When should you submit an NIH grant?
Spoiler alert — it’s a lot sooner than you think.
Maybe it’s just me, but when I applied for a K99 I did not feel ready at all. I wanted to publish more, I wanted to collect more preliminary data, I wanted more time to create my committee, and I wanted more time to write. In short, if you don’t feel like you’re ready to write a K99 (or a F31… or a F32… or a K01), that’s normal. However, time is a luxury that we do not have in academics. Recently, the NIH has shortened the application window for many grants. The predoctoral and postdoctoral clock is always ticking and (if you truly want to apply for a NIH grant) you need to generate a submission timeline to determine when to submit your first application so that you have the opportunity to submit a revised application.
Let’s do the submission math together.
Task #1: Find out the eligibility criteria for your grant.
Determine your eligibility sooner rather than later, because you may be surprised by how little time you have. As I mentioned above, within the last 5 years the eligibility window for many NIH grants has become shorter. The NIH notes that they did this to minimize long (7-8 year) graduate studies and postdoc hires. On a positive note, especially for F31 and F32 training grants, there is less emphasis placed on preliminary data. On a negative note, it's really easy to miss the application window. Eligibility is grant and institute specific, so read the eligibility criteria very carefully and when in doubt contact a program officer.
Eligibility is quite variable…
NIGMS (F31): Within the first 3 years of graduate training (1-2 years of support).
NINDS (F31): Within the first 6 years of graduate training (1-3 years of support).
NINDS (F32): 12 months prior to joining a postdoctoral lab to within the first 12 months of starting in a postdoctoral lab.
NIGMS and NINDS (K99): Within the first four years of postdoctoral training.
*Recently, I learned that with proper documentation, it is possible to “stop the clock” on your postdoctoral time due to an official leave of absence due to situations that include illness, parental leave, or other family situations.*
Task #2: Determine your start date.
For graduate students this is fairly simple, it’s the month/year you began graduate school. However, for postdocs the start date can be tricky… from what I understand the postdoc clock usually begins the month/year your degree was conferred (a date documented by your university). For example, I received my PhD from UCLA. Although I did my oral defense in February, I did not submit my dissertation until later in May. My conferral date (as documented by the university) reflects the later May dissertation date. In short, this is sometimes a tough date to figure out. If in doubt, check with your PhD institute to see what they have on record and check with the NIH institute to make sure that your start date is correct and that you are eligible to apply.
Task #3: Math
Eligibility: I wanted to apply for a K99 (NIGMS), which means I must apply within my first four years as a postdoc.
Start date: May/2015 (provided with documentation from my university).
When do I become a 4th year postdoc and thus no longer eligible to apply for a K99? Math: May/2015 + 4 years = May 2019
Task #4: More math to work in time for a revision
Last date to submit a revised grant: If I want to submit before May 2019, then my last date to submit a revised grant is March 12, 2019.
Date to submit the first grant: Knowing that it takes one grant cycle to receive and scores and comments, then the latest I can submit a new K99 application is June 12, 2018.
Additional notes… the review process takes a lot longer than you think.
I know what you’re thinking… does it really take a whole cycle to get your scores and comments back? From my experience, my firm answer to this is — YES! I adhered to the math above and submitted my new K99 in June/2018 (for the June 12th deadline in cycle 2). I did not receive a score until early December/2018 and did not receive comments until early January/2019… well past the November 12th (cycle 3) revision deadline. Thankfully, I received a good score and did not need to resubmit. If I did need to resubmit, I feel that even the March 12th (cycle 1) deadline would have been very tight, but manageable.
So in summary, work out your submission timeline early to earn that sweet, sweet revision if you need it.
Happy writing.