Biology 358: Neurobiology Spring 2008

The Grant Proposal and Review Process:

Aside from the writing of articles for publication and peer-review, the other major place where scientists put their ideas to the test is in applying for funding to do the next series of experiments that they want to do over the next 3 years (the typical duration of a grant). This process really tests our abilities to summarize previous work and to outline what we believe are interesting lines of investigation. In essence, we're trying to make a sales pitch for our ideas and our work in the space of about 10-12 single-spaced pages.

These proposals are submitted to one of the funding agencies (for neurobiology, typically NIH) by a certain deadline. They are sorted by the field of inquiry and assigned to different "programs", which are subdivisions of the fields. In my case, I send my grants to NIH to the Chemical Senses Program of the National Institute of Deafness and Communicative Diseases (NIDCD), while at NSF, they go to the Sensory Biology Program. Once in the programs, the proposals are assigned to different grants panels, which are groups of specialists from different universities and institutes who pass judgement on the different proposals. In many cases, outside opinion from experts not on the panel will be solicited as well.

For each proposal, panel members and the outside reviewers read it critically to see: if the scientific ideas follow logically from the background information; if the work is interesting and useful and doable in the time frame; if the investigator has the background to be able to do the work; if the investigator has the equipment to be able to do the work; if the amount of money requested if reasonable for the proposed work; and if the investigator has been productive in the past. Each panel member and outside reviewer then writes a one-page, single-spaced assessment of the proposal touching upon what they consider to be the good aspects and the bad aspects of the proposal. Then, they each rank the proposal as being Excellent; Very Good; Good; Fair; or Poor. These scores are tabulated, and the highest scoring proposals are proposed for funding. Typically, in recent years, about 1/12 to 1/5 of the proposals are funded, depending on how well funded the field is and the stiffness of the competition.

The Assignments:

The Grant Proposal: As writing a proposal really tests one's ability to understand a field and to think about what the next series of interesting experiments are, it's really a great way to challenge your understanding of biology and your ability to think creatively about it.

The assignment is to write a 20-page double-spaced proposal (equal to a 10 page single-spaced proposal) on any topic in neurobiology that interests you. The proposal should be divided up in the following way:

Cover Page: Has name of investigator, title of the proposal, and the research institution. This will not count in the 20 page limit.

Summary or Abstract: About a 200 word document summarizing the background and the proposed experiments and the approach(es) that will be taken in the work. This will not count in the 20 page limit.

Introduction: About a 10 page introduction into the field, with enough detail to be able to put the field into context. This section lays down the background for the proposed work, so if your background is shaky, then it undermines the rest of the proposal. Use subheadings to divide this section into discrete topics.

Research Methods: The rest of the proposal (approx. 10 pages) will deal with outlining the experiments that you propose to do, and how you will go about doing the work. This is the place where the proposal will be judged on how reasonable your experiments are, and if they are doable. This part should have the following sections: an overview of the research; details of the techniques and the protocols to be used; data analysis; possible problems that could be encountered, and how these problems will be overcome; and what you believe will be the sequence of the experiments.

Appendices: Figures and the list of references are appended at the end.These will not count in the 20 page limit. The writing should be in standard non-jargon English as much as possible. The citation format should be the standard Dept. of Biology format used in Biol 109-110. If you are having problems with organizing this assignment, see me and the copies of grants on reserve in the Bio Reading Room. No grants proposals or reviews will be accepted unless they are word-processed. As in much of life, neatness and precision counts in writing a grant proposal; Sloppy proposals with misspellings, errors of fact, etc. typically do not make it very far.

The Grant Reviews: Each student will be assigned to a grant panel that will review blind 3-4 draft proposals from other students in the class. Each student will be asked to write a 1-page summary of each proposal reviewed by the panel, and give each proposal a grade. The reviews will be graded by the instructor. The grant reviews, with the name of the reviewer deleted, will be given back to the investigator (the student) for incorporation into the final draft of the proposal that will be graded by the instructor.

Grant Proposal Schedule:	Grant proposal topic due - Wednesday, 2/6
	Grant proposal outline and references due - Wednesday, 2/27
	Draft of grant proposal due - Wednesday, 4/9
	Final draft of grant proposal due - Friday, 5/2