F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Applying for a Postdoctoral
Fellowship 101
Rachel A. Cook, M.A.
Health Sciences Sponsored Project Pre-Award Office (HS SPPO)
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
06/29/2012
2
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Agenda
Fellowship
Overview
Types of
Awards
Funding
Sources
Applying for
Fellowship
Applications
Resources
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
A postdoctoral scholar ("postdoc") is …
an individual holding a doctoral degree who is
engaged in a temporary period of mentored
research and/or scholarly training for the purpose
of acquiring the professional skills needed to
pursue a career path of his or her choosing
– National Postdoctoral Association definition
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Fellowship Overview Process:
Key Players
Fellow (PI)
F
E
S
T
06/29/2012
Office of PostAward Financial
Services/Gifts
Sponsor/Mentor
Funding
Agencies
Department
Business Office
Central
Sponsored
Projects Office
5
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Locate Funding Source
Develop Research Plan
F
E
S
T
Application Preparation
and Registration
SPO Reviews & Submits
Fellowship Overview Process:
Critical Steps
06/29/2012
6
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Overview Process:
Central Sponsored Projects Offices
For research conducted
in VA space, submit
through VMRF, contact
Beth Beiger*
VMRF
OCGA
ORA
HS SPPO
SIO
For NIH F32 Postdoctoral
Fellowships for SIO, contact
Elizabeth Meier
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Fellowship Overview Process: Time
F
E
S
T
06/29/2012
Plan in Advance!
8
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Types of Awards: Fellowships vs. Grants
• Career Development
• Funding for
Individual
• Funding Primarily for
Salary/Stipend
• Non-transferable
• Research
• Funding to Institution
• Transferable
Fellowships
Grants
05/2011
9
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Types of Awards: Fellowships vs. Grants
Fellowships
Grants
F
E
S
T
06/29/2012
10
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Funding Sources
Foreign
Agencies
Federal
Government
UC
Programs
F
E
S
T
NonProfits
For-Profits
06/29/2012
11
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Types of Awards
F
E
S
T
06/29/2012
http://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2012/06/29/postdoctoralresearchers%E2%80%94facts-trends-and-gaps/
12
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Types of Awards
F
E
S
T
http://grants.nih.gov/training/FTAwards.htm
06/29/2012
13
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Funding Sources
SURF
• Links to various search engines (such as Community of
Science) and database of special funding opportunities:
SURF
OCGA
• Click on the “Funding” tab for lists of sponsors and search
tools
• Sponsors
• Tools
HS SPPO
• Links to weekly lists of HS-related Funding Opportunities
• NIH PAs and RFAs
• Fellowships, Grants, Prize Opportunities
UCOP
• Includes UC Grants Research Programs as well as other
Statewide Research Programs: CBCRP, CHRP, & TRDRP
06/29/2012
14
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Funding Sources
NIH OER
Grants.gov
• NIH medical & behavioral research grant policies,
guidelines, and funding opportunities
• NIH F Kiosk: comprehensive information on Fellowships
• All federal agencies use this portal as well as list their
open funding opportunities
Proposal
Central
• A large % of non-federal agencies and some federal
agencies use this portal
CDMRP
• Check deadlines & FOAs carefully: LOIs required!
GrantsNet
06/29/2012
• Science Magazine’s GrantNet
15
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Funding Sources & Upcoming Deadlines
Helen Hay
Whitney Fdn:
7/16
AHA Western
States Affiliate:
7/18
NIH F32 NRSA:
8/8
DOD CDMRP:
Varies
Damon Runyon
Cancer
Research Fdn:
8/15
National MS
Society: 8/15
Marie Curie:
8/16
NARSAD: TBD:
(Fall)
Susan G.
Komen for the
Cure: TBD (Fall)
06/29/2012
16
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Fellowship Application:
Keys to a Successful Application
F
E
S
T
06/29/2012
17
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Common Elements
Applicant’s
Applicant’s
Other
• Career Goals
• Prior
Experience
• Transcripts
• Training
• Career
Development
Plan
• Research
Project Plan
• Mentor’s
Statement
• Training
Institution
Information
• Reference
Letters
• Varies*
06/29/2012
18
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Keys to a Successful Application
Find a funding Agency with programs in your career
specialty
Read the funding Agency submission guidelines and
eligibility requirements, solicitation, etc …
Discuss your plans with your mentor (sponsor)
Start well ahead of the deadline (at least a month)
Contact your department’s business office for possible
assistance and to advise of your plans for submission
06/29/2012
19
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Keys to a Successful Application
Determine the UCSD Key Players for the application
Ask for assistance to determine who needs to see
and/or sign the application
Line up potential reference letter providers
Contact the Sponsored Project Officer (SPO - i.e.
signing official) so s/he is aware of your application
Provide the SPO with a copy of or a link to the
funding opportunity
06/29/2012
20
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
FellowshipApplication
Application:
Fellowship
Keys to a Successful Application
Use and follow the Agency specific forms and
requirements (make sure they are the most recent ones!)
