Author: J. Kelly Byram, MS, MBA, ELS

Medical and scientific writer and editor. Cybersecurity and AI/ML specialist. CEO at Duke City Consulting, LLC and lead of our Medical and Scientific Communications Group and our Cyber Group.

Preparation for the New NIH Biosketch

Just a quick post so my blog doesn’t appear abandoned! It has been a while since the last post simply because there is so much going on in funding at the moment that I just don’t have the time to blog anything substantial. To that point, yes, federal funding is on the decline in many ways, but there are a lot of new sources of funding and novel emerging funding models. It’s an exciting environment these days!

The quick bit of advice I would like to share today is regarding the change in the NIH biosketch form. I am finding that a lot of people are really focused on the form itself and strategies for developing a solid biosketch using the new form. That’s great! I have blogged about the new form and those strategies previously, so if you are looking for biosketch strategy, just browse the blog.

What is alarming to me is that people are tending to ignore the need to have all of their publications in a publicly available digital database, like My Bibliography or SciENcv, and to link to the database in the biosketch. If you do not have a publicly available digital database with a full list of your published work already developed, this (dreary) task will take some time. In my experience, getting housecleaning items like this squared away in advance of the final push toward the finish line alleviates a considerable amount of stress.

Additionally, if you are a PI, take the time to assure all of your colleagues who will need to submit a biosketch for your project are aware of the new format, and schedule some time to review the team’s biosketches together to assure they are pertinent and work together. You may also want to assure the publication databases are being developed if they don’t exist already so there are no unpleasant large surprises as your deadline draws near!

Strategies for the New NIH Biosketch Format (Part 4)

This is the last part in the series of posts explaining the new NIH biosketch format and elucidating some strategies writers may want to consider when developing this part of the application.

I think this will be my last post about the NIH biosketch form for a while. It’s dry stuff, even for the topic of grants. It’s hard to blog about grants, mostly because there is so much understandable anxiety out there around the topic of grants and research funding. In my in-person training sessions and consulting, I lighten the mood with a little dry humor, and usually all of the interaction in the sessions keeps the mood lighter, too. In my blog, however, I do keep the tone more serious overall, mostly because people can be really stressed about funding, and I want this space to be a resource they feel they can trust. That squeezes humor out the door a bit. Even so, dealing with the trauma investigators feel as a result of the new biosketch form has really bummed me out, so I really just need to finish up this series and move on. As usual, though, I welcome any questions folks may have! I don’t have all the answers, but I do have some strategies and some good questions to think about. Usually that’s what people need more than a stock answer, anyway. Continue reading “Strategies for the New NIH Biosketch Format (Part 4)”

How to Explain Gaps in Your NIH Biosketch

You have the opportunity in the NIH biosketch to explain any gaps in your research productivity. Usually the question is, will saying I took time off for family obligations affect the perception of me? The answer is it shouldn’t, but it might. Here’s how you handle it.

You have the opportunity in the NIH biosketch to explain any gaps in your research productivity. Military service, family obligations, illness, and disability are the main reasons for gaps that quickly come to mind, but those are not the only reasons one may have for a gap. Explanation of any gap is not required, and many female researchers with whom I have discussed this topic have viscerally negative reactions to this part of the Personal Statement (PS) section of the biosketch. Usually the question is, will saying I took time off for family obligations