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How to Obtain Funding: An Assistant Professor's Perspective

Module by: Rice ADVANCE. E-mail the author

Summary: This document is a conversion of a presentation given at the Rice University Negotiating the Ideal Faculty Position Workshop on October 14-16, 2007. The original presentation was compiled and presented by Rob Raphael (BIOE).

Funding is Important

  • You need to be prepared to address the issue in the long run
  • You need more than a great idea
  • You need to understand the logistics
  • You need to persevere

Spirit of the Fighting Irish

“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

Writing Great Grants: A Three Step Recipe

1) 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

2) Leave no question that you can accomplish your aims

  • Established track record of publications
  • Clear and convincing preliminary data

3) Write a clear, easy to read proposal

  • “Calm down, understand the situation and communicate clearly” – We Were Soldiers

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

Ask important 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 (several articles a day).
  • Be creative.
  • Do not be afraid to do something really different.
  • Talk to lots of people about research.

Advantages of doing 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.

But… do not overextend yourself!

“Do one thing and do it better than anyone”

-- Orville Redenbacher

Funding - Logistics

  1. Identify a funding agency and learn everything you can about this agency (the web and your colleagues are good sources)
  2. Understand what is the mechanism for submitting a proposal from your institution (“Office of Sponsored Research”)
  3. Develop a time frame for writing and proofreading the proposal

Funding Opportunities (1/2)

NIH - www.nih.gov

NSF - www.nsf.gov

Private Foundations

  • Coulter, March of Dimes, and many others

[slide modified from Kinney, Neptune and Wilson]

Funding Opportunities (2/2)

  • Office of Naval Research (ONR) and other federal programs

NIDRR - The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

[slide modified from Kinney, Neptune and Wilson]

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”

Do not Let Funding Consume You

  • Your “growth” as a researcher is essential
  • Publish, collaborate, discuss your ideas, read, be brave and be prepared to fail
  • Funding is a means to an end, not an end in itself
    • Ignore colleagues who imply otherwise

Acknowledgements

Raphael Lab

  • Emily, Yong, Ryan, Jeff, Imran, Jenni, Louise

Thanks for Believing in Us!

  • NSF CAREER
  • NIH NIDCD
  • 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

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