An Exciting Change in NIH Resubmission Policy

Some great news out of the NIH/AHRQ today! They've changed their resubmission policy so that PIs no longer need to change their grant applications significantly to submit again after two unsuccessful tries.

In 2009, the NIH changed their three strike policy to two strikes, where a PI could submit an A0 grant, and then respond to reviewer feedback in only one resubmission. If they were unsuccessful that time, in subsequent submissions, they would need to "demonstrate significant changes in scientific direction compared to the previous submissions."

The NIH did this to cut down on the time it took them to award meritorious grant proposals. However, they have re-designed the policy, partly because they found that the 2009 policy affected early-career investigators seeking NIH funding in particular as they have difficulty in shifting their research direction as they are just forming it.

Under the new policy, a PI still can have only one resubmission where they respond to reviewer feedback and the reviewers see those summary statements. After an unsuccessful resubmission, PIs may now resubmit the same idea as an A0 (without any response to reviewers' past comments). Reviewers will be instructed to review these grants as if they are new (whether or not they recognize them from past submissions).

It is still important that PIs take reviewer feedback on a resubmission seriously and incorporate good suggestions into their grant moving forward. But no longer do you have to focus on overhauling your entire research agenda when you've gotten a second strike.

Resources:
NIH/AHRQ Updated Policy Announcement
A Change in Our Resubmission Policy - Dr. Sally Rockey
NIH Fairy Grants Your Wish for Unlimited A0s - Medical Writing, Editing, and Grantsmanship

NIH K Award

Friday afternoon we were excited to have a presentation by Mark H. Roltech, Ph.D., former Program Officer in NHLBI at the NIH, offer a presentation on K awards. This offered our research community some excellent insight around the development and review process for K awards that we wanted to share.

Dr. Roltech began by offering some distinctions amongst some of the K mechanisms:

• K01 - Mentored Research Scientist Award
• K08 - Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (These are for M.D.'s who want to become bench scientists)
• K23 - Mentored Patient Oriented Research Career Development Award
• K25 - Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (These are for Ph.D.'s in Engineering who want to transition toward Bio)
• K01-RFA - Mentored Faculty Diversity Award/Minority Serving Institution
• K99 - Pathway to Independence Award (These are good for postdocs looking to move to a new university / become independent)

Dr. Roltech also discussed what he saw as an ideal K proposal development process, along with tips and pitfalls. He began by highlighting the importance of starting to work on the K proposal early (4-6 months before the due date) to ensure you can develop a quality proposal. Below is his suggested process.

6 months before: Determine if a K award is appropriate for you, and identify which award is right for you. Review the program announcement. Develop a plan for developing your proposal, and begin meeting with potential mentors/co-mentors to see who might be the best fit for you.

4-6 months before: Create a hypothesis-driven project and identify specific aims. Create an advisory committee and get feedback on your specific aims. Begin to draft your research strategy.

3-4 months before: Draft the career development and mentoring plan. Seek feedback; schedule weekly meetings to review revised documents. Submit sections to your mentor for review and work on other sections in the meantime.

<3 months: Complete the other sections, including institutional commitment letter, advisory committee letters, mentor's statement, etc.

It is essential throughout this process to be communicating with your program officer to ask any questions and also to vet your ideas to make sure that your project is in line with the mission.

Dr. Roltech highlighted common problems in K applications that he had seen as a Program Officer. They include:

• Lack of a well thought out research training plan
• Weak/absent hypothesis
• Poor presentation (e.g., figures too small or writing errors)
• Weak publications record/inexperienced PI (for instance, you should have 3-5 pubs for a K23)
• Mentors are off-site or unengaged
• An unrealistically large amount of work in your proposal
• Uncertainty concerning future career direction

Resources:

NIH's K Kiosk

Dr. Roltech's presentation

Marketing Yourself at Conferences

I'm at a conference this week, and I'm struck by the lack of networking I see.  I once heard an emeritus faculty/faculty ombudsperson talk about how introverted faculty tend to be, despite having jobs where they are teaching and working with other people.

This strikes me as a great opportunity for researchers to use this to their advantage by focusing on networking and marketing themselves at conferences. Whether or not you are an introvert, you can use the following small steps to better market yourself and build valuable relationships and networks.

• Identify who you want to meet at the conference (this might be a program officer or someone you're hoping to work with eventually) and attend their presentations.
• Familiarize yourself with the research of the people with whom you want to connect.
• Prepare an elevator pitch that is just a couple of lines, and find a way to incorporate something intriguing or even a joke to catch the interest and spur a conversation with those you want to network.
• Ask questions about others' research and draw connections to your own work. You're hoping that they will engage in the conversation about the intersections of your work.
• Remember to introduce yourself each time you speak at a conference, whether you're presenting or asking a question during a session.
• Take new connections for coffee or a drink.
• Follow-up with connections quickly after the conference.  A follow-up email, thanking them for their time and proposing a collaboration (if it's appropriate), can keep you top of mind and strengthen the connection.

Resources:

How do I market myself at conferences? - American Psychological Association

How to network at a conference - wikiHow