| This document gives new and would-be principal investigators an overview of funding and grantsmanship concepts and provides strategies for gaining an NIH grant.
We update this print-friendly version monthly. For the most current information, read the page-by-page tutorial.
Table of Contents
Starting Out
- Getting to Know NIH
- Starting a Research Career
- Putting Grants in Context
- Perspective on Peer Review
- NIH's Mission -- Why It Matters to You
- Do You Qualify for Independent Support?
- What Award Should You Apply For?
- What's an R01?
- Are You "New"?
- Application Essentials
- Staying Informed
Shaping Your Strategy
- Planning Your Application
- Choosing an Approach
- Should You Be One of Many PIs?
- Deciding the Parameters of Your Request
- How to Plan an Appropriate Budget
- How Funding Opportunities Work
- Plan Ahead for Electronic Application
Creating and Submitting Your Application
- Getting Oriented
- Grant Writing for New Applicants
- Selected Pages From the NIH Grant Cycle
- Submitting the Application
Programs for New PIs
Web Resources
Starting Out
NIH and NIAID are looking to fund more new scientists and have created special programs and funding approaches to meet that goal.
This online tutorial gives you an overview of NIH, grant writing, and the application process, linking to more detailed information.
If you are ready for an independent grant, you can find more in-depth help in NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal and our other All About Grants tutorials. If you are at an earlier career stage, see Starting a Research Career.
You can find answers to questions about application details such as When is my application due? in Quick Facts on Research Grant Applications.
Test Your NIH Savvy: Self-Quiz
Every granting agency has its own culture and processes, and NIH is no exception. Understanding how NIH works can go a long way toward helping you succeed.
Take this test to assess your knowledge, then review the answers below.
| True or False? |
Answer |
| 1. New investigators have a hard time getting funded. |
True |
| 2. NIH funds people and their careers. |
Largely false |
| 3. I should have a faculty-level position and my own lab before I try for independent support such as an R01. |
Typically true |
| 4. To submit an application, I need to identify an institute. |
False |
| 5. To qualify for a training grant, I need to be an American citizen or resident. |
True |
| 6. NIAID funds most applications by scientific priority. |
False |
| 7. New applicants should stay in their field of expertise rather than search for an initiative. |
True |
| 8. NIAID supports research into all pathogens. |
False |
| 9. The most important audience for my application is the initial peer review group. |
True |
| 10. My topic needs to be relevant to science but not necessarily to health. |
False |
| 11. To figure out what grant type I want to apply for, I need to review all the mechanisms on NIH's list. |
False |
| 12. Assuming I receive a fundable score in peer review, it will probably take a year from application to award. |
True |
Self-Quiz Answers
| Statement |
Answer with Explanation |
| 1. New investigators have a hard time getting funded. |
True. Lack of experience, a high learning curve, and stiff competition make it tough to get a grant.
On the positive side, NIH and NIAID are trying to make it easier for new investigators to get their first independent grant, for example, with a higher R01 payline. Even with that advantage, you'll need to write an outstanding application.
Find help here and in our NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal. To see if you qualify as an NIH new investigator, go to Are You "New"? in our New Investigator Guide to NIH Funding. |
| 2. NIH funds people and their careers. |
Largely false. In general, NIH funds research projects, rather than people (there are exceptions, for example, fellowships). Although peer reviewers assess the investigator and environment, they do so in terms of the feasibility of the project described in the application.
As we tell you in Part 1. Qualifying for a Grant of the NIH Grant Cycle, institutions, not principal investigators, are the grantees for most grant types. Read more in Getting to Know NIH in our New Investigator Guide to NIH Funding. |
| 3. I should have a faculty-level position and my own lab before I try for independent support such as an R01. |
Typically true. You also need to find out what awards you are eligible for from your institution's perspective. For more information see Do You Qualify for Independent Support? |
| 4. To submit an application, I need to identify an institute. |
False. You do not need to identify an institute, though you may choose to.
We recommend that you contact program officers in several institutes to see which one is most enthusiastic about your research area and discuss potential topics. When you apply, request assignment to that institute.
Read more at Consider Requesting an Institute and Study Section in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal. |
| 5. To qualify for a training grant, I need to be an American citizen or resident. |
True. All NIAID training and career
development awards (except the K99/R00) require either U.S. citizenship
or legal residence ("green
card"). For more information, go to Training and Career Awards or contact our training director, Dr. Milton Hernandez, at 301-496-3775 or mh35c@nih.gov.
