Institutional Training Grants
Best Practices for Developing
& Managing T32’s
OCTOBER 22, 2013
SERIES 3, SESSION 8 OF AAPLS –
APPLICANTS & ADMINISTRATORS
PREAWARD LUNCHEON SERIES
First Steps Come from Faculty
 Develop a clear program identity and
assemble strong faculty
 Build on a program with a strong track
record
 Develop a clear rationale and clear goals
 Match the goals of funder (including grant
support of participants)
 Admin support must be part of the team
What You Get
 Student stipends (up to $22,032)
 Postdoc stipends (NIH-mandated levels)
 Tuition (60% of institutional charge up to
$16,000)
 Trainee expenses ($4,200 per trainee,
includes health insurance and fees)
 Trainee travel (typically $1,000 per trainee)
 ICR – 8%
Typical Number of Slots
 T32’s are not expected to fund all students
 Proportioned in relation to existing program
 For a new application, typically 2 or 3; very
rarely more than 4
 Rare to have slots expand in years 2 through
5
 For a renewal, strong justification is
required for expanding slots
What You Do Not Get
 Support for faculty
 Support for seminars (other than from
trainee expenses – which does help)
 Support for evaluation
 Support for staff
 Anything else related to training not listed
on the previous slide
Why are T32’s Important?
 Flexible funding for students & postdocs
 NIH “Stamp of Approval” as a high quality
program
 Serves as a catalyst for program
improvement
 Helps maintain program identity
 Instills best practices in programs
How to Begin - Administrators
 Work closely with the PI
 Review the checklist developed by Tufts
 Review the NIH instructions
 Ask questions early in the process
 Establish a timeline for the work
 Establish each person’s responsibilities
 Develop a list of data sources if data is not
already at hand
Typical Administrative Roles
 Application Package
 Budget & Budget Justification
 Biosketches for Key Personnel
 Biosketches for Mentors
 Data Tables & Animal & Human Subject
Protocol Numbers
 Appendices
 Grant Assembly?
 Lead Role with OVPR staff?
Budget Preparation
 Understand the number of positions
 Prepare the budget and budget justification
early in the process
 Ask for preliminary review of these
components – do not wait until everything
(text and tables) is complete
 Adjust budget and other application
components as needed and finalize
Biosketches
 Obtain a list of faculty as soon as possible
 Determine which are key personnel and
which are mentors
 Collect, format and update biosketches –
useful to highlight trainee papers
 Be sure personal statements for key
personnel discuss training
 Some T32 PI’s decide to use personal
statements for mentors (not required)
Data Tables
 New applications –at least 10 tables
 Renewals - at least 12 tables
 Review the list of tables and information
needed
 Develop a plan for collecting needed
information
 Contact administrators as opposed to faculty
when possible
 Do the easiest tables first
Table 2 – Participating Faculty
 Table 2 is easy and the info is needed for other tables
 Do Table 2 first
PI should provide
Tufts White Pages
Table 2. Participating Faculty Members
(Alphabetically by Faculty Member)
Name/Degree(s)
Rank
Primary (& Secondary) Appointment(s)
Role in Program
Research Interest
Abrams-Johnson, Jane, PhD Asst. Prof.
Pharmacology;
(Biochemistry-Medical School)
Mentor
Regulation of Synthesis of
Biogenic Amines
Jones, Lisa S., MD
Res. Asst.
Prof.
Microbiology and Immunology
(Neuroscience Program)
Mentor
Exec Com
Protein Structure, Folding,
and Immunogenicity
Sandoz, J. Miguel, MD, PhD
Assoc. Prof.
Neuroscience Program
Mentor
Developmental Genetics in
Drosophila
Thomas, C. James, III, PhD
Prof. & Chr.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
Program Director
Molecular and Genetic
Analysis of RNA Viruses
Table 3 – Training Grants
 Need faculty list before doing this table
 Sackler has a list of training awards and faculty
 Send Sackler your info and Table 3 will be done
Table 3. Institutional Training Grant Support Available to Participating Faculty Members, Department(s), or Program(s)
Title of Training Grant
Funding Source
Including
Identifying
Number
Active or
Pending
Project
Period
Program
Director
(Department)
ShortTotal No. of
Predoctoral Postdoctoral
Term
Participating
Trainees
Trainees
Trainees
Faculty
Supported
Supported Supported
(Number
This Year
This Year
This Year Overlapping)
Names of
Overlapping
Faculty
Bioimmunotherapy
Training Grant
T32 CA05964-11 06/09-07/13 Baker, A.
