NIH NRSA F Series Fellowship Funding Opportunities

1. NIH NRSA F Series Fellowship Funding Opportunities October 24, 2013

2. Topics • Eligibility • Deadlines • Application Package • Internal Requirements • Tips

3. Eligibility • Individual Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Fellowships (NRSA: F30/F31/F32/F33) • http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm • These fellowships are awarded to qualified individuals at the predoctoral, postdoctoral, or senior investigator level to pursue full-time research training in designated biomedical or behavioral science areas. • By the time of award, the individual must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., possess a currently valid Permanent Resident Card USCIS Form I-551, or other legal verification of such status).

4. Deadlines IndividualPredoctoral Fellowships (F31) to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research  (see NRSA Training Page) F Series Fellowships new, renewal, resubmission Individual National Research Service Awards (Standard) (see NRSA Training Page) SF424 (R&R) April 8 August 8 December 8 F31 Diversity Fellowshipsnew, renewal, resubmission SF424 (R&R) April 13 August 13 December 13

5. http://grants.nih.gov/training/F_files_nrsa.htm

7. Application Package http://grants.nih.gov/training/F_files_nrsa.htm Download application package Work with your college grants office on this task

8. Application Package • The Grant Application Package is one PDF file • Forms have data fields and attachments • A few words about PDF… • Attachments required to be PDF • No spaces, characters, etc. in filename • Less than 50 character filename • Use a “one word” format: e.g., SpecificAims.pdf, JonesBiosketch.pdf, SmithResearchPlan.pdf • For word separation use underscore (example: “My_Attached_File.pdf”) in naming the attachments. • Convert to PDF (do not scan) • Don’t add extra security to your PDF! • Always check the instructions!

9. Format Specsfor PDF Attachments • Font • Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia • 11 ptfont or larger • Margins (8.5 x 11 paper) • ½ inch margins all around • No Headers or Footers • Figures, Graphs, Charts, etc. • Can be smaller font • Must be black font, clear and legible • No Jargon

10. For allFellowship (F) Applications

11. Stipend Levels :

12. Budget Information • Stipend Level for FY 2012: $22,032 • Tuition and Fees: An amount equal to 60% of the level requested by the applicant institution, up to $16,000 per year. • Institutional Allowance for Individual Fellows (To help defray the cost of fellowship expenses such as health insurance, research supplies, equipment, books, and travel to scientific meetings):: • Predoctoral - $4,200 • Postdoctoral -$7,850 • No F&A Costs to University.

13. References • At least three references (and not more than five) are required • Include this list in your cover letternames, degrees, and affiliations of the referees • Select referees carefully • Your Mentor CANNOT be a reference; their recommendation is included as part of the application (on the PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form). • Please note that the specified Fellowship Reference Form must be used. • Reference letters are submitted directly through the eRA Commons Referee Information link and not through Grants.gov. Letters of reference are due by the application receipt deadline date – no grace period!

14. Referees Log Into:commons.era.nih.gov Then Click on “Submit Reference Letter

15. Reference form

16. Referee enters their information (they do not need a Commons username) Referee enters information about YOU – be sure they have this information EXAMPLE SMITH.JOHN SMITH PA-11-111

17. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) • NIH requires that all trainees, fellows, participants, and scholars receiving support through any NIH training, career development award (individual or institutional), research education grant, and dissertation research grant must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research. • This Notice applies to the following programs: D43, D71, F05, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F37, F38, K01, K02, K05, K07, K08, K12, K18, K22, K23, K24, K25, K26, K30, K99/R00, KL1, KL2, R25, R36, T15, T32, T34, T35, T36, T37, T90/R90, TL1, TU2, and U2R. • This policy also applies to any other NIH-funded programs supporting research training, career development, or research education that require instruction in responsible conduct of research as stated in the relevant funding opportunity announcements.

