Better at the Bench

At this point you should have a working draft of your specific aims.

Your specific aims will function as a road map for your grant, consisting of (1) a list of goals you want to accomplish and (2) some details describing the experiments you plan to execute to accomplish these goals. The specific aims are a living document, as you receive feedback and think about the experiments in more detail, your specific aims will change. However, now that you have something to work with it’s time to start filling in the details.

Today we will address the question:
How will the resources at Stanford help me accomplish my research aims and help me prepare for a career in science?

institutional environment and commitment to training is an important component of your grant

Most people spend 99.99% of NIH grant writing working tirelessly on their research plan. This is for a very good reason — the research plan is a very important component of your grant and it will not get funded if it is poorly written or poorly thought out. However!!! The research plan is only one of five major review criteria (above). Do not neglect the other review criteria! You are a graduate student or postdoc at Stanford University, a top research university in the world. With some time and effort on this section, you everyone should be able to get a top score for the "Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training” component.

Brainstorming exercise:
Think about the who, what, where, when, and why of each specific aim

How to get started
Before you start writing your research strategy or training plan, I would highly suggest taking some time aside to first brainstorm. Think about the “Who, What, Where, When, and Why” of each specific aim and/or sub aim.

• Who: Who will be the expert that helps you set up the experiments for this aim or helps you with the analysis or troubleshooting? Remember, these are training grants, so you need to be learning something new. Who will help you learn?

• What: What are you working with? Do you need help or resources to obtain this thing?

• Where: Where will you be conducting these experiments? Do you have all the resources in your lab? Do you need to use other resources on campus, like one of the many core facilities? Do you have access to these other resources? Do you need to collaborate with another lab and use their equipment?

• When: When will you do this experiment? Will you do this experiment (or address this aim) in your first year or second year? For K-awards, will you do this experiment during your training phase or your independent phase?

• Why: Why are you doing this aim? How will this further the science field? How will this benefit your career?

What if there is something missing?
If you are missing one of these components, start doing some research and begin filling in the gaps. Is there a lab on campus that you can collaborate with? Is there a professor on campus that would provide you with the critical expertise you need to execute an experiment? Writing a grant is almost like building a case for yourself, showing the reviewer that you have all the resources necessary to accomplish your research goals and develop as a scientist.

How does being at Stanford help you achieve these research objectives?
With this list in hand, think about all the resources that are available at Stanford. Proceed to answer the following questions:

• Why is Stanford the best place for you to execute your research plan?

• Why is Stanford the best place for you to develop as a scientist?

• What are the resources available at Stanford that will help you to successfully progress to the next stage of your scientific career?

Instructions for the description of institutional environment and commitment to training (F-awards)

Instructions for the description of institutional environment (K-awards)

Resources to help you get started

Books

• A Practical Guide to Writing a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Grant. Andrew D. Hollenbach. 2nd edition. 2018. Access available with SUNet login.

  • Chapter 6 - Last by not least: Institutional environment, training potential, and other scored items (pages 89-101).

• The Grant Application Writer’s Workbook: National Institutes of Health Version. Russell, Stephen W. and David C. Morrison. Los Olivos, CA: Grant Writers’ Seminars and Workshops, LLC, 2016. www.grantcentral.com

  • Chapter 15 - Project/performance site locations form; facilities and other resources, equipment, environment impact

Videos from the Stanford Grant Writing Academy (some of these require a SUNet login for viewing)

• Facilities and other resources/equipment short talk by Kevin Mann (7.5 minutes).

What to include in this section

• Description of the university, department, and laboratory environment

  • Craft a narrative, where you are at the center of a successful scientific environment (the university), where you are an active member of a well-established research program (your department), and working under the guidance of a successful mentor and surrounded by successful scientists (your lab).

  • Personalize your document by adding details about opportunities for intellectual interactions with other researchers including courses, seminars, and journal clubs.

  • Include details about facilities and resources available for both your scientific research, but also career enhancement.

• Educational information (for F30 and F31 applications)

  • A detailed description of the PhD or MD/PhD program. Includes information about the structure of the program, required milestones, courses required, teaching commitments, qualifying exams.

Instructions for facilities and other resources + equipment (F-awards and k-awards)

Do not feel the need to re-invent the wheel. Ask around to see if you can get a copy of these resources from your PI or other members of you lab. You can modify the details based on the needs of your proposed experiments. Admittedly, I do find the detail put into these documents a bit ridiculous, but the goal is to show the reviewers that (1) you have thought deeply about your proposed experiments and (2) you have all the resources at your fingertips to execute the experiments proposed.

