What you need to know about NIH but were afraid to ask –

a short guideAugust 14, 2013

Franziska Grieder, DVM, PhDDirector

Office of Research Infrastructure Programs/DPCPSI/OD

National Institutes of Health

Office of Research Infrastructure ProgramsOffice of Research Infrastructure Programs

Overview

• NIH: An overview• What you always wanted to know!

• Applying for NIH grants• ORIP/DPCPSI • Training and other grant opportunities• Final thoughts

NIH – An Overview and Introduction

“Science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.”

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NIH Organizational Structure

National Instituteon Alcohol Abuseand Alcoholism

National Instituteof Arthritis andMusculoskeletal

and Skin Diseases

National CancerInstitute

National Instituteon Aging

National Instituteof Child Health

and HumanDevelopment

National Instituteof Allergy and

Infectious Diseases

National Instituteof Diabetes andDigestive and

Kidney Diseases

National Instituteof Dental andCraniofacial

Research

National Instituteon Drug Abuse

National Instituteof Environmental Health Sciences

National Institute onDeafness and Other

CommunicationDisorders

National EyeInstitute

National HumanGenome Research

Institute

National Heart,Lung, and Blood

Institute

National Instituteof Mental Health

National Instituteof NeurologicalDisorders and

Stroke

National Instituteof General

Medical Sciences

National Instituteof Nursing Research

National Libraryof Medicine

National Centerfor Complementary

and AlternativeMedicine

FogartyInternational

Center

National Center for the Advancement of Translational Science

National Instituteof Biomedical Imaging and

Bioengineering

These 3 Centers Do Not Issue

Grants

NIHClinical Center

CenterFor Information

Technology

Center for Scientific

Review

National Center on Minority Health

and Health Disparities

Office of the Director ORIP/DPCPSI

NIH – Understanding its dual nature

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Data: Assoc of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Survey 2004

Alaska

NIH INTRAMURAL RESEARCHNIH is an institution

NIH EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH

Supports >6,000 scientists(~10% of NIH budget)• Primary location Bethesda, MD• A few labs throughout US

Supports >3,000 institutions worldwide; >300,000 scientists & research personnel(~83% of NIH budget)• Awards issued to >100 countries• Clinical, Basic, & Translational Research

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http://grants.nih.gov

NIH – Information you should know

http://report.nih.gov/index.aspx

NIH grant applications 101

Challenges of getting stared•What do you need to know?•Where do you start?•Who do you talk to? What do you read?•How do you make contact?•How do you effectively communicate?•What are your next steps?

NIH grant applications 101

• What funding agency should you target?• Small or large• Federal or private• Local or national

• What are your research interests? What questions do you address with your research? What type of investigations do you conduct and who are your mentors or collaborators?

Grant applications – Funding agencies

• DHHS, USDA, DOD, DOE• NIH, CDC, FDA, NSF• AVMA, ACLAM• Specific interest groups (e.g., cancer, JDRF,

Rett syndrome)• Pharma (large and small)• Private foundations (e.g., Gates)

NIH grant applications 101• What funding agency should you target?

• Small or large• Federal or private• Local or national

• What are your research interests? • What questions do you address

with your research? • What type of investigations do you

conduct and who are your collaborators?

NIH grant applications - Experience

Past or current training, Research goals and interests, Collaborations•Research – clinical, translational, basic•Past training – PhD and post-doctoral, Masters research experience, practical post-doctoral experience•Setting – Research team with you in the lead, Collaboration with colleagues, Interdisciplinary collaboration, Mentored training experience•Future goals – Long-term support as tenured faculty, long- to mid-term support to establish research lab, mid- to short-term support to gain experience

NIH grant applications - Planning• Time – 9 to 12 months under the best of

circumstances• Success rate – the better you plan… (good ideas and

well written applications are very important as well!)• Two-phase plan – gather information

and contact NIH program officials

…followed by writing…

NIH – Program vs. Review

• Program officials are managing grants, interact with and advise applicants, communicate with grantees, organize workshops, write program announcements and requests for program announcements

• Review officials organize the peer-review group, assign applications to reviewers, edit summary statements

Contacting the NIH Program Official

• Identify the most appropriate individual• Review the NIH/Institute(s) web pages• Talk to senior colleagues• Contact individuals you know personally…