Most other grant types do not require either U.S. citizenship
or legal residence. |
| 6. NIAID funds most applications by scientific priority. |
False. NIAID funds most applications by their scientific merit as determined by peer reviewers rather than by pre-defined, high-priority areas of science. Read the next question and Perspective on Peer Review. |
| 7. New applicants should stay in their field of expertise rather than search for an initiative. |
True. It is always important to stay within your area of expertise. Often this means submitting an investigator-initiated application, which allows you to choose the topic that best fits your expertise.
Other approaches allow you to address institute priorities while keeping to your area of expertise. Read more in Choosing an Approach. |
| 8. NIAID supports research into all pathogens. |
False. NIAID supports research into pathogens related to human health, including basic biological processes that could relate to medical advances. USDA supports research of pathogens that affect livestock and plants.
NIAID's mission is to conduct and support basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. |
| 9. The most important audience for my application is the peer review group. |
True. The most important audience is the group of peer reviewers who assess your application and give it a priority score in initial peer review. That score is the basis for NIAID's decision whether to fund your application. See Perspective on Peer Review.
Institute staff are a secondary audience. A high-priority application may get a small funding advantage; for example, NIAID chooses some high-quality applications that score just beyond its usual paylines. However, most are funded by scientific merit alone. |
| 10. My topic needs to be relevant to science but not necessarily to health. |
False. Congress appropriates NIH's funds with the goal of finding solutions to important public health problems. When you apply for a grant, peer reviewers look at the health relevance of your application.
Even if you plan to conduct basic research, you will need to state its relevance to improving public health. Read more in NIH's Mission -- Why It Matters to You. |
| 11. To figure out what grant type I want to apply for, I need to review all the mechanisms on NIH's list. |
False. You should not try to determine award type by yourself. NIAID supports many grant types appropriate for different career stages and different types of research. Requirements can differ by institute or even by funding opportunity.
Be sure to get help from a program officer.
You can see a list of grant types at Grant Types and NIH Types of Grant Programs. Also see What Award Should You Apply For? and What's an R01? |
| 12. Assuming I receive a fundable score in peer review, it could take as long as a year from application to award. |
True. For a new investigator, plan to spend two months or more of dedicated time to prepare an R01 application.
Assuming your application succeeds on its first try, it can take from 5 to 18 months after the receipt date to get an award (three months less for AIDS applications).
Time to funding can vary depending on when in the fiscal year you apply and whether your score is within the payline. Our NIAID R01 Application to Award Timeline shows you timeframes for the main steps. |
Getting to Know NIH
What does NIH do? With a budget of about $28 billion in FY 2007, NIH is the federal government's main agency that supports biomedical as well as behavioral research.
Its mission is to supports biomedical and behavioral research that expands scientific knowledge to improve public health.
Most of NIH's money funds grants to research organizations throughout the U.S. and, to a smaller extent, other parts of the world.
Like any large bureaucracy, NIH has a unique mission, processes, and culture. Understanding these characteristics can help you succeed:
- NIH's mission is expanding scientific knowledge to improve public health.
- NIH funds most grants by the scientific quality of the applications it receives rather than by pre-defined, high-priority areas of science.
- Funding strategies vary somewhat by institute.
- Application quality is determined by initial peer review, performed by non-NIH scientists.
- NIH's scientific and administrative staff can help you at each stage of the application process -- read Contact Staff for Help.
Find more information online:
Starting a Research Career
Most of this tutorial is for people who are making the transition from postdoc to independent investigator. Independent research project grants are generally for doctoral-level scientists in faculty positions.
On this page, we back up and touch on early career stages.
Early Career Options
At each step, NIH supports awards -- training grants, fellowships, career development awards, and research supplements -- to help new investigators along their career paths.
How do you know which one is appropriate for you? To figure this out, see our Support by Career Stage -- Ph.D. Track and Support by Career Stage -- M.D. Track.
You can also find help in our Advice on Research Training and Career Awards tutorial and on the Training and Career Awards main page.
Rather than go for your own award, you may want to hitch on to an existing grant. By adding monies to active research grants, we can support salary and other expenses for qualifying investigators.
