Close up Stanford Biosciences student working on a fellowship application

Grant Writing Academy

The Grant Writing Academy was honored with a 2016 Innovations in Research Education Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)! The award highlights innovations in PhD, MD-PhD, and postdoctoral education and training, or early career development that enhance the institutional research mission.

We coach graduate and postdoctoral trainees in developing and articulating research strategies to tackle important scientific questions.

We help you STEP into success with grant writing by:

  • Supporting you in creating proposals and productive writing practice
  • Training you to write and edit efficiently
  • Empowering you to elicit and provide effective feedback
  • Providing you with coaching, editing and review of proposals and scientific writings

Why you should submit a proposal:

  • Writing rigorously clarifies and deepens your thinking
  • Articulating research priorities increases productivity and impact
  • Developing and communicating ideas is critical in all career paths
  • Eliciting and providing feedback strengthens mentoring relationships
  • Reviewing feedback improves your writing
  • Securing funding is an accomplishment and has positive career benefits

 

Opportunities

Mini Proposal Bootcamp

Saturday, March 10, 2018, 10:00am - 4:00pm

Co-sponsored by GWA and SBSA, this one-day bootcamp is based on the Grant Writing Academy's award-winning 8-week Proposal Bootcamp. It provides a time and place to write plus lunch, coffee, and snacks. Join short lightning talks about writing grants, and receive feedback and one-on-one coaching from the GWA's Grant Coaches. Graduate Students schedule an additional coaching session for full-credit.

Open to all graduate students and postdocs.

Register online

Lunchtime Learning - Designing Exceptional Posters + Free Lunch

February 21, 2018, noon - 1:00pm (Pizza served at 11:45am)

Want to make your posters more readable and attractive? In this interactive workshop, Kelly Harrison of the School of Engineering's Technical Communication Program will show you how to design posters that will more effectively showcase your research.

Event is co-sponsored by the Technical Communication Program (School of Engineering) and Grant Writing Academy (School of Medicine).

Open to all graduate students and postdocs.

Register online

Grad-Only Spring Proposal Bootcamp

BIOS 263: Applied Grant-Writing Skills for Fellowships; Signup in Axess
Spring Term 2018

Graduate students in the Biosciences PhD Programs develop a fellowship proposal (e.g. NIH F31) focusing on required documents: 1-page specific aims as well as research and career development plans. Students establish a writing practice and learn fundamental grant writing skills through guided exercises, including in-class review and focused faculty feedback.

Comments from our participants:

"The faculty review workshops are fantastic and maybe a once-in-a-life kind of experience"

"The deadlines forced me to think about my drafts and writing a compelling grant in a timely manner. Otherwise, I would have crammed it into 2-3 weeks before the deadline."

"The peer review process helped me see my proposal through the eyes of a critical reviewer"

"It improved my writing skills"

"I really appreciated the grant coach office hours"

"Meeting up with other people that were 'in the same boat' as me was helpful"

Questions? Email Crystal Botham: cbotham@stanford.edu

Applying for the HHMI Hanna H. Gray's Fellows Program?

For the second year, we are supporting applicants for the HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program. Relevant activities (open to all Stanford applicants regardless of affiliation with the Biosciences Program):

  • Seminar about the program requirements on Nov 6, 2017, 1:30-3:30 pm in Alway M106. Stanford's 2017 HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellow Harold Pimentel will also speak!
  • Small group peer review that meets Mondays, Nov 20 to Dec 18 at 1:30-3:30 pm in LKSC
  • One-on-one mentorship from GWA Grant Coaches or Stanford faculty

Register online

Writing Compelling Fellowships and Career Development Awards

Proposal Bootcamp Course — BIOS 242 — Weekly 2-hour meetings
September 25 to November 17, 2017 (8 weeks)

Participants develop proposals through guided exercises with an emphasis on establishing writing practice, in-class peer review and focused faculty feedback.

Comments from previous participants:

"The schedule forced me to write"

"One of the best things... I wasn't the only one going through the grant writing process"

"This course helped improve the quality of my proposal"

"Thanks to you... I actually got a K99 on the first round. Your [course] was invaluable!"

If you are interested in the 2017 Proposal Bootcamp, please participate in our half-day Science and Art of Grant Writing Symposium. During the first week of the Proposal Bootcamp course your 1-page Specific Aims document will be peer reviewed.

Specific Aims Lecture and Peer Review Workshops

Specific Aims Lecture

Learn techniques for developing a one-page executive summary of your research plan, e.g. Specific Aims page.

Watch a video about how to write a compelling 1-page Specific Aims (SUNet ID required)

Download a Specific Aims Outline to help you write a compelling 1-page Specific Aims. (SUNet ID required)

Workshops will resume in February, 2018.

Grant Coach Office Hour

Have a question about your fellowship or career development award? Meet one-on-one with our trained Grant Coaches to answer questions, find resources, obtain advice or evaluate draft documents.

Will resume in January, 2018.

Science and Art of Grant Writing Symposium

August 22, 2017, Science and Art of Grant Writing

This symposium addressed both practical and conceptual aspects of the proposal writing process. Participants learned how to develop research strategies to tackle important scientific questions and tips for writing more effective proposals. Dynamic presenters shared insights about the grant writing and review process.