(Pathology)
12
25
(6)
Abelson
Brown
Fields
Johnson
Sung
Watson
Pharmacological
Sciences
T32 GM04823-01 Pending
10
19
(3)
Jones
Jenson
Watson
Genetic Basis of Mental
Illness
T32 MH02708-07 06/07-07/12 Johnson, A.
(Psychiatry)
7
(2)
Johnson
Watson
James, C.
(Pharmacology)
4
4
Table 4 – Faculty Grant Support
 Need faculty list before doing this table
 Contacts - Department Managers or Sackler
 Information should match Biosketch info
Table 4. Grant and Contract Support of the Participating Faculty Members
(Alphabetically by Faculty Member)
Faculty
Member
Faculty Member Role on Project and Grant Title
Source of Support
Grant Number
and Status
Project Period
Current Year Direct
Costs Awarded
(Total Direct Costs for
Awards With Substantial
Future Changes)
Jones, J.
PI - Structure and Function of Acetylcholine Receptors NIH 1 R01 CA7625901*
05/09-05/014
$190,000
Jones, J.
PI - Purification & Identification of Receptors
NIH 5 K08 AI00091-03
11/10-11/13
$140,000
Mack, T.
PI - Control of Angiogenesis
American Heart Assoc.
03/8-03/11
$185,000
Mack, T.
Co-PI - Cell Culture Center
NSF PCM 80-12935
(D. Stockton, PD/PI)
12/10-12/13
$180,000
Table 5 – Trainees
 Labor-intensive table, especially for
postdocs who are not in school databases
 Use school databases as much as possible
 Faculty can often help with information
about alums
 Use LinkedIn, ZoomInfo and Facebook
 Sackler can provide information for its
trainees and many TUSM postdocs
Table 5 – Trainees
Online resources for past
trainees;
Department Manager for
current trainee support –
match Table 4
School databases
Table 5A. Predoctoral Trainees of Participating Faculty Members
(Alphabetically by Faculty Member for the Past Ten Years)
Trainee
Name
(Where
Training
Occurred)
Prior
Academic
Prior
Training Degree
Prior
Academic
Period Institution Academic Degree
(Degree)
(s)
Degree(s) Year(s)
Current Position of
Past Trainees /
Source of Support of
Current Trainees
Faculty Member
Past /
Current
Trainee
Abbott-Miller, Jane
Past
*Schwartz, A.
(Cornell)
94-99
(PhD)
U. of WI
BA
94
Role of
Asst. Scientist, Scripps
Transcription Factor Research Foundation
X in Synaptic
Plasticity
Abbott-Miller, Jane
Past
**Jones, J.
95-00
(PhD)
Grinnell
AB
93
Protein kinase
signaling cascades
in C elegans
Abbott-Miller, Jane
Current
**Baker, A.
04-
Cornell
BS
04
Gene Expression in NIH 2 R01 GM05964-06
Drosophila
Title of Research
Project
Res. Assoc. Prof.
Microbiol., U CA,
Berkeley
Table 6 – Trainee Pubs
 Be sure Table 6 lists the people in Table 5 associated
with the program
PubMed & PubMed Central
Table 6A. Publications of Research Completed by Predoctoral Trainees (New Applications)
(Group Past and Current Trainees Separately, then sort by Year of Entry)
Mentor(s)
Past /
Current
Name of Trainee
(Years in Program)
Publication (Authors, Year, Title, Journal, PMCID)
Berg
Past
Thompson, P.*
(1998-2003)
Miter, M.H., Owens, R., Thompson, P., and Berg, L., 2004, "Insulin Treatment of Diabetic Rats," J.
Comp. Neurol., 373:350-378.
Chu
Current
Greenstein, M.*
(2008- )
Greenstein, M., and Chu, J., 2010, "Sympathetic Noradrenergic Innervation of Drosophila," Genetics (In
Brown, B.*
(2000-2006)
Brown, B. and Jones J., 2005, "Repeated Sequences in Drosophila," J. Mol. Biol., 242:503-510.
Corman, T., Walker, J.D., and Brown, B., 2006, "Ontogeny of Tolerance to Alloantigens," Am. J. Anat.,
Jones
Past
press). PMC Journal in process.
146:156.