See if you meet the requirements for one of our Diversity, Primary Caregiver, or Reentry supplements. Then find a grantee who would be willing to apply for you, since you cannot apply.
Find more information online:
Putting Grants in Context
As a new investigator, you are working toward gaining your first independent grant.
What is a grant? Our definition --
Financial assistance award for peer-reviewed research. Grantees are responsible for the research with little or no government involvement.
NIH generally awards grants to institutions, which must comply with all terms and conditions of award and meet requirements outlined in Part 11a. Managing Your Grant of the NIH Grant Cycle.
About 90 percent of NIH's research budget goes to outside research organizations for extramural research -- grants and, to a much smaller degree, contracts. The remaining 10 percent is for intramural research conducted in NIH's in-house labs.
When people send us their best ideas, their research is called investigator-initiated, the most prevalent type NIAID supports. More on that topic later.
Although investigators usually write grant applications, the official applicant is the research organization, for example, the university where an investigator works. After we award a grant, that university becomes the grantee.
Grants have a high level of flexibility in terms of research directions they can take. Even so, you and your institution are bound by the grant's terms and conditions of award. After you receive an award, you will be assigned a program officer and grants management specialist, who will help you meet the requirements in Part 11a. Managing Your Grant.
To see who is eligible for funding, go to Part 1. Qualifying for a Grant in the NIH
Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
Perspective on Peer Review
In the vast majority of cases, NIAID decides which applications to fund based on scientific merit, determined by peer reviewers.
- Reviewers assess the quality of each application. NIH does not give money to investigators for being established or well known.
- Scientists with appropriate expertise come to NIH from around the country to participate in review meetings.
- They evaluate each project based on NIH review criteria and their own ideal of an outstanding application in the field.
- Learn how to "sell" your application to reviewers in Part 4. Target Your Audience of the NIH Grant Cycle.
Each application that receives a score also undergoes a second-level review usually by NIAID's main advisory Council. This process looks at administrative problems, e.g., human subjects or research animal concerns, and special circumstances, such as applications from foreign organizations. Read more in Part 9. Second-Level Review.
Find more information online:
NIH's Mission -- Why It Matters to You
Understanding what research NIH funds and why it does so can help you focus your application.
NIH's mission is to create fundamental knowledge about living systems and apply that knowledge to reduce human illness and disability. Read more on About NIH.
Your project should also meet the mission of the institute likely to fund it. As one of NIH's 27 semi-autonomous institutes, NIAID supports basic and applied research to understand, treat, and prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.
In addition to importance for science, reviewers will look at the health relevance of your application.
Congress appropriates our funds with the goal of improving public health. Most institutes were created around a health-related topic largely because advocacy groups have pushed for the creation of institutes in their areas.
Find more information online:
Do You Qualify for Independent Support?
You should meet the following criteria before you seek an independent research project grant, such as an R01:
- Hold a Ph.D. or M.D.
- Have a faculty-level position, usually assistant professor or higher.
- Have a publication record in the field in which you are applying.
- Work in a research institution that will provide the resources, e.g., equipment and lab space, you will need to complete the project.
You will also need preliminary data for an R01. If you don't have preliminary data, read Which Award Type Suits You Best?
If you have questions about your situation, contact our training director, Dr. Milton Hernandez, at 301/496-3775 or mh35c@nih.gov.
Also talk to people in your office sponsored research. Learn what level of investigator may apply for independent funding in your institution. Ask about internal application procedures and timeframes, particularly for electronic submission.
Read about the advantages of being a new principal investigator in Are You "New"?
Read more about qualifying for you and your institution in Part 1. Qualifying for a Grant in the NIH
Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
What Award Should You Apply For?
As a new PI seeking independent funding, you should not necessarily ask for the smallest grant type. NIH uses dozens of grant types -- large and small, simple and complex.
- Do not choose an award type on your own. Call your program officer for help.
- Many people who have preliminary data apply for an R01 (see What's an R01?)
- You could apply for an R01 for your first independent grant.
- R01s give you a solid level and duration of support, whereas smaller types may not provide enough money or time to complete a major project.
- If you don't have preliminary data, you could apply for a smaller award to pay for time and resources to collect the data needed for an R01 application:
- R03, Small Research grant.
- R21, an Exploratory/Developmental Phase I, which may also be combined with an R33, Exploratory/Developmental Phase II.
