Biophysical Society Bulletin | June 2020

Outreach

From left to right. Joe Gindhart (NIH), Silvia Ronco (Research Corporation for Science Advancement), Elizabeth Yates (moderator, Education Committee), and Wilson Francisco (NSF) at the 2020 BPS Annual Meeting in San Diego, California

Scholar Awards. Proposals (PUIs and R01s) are all looked at together in the same review process. After a proposal has been received and processed, program directors evaluate the teaching plan. Those that pass this review are sent out for ex- ternal peer review of both research and teaching plans. Lastly, when a proposal has the appropriate complement of reviews, a selection committee evaluates the proposal in light of its reviews and then makes the final recommendation. In the review process, both PUIs and R1 universities are all placed together in the same applicant pool and review process. The funding success rate is 14 percent. The application for the Cottrell Scholar Award is a one-time opportunity to apply. For more details, please look at the RCSA website, https:/ rescorp. org/cottrell-scholars/cottrell-scholar-award, which provides a detailed description of the program and eligibility. Common Funding Questions/Pointers When is the best time to submit your proposal? Look into the specific program you are applying to and pay attention to guidelines and deadlines. Adhere to any dead- lines that have been set by each specific funding agency. If no deadlines are set, you can submit when you are ready. The whole process takes a lot of time, so be sure to be patient. How soon to contact program officers? It is highly recommended for prospective PIs interested in applying for funding to contact program officers early on in the application process. This will help get you to the correct NSF program officer or NIH institute for the proper funding of your research, as well as assist in determining the feasibility of your project and timing. While looking into funding pro- grams, read the funding announcements carefully to help you find the suitable program. From here, it is suggested that you

reach out to a program officer via email. You may ask ques- tions such as Can I send you my specific aims? Can I send you a short proposal? Could I schedule a conference call to discuss your program and my eligibility? Once you identify the pro- gram manager that may fit best, this is a great time to send a 1 – 2 page proposal to see if your work is suitable for their program. This will allow the program officer to provide feed- back regarding the fit. If the work is not appropriate for their program, the program officer will be able to better direct you to other program officers. By directly contacting the program officers, you are allowing yourself the opportunity to find the best program and fit for your research! How much preliminary data is needed in my proposal? You will need to show your project has merit with preliminary data. A key is to find a happy medium: You do not want to propose a completed project; rather, you want to show evi- dence of the progression of a project and display a story being told. You can use one aim to build on the other. It is important to show the reviewers a little bit of your work and intrigue them about your project. — Elizabeth Yates , Education Committee

Submit to

Special rates for authors from PUIs. www.thebiophysicist.org

June 2020

13

T H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E B I O P H Y S I C A L S O C I E T Y