Table 7 - Admissions & Completions
 Rely on Admissions databases & iSIS
 Contacts – School Offices
 iSIS does not track NIH minority categories
Table 7A. Admissions and Completion Records for the Participating Departments and Programs During the Past Five
Years (Predoctoral Applicants)
Department /
Program
Applicants Applicants Applicants
Applied
Accepted
Enrolled
Entering
(TGE)
(TGE)
(TGE)
Year
A
A
A/B/C
Trainees
Still in
Program
(TGE)
A/B/C
Trainees
Trainees
Completed
Trainees
Left
Program
Left Program Program
Earned PhD or Earned Other Without
MD/PhD
Degree
Degree
(TGE)
(TGE)
(TGE)
A/B/C
A/B/C
A/B/C
Department of
Biochemistry
2006
8 (5)
0
6 (4)
0
4 (3)
1/0/0
2 (1)
1/0/0
1 (1)
0/0/0
0 (0)
0/0/0
1 (1)
0/0/0
Department of
Biochemistry
2007
9 (7)
1
6 (4)
1
5 (3)
0/0/0
4 (3)
0/0/0
1 (1)
0/0/0
0(0)
0/0/0
0 (0)
0/0/0
 Completing this table for postdocs is harder
 Multiple record sources may be needed
Reason for Leaving
Program
(if training was not
completed)
Changed career
interests
Table 8 - Applicant Qualifications
 Rely on Admissions databases – School offices
 Be sure numbers match those in Tables 7, 9, 11, 12
Record keeping
key for interviews
 Prepare a version with names first
Conversions likely needed
Table 8A. Qualifications of Recent Predoctoral Applicants
Year
Department /
Program
Applicant
(List by
Number)
Previous
Institution(s)
Degree(s)
& Year(s)
Undergrad
GPA
GRE Scores
V, Q, A, S
(Percentiles)
and/or MCAT
Scores
Support
from this
Interviewed Accepted Enrolled
Grant
(Y/N)
(Y/N)
(Y/N)
(Y/N)
2010 Medical Scientist
Training Program
1*
U. of WI
BSN '09
3.63
12, 11, 10, Q
Y
Y
Y
Y
2010 Medical Scientist
Training Program
2*
Stanford
BS '09
3.72
11, 13, 11, N
Y
Y
N
JHU
N
2010 Medical Scientist
Training Program
3
Yale U.
Wash. U.
BA '07
MS '09
3.78
Y
N
N
N
2010 Molecular Biophysics
Program
1*
U. of IL
BS '09
4.0
Y
Y
Y
Y
660 680 740
10, 9, 11, O
700 730 720 690
 Completing this for postdocs may be harder
Table 9 – Current Trainee Stats
 Rely on school databases as much as possible
 Prepare a version with the students’ names
 If necessary, convert GPA and GRE scores to
standard scale
 Must be consistent with Tables 7, 8 and 12
Table 9A. Qualifications of the Current Predoctoral Trainees Clearly Associated with the Training Program
(Renewals/Revisions Applications)
Department /
Program
Trainee
(List by Number)
Previous
Institution(s)
Degree(s) &
Year(s)
Undergraduate
GPA
Biochem
1*
U. of WI
BSN '07
3.63
Genetics
2*
MIT
BS '08
3.72
Genetics
3*
U. Penn.
Wash. U.
BA '07
MS '09
3.75
GRE Scores /
(Percentiles)
V, Q, Adv
and/or
MCAT Scores
Current
Research
Mentor
Years in
Program
Calendar
Years
Appointed
to This
Grant
Jones, J.
'08-present
2008-2009
12, 12, 14, R
Huerta, X.
'08-present
2009-2010
700 710 640
(96% 82% 84%)
Felman, R.
