Grant Writing Essentials

1. Grant Writing Essentials Jason P. Eiserich, Ph.D. Associate Professor Dept. of Internal Medicine - Nephrology Dept. of Physiology & Membrane Biology UC Davis Email: jpeiserich@ucdavis.edu

2. This should be broad, but succinctly stated “Global Problem” Broad Perspective - Background and Rationale - Premises; what is known? - Questions/controversies that remain - Brief statement of preliminary data Specific - Hypothesis - Specific Aims - Experimental Plan/Approach - Expected Results, Potential Pitfalls and Alternative Approaches • Conclusions and overall merit • of doing this research Revisit the Broad Perspective “Global Problem” If successful, how do the results of your project impact the ‘global problem’? ie. it may not necessarily ‘cure’ the disease, but how does it get us that much closer...

3. Global Problem • This should be broad, but succinctly stated. • Sorting out an important human health problem that people can relate with is a good idea… • Always helpful to cite ‘wow numbers’ (statistics) and “$’s” spent because of this disease…. • Example: “The incidence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is x%, and recent estimations project that this will increase to y% over the next 10 years. Accelerated vascular disease accounts for the majority of the deaths associated with ESRD and yearly costs associated with this amount to $XYZ. However, the mechanisms underlying this have remained elusive, and current treatment regimens are ineffective and ESRD remains an important human health problem.” (or something like this…)

4. Background and Rationale • Discuss historically about the global problem… and a bit about where the field is going. • Don’t get caught up in trivia, but choose the most important aspects/studies to discuss…particularly as it pertains to where you are going with your work. • Don’t be afraid to use schematics or cartoons to illustrate in graphical form the ‘global problem’. Reviewers really appreciate graphical formats...

5. Premises • Here is where you have the opportunity to discuss briefly what is known about the global problem, and specifically how your project relates to and addresses this issue/question. • Cite key and important studies…remembering that the authors of these studies will probably be the reviewers of your grant application….!!! • Make a strong argument that leads to further questions…and illustrates ‘gaps’ in our knowledge.

6. Questions and controversies… Remaining enigmas • Point out specifically gaps that exist in the scientific knowledge base regarding the problem that you are addressing. • Define controversial concepts and areas where the scientific community has not yet come to agreement. • This is key to making your hypothesis (next step) all that more interesting and valuable!

7. Preliminary Data... • Discuss briefly the preliminary data you have (more is usually better; but convincing arguments do go a long way here), that supports or questions current paradigms. • Show the data! Both in text and graphical formats. Data demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed study are key…both at the ‘idea’ level and at the technical level…can you do the work? • This leads to your hypothesis….

8. The Hypothesis... • This may be the most crucial aspect of your proposal….Make this short and concise…one sentence hypotheses usually work the best... • The hypothesis should incorporate what is already known, preliminary data you have, and the novel ideas and concepts that you have come up with... • Example: “Based upon these premises and our preliminary data, we hypothesize that transient, episodic inflammatory events lead to accumulated vascular injury in the ESRD patient population.” To test this hypothesis, we propose the following specific aims:….

9. Specific Aims • Usually 2-4 ‘specific aims’ are appropriate. But this depends upon the scope of the project (fellowship application vs. NIH RO1 application), and where it is to be submitted. • The aims should be concise but at the same time reveal exactly what is to be tested. • Example: Specific Aim 1: To elucidate the mechanistic contribution of non-phagocytic NADPH oxidases to vascular dysfunction in a rodent model of episodic inflammation.

10. Experimental Plan • Break this up into experiments you plan for each aim. • It is probably best to give a ‘rationale’ for the experiments you propose in each specific aim, before you describe what you are actually going to do. Why have you chosen the specific model? Why are you going to measure X, Y, and Z? • Explain in general terms the specific experiments you will do. Leave out most of the details. Details will come at the end of the proposal in a section termed “Specific Experimental Protocols”. At least that is how I like to do it….here you can explain in detail (with citations) how each protocol will be accomplished.

11. Expected Results/Potential Pitfalls/Alternative Approaches: • Add this section to the end of the Experimental Plan for each aim. • Here you have the opportunity to state what you expect to find. And you also have the opportunity to show that you have thought the whole thing through and have a back-up plan in case things don’t turn out exactly how you expect…this always happens! • Be honest and point out limitations to your approach…but don’t slit your own throat…just show that you are familiar with the limitations, and how you plan to overcome this.

12. Conclusion Statements • In a paragraph or so, define how the results you obtain from the successful completion of this study will aid in solving the problem you have addressed. • This is your opportunity to show the ‘value’ of your research project. • Be concise with this part. You want your words to be seen brightly…not buried in a lot of other text. You may even want to put this in bold text. • This is the crux of your proposal, explaining why what you are doing is worthy of funding!

13. This should be broad, but succinctly stated “Global Problem” Broad Perspective - Background and Rationale - Premises; what is known? - Questions/controversies that remain - Brief statement of preliminary data Specific - Hypothesis - Specific Aims - Experimental Plan/Approach - Expected Results, Potential Pitfalls and Alternative Approaches • Conclusions and overall merit • of doing this research Revisit the Broad Perspective “Global Problem” If successful, how do the results of your project impact the ‘global problem’? ie. it may not necessarily ‘cure’ the disease, but how does it get us that much closer...

14. Helpful Hints • Don’t be overzealous…keep it realistic. • Use the “KISS” method…Keep it simple stupid. Make it sophisticated and complex only when truly necessary. • Reiterate the main goals and objectives of your proposal. • Start early!!! Don’t wait until the last minute. • Have several of your colleagues read your proposal well before the deadline…utilize people who are educated in the topic, but also don’t forget to use people outside the field. • Have fun with your creative thoughts and innovative ideas.