18. Subject Matter • conflict of interest – personal, professional, and financial • policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices • mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships • collaborative research including collaborations with industry • peer review • data acquisition and laboratory tools; management, sharing and ownership • research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct • responsible authorship and publication • the scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research

19. Format & Frequency • Online instruction and “Substantial face-to-face discussions” (at least 8 hours) • Instruction must be undertaken at least once during each career stage, and at a frequency of no less than once every four years. • Individuals at the early career investigator level (including mentored K awardees and K12 scholars) must receive instruction in responsible conduct of research at least once during this career stage. • Senior fellows and career award recipients (including F33, K02, K05, and K24 awardees) may fulfill the requirement for instruction in responsible conduct of research by participating as lecturers and discussion leaders.

20. How we can help • Template language for proposals • Teaching resources • Documentation form template www.clemson.edu/research/compliance/integrity/resources.html • Online modules and workshops www.clemson.edu/research/compliance/integrity/training.html

21. Questions? Suggestions? Tracy Arwood - Tarwood@clemson.edu Cathy Welton - Jwelton@clemson.edu Office of Research Compliance 223 Brackett 656-1525

22. Internal Requirements • Visit your college grants office first • Clemson Sponsored Programs Certification http://www.clemson.edu/research/sponsored/picertification.html • This must be completed prior to submission of the proposal • Obtain an eRA Commons user name http://www.clemson.edu/research/sponsored/proposal/index.html • This must be completed prior to submission of the proposal • PHS Conflict of Interest http://www.clemson.edu/research/conflict-of-interest/ • This must be completed prior to submission of the proposal • Proposal Processing Form (approval from you department and college) http://www.clemson.edu/research/sponsored/forms.html

23. Overview of Submission Process Investigator OSP Grants.gov Sponsor (NIH) • Downloads & completes application • Completes PPF • Routes to college Office of Sponsored Programs • Reviews application (may suggest some modifications) • Submits application to Grants.gov • Performs cursory electronic review • Sends 3 emails • Received • Validated or Rejected • Agency Retrieval • Upon validation, notifies Sponsor • Retrieves application from Grants.gov • Sends email to IR: Validations Complete/Check assembled application (or ACTION REQUIRED).

24. Tips from F SeriesRecipients • Prep/General: • Start early! Give yourself enough time to get feedback from others. It’s also nice to give yourself a few days break, then come back and reread your proposal before submission. • Contact the PO at the institute you are applying through to see if they interested in funding your topic area. Topic areas of funding interest are usually listed on the institutes’ websites; however, it does not hurt you to directly contact your PO! • Find out what your institution’s submission deadlines are (these are usually earlier than the NIH deadlines). Be nice to your grants officers and submit early! • If you know grad students who have been funded, ask if they would let you have a copy of their proposal.

25. Tips from F SeriesRecipients • Prep/General: • Discuss the training plan with your advisor, making it as comprehensive as possible. Don’t forget about opportunities to present your work (conferences, departmental seminars, etc.) in addition to scholarly activities like journal clubs and visiting seminars. • Understand the review process and know what reviewers are looking for, and then give it to them in clear, plain language. You want to make it easy for a reviewer to like your proposal. • Expect to write your own training plan and possibly your letters of support. This is common and will give you good practice! • Few proposals are funded on the first round. If yours is not but still receives a good score, take the review seriously – your chances to be funded on a resubmission for F-awards are good!

26. Tips from F SeriesRecipients • Scientific Proposal: • Start by developing a logically sound outline. It’s a waste of time to write pages of science that don’t make sense, only having to significantly revise or start over later. • In reality, only your primary reviewer is going to read your entire proposal thoroughly. Reviewers 2 and 3 will all likely read your specific aims, so make them immaculate! • Reviewers enjoy reading shorter proposals. If you don’t need to fill the entire page limit to appropriately describe your science, don’t!

27. Tips from F SeriesRecipients • Review: • Find other grad students willing to read and critique your work. • Have another faculty member (outside your research area, if possible) read through for logic. If someone outside the field cannot grasp the general concept, revise so the overall importance of your research is obvious. • Pay attention to the nitpicky formatting details. This seems like a small point, but nobody wants to read a messy proposal.

28. Questions? Thank you! Diana Thrasher – dianas@clemson.edu Office of Sponsored Programs 300 Brackett Hall 864-656-6444