Do you have senior-level collaborators? Consider asking about applying as a subproject on their program project grant. You would not be an independent PI, but you would have your own project.
For questions about your specific situation, contact our training director, Dr. Milton Hernandez, at 301/496-3775 or mh35c@nih.gov.
Read more in Part 2. Game Plan in the NIH
Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Award Type Resources
What's an R01?
NIH's standard "plain vanilla" and most popular research project grant is called the R01.
Many first-time independent researchers take the plunge and try for this mature award. You can apply in any topic, but make sure your application fits the mission of at least one NIH institute. Talk to program officers in several institutes to gather that information.
NIH awards R01s to organizations of all types, including universities, small and large businesses, and foreign organizations.
You can ask for any dollar amount or length of award (up to the five-year limit), though as we advise in Grant Writing for New Applicants, "less is more" for a new investigator. To apply, you will use the R01 Parent Announcement.
Only R01 applications get a percentile in addition to a priority score as a result of initial peer review. Percentiling helps even out scores from the different study sections of NIH's Center for Scientific Review. Learn more on Percentiles Indicate Relative Rank.
We have posted an example of an outstanding R01 research plan from a new investigator -- see Annotated R01 Research Plan and Summary Statement. Keep in mind that it was submitted on the old paper form; page limits and formatting do not apply to an electronic application.
Find more information online:
Are You "New"?
When beginning an independent research career, you get some breaks:
- Different expectations from peer reviewers, who look more at potential than achievement.
- Reviewers expect new investigators to have fewer preliminary data, resources, and publications than more established researchers do.
- To compensate, they look closely at your academic and research background.
- Different paylines (funding cutoff points) and funding policies may apply, e.g., a higher R01 payline. Go to our Paylines and Budget page for details.
- At NIAID, we have two programs, selective pay and R56-Bridge awards, to fund some high-quality R01 applications that score beyond the payline. Read more at Programs for New PIs.
- NIH also has special programs. Find links under Web Resources.
- For applications reviewed at the NIH Center for Scientific Review, you can send an amended R01 for consecutive review cycles, saving four months.
"New" Defined
To qualify as an NIH "new" investigator, you cannot have been a principal investigator (PI) on a major NIH grant that you applied for.
You are "new" even if you have been a PI on one of these smaller research awards --
but not if you received one of these major research awards --
- R01
- R21/R33
- R29 (no longer used)
- Senior career: K02, K05, K06 (NIAID is not accepting new applications), K24, and K26 (NCRR only)
You still qualify as "new" if you serve as PI on a grant you did not apply for, for example, if your institution assigned you to be the PI of an existing grant.
You are not "new" if you were one of the applicants on a funded multiple PI application (unless it is one of the types in the first list above). On a multiple PI application, you can qualify as "new" only if all the PIs are "new."
Flag Yourself!
Though NIH staff are on the lookout for new investigators, you should self-identify.
Find more information online:
Application Essentials
Meeting the NIH mission and proposing elegant science are essential but not enough.
Must Haves
To get a fundable score in peer review, you will also need to meet the following basic requirements.
Ability and means to do the work. Reviewers will assess you and your institution, considering these questions:
- Are you -- the PI -- and your colleagues qualified to do the work?
- Does your institution have equipment and personnel to support you?
- Will your institution allow you enough time to accomplish the research?
Important topic, right approach. You will need to show reviewers the importance of your research question and the suitability of your technical approach to answer it.
First-rate presentation. Reviewers must be able to comprehend your application.
- Make sure your application contains all the information they need to judge it.
- Write and and organize the application so reviewers can readily grasp your meaning and find information they seek.
Read more in About Picking a Topic and Part 4. Target Your Audience in the NIH
Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
Staying Informed
At all stages of planning and even after you become a grantee, you will need to stay informed of important policy changes that may affect you. We suggest that you do the following:
Shaping Your Strategy
To succeed in getting funded, you'll need a strategy.
Because we fund all R01 applications that rank within the payline, the key to success is writing an outstanding application that appeals to its judge and jury: the NIH peer reviewers who will assess it.
Your grantsmanship is important to your success.
Get lots of help planning a strategy and writing an outstanding application at Part 2. Game Plan, Part 3. Define Your Project, and Part 4. Target Your Audience in the NIH
Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
Planning Your Application
Our strategy works best in institutes such as NIAID where funding is largely by scientific merit.