• Make contact by sending an e-mail• Write a brief summary (one paragraph) • Provide a couple sentences about your-self • and your goals

• Ask one or two questions

• Follow-up with a phone call• After 2-3 days, call…• Refer back to your e-mail…

Contacting the NIH Program Official (2)

• Identify different institutes/programs that may fit• Ask for Program officers’ names• Explore the general match of your ideas/goals with

the specific program goals• Ask specific questions• Avoid appearing aggressive (e.g., if you are told that the goal of

your research does not fall within the Institutes’ program goals, don’t insist that it is a match)

• Carefully listen to the advice!

Contacting the NIH Program Official (3)

•If you feel that you did not receive sufficient, satisfactory, complete advice… your next conversation with a subsequent program official may be more productive•Remember, the program official will likely attend the

review meeting of your application •The Program official is the individual with who you

will talk to after your application is review! •The Program official may know about programs you

are not familiar with or about new announcements

NIH grant applications – Additional Advice!• Be persistent!• Seek advice and guidance from senior colleagues• Work with a team• Start early and have experienced grant

writers review your drafts…• Avoid unnecessary mistakes (e.g., missing

information, misspellings, errors based on the recycling of an application, running out of time)

• Seek advice from your institution (e.g., office of sponsored projects)

• Participate in a grant writing course

Anatomy of Grant ProcessAnatomy of Grant Process - SummaryAnatomy of Grant ProcessAnatomy of Grant Process - Summary

Program StaffProgram StaffProgram StaffProgram Staff ProgramProgramAnnouncementAnnouncementor RFAor RFA

ProgramProgramAnnouncementAnnouncementor RFAor RFA

Grant ApplicationGrant Application(R01, R03, R21,(R01, R03, R21,K01, K08, T32/35)K01, K08, T32/35)

Grant ApplicationGrant Application(R01, R03, R21,(R01, R03, R21,K01, K08, T32/35)K01, K08, T32/35)

NationalNationalAdvisoryAdvisoryCouncilCouncil

NationalNationalAdvisoryAdvisoryCouncilCouncil

Program Staff Program Staff Program Staff Program Staff

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Rev

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ResearcherResearcher

IdeaIdeaInstitutionInstitution

ResearcherResearcher

IdeaIdeaInstitutionInstitution

CSR &CSR &ReferralReferraland Review and Review

CSR &CSR &ReferralReferraland Review and Review

CollaboratorsCollaboratorsCollaboratorsCollaborators

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NIH Organizational Structure

National Instituteon Alcohol Abuseand Alcoholism

National Instituteof Arthritis andMusculoskeletal

and Skin Diseases

National CancerInstitute

National Instituteon Aging

National Instituteof Child Health

and HumanDevelopment

National Instituteof Allergy and

Infectious Diseases

National Instituteof Diabetes andDigestive and

Kidney Diseases

National Instituteof Dental andCraniofacial

Research

National Instituteon Drug Abuse

National Instituteof Environmental Health Sciences

National Institute onDeafness and Other

CommunicationDisorders

National EyeInstitute

National HumanGenome Research

Institute

National Heart,Lung, and Blood

Institute

National Instituteof Mental Health

National Instituteof NeurologicalDisorders and

Stroke

National Instituteof General

Medical Sciences

National Instituteof Nursing Research

National Libraryof Medicine

National Centerfor Complementary

and AlternativeMedicine

FogartyInternational

Center

National Center for the Advancement of Translational Science

National Instituteof Biomedical Imaging and

Bioengineering

These 3 Centers Do Not Issue

Grants

NIHClinical Center

CenterFor Information

Technology

Center for Scientific

Review

National Center on Minority Health

and Health Disparities

Office of the Director ORIP/DPCPSI

Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)/Division of program coordination, planning, and strategic initiatives (DPCPSI)

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Office of Research on

Women’s Health

Janine Clayton, M.D.

Office of Disease

PreventionDavid Murray,

Ph.D.

Office of Strategic

CoordinationBetsy Wilder, Ph.D.

Office of AIDS

ResearchJack Whitescarver,

Ph.D.

Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research

Robert Kaplan, Ph.D.

