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Slide 22: how to obtain funding: an assistant professor’s guide

Robert M. Raphael, Ph.D.

TN Law Assistant Professor

Dept. of Bioengineering

Rice University

Slide 23: spirit of the fighting irish

Lou holtz

“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

Slide 24: writing great grants: a three step recipe

  • 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
  • Leave no question that you can accomplish your aims
    • Established track record of publications
    • Clear and convincing preliminary data
  • Write a clear, easy to read proposal
    • “Calm down, understand the situation and communicate clearly” – We Were Soldiers

Slide 25: 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

Slide 26: 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”

Slide 27: and remember:

Slide 28: acknowledgements

“my mariners, souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me”

Raphael Lab: Emily, Yong, Ryan, Jeff, Imran, Jenni, Louise (and Robert Raphael, center)
  • 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

Slide 29: so you want someone else to pay for your research?

Joan E. Strassmann, Ph.D.

Department Chair

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Rice University

  • So you want someone else to pay for your research?
    • Ask important, big questions.
    • Have several projects at once.
    • Write clear, well-researched proposals.
    • Collaborate.
    • Identify all possible funding sources and learn their cultures.
    • Don’t let funding consume you. Keep publishing!

Slide 30: number 1 - ask important, big 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.

Slide 31: number 2 - 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.

Slide 32: number 3 - 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.

Slide 33: number 4 - 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.

Slide 34: number 5 - 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.

Slide 35: number 6 - 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.

Slide 36: conclusion

Have fun! It’s a great life!

Questions & Answers

the diagram of the digestive system
Assiatu Reply
How does twins formed
William Reply
They formed in two ways first when one sperm and one egg are splited by mitosis or two sperm and two eggs join together
Oluwatobi
what is genetics
Josephine Reply
Genetics is the study of heredity
Misack
how does twins formed?
Misack
What is manual
Hassan Reply
discuss biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles
Joseph Reply
what is biology
Yousuf Reply
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environments
AI-Robot
the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environment.
Wine
discuss the biological phenomenon and provide pieces of evidence to show that it was responsible for the formation of eukaryotic organelles in an essay form
Joseph Reply
what is the blood cells
Shaker Reply
list any five characteristics of the blood cells
Shaker
lack electricity and its more savely than electronic microscope because its naturally by using of light
Abdullahi Reply
advantage of electronic microscope is easily and clearly while disadvantage is dangerous because its electronic. advantage of light microscope is savely and naturally by sun while disadvantage is not easily,means its not sharp and not clear
Abdullahi
cell theory state that every organisms composed of one or more cell,cell is the basic unit of life
Abdullahi
is like gone fail us
DENG
cells is the basic structure and functions of all living things
Ramadan
What is classification
ISCONT Reply
is organisms that are similar into groups called tara
Yamosa
in what situation (s) would be the use of a scanning electron microscope be ideal and why?
Kenna Reply
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is ideal for situations requiring high-resolution imaging of surfaces. It is commonly used in materials science, biology, and geology to examine the topography and composition of samples at a nanoscale level. SEM is particularly useful for studying fine details,
Hilary
cell is the building block of life.
Condoleezza Reply
what is cell divisoin?
Aron Reply
Diversity of living thing
ISCONT
what is cell division
Aron Reply
Cell division is the process by which a single cell divides into two or more daughter cells. It is a fundamental process in all living organisms and is essential for growth, development, and reproduction. Cell division can occur through either mitosis or meiosis.
AI-Robot
What is life?
Allison Reply
life is defined as any system capable of performing functions such as eating, metabolizing,excreting,breathing,moving,Growing,reproducing,and responding to external stimuli.
Mohamed
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Source:  OpenStax, 2006 nsf advance workshop: negotiating the ideal faculty position. OpenStax CNX. Jul 31, 2007 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10442/1.7
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