4 It is a measure of semiindependence and your PI may treat you differently since your fellowship wi

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Fellowship Writing The Applicant Perspective
Why should you apply?
1) If you are serious about academic-type science
then you will be writing applications for support
money the rest of your career.
2) Fellowship support is a merit award and can
facilitate obtaining future awards.
3) The process itself will help shape your
thinking about your science.
4) It is a measure of semi-independence and your
PI may treat you differently since your
fellowship will be providing salary support.
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B) When should you apply? (This is one of the
biggest variables)
1) Strong candidate You have a first-author
publication from your mentors lab and you are
using this manuscript as the foundation for your
proposal. Prior first-author publications and
strong letters of support from your graduate work.
2) Good candidate You are a year into your
postdoc, you have generated strong preliminary
results (with a paper submitted or in press as
1st or second authorship position), and you have
first-author publications from your graduate
studies.
3) Rare candidate Strong publication record as a
graduate student and are starting a postdoc in an
established lab (i.e. full professor). It is
possible that you could be a competitive
candidate with very little preliminary data in
support of a proposal.
4) Common candidate You have worked 1 or more
years in the lab that has not resulted (yet) in a
publication. Although you may have good ideas
and have generated preliminary results in support
of your proposal, your score may be subject to
reviewer variables.
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C) Fellowship Evaluation Criteria (ranked in
order of importance)
1) The applicant number and type of
publications letters of support or
reference personal statements of past and future
research goals
2) Your proposed specific research project
3) The environment and training program -this
is usually a reflection of your PIs lab (funding
and productivity) -the PIs written statement of
how they plan be your mentor -inclusion of
seminar series, meetings, or affinity groups that
add training potential -the institution (in
most cases Scripps is judged to be outstanding)
All 3 areas are important to the success of an
application. A proposal that is weak in one area
is unlikely to be funded. If your grant does
not get a fundable score, you will know which
areas may be weak from the Summary Statement
from the review committee.
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D) Getting started on the proposal itself
1) Plan to start early (at least two months ahead
of deadline). READ THE DIRECTIONS!
2) Remember that animal/human subjects protocols
are time consuming, you need to have the
appropriate training, and approvals take weeks
(and may require subsequent alterations). Check
to see whether Just In Time approvals are
accepted (means that you can do this once the
grant is approved for funding). Remember
microbiological hazard approvals too.
3) Make an outline of your proposed research
project (talk it over with your PI).
4) Formulate your Specific Aims. In general
propose 1 aim per year of support.
VERY IMPORTANT Your aims should be centered
around a SPECIFIC TESTABLE HYPOTHESIS
Use sentences such as My proposal will test the
hypothesis that. or My proposal will test
the importance of .
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Specific Testable Hypothesis
Importance..
Aims..
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5) The Proposal Organization Many postdoctoral
proposals are 10 pages (Science) plus
Abstract/Summary How to Balance the Science
Sections Introduction and Specific Aims ( 1
page) Background/Significance ( 1
page) Preliminary/Results (3
pages) Experimental Design and Methods (5
pages)
6) Timing Give plenty of time for your PI to
read. Plan on re-writing. This is where hard
work, focus, and attention to detail pays
off. Remember, a reviewer will have 7 to 10
proposals to read. He/she will choose the top 2
for potential support. Clarity of writing and
ideas are of paramount importance.
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F) Writing / Presentation Suggestions
1) A clean and organized writing and
presentation style will show the reviewer that
you have taken this process seriously. Too much
description or too much data/information will
only confuse the reviewer with unnecessary
details.
2) Abstract/Summary and Specific Aims. This will
be viewed by all committee members. Usually one
page. A good synopsis of your proposal can
influence committee members (who did not directly
review your proposal) but who nevertheless will
be voting on your proposal.
3) Background/Significance. Give a balanced
overview. Cite reviews. Show graphical models
of the system you are studying. End by telling
the reviewer why your proposal is important and
how it will advance the field.
4) Preliminary Results. Try to structure this
section so that the reviewer knows the connection
to the data that you are presenting with regard
to a particular aim in your proposal. Header
titles Prelim Data in Support of Aim X etc.
Make sure you have data in support of all aims.
Insert pictures/images so that the figures are
close to the text description.
5) Include a bulleted or short summary of your
important Preliminary Results.
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Step by step..
Embed figures
Summarize w/ conclusion statements
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Summarize w/ conclusion statements
Summarize what you just showed in the Preliminary
Results
Reminder of the hypothesis to test or proposal
goal
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6) Experimental Design and Methods. (Structure of
sub-sections a suggestion) a) Repeat the
Specific Aim sentence. b) Rationale One
paragraph to remind the reviewer of the
hypothesis to be tested. Possibly include a
model/graphic if appropriate. c) Summary of
Approaches to Accomplish this Aim. One sentence
that will be used as subsequent paragraph
headings (below). d) Detailed Approaches to
Accomplish this Aim. Heres where you describe
the procedures to be used, the sequence of
experimental analyses, and the methods of
evaluation in appropriate detail. Include
discussion of Anticipated Results. Include
short description of Potential Pitfalls and add
comment on how you might work around these issues.
7) Remember to include a timetable of proposed
research. What you expect to accomplish during
year 1, year 2, etc.
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Repeat of Specific Aim
Rationale
Testing the hypothesis
Summary of Approaches
Detailed description of Approaches
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Good Luck!!!