Begin planning early. Follow the steps on this page and refer to our NIAID R01 Application to Award Timeline for timing.
- Assess your field. Find out the opportunities for collaborating with a known laboratory or more experienced grantee.
- Look at the competition. See which other projects in your field are being funded. Search the NIH CRISP database and Community of Science.
- Check the literature to make sure the work you are considering has not been done before or to see if it has been done and its methods were judged to be inadequate. Go to MEDLINE and NLM Databases and Electronic Resources.
- Evaluate yourself. How do your strengths match up with the topics you uncovered in step 1? Can you capitalize on your expertise and fill in gaps with mentors, collaborators, or consultants?
- Figure out resources and support your organization has and what additional support you'll need.
- Brainstorm ideas with colleagues and mentors.
- Find opportunities. See if your idea matches any of NIAID's high-priority areas in our initiatives and concepts. See the Application Approach: What Are Your Choices? section of NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal. Also go to the NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID and our List of Foundations and Other Funding Sources.
- Call an NIAID program officer for an opinion of your idea. The NIAID program officer in charge of your area of science can give you valuable advice and instructions. Read more at When to Contact an NIAID Program Officer. Other NIAID staff can help too -- go to Contact Staff for Help.
- Write a one-sentence hypothesis for your proposal.
- Give yourself plenty of time to write the application, probably three to six months.
- Know your organization's contacts and internal procedures, particularly for electronic application. Go to Plan Ahead for Electronic Application.
- Start thinking about your next application. As long as the topics are different you can apply simultaneously for as many grants as you like. Or use the same application to apply to a non-Public Health Service organization (find PHS entities at Agencies and Programs).
Choosing an Approach
Since you can't send NIH the same application for multiple purposes, you have to choose whether to submit an investigator-initiated application -- i.e., on a topic of your choice -- or respond to an institute initiative.
Investigator-Initiated Research
Most applications NIAID funds are investigator-initiated: you generate the topic by proposing an exciting, important project in your area of interest.
As long as the topic fits our mission, NIAID will fund an application whose priority score is within our payline and funding policies.
- The main advantage of investigator-initiated research: you can capitalize on your strengths.
- Think of an application as a building. If you hire a talented architect and give him or her full reign of expression, you could end up with a beautiful structure. The more constraints you add, the more you limit the architect's ideas.
- To find a great idea, brainstorm potential topics with colleagues.
- Concentrate on ideas in your area of expertise that would make an impact on public health.
- Spend a few days checking out the literature to make sure your topic fills a research gap.
High-Priority Topics -- Institute Initiatives
When you respond to a request for applications or Institute-specific program announcement, you are addressing a need NIAID has identified as a high-priority.
Using this approach has drawbacks and benefits.
- Institute-specific PAs
can be advantageous because some have set aside funds, and even for those that do not, NIAID may fund some applications beyond the payline.
- Requests for applications always have set-aside funds but can be highly competitive. You must also meet the requirements of the announcement, which may not suit you.
- On the plus side, you don't have to convince reviewers of the importance of your project.
For a more in-depth discussion of initiative pros and cons, read Application Approach: What Are Your Choices? in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
You can find NIH funding opportunities through the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts or get a more Institute-focused look on our NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID.
Be sure to call the program officer listed in the announcement to help you gauge the expected level of competition and learn about other Institute priorities. Find opportunities from other institutes in the NIH Guide.
A Blended Approach
A good alternative is to meld the two types: use a high-priority topic as the basis for an investigator-initiated application. This strategy keeps you in your area of expertise, boosting your chances of success.
And if your score misses the payline, an investigator-initiated application in a high-priority topic is more likely to be funded with an R56-Bridge award or selective pay.
Many savvy investigators also look to NIAID's concepts as guidance for high-priority areas. Even if they never become published initiatives, concepts can give you ideas for an investigator-initiated application.
What is a concept? Our definition --
Earliest planning stage of an initiative -- request for applications, request for proposals, or Institute-specific program announcement. NIAID program officers develop concepts and present them to NIAID's advisory Council for concept clearance. Only concepts approved by Council are published as initiatives; this depends on their priority and the availability of funds.
Go to our Concepts Approved by Council page, and read Using Concepts to Your Advantage.
