Research Funding Opportunities: The Role of NIDA Program

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Research Funding OpportunitiesThe Role of NIDA
Program
David Shurtleff, Ph.D. Director Division of
Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral
Research National Institute on Drug
Abuse National Institutes of Health U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services CPDD--
June 2006
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Who/What is a Program Officer?

• A Program Officer
• is a scientist and administrator
• manages grants, contracts, cooperative agreements
• identifies needs in scientific areas
• identifies scientific areas of special interest
  and communicates interest
• monitors research progress
• advocates for the best science
• Attend study section
• Listen to grant reviews
• Observe review process
• Works with applicants
• Make funding recommendation

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Application Funding Process

• The application process
• Contacting the right person
• K and R Awards
• Writing and submitting your application
• After the application is reviewed Now what?
• Funding
• Conclusions

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The Application Process
National Institutes of Health

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Review Process for a Research Grant
National Institutes of Health
Center for Scientific Review

• Principal
• Investigator

School or Other Research Center

Assign to
IC and IRG
Submits application
Scientific Review Group
Initiates Research Idea
Scientific Merit
Review for
Institute
Evaluate for
Relevance
Advisory Council or Board
Recommend
Action
Allocates Funds
Program staff/
Conducts Research
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Application Funding Process

• The application process
• Contacting the right person
• K and R Awards
• Writing and submitting your application
• Submitting your application
• After the application is reviewed Now what?
• Funding
• Conclusions

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Who are you going to call?
A Program Officer

• Before you apply for an NIH grant, contact a
  Program Officer

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Before You Apply..

• Talk With NIDA Staff

and learn about

• Funding Mechanisms
• Program Priorities
• Grant Process
• Application Procedure
• Review Process / Committees
• New Initiatives-
• RFAs, PAs

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NIDA
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Office of the Director
Nora D. Volkow, MD
Special Populations Office
Director, AIDS Research
Director
Timothy P. Condon, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Laura S. Rosenthal
Associate Director for Management
Office of Extramural Affairs
Office of Science Policy Communications
Center for the Clinical Trials Network
Office of Planning Resource Management
Teresa Levitin, PhD
Timothy Condon, PhD
Betty Tai, PhD
Laura Rosenthal
Division of Clinical Neuroscience
Behavioral Research
Division of Epidemiology, Services Prevention
Research
Division of Pharmacotherapies Medical
Consequences of Drug Abuse
Division of Basic Neurosciences Behavior
Research
Intramural Research Program
David Shurtleff, PhD
Frank Vocci, PhD
Wilson Compton, MD, MPE
Barry Hoffer, MD, PhD
Joseph Frascella, PhD
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http//www.nida.nih.gov/about/organization/Organiz
ation.html
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• Framework to enhance cooperative activities among
  16 NIH Institutes and Centers
• Take on challenges in neuroscience that are best
  met collectively
• Develop research tools and infrastructure that
  will serve the entire neuroscience community
• Research Training Programs

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NIH Roadmap FOR Medical Research

• TransNIH initiative for a more efficient and
  productive system of medical research
• Identifies in three main areas for support
• New pathways to discovery
• Research teams of the future
• Re-engineering the clinical research enterprise

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Application Funding Process

• Grant success rates
• The application process
• Contacting the right person
• K and R Awards
• Writing and submitting your application
• Submitting your application
• After the application is reviewed Now what?
• Funding
• The B/START mechanism

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Mentored Career Development Awards

• Mentored Research Scientist Development Award
  (K01)
• Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award
  (K08)
• Career Transition Award (K22)
• Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career
  Development Award (K23)
• Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development
  Award (K25)
• NIH Pathway to Independence (PI) Award (K99/R00)

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Features of the Mentored Career Awards

• Purpose
• Provide applicant with professional degree
  three-five years of additional supervised
  research
• Training must be in an area new to the applicant
  and/or one in which additional supervised
  research experience will substantially add to the
  research capabilities of the applicant
• Focus on progression to independence The
  candidate must provide a plan for achieving
  independent research support by the end of the
  award period
• Allowable Costs
• Annual Salary 48,000-90,000
• Research Development Support up to 50,000 per
  year

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K-- Review Criteria
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Review Criteria for Mentored Career Development
Awards

• Candidate
• Quality of the candidate's research, academic
  and/ or clinical record
• Potential to develop as an independent
  researcher and commitment to a research career
• Career Development Plan
• The content, phasing, and duration of the plan
• Consistency with the candidate's career goals
• Likelihood the plan will contribute to achieving
  of scientific independence
• Research Plan
• Methodology
• Relevance to the candidate's career objectives
• Appropriateness of the plan to the stage of
  research development
• As a vehicle for developing research skills for
  career development

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Review Criteria for Mentored Career Development
Awards

• Mentor/Co-Mentor
• Research qualifications
• Quality and extent of mentor(s) role in providing
  guidance
• Previous experience in fostering the development
  of researchers
• History of research productivity
• Adequacy of support for the proposed research
  project.
• Environment and Institutional Commitment
• Adequacy of research facilities and training
  opportunities
• Quality of the environment for scientific and
  professional development
• Institution's commitment to candidate--assurances
  that the institution intends the candidate to be
  an integral part of its research program
• institution's commitment to an appropriate
  balance of research and other responsibilities
  including 75 effort proposed by the candidate.