Office of Research

Infrastructure Programs

Franziska Grieder, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Immediate Office of the DPCPSI DirectorJames M. Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.

Office of Program Evaluation and Performance

Rosanna Ng, M.A.

Office of Portfolio AnalysisGeorge Santangelo, Ph.D.

Office of Dietary Supplements

Division of Comparative

Medicine

Office of Science Education

Division of Construction and

Instruments

Overview - BackgroundNCRR = National Center for Research Resource

ORIP = Office of Research Infrastructure Programs

• A resource is defined as supplies from which benefit is produced. Typically resources are materials, money, services, staff, or other assets that are transformed to produce benefit and in the process may be consumed or made unavailable.

• Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of an enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an enterprise to function (incl. the resources such as personnel, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity.

Office of Research Infrastructure Programs

http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/orip

DCM-Supported Grants and Activities

Center Grants Grants

Animal and Biological Materials Resources Cooperative Agreements

Animal and Biological Materials Resources

Research Program Grants Investigator-initiated Hypothesis-driven awards

Conference/Meeting/Supplements Training programs

Institutional and individual awards

SBIR/STTR

DCM-Supported Institutional Training Awards for Veterinary Students/Veterinary Scientists (estim. 2013)

Number of Training Grants T35 (Pre-DVM/Summer) - 18 grants T32 (Pre-DVM/1 year) - 7 grants T32 (Post-DVM/3 years) - 20 grants

Number of Trainees T35 short term pre-DVM trainees ~ 148 T32 DVM trainees ~ 83 (2012 = 94 trainees)

Disease model resources

• High-quality, disease-free animals, specialized animal research facilities, and biological materials (e.g., antibody, snake venom)

• Rodents, Fish, Non-human Primates, others (e.g., Pigs, Flies, Worm, Tissues and Cells)

• Resource Centers with the infrastructure that support investigators’ needs

• Caging or tanks• Technology• Collaboration

ORIP – DCM programs

Disease Model Resources and Programs

Mutant Mouse Resources MMRRC (www.mmrrc.org), KOMP (www.komp.org) Models for many conditions (e.g., Rett Syndrome, Werner Syndrome)

Swine Resource NSRRC (www.nsrrc.org) (e.g., Gal-1, Fat-1)

Zebrafish Resource ZIRC (www.zebrafish.org) (e.g., Fli-1, Fanconi Anemia)

C. elegans Resource Fly Resource Development of Technologies

National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs)Washington NPRC

California NPRC

Southwest NPRCTulane NPRC

NewEnglandNPRC

Wisconsin NPRC

Yerkes NPRC

Oregon NPRC

http://dpcpsi.nih.gov/orip

ORIP can provide Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) and High-End Instrumentation (HEI) Programs

• HEI: PAR-13-101 (submission deadline Sept 13, 2013 ) • Award size $750k - $2.0M• Biennial receipt date• SIG has annual receipt date (usually in March); awards $100k - $600k• Key points:

• Eligibility, Need, Enhancing NIH-funded research, Technical expertise, Administration and institutional commitment

• One year funding appropriation

ORIP – DCI programs

Construction Awards

• Construction currently limited to G20 – Animal Facility Improvement Program PAR-13-219, Developing and Improving Institutional Animal Resources (submission deadline was Aug 2, 2013)

• Goals: Renovate, repair, or Improve individual animal resources• Award size up to $500k• Note: No current C06 construction program (last active under ARRA

during FY 2009/2010)

ORIP – DCI programs

SBIR/STTR program

Consider looking into the SBIR/STTR programs!Each NIH IC has an SBIR programSet aside funds In general much lower application pressure

FOAs PA-13-234 (SBIR) and PA-13-235 (STTR)

Submission deadline was Aug 5, 2013

Additional ORIP programs

Final Thoughts

• Funds are limited, but novel/innovative ideas get funded• Understand the rules (e.g., deadlines, requirements and

limitations, guidelines)

• Work in teams, with senior mentors• Always ask questions• Smart (young and experienced) scientists are needed to

address the continuing challenges encountered by emerging and existing diseases.

• Changing needs require scientists to constantly adapt• Accept the challenge!

Office of Research Infrastructure Programs

Questions?