Find more information online:
Should You Be One of Many PIs?
As a new investigator, you may consider a multiple PI application as an entree into NIH funding. The appeal: you can join a group of experienced investigators, and you will not have to write an entire application.
While those statements are true, the choice is more demanding.
- First consider the science, which drives the decision. A multiple PI application is appropriate for collaborative projects that have distinct subprojects addressing a core objective or theme.
- It may be harder to succeed with a multiple PI application.
- As part of a multiple PI application, you are a full-fledged principal investigator. That means you must be fully in charge of at least one of the project's research aims, and your project must be significant enough to stand on its own.
- For most award types, you are no longer considered "new," after the project is funded. For a list of exceptions, see Are You "New"?
- When submitting a multiple PI application, you are not "new" unless all the other PIs also meet NIH's new investigator definition.
Contact your program officer as soon as you can to discuss whether the multi-PI approach is appropriate and beneficial for you.
For details, read Take Heed -- You Might Want to Avoid a Multiple PI Application in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
Deciding the Parameters of Your Request
While you are planning your application, think about its scope.
Generally new applicants should propose less. Reviewers are more inclined to give you a fundable score if you do the following:
- request a small budget
- narrow the scope and complexity
- limit the amount of work
That means few, though highly focused, specific aims in your Research Plan -- the most important step in keeping your budget small.
And though your budget request should be modest, always ask for enough money to get the work done within the award period, so your project can succeed. For budget advice, read How to Plan an Appropriate Budget.
A more complex proposal often requires more documentation. Learn about requirements while planning your research.
For more information, see Think About Scope, Amount, and Effort and Will Your Research Have Special Requirements? in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
How to Plan an Appropriate Budget
Figuring out how much money to request can be a tough call for new investigators.
To help you gauge how much to ask for, see the graph below, which shows amounts new R01 applicants requested.
For single-year direct costs, the median in FY 2007 was $243,899 and the mean was $239,549. Most awards -- 75 percent -- were between $200,000 and $300,000.
For general NIH award data, go to Average Cost of FY 2006 Competing and Non-Competing Research Grants.
For more detailed help and information on planning and creating a budget in Think About Scope, Amount, and Effort and Strategy
for Planning a Budget in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
How Funding Opportunities Work
Independent of grant type, you will apply through a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) and will likely submit electronically.*
FOAs are Grants.gov notices of federal grant opportunities. For NIH, they can be program announcements or requests for applications.
Each FOA has its own application package.
Though most use the standard Application Guide, NIH issues an NIH Guide notice with important additional information.
Always read the FOA's Guide announcement to get key information you'll need to apply. The easiest way to find FOAs for NIAID is on our NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID.
For investigator-initiated research -- a topic you chose yourself -- apply through a parent program announcement e.g., the Parent R01.
*A few grant types still use paper application. Go to NIH's Transition Timeline page.
For more information in Compare FOAs in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
Plan Ahead for Electronic Application
Well ahead of your application date, contact your organization's business office.
You need to find out about procedures and timelines for electronic application. Know your contacts, since you'll be interacting with them before and during application.
At least a month before you want to apply, you will need an eRA Commons account. Ask your Commons signing official to register you and associate your profile with your organization.
You will also need to find out who is your organization's authorized organizational representative (AOR) for Grants.gov. Typically someone in your business office, your AOR -- not you -- submits your application on your behalf. Likewise, for Grants.gov your organization is the applicant.
NIH guidance describes how to apply using Grants.gov's PureEdge Viewer, but your organization may use a different approach.
For more information in Get Ready Now to Apply Electronically in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find more information online:
Creating and Submitting Your Application
Grant writing is a skill you can learn. When starting out, get as much help as you can.
Though novel ideas often come from new investigators, new applicants must work harder to sell themselves.
In the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal, find grant writing help and advice in Part 2. Game Plan through Part 6. Other Application Sections and submission help in Part 7. Applying.
Find more information online:
Getting Oriented
Your application's audience is the group of peer reviewers who review your application and give it a priority score, the most important determinant of its success.
In NIH
Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal, we tell you how to write to your audience, create a hypothesis-driven application, address NIH review criteria, and organize your application to make it easier for reviewers to find information.
We also go through the NIH application forms section by section.
