NCCAM Grantsmanship Workshop
June 3–5, 2008
Rockville, MD
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducted a 3-day grantsmanship workshop. This workshop provided researchers, fellows, and graduate students with an in-depth understanding of the NIH grants and review processes, clarified Federal regulations and policies, and highlighted areas of special interest and concern.
Emphasis was be placed on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research. The workshop included time to interact and discuss research ideas with NCCAM staff. Due to limited space, attendees were selected through an application process.
Workshop Highlights:
- Practical information on how to prepare and submit an NIH grant application, including electronic submissions
- Hints on how to plan research consistent with specific NCCAM policies and procedures
- Details and insights into the NIH peer-review system
- Insights from NIH study section members and successful grant applicants
- Description of various funding mechanisms and how to pick the most appropriate mechanism
- Discussion of key issues in research, including successful interaction with the Institutional Review Board and Food and Drug Administration issues in product quality; design and methodological strategies for CAM research; and strategies for optimal conduct of research, including recruiting and retaining research participants
Agenda
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Print-Ready Agenda (284 kB PDF)
Day 1—June 3, 2008
- 9:00 a.m.
Welcome—Josephine Briggs
Introduction and Overview of Agenda—Richard Nahin
View Video- 9:15 a.m.
Part 1: Overview of NIH—Richard Nahin
View Video
View Presentation Slide Information- Mission
- History & Organization
- Facts
- 9:30 a.m.
Part 2: Overview of NCCAM—Richard Nahin
View Video
View Presentation Slide Information- Mission
- History & Organization
- Facts
- 9:45 a.m.
Part 3: Lifecycle of a Grant Application
View Presentation Slide Information
- Grant Process Overview—Martin Goldrosen
View Video - Electronic Submissions—Dale Birkle
View Video- Registration
- Submission
- Validation
- How to get Help
- Peer Review—Dale Birkle
View Video- Overview
- Application Assignments
- Peer Reviewers
- Preview Criteria
- Actions and Outcomes
- NCCAM's Advisory Council—Martin Goldrosen
View Video - Budget Review by Grants Management—George Tucker
- Notice of Grant Award
- Terms and Conditions of Award
- Just-in-Time Information
View Video
- Grant Process Overview—Martin Goldrosen
- 11:00 a.m.
Part 4: Roles of NIH Staff—Carol Pontzer
View Video
View Presentation Slide Information- Scientific Review Administrators
- Program Officer
- Grants Management Specialist
- Office of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs
Product Integrity Working Group—Sheila Caldwell
View Video- 11:15 a.m.
Part 5: Types of Grants and Fellowships (Funding Mechanisms)—
Carol PontzerView Video
View Presentation Slide Information- R mechanisms
- U mechanisms
- K mechanisms
- F mechanisms
- 11:30 a.m.
Part 6: Solicited vs. Unsolicited (Investigator-Initiated) Applications—
Barbara Sorkin- Types of Initiatives
- Program Announcements
- Request for Applications
- Request for Proposals
- Types of Initiatives
- 11:45 a.m.
Lunch
- 1:00 p.m.
Part 7: Grant Writing (How To Get a Grant or Fellowship)—
Kate Stoney, Laura Lee JohnsonView Video
View Presentation Slide Information- General Informaiton
- Research Plan
- Specific Aims and Hypotheses
- Background and Preliminary Data
- Choice of Outcomes
- Sample Size
- Analysis Plan
- Problems and Common Pitfalls (examples of good and bad)
- Special Issues When Resubmitting Applications
- Developing a Budget
- 2:30 p.m.
Break
- 3:00 p.m.
Part 8: FDA The IND and IDE Process as Relating to CAM—
Shaw Chen, Chiu Lin, Josh Berman- 3:45 p.m.
Part 9: Issues in Recruitment and Retention of Human Subjects—
April Bower- NIH Inclusion Policies
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Issues with Diverse Populations
- Recruitment and Retention Planning
- Subject Incentives
- Data & Safety Monitoring and Verification
- 4:30–6:00 p.m.
One-on-One Sessions with NCCAM Staff
Day 2—June 4, 2008
- 8:30 a.m.
Part 10: Hints from Seasoned Researchers—
Cherkin, Gardner, Maki, Phillips, Ritenbaugh- Strategies and Tricks of the Trade
- Successful Stories
- Writing a Grant
- Creating Application Teams (vs. research teams)
- Developing Collaborations
- 10:00 a.m.
Part 11a: How To Read a Summary Statement with Examples—
Dale Birkle- 10:30 a.m.
Break
- 11:00 a.m.
Part 11b: Hints from Seasoned Study Section Members—
Clarke, Dusek, Duffy, Winkelstein, WayneView Video
View Presentation Slide Information- What really goes on during peer review?
- What makes a good application?
- How to make a study section member smile
- What makes a bad application?
- How to make a study section member cringe
- 12:30 p.m.
Lunch
- 2:00 p.m.
Part 12a: CSR Mock Review (taped)—
Dale Birkle- 3:00 p.m.
Part 12b: Commentary/Discussion of CSR Mock Review—
Dale Birkle, moderator- 4:00–6:00 p.m.
One-on-One Sessions with NCCAM Staff
Day 3—June 5, 2008
- 8:30 a.m.
Part 13: Ethical Issues in CAM Clinical Research—
Frank Miller- 9:30 a.m.
Part 14: Institutional Review Boards—
David Peden- IRB Responsibilities
- IRB Members
- Investigators' Responsibilities
- 10:30 a.m.
Break
- 11:00 a.m.
Part 15: Data and Safety Monitoring Board—
Josh Berman- Purpose vs. IRB
- Roles and Responsibilities of DSMB Members
- Role of PI
- Role of NIH
- 12:00 p.m.
Part 16: So, Now You Have the Grant—
Partap Khalsa, Anita GreeneView Video
View Presentation Slide Information- Role of your institution's Office of Sponsored Research
- What to do if you don't have an Office of Sponsored Research
- Getting started and staffing up
- Budget management
- Yearly progress reports and final reports
- Population tracking and accrual reports
- Supplements to existing grants
- NIH Policy on Public Access
- 1:00 p.m.–1:05 p.m.
Closing Comments—Jack Killen
Lunch
- 2:00–4:00 p.m.
One-on-One Sessions with NCCAM Staff
Download the Agenda in Printable Format (PDF)
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