Facilities and other resources
I don’t think it’s possible to add everything, so be selective and really emphasize resources that will help your research and scientific progress. Things to include:

• Laboratory space
  The size of the lab (in square feet), desks and benches available, and really any detail would contribute to your research (example, a description of the tissue culture hoods and incubators available if you plan to work with cells). Minor equipment (like the abundance of fridges and freezers) can be included here and major equipment can saved for the “Equipment” document.

• Animal facilities
  If you are working with animal’s include a description of the animal facilities — this should complement the Vertebrate Animals attachment. Include some detail about the regulatory oversight at the facility (http://med.stanford.edu/animalresearch/regulatory-oversight.html).

• Clinical facilities
  If you are working with human patients or human tissue, include details here.

• Computer facilities
  A description of the software and hardware available to you.

• Office space
  Describe the space you have. Don’t have a lot of personal space in the lab, that’s okay! You can also describe communal areas and remark about how these areas facilitate scientific collaboration and discussion.

• Core facilities
  Again, the details here will be specific to your research. There are many core facilities available on campus (a short list of the ones I used are below)

• Other facilities
  Administrative support or proximity to collaborators. You can even describe the Stanford access to Zoom and how this allows for weekly or monthly meetings with remote collaborators.

Equipment
With regards to the Equipment section, don’t skimp on the details. Look through your proposed experiments and mention in detail all equipment in your lab that you will use to complete these experiments. Feel free to mention access to shared departmental equipment or equipment in another lab. Note, if you are using equipment from another lab, mention this in a letter of support from the PI of that lab to give more credibility to your research proposal.

Letter of institutional commitment (K-awards only)

Ask your department chair for a letter. For a more personalized letter, provide your department chair with an updated biosketch and specific aims.

List of some resources at Stanford

On campus seminars

• Biology (https://biology.stanford.edu/events/series/department-seminars)

• Biochemistry (https://biochemistry.stanford.edu/events2)

• Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection (https://canarycenter.stanford.edu/seminars/early-detection/2019.html)

• Cancer Biology (https://med.stanford.edu/cancerbiology/events/SeminarSeries.html)

• Cardiovascular Science (http://med.stanford.edu/cvi/mission/frontiers-in-cv-science.html)

• Chemical and Systems Biology (https://chemsysbio.stanford.edu/category/events/)

• Molecular and Cellular Physiology (https://med.stanford.edu/mcp/seminars-events/mcp-seminarseries.html)

• Neurosciences Institute (https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/events/series/seminar-series-2019)

• Regenerative Medicine (https://med.stanford.edu/stemcell.html)

On campus core facilities or services

• The Vincent Coates foundation mass spectrometry laboratory
  (https://mass-spec.stanford.edu/)

• Stanford cell sciences imaging facility (https://microscopy.stanford.edu/)

• Stanford research animal facility (RAF) and veterinary service center (VSC)
  (http://med.stanford.edu/animalresearch/animal-care-and-facilities.html)

• Stanford transgenic, knockout, and tumor model center (http://med.stanford.edu/tktc.html)

• Stanford protein and nucleic acid facility (http://pan.stanford.edu/)

• Stanford computational services and bioinformatics facility (http://cmgm.stanford.edu/)

• Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) facility (https://facs.stanford.edu/)

• Stanford statistics consulting services (https://statistics.stanford.edu/resources/consulting)

Departmental activities

• Departmental seminars, journal clubs, or retreats.

On campus academic classes

• Classes offered through your graduate program.

• Biosciences mini courses (https://biosciences.stanford.edu/current-students/curriculum-and-requirements/mini-courses-overview/) — opportunities for postdocs.

On campus courses and workshops in grant writing, scientific management, and bioethics

• Grant writing academy (https://grantwriting.stanford.edu/events/2)

• Grant writing support for both K-series and R-series awards provided by the Stanford Medicine Office of Faculty Development and Diversity (http://med.stanford.edu/facultydiversity/faculty-development/workshops/grant-writing.html#r-_series_grant_applicationwriting)

• Mentoring in research workshop (https://postdocs.stanford.edu/events/series/mentoring-research)

• Preparing for faculty careers workshop (https://postdocs.stanford.edu/events/series/preparing-faculty-careers)

• Scientific management series classes (https://postdocs.stanford.edu/events/series/scientific-management-series)

• Science and art of grant writing symposium, presented by the Grant writing academy
  (https://grantwriting.stanford.edu/symposium/)

• Responsible conduct of research course (MED255) (https://med.stanford.edu/bioethics/education/rcr/Med255Schedule.html)