As a new investigator, you should consider seeking advice and filling in gaps with mentors, collaborators, or consultants. If you do not have a well-known mentor or a string of publications, you can compensate by getting a well-established investigator to sign on as a collaborator.
- A mentor or other adviser can help you plan a study design that enables you to analyze your data, test your hypothesis, and achieve your goals.
- Collaborators can fill gaps in your expertise and resources and will impress reviewers if known in the field.
- Experts can execute any of the technical and analytical aspects of the project.
- They can also help develop detailed information for the application on such items as sample size estimates, sampling and research design, data definitions, and analytic models.
- It helps to choose a mentor or collaborator who is well known and respected; reviewers may recognize his or her name.
- Try to get your application assigned to a study section where some members know the work of your mentor or collaborator. A proposal assigned to a study section whose members have barely heard of an investigator may have a weaker chance of success.
Grant Writing for New Applicants
Though novel ideas often come from new investigators, new applicants must work harder to sell themselves.
- Make sure your potential shines through the application by showing that you have your own resources and institutional support, are independent, and are able to lead.
- Reveal your independence as an investigator through your publications -- first and last authors are more impressive than those in the middle.
- Impress peer reviewers by showing a solid understanding of the literature and the strengths and weaknesses of your methods.
- Look up the members of the study section, and cite their work if relevant. You can find them at CSR Study Section Roster Index.
- Always provide as much data as possible to support your Specific Aims and hypotheses. Remember that reviewers expect less preliminary data from you. It's okay to use data that are not yours as long as you identify your source.
"Less Is More"
- Reviewers are more inclined to give you a fundable score if you ask for less money and fewer years and propose a modest amount of work, i.e., few specific aims.
- They also expect new investigators to have fewer preliminary data, resources, and publications compared to established PIs. Write your biosketch so it shows to your advantage all the qualifications needed to lead the project.
- Leave out all nonessential information.
- Do not try to impress reviewers with a lot of background information. Reviewers may know much more about a field than you do.
Using Your Application More Than Once
Every project NIH funds must be unique. By law, NIH cannot support a project already funded or pay for research already done.
Even so, you can apply to an organization outside the Public Health Service with your NIH application, though NIH will not fund it if you get that award.
Also you may not send the same application to more than one Public Health Service agency at the same time (go to Agencies and Programs).
Find more informationin the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Selected Pages From the NIH Grant Cycle
You can find more detailed information about writing your application and related topics on these and related pages of the NIH Grant Cycle.
Submitting the Application
New investigators have only one special action: make sure your institution sets up a eRA Commons account for you about a month ahead of time.
For guidance on submitting an application and passing validations, read Do You Need a Cover Letter? and Part 7. Applying in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.
Find answers to questions about application details such as When is my application due? in Quick Facts on Research Grant Applications.
Not all required information goes in the application. You will send some items to NIH just-in-time, i.e., only if your application is within the range of possible funding. This approach is used for other support and several for human subjects and animal research documents.
Do not submit other support (called current and pending support in the Grant Application Package) with your application. If you do, NIH may delay processing or return your application to you without review.
Other support is not research support, which is part of the biographical sketch. Read You Will Send Some Materials Just-in-Time in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal to learn how the two differ.
Find more information online:
Programs for New PIs
Both NIH and NIAID have programs to help new investigators.
NIAID Selective Pay and Bridge Awards
New investigators who have top-quality applications are strong candidates for NIAID's selective pay or R56-Bridge awards. We use these approaches to fund some applications with percentiles that missed the payline by a small margin.
You cannot apply for either program; your NIAID program officer must nominate you. Your program officer will let you know if this is likely and, in any case, advise you on your next steps.
For both programs, we choose applications based on high relevance to our mission as well as scientific merit. Read more in our Selective Pay and NIAID R56-Bridge Award SOPs.
NIH created a program similar to NIAID's -- see NIH Director’s Bridge Awards.
Educational Loan Repayment Programs
NIH's loan repayment programs help M.D.s and some other doctoral-level professionals pursue research careers by repaying up to $35,000 a year in qualifying educational debt.
For more information, visit NIAID's Loan Repayment Programs or NIH's Loan Repayment Programs. Contact Milton Hernandez at 301/496-3775 or mh35c@nih.gov for help.
Web Resources
You can find lots of helpful online information on the application process from NIH and NIAID.
NIH Resources
NIAID Resources
|
Subscribe to Alerts
