Specific Aims: Fitting your grant on one page

1. Specific Aims: Fitting your grant on one page Laura Ranum Director, Center for NeuroGenetics Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

2. What I look for in a Grant and on the Aims Page • Who • What • Why • How • What will you do with the information– • Will it make an impact? • Is it incremental or transformative?

3. Structure • Background • Rationale for your proposal • List of specific aims • 1.) Hypotheses • 2.) General description of approach

19. The foundation of your proposal: The Hypothesis http://medicine.emory.edu/research/R_series.cfm

20. My experience • Keep it simple – expect that your reviewers will be smart but not necessarily experts in your field. • I have never reviewed a grant directly in my field for the NIH

21. Aims Page: Revise Revise Revise • As you write your ideas down they will become clearer • As your ideas become clearer revise your aims page • Writing a grant is a wonderful opportunity to focus the efforts of your lab • What is most important • What has to get done quickly

22. Consider a diagram of your aims

23. Final thoughts • Start early • Grant writing is hard work • Administrative stuff takes A LOT OF TIME • Get it done early!!!!!! • Talk through your aims with your colleagues • Refine and revise your aims as you write the body of the grant – it is okay if they change • Writing a grant is fun – it is an opportunity to refocus and take your research to the next level!!!! • Talk with your NIH Program Officer – they have great advice and are your advocate

24. Good Luck!!!!