Watch the videos! (SUNet ID required)

 

August 5, 2015 Science and Art of Grant Writing: Developing a Research Strategy

Speakers included Russ Altman, Crystal Botham, John Boothroyd, Nobel Laureate Michael Levitt, Kristin Sainani, and a panel discussion of NIH Fellowship and K Award study section members moderated by Miriam Goodman.

 

Comments from previous participants:

"It was inspiring to be there"

"I walked away feeling like this was such a productive use of my time"

"Fantastic event"

"Very motivating to go ahead and start writing"

Watch the videos! (SUNet ID required)

Teach! Write! Learn! Become a Grant Coach

For Postdoctoral Scholars/Fellows

The Grant Writing Academy in collaboration with the Hume Center for Writing and Speaking and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs trains postdocs as Grant Coaches for our Proposal Bootcamp course (5-6 hr commitment per week). Our Coaches assist graduate students and postdocs in creating strong proposals, and lead peer and faculty review workshops.

We pay for coaching time. No experience necessary but we are looking for enthusiastic and committed individuals.

Application Deadline: Spring 2017

NSF Graduate Research Fellowshops Program (GRFP) Info Session

Sponsored by the Stanford Biosciences Student Association (SBSA)

September 27, 2017, 5:00-6:30 pm

The NSF GRFP is a prestigious, nationally competitive fellowship and provides three years of support for beginning graduate study.

Helpful Resources from the University of Missouri

Register online

Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Fellowship or Career Development Award

Ten simple rules to consider when writing a fellowship or career development award by Crystal Botham, director of the Grant Writing Academy, and Stanford Postdocs.

Read the article

  1. Start Early and Gather Critical Information
  2. Create a Game Plan and Write Regularly
  3. Find Your Research Niche
  4. Use your Specific Aims Document as Your Roadmap
  5. Build a First-Rate Team of Mentors
  6. Develop a Complete Career Development Training Plan
  7. Stop! Get Feedback
  8. Tell a Consistent and Cohesive Story
  9. Follow Specific Requirements and Proofread for Errors and Readability
  10. Recycle and Resubmit

Grant Coaches Discuss Various Aspects of Writing Proposals

Videos relevant to most proposals (SUNet ID required)

 

NIH Fellowship Specific Videos (e.g. F31, F32) (SUNet ID required)

 

NIH K Award Specific Videos (e.g. K99/R00, K08, K23) (SUNet ID required)

Stanford's Jump Start Awards for Excellence in Research

Supports postdoctoral scholars / fellows conducting biomedical research and / or participating in career development activities that enhance fellowship or career development proposals. Additionally, the Grant Writing Academy's Grant Coaches provide feedback and advice to the awardees as they prepare their proposals.

We are excited to announce our 2016 Jump Start Awardees:

Shiva Abbaszadeh, PhD A new generation small animal PET system technology to drive future molecular imaging discoveries
Julia Co, PhD Gastrointestinal organoids as a model for human-adapted bacterial pathogens
Laura Marie Davison, PhD Harnessing Dendritic Cells for the Development of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Immunotherapies
Daniel DiRenzo, PhD Efferocytosis Signaling Regulates Phenotypic Switching in Atherosclerosis
Eni Halilaj, PhD Multivariate Pattern Analysis of Physical Activity and Osteoarthritis Progression
Jennifer Haruko Kong, PhD Genetic and proteomic analysis of Hedgehog signaling in the developing central nervous system
Zhipeng Lu, PhD Decoding the RNA structurome
Brooks Taylor, PhD Predicting and controlling fat cell differentiation using dynamic signals
Adam White, PhD Leveraging spectrally encoded beads to enable highly multiplexed profiling of proteolytic signatures from maternal blood

Jump Start Advisory Committee:

Writing for the Sciences

Sponsored by: Lagunita; also available on Youtube

This course teaches scientists to become more effective writers, using practical examples and exercises. Topics include: principles of good writing, tricks for writing faster and with less anxiety, the format of a scientific manuscript, and issues in publication and peer review. In the first four weeks, we will review principles of effective writing, examples of good and bad writing, and tips for making the writing process easier. In the second four weeks, we will examine issues specific to scientific writing, including: authorship, peer review, the format of an original manuscript, and communicating science for lay audiences.

Registration

NRSA Computer Lab Training Sessions

Required training for all pre-doctoral and postdoctoral fellows who are submitting NIH NRSA F series applications.

Session registration

K Award-Grants.gov Computer Lab Training Sessions

Required training for all postdoctoral fellows and optional for Instructors and faculty who are submitting NIH K series applications.

Session registration

Postdoctoral Funding Opportunities

A comprehensive list of postdoctoral funding opportunities that can be searched by deadline or research topic. Download list here.

Graduate Funding Opportunities

A comprehensive list of graduate funding opportunities that can be searched by deadline or research topic. Download list here.

Stanford Policy

Stanford policy requires that all applications for outside Pre-Doctoral & Postdoctoral Fellowships must be routed through your Institutional Representative at least 5 working days prior to the sponsor's deadline. Please see the Research Management Group's website for guidelines and proposal checklists.

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