'09-present
2009-2010
680
720
750
Table 10 – Minorities
 Rely on school databases as much as possible
 iSIS does not report NIH categories A, B & C
 Must be consistent with Tables 1, 5, 7 and 9
Info from the
PI if trainee
has left
Table 10: Admissions and Completion Records for Underrepresented Minority (URM) Trainees, Trainees with
Disabilities, and Trainees from Disadvantaged Backgrounds Clearly Associated With the Training Program
Diversity
Recruitment
Group
Trainee
(List by
Number)
Entering
Year
(Pre/Post)
URM Trainees
1*
2008
(Pre)
Genetics
T32 GM001122
F31
URM Trainees
2*
2009
(Post)
Cell Biology
University Fellowship
Research
URM Trainees
3*
2009
(Post)
Chemistry
Lectureship
Trainees With
Disabilities
1*
2005
(Pre)
Pharmacology
T32 GM001144
F31
Trainees With
Disabilities
2*
2008
(Post)
Cell Biology
R01
Department /
Program
Source of Support
and if Support by
NRSA Grant
In
Training
Completed
Training
Left Without
Completing
Training
Y
Current Status
Career or
Employment
Postdoctoral Trainee
UCSF
Y
Mentor and student
both moved to another
institution
Y
Y
Postdoctoral Trainee
NYU
Y
Career Change
Table 11 – Slots Used (Renewals)
 Information from Department Managers or those
appointing and terminating trainees
 All slots should be used
 Must be consistent with Table 12
 Use footnotes for special situations
Table 11. Appointments to the Training Grant For Each Year of the Past Award (Renewal Applications Only)
Grant Year
Predoctoral Positions Awarded (Months of Support)
2005-2006
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
10 (120)
12 (144)
14 (168)
14 (168)
14 (168)
a
b
Predoctoral Trainees Appointed (Months of Support Used)
10 (120)
13 (144)
14 (168)
13 (156)
14 (168)
Predoctoral URM Trainees Appointed (Months of Support)
1 (12)
2 (24)
(0)
1 (12)
1 (12)
Predoctoral Trainees with Disabilities Appointed (Months of Support)
1 (12)
0 (0)
1 (12)
2 (12)
0 (0)
Predoctoral Trainees from Disadvantaged Background Appointed
(Months of Support)
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)
0 (0)
1 (12)
Table 12 – Appointees (Renewals)
 Must be consistent with Tables 1, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11
Table 12A. Predoctoral Trainees Supported by This Training Grant (Renewal/Revision Applications and NonCompeting Continuation Progress Reports Only)
Predoctoral (and MSTP) Trainees (Listed Sequentially by Entering Class)
Enter Source(s) of Support and Academic Year for Each Grant Year
Trainee, Year of
Entry, Prior Degree & Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant
Institution (Mentor – Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year Year
Department /
-01
-02
-03
-04
-05
-06
-07
-08
-09
-10
Program)
00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10
Cox, C., 1996 BA,
Cornell Univ.
(Jones-Biochem.)
TG
TG
RG
Smith, J. G., 1997 BS,
Iowa State U.
(Gordon-MCB)
TG
TG
RG
Johnson, J., 2004
BPharm, Duquesne
(Jacobs-Virology)
RG/
TG3
TG2
TG
TG
RG
RG
Title of
Research
Project or
Research
Topic
Current
Position and
Degree(s)
Institution
Received (Grant Support
(Year)
Obtained)
Cloning of
Human Globin
Genes
MD, PhD
(2002)
Asst. Prof.
Hematology,
Rutgers (50%
clinical, 50%
research, NIH
K11)
Structural
Studies of
MembraneBound Proteins
M.S.
(2001)
Parke-Davis
(Lab.
Technician)
Regulation of
EBV Gene
Expression
PhD
(2007)
Postdoctoral
Trainee w/C.
Chen, Univ. of
CA, Davis
Table 1 – Participating Units
 Do Table 1 near the end
 Numbers in Table 1 should match those in Tables 5,
7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
 Determine the units that are going to be used
(departments vs programs) Columns used for renewals
Table 1. Membership of Participating Departments and Programs (New Applications)
Faculty
Members
In
Department
or Program
Participating
in This
Application
Predoctoral
Trainees
in
Department
or Program
[Supported
by Any NIH
Training
Grant]
Dept. of Biology
45
14
38 [15]
12 (6)
1/1/0
50 [5]
15 (7)
1/0/0
Neuroscience
Program
32
20
31 [20]
14 (7)
2/0/1
40 [7]
23 (10)
0/0/1
Participating
Department
or Program
Faculty
Members
Predoctoral
Trainees
With
Participating
Faculty
Total (TGE)
A/B/C
Leave
Column
Blank
Postdoctoral Postdoctoral
Trainees
Trainees
in
Department
or Program
With
[Supported Participating
by Any NIH
Faculty
Training
Total (TGE)
Grant]
A/B/C
Leave
Column
Blank
Final Thoughts
 Plan ahead
 Consider how your unit acquires, maintains
and updates information needed
 Work with other units that have T32
experience
 Work as closely as possible with the PI
 Develop a strategy to obtain needed
information
 Rely on administrators where possible