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Mentored K AwardsSuccess Rates
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Number of Mentored K-Awards Received and
Funded(NIDA-FY 05)
(45)
(42)
(80)
(40)
(50)
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Dollars Obligated New Mentored
K-Awards(NIDA-FY05)
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Research Funding Mechanismsto Become an
Independent Scientist
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Research Mechanisms

• Investigator Initiated Research Grant (R01)
• NIDA B/START I/START
• One year award
• Provide newly independent investigators an
  opportunity to conduct small scale exploratory
  (i.e., pilot) research
• Establish a rapid review and funding to jump
  start research
• Small Grant Program (R03)
• Pilot or feasibility studies
• Secondary analysis of existing data
• Small, self-contained research projects
• Development of research methodology or new
  research technology
• Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award
  (R21)
• Test feasibility of a novel area of investigation
  
• Studies may involve considerable risk but may
  lead to a breakthrough that could have major
  impact on a field.

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Review Criteria

• 1. Significance Address an important problem?
  Will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be
  advanced? What will be the effect of these
  studies on the field?
• 2. Approach Are the design, methods, etc.
  adequately developed, well integrated, reasoned,
  and appropriate to the project? Are potential
  problem areas considered and alternative tactics
  proposed?
• 3. Innovation Is the project original and
  innovative? Challenge existing paradigms address
  an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to
  progress in the field? Employ novel concepts,
  approaches, etc?
• 4. Investigators Is the work proposed
  appropriate to the experience level of the PI and
  other researchers? Does the team bring
  complementary and integrated expertise to the
  project (if applicable)?
• 5. Environment Does the scientific environment
  contribute to the probability of success? Do the
  proposed studies benefit from the scientific
  environment, or subject populations, or employ
  useful collaborative arrangements? Is there
  evidence of institutional support?

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Research Project Funding Success Rates
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B/START I/START Success Rate
B/START 1995-2005
I/START 2003-2005
Funded
Fiscal Year
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Funding Success Rate(FY 05)
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Dollars Obligated New and CompetingAwards(NIDA-
FY05)
Total
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Percentage of New Funded R01 Applications
Received from New Principal Investigators to
NIDA
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Application Funding Process

• Grant success rates
• The application process
• Contacting the right person
• K and R Awards
• Writing and submitting your application
• After the application is reviewed Now what?
• Funding
• Conclusions

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Before You ApplyDeveloping the Research
Concept(one approach)

• Find out about the institutional support that is
  available to you
• Ask three senior colleagues to act as your
  grant committee. Discussing your ideas for the
  application with them before starting the writing
  process
• Write three to five specific aims and discuss
  these with the committee before writing the
  application---by the time you tackle the bulk of
  the writing, the organization and content of your
  proposal have received fairly detailed scrutiny
  and critical consideration

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First steps in writing your application Start
Work

• Have a good idea!
• Develop the concept
• Contact NIH by Web and by phone to reach people
• who can help you

• Generate preliminary data if neededMost
  important for R01
• Enlist collaborators
• include letters from them
• clearly spell out the collaborations in your
  proposal
• Look at successful proposals of colleagues in
  your field

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First steps in writing your applicationStart
Writing

• Prepare your proposal early--Do not rush!
•  Make your first proposal your best proposal--
  Convey confidence and enthusiasm
•  Do your homework-- know the literature and
  issues, questions, and controversies in your area
•  Place your work in perspective
• Cite othersespecially members of the review
  committee--if appropriate
• If there are two camps, make sure you cite both
  sides
• Know the relevant review criteria
• Make your priorities clear
• Provide a timeline
• Be focused and use a clear and concise writing
  style

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First steps in writing your applicationStart
Writing

• Discuss potential problems and pitfalls--
  Describe alternate strategies
• Carefully consider your funding needs
• Keep in mind that the reviewers will judge your
  competence, in part, by how well your funding
  request matches the scope of the project
• Proofread!-- Reviewers and NIH Staff have zero
  tolerance for typographical errors, misspellings,
  or sloppy formatting.
• Critique your own proposal
• Have others read your final draft

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Submitting Your ApplicationDear CSR, .

• Include a cover letter with application
• Request funding agency
• Primary assignment
• Dual assignment if appropriate
• Request review committee assignment
• NIDA Review groups
• http//www.nida.nih.gov/IRGCouncil/IRGStructure.ht
  ml
• CSR Review Group
• http//www.csr.nih.gov/Committees/rosterindex.asp
  A

After all this. Concerned about your review
committee or funding agency? Be
proactive!Contact NIH Ask questions
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Application Funding Process

• Grant success rates
• The application process
• Contacting the right person
• K and R Awards
• Writing and submitting your application
• After the application is reviewed Now what? Will
  I get funds?
• Conclusions

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After Your Application is Reviewed..

• Talk with Program Staff

about

• Your Priority Score
• Summary Statement
• Funding (?)
• Next Steps
• Revision
• Other ideas options

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Making Funding DecisionsWho Gets Paid and Why

• Scientific Merit
• Priority score
• Percentile score
• Summary statement-- reviewers comments
• Programmatic Relevance
• Gap area?
• Submitted under an RFA?
• New Investigator
• Availability of Funds
• Advisory Council Recommendations
• Congressional Mandates (e.g., HIV/AIDS)

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Application Funding Process

• Grant success rates
• The application process
• Contacting the right person
• K and R Awards
• Writing and submitting your application
• After the application is reviewed Now what? Will
  I get funds?
• Conclusions

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Before You Apply..

• Talk With NIDA Staff..

and learn about

• Funding Mechanisms
• Program Priorities
• Grant Process
• Application Procedure
• Review Process and Review Committees
• New Initiatives-
• RFAs, PAs
• Research Interests
• NIH Roadmap NIH Neuroscience Blueprint

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Career Development Plan
R01
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After Your Application is Reviewed..

• Talk with Program Staff..

about..

• Your Priority Score
• Summary Statement
• Funding(?)
• Next Steps
• Revision
• Other ideas options

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BE PROACTIVE!!!
BE PERSISTENT!!!
ENGAGE A PROGRAM OFFICER!!!
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