NRSA: An Introductory Presentation

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NRSA An Introductory Presentation

• Michael J. Zvolensky
• and Rex Forehand

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• Special thanks to Melinda Davis (!),
• Amit Bernstein, Anka Vujanovic,
• and Marcy Burstein

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What is this all about?

• Research-oriented training fellowship for an
  individual doctoral student
• Provides financial support to gain experience and
  skills (self-defined) in a domain of study
  relevant to mission of NIH
• Stipend (20,000)
• Direct research support (5,000)
• Can be supported via numerous subdivisions of
  NIH (e.g., NIMH, NIDA, NCI)
• Unique in that applicant and mentor each have a
  component to complete

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What is this all about?

• Congress enacted the National Research Service
  Act (NRSA) Program in 1974 to help ensure that a
  diverse pool of highly trained scientists will be
  available in adequate numbers to carry out the
  Nation's biomedical and behavioral research
  agenda.
• In 2002, the National Research Service Award
  Program was renamed the Ruth L. Kirschstein
  National Research Service Award Program as a
  tribute to Dr. Kirschstein's years of exceptional
  service to the Nation.

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Why would a person apply?

• Facilitates growth of scholarly work not
  necessarily possible without an equivalent amount
  of financial support
• Idiographic-based mentored training (tailored)
• It often is important for research scientists to
  attain funding to increase their marketability
  down the road
• It often is a good predictor of future grant
  success

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Where can information be located?

• NIH websites have program announcements
• Example
• http//www.drugabuse.gov/Funding/resfundslist.html
  
• http//grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-
  067.html
• NIH-sponsored grant workshops at conferences

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Where can information be located?(Really)

• Faculty mentor
• Other faculty that have had students apply for
  such grants
• Program officer
• Students who have applied or received NRSAs

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When should one apply?

• General rule of thumb is to permit 2 years of
  training prior to internship
• It may be worth considering adding a year of
  training in house to attain a fellowship (e.g.,
  Amit Bernstein)
• Standard receipt dates (April, August, and
  December)
• Requires approval from mentor, department,
  university prior to developing an application and
  submitting a grant

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When should one apply?(Really)

• General rule of thumb is to permit 6-8 months of
  preparation and writing preceding a submission
  deadline
• Exact preparation time is necessarily
  individually-based (largely function of applicant
  and mentor working relationship)

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How does one start to think about developing a
(successful) application?

• Two core components to the application that will
  undergo peer-review
• The first is a research proposal
• The second is a research-based training proposal

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Scoring Criteria

• Candidate An assessment of the candidate's
  previous academic and research performance and
  the potential to become an important contributor
  to biomedical, behavioral, or clinical science.

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Scoring Criteria

• Sponsor and Training Environment An assessment
  of the quality of the training environment and
  the qualifications of the sponsor as a mentor for
  the proposed research training experience.

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Scoring Criteria

• Research Proposal The merit of the scientific
  proposal and its relationship to the candidate's
  career plans.

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Scoring Criteria

• Training Potential An assessment of the value of
  the proposed fellowship experience as it relates
  to the candidate's needs in preparation for a
  career as an independent researcher.