?

• Allows you to carry out

meaningful work

– Helps you build your ‘Empire of Intellect’

• Necessary for promotions
• Your Chair expects you to get

Your Chair expects you to get grants

– Indirect costs

• Helps organize your thoughts

and plans

• Fosters collaboration and

sharing

Another reason to write grants Is grant writing easy?

• Yes!
• It’s simply a standardized

communication piece.

• PB&J exercise (modified from Lori Post, PhD;

Yale lecture 2010)

PB&J learning points

• Writing is simply a transcribed

conversation

• All you have to do is start describing to

someone (or yourself) the idea in mind ( y )

• Helps break writer’s block
• End the writeup by asking:

– Why is the world better off with you being given the chance to make a PB&J sandwich?

Write what you mean

• Be simple and

straightforward

• Write fancy ideas, not fancy

words

(from Anees Sardar, Chairman MSQ) – Like good music

• Transcends; simple yet elegant
• Practice and edit
• The slithery statement

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The slithery statement

• There is a large body of experimental evidence that

clearly shows that members of the genus Crotalus congregate simultaneously in cases of prolonged decreased temperature conditions in the latter part of the year the year.

• Rattlesnakes come together when its gets cold in the fall.

(From Angelika Hofmann, PhD, Yale U. lecture from 2010‐08)

Trim the fat

• period of time

final outcome at the present time already existing

• It is well know that there are three subtypes
• f the KL‐2 virus…
• f the KL 2 virus…
• Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out

the wrong words. –Mark Twain

(From Angelika Hofmann, PhD, Yale U. lecture from 2010‐08)

General writing tips

• Use the active voice rather

than the passive

• Write short sentences
• Use strong verbs
• Avoid redundancies

– But do remind the reader about the key points

• Provide a logical progression

– Like telling a good story during dinner

Write about what is being asked

• Pay close attention to

– Instructions – Formats – Page limits

• They keep changing

They keep changing

• New NIH format (for R01 grants)

– Abstract (1 page) – Specific Aims (1 page) – Research Strategy (12 pages)

• Significance
• Innovation
• Approach

Develop a personal style

• That conforms to the requirements and

reviewer expectations

• Makes it easier to write grants frequently

Know the review criteria and the process

• NIH‐enhanced review criteria
• Scoring and the peer‐review process

– 3 reviewers – But everyone provides an equal score towards the overall impact score – Thus, make your reviewers your advocates T k d t f k t d ti b i i i f – Take advantage of mock study sections or pre‐submission reviews of your grant

1 2 3

Modified from John Constable, PhD, Yale U. lecture, 2010‐09

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Game plan and timeline

• Look out for grant opportunities

– NIH weekly TOC, NIH website, other websites – Email/call a program officer – Annual or semi‐annual assessment

• Timeline (Be realistic. Focus on deadlines for cycles. e.g. case scenario for

an R01)

– (1‐3 mo ) Conceive hypothesis/idea/literature review/specific aims – (1‐3 mo.) Conceive hypothesis/idea/literature review/specific aims – (1‐3 mo.) Generate preliminary data and identify collaborators – (1‐2 mo.) Write first draft – (1 mo.) Edit draft within the team – (1 mo.) Edit subsequent drafts – 5‐10 mo. total

• One month rule

– Polished first draft of science 1 mo. before submission to the local grants

• ffice

Resources

• Strunk and White, The

Elements of Style

• NIH web; weekly TOC

H f A S i tifi W iti

• Hofmann A, Scientific Writing

and Communication, 2009

• University Office of Research

(or equivalent)

Summary

• Grants are essential for building a research

career or program

• Grant writing

– Can be helpful to organizing your ideas – Is learned and can be perfected over time

• Spend time

– Understanding the review process – Putting together a game plan

• Write frequently!

HHM NAS Nobel Positive impact on science, health, disease

Community service Kids

Positive impact in the world and at home

Parents

Always keep your ultimate goals in view

Papers Grants Papers Grants

Marriage y