Complete administrative sections of your application
first
In most cases, the fellow will be the PI of the application
The application organization or institution will be UCSD,
not you nor your mentor’s department
Make formal requests for reference letters
06/29/2012
21
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
FellowshipApplication
Application:
Fellowship
Keys to a Successful Application
… Then concentrate on writing the research plan / career
development plan
A mentor written section or statement is frequently
required – make sure mentor has instructions
1 to 2 weeks before the deadline, complete a good,
nearly complete draft of all required text for your mentor
and others to critique
Submit a good draft of the application to the department
business office and the SPO (signing official) for review.
06/29/2012
22
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: Reference Letters
A minimum number of
letters may be required
Reference letters have
deadlines for receipt
06/29/2012
Some agencies allow
more than the
minimum, others do
not
NIH & AHA – minimum
of 3 required, NIH
allows up to five.
Electronic submission
of these letters is
frequently required
Letter providers will
need the agency
instructions regarding
format and submission
requirements
23
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: UCSD Information
Legal Institutional
Name
Institutional
Signing Officials
UCSD’s Tax Payer
ID # (EIN)
Fiscal Officer
Other Institutional
Information
06/29/2012
• The Regents of the University of California; UC San Diego
• The Regents of the Univ. of Calif., U.C. San Diego
• Your department’s name is not an institutional name
• Depends on part of campus is submitting:
• OCGA, HS SPPO, SIO, VMRF
• Note: It is NOT your Department Business Officer!
• 95-6006144
• 1956006144A1 (for NIH applications)
• Donald Larson, Controller, or
• Mark Cooper, Director, OPAFS
• Your department business office can advise you if other
institutional information is requested
24
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: Various
Submission Portals & Methods
Check Early!
Requirements?
Methods?
Where & how?
• Check early on the agency’s submission method, deadlines, and
how the application is to be prepared
• Submission requirements determines who submits – you or the
Signing Official (Sponsored Projects Officer or SPO)
• Grants.gov, used by many Federal agencies, requires a SPO to
submit a completed forms package (do not register for
Grants.gov yourself)
• A few Federal agencies have different methods, such as NSF’s
Fastlane
• Many non-profit Agencies have their own websites for
submission or use Altum Proposal Central
06/29/2012
25
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Grants.gov & NSF Fastlane
•
•
•
•
•
Most federal agencies use Grants.gov for submission
Do not register in Grants.gov
NIH Requires eRA Commons registration.
You must be registered as a PI in the eRA Commons
For NIH, access the Grants.gov application package
from the NIH Funding Announcement
• NSF Fastlane – Fastlane registration is required.
– For NSF fellowship applications, register as an
individual
– NSF has Target Deadlines & Hard Deadlines
06/29/2012
26
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Format Notes for NIH Applications
NIH ONLY allows for 4
font types =
Arial, Helvetica,
Garamond, & Palatino
Linotype
Font color = Black
Minimum characters
per inch = 15 CPI
Maxim lines per inch =
6 LPI
Minimum font size =
11 point
Margins = ½ inch
It cannot be stressed enough – read &
follow the guidelines!
06/29/2012
27
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Format Notes for NSF Applications
NSF allows for these
font types =
Arial, Courier New,
Palatino Linotype (10)
Add’l font types =
Times New Roman (11)
& Computer Modern
family of fonts (11)
Minimum font size =
Minimum characters
per inch = 15 CPI
Maxim lines per inch =
6 LPI
Margins = 1 inch
Font color = Black
10 point *or 11 point*
It cannot be stressed enough – read &
follow the guidelines!
06/29/2012
28
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: CDMRP (DOD)
• US Army Congressionally Directed Medical Research
Programs (CDMRP) – two-step submission method
– 1st:Step: CDMRP – Pre-proposal site
• Register and choose the University of
California, San Diego as your organization
– 2nd Step: CDMRP - choose the appropriate
Sponsored Projects Officer (Contract
Representative)
06/29/2012
29
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: CDMRP (DOD)
• UCSD Sponsored Projects Officers (Contract
Representative):
– General Campus – Michael Brown, enter his email address
m2brown@ucsd.edu
– Health Sciences: Rachel Cook from the drop-down list or
racook@ucsd.edu
– SIO: Nancy Wilson from the drop-down list
• CDMRP has a 2 PM Pacific Time deadline for
submitting LOIs. The deadline is firm, no exceptions!
• NOTE: Actual application will be submitted via
Grants.gov by the Sponsored Projects Officer
06/29/2012
30
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Altum Proposal Central
Altum Proposal Central
• Registration as an individual is required
– Your registration will be good for any future applications from
UCSD
• Registration must be associated with an institution
– Do not try to enter an institutional name, instead
– Search by Institutional City, and enter “La Jolla”
• Select one of the following:
– The Regents of the University of California, San Diego
– University of California, San Diego – Health Sciences
– The Regents of the University of California, Scripps Institution
of Oceanography
06/29/2012
31
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Altum Proposal Central
• Next start your application
• Grant the department assistant and the signing official
access to your application
• Email those individuals when you have done so
• Allow the department and official time to review your
application on line
• You will submit your application from Proposal Central
but
• Obtain required signatures before you submit your
application
• Most agencies also require a signed paper copy
06/29/2012
32
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Altum Proposal Central
What to Watch Out For:
• Is a proposal preparation and submission service used by
subscribing funding agencies?
• Does the Funding Agency require both electronic and paper
submission?
• Are the deadlines for the original signed paper copy(ies) different
than the electronic deadline?
– Some agencies require an original paper application to arrive in a certain
location, by a specific date and time (and not PST)
…And
• Always obtain any required approvals and signatures (mentor,
department, Sponsored Projects Officer) before submitting an
electronic application
06/29/2012
33
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: AHA
• Register as an individual
• Choose the University of California, San Diego
• Choose the Administrative Officer (Sponsored Project
Officer) who will submit your application
• General Campus : Wilma Orantes
• Health Sciences: Rachel Cook
• SIO: Elizabeth Meier
• Note: There is now a FEE to apply ($100 if not a
member)
06/29/2012
34
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Fellowship Application: Other
Many agencies also
require a signed paper
copy
F
E
S
T
Funding Agencies not
using Proposal Central
are all over the map!
Some require the
application to be
emailed as an
attachment
06/29/2012
Check the agency
website and
instructions closely
Some require an online
application be
completed, or an
uploaded file or a mix of
entered information and
uploaded files
35
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: VA & VMRF
• Fellows located in VA labs with UC-VA mentors:
– For research conducted in VA space, the VA requires
proposals to be submitted by The Veterans Medical
Research Foundation (VMRF).
– However, there are a number of exceptions to this policy:
• NIH requires that all K (career award) and NRSA
fellowship applications be submitted by UCSD, not
VMRF
• For non-NIH fellowship applications, VRMF has
determined that certain other application, such as
American Heart Fellowships, should also be submitted
through the University
– When in doubt, please contact Beth Beiger at VMRF
ebieger@vmrf.org
06/29/2012
36
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application:
Common Errors & Adobe Forms
Administrative
Logistical
Budgetary
• Wrong SF424 application
package used
• Issues with credential
• Title/Narrative/Summary
too long
• Incorrect Institutional
Assurance Numbers
• Using Word docs
• Use of interactive PDFs
• Use of Co-PI
• Headers/footers
• Scientific environment
statement
• Wrong format for Bios
• File names
• Proof-reading errors
• Modular vs. Detailed
• Missing effort and salary
in out years
• Modular Budgets and
justifications
• GSR effort and tuition
remission
• NGN costs
• F&A incorrectly
calculated
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: Award Notice
1. Contact the mentor, the department administrator, and
the Sponsored Project Officer
2. Animal and/or Human Subjects or other regulatory
approvals may be required at this point
a) NIH and many other agencies will require
documentation of such approvals prior to award
3. Work with your department and your Sponsor Project
Officer to submit any required approvals.
4. Award terms should be reviewed and addressed before
any award documents are signed and returned.
06/29/2012
38
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
Fellowship Application: Award Notice
• Sponsored Project Officers are UCSD employees
who are able to sign awards on the behalf of The
Regents
• The SPO reviews terms and conditions
– Problem terms can restrict PI ability to publish, future use of
project results, etc.
– Problem terms can conflict with UC policies and practices
(i.e. publication, intellectual property, confidentiality, unusual
reporting requirements, etc …)
– In some cases, alternate terms have already been negotiated
with the agency by UC, but the agency may not reference
them. UC then needs to remind the agency of said terms.
06/29/2012
39
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Fellowship Application: UCSD Resources
F
E
S
T
06/29/2012
40
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Staff
F
E
S
T
OCGA’s Website
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
SPPO Resources
FellowshipHS
Application:
Resources
Website
Policies & procedures; calendar; funding
opportunities, contact info & resources
Wiki
New university & agency updates and/or
changes
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
HS SPPO Wiki
Updated by
NIH RSS
Feeds!
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Resources: Other UCSD
Research Affairs
Human Subjects
F
E
S
T
OPAFS
05/2012
Office of
Postdoctoral
and Visiting
Scholar Affairs
Animal Subjects
Research Ethics
Stem Cell
Research
Human Subjects
Training (CITI)
Your
Department,
Mentors, Fellow
Post Docs!
44
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
F
E
S
T
F
U
N
D
I
N
G
Thank you,
Rachel A. Cook (858) 822-4344, racook@ucsd.edu
Presentation hosted by:
F
E
S
T
Contact: Jennifer Oh (858) 534-6632; jmoh@ucsd.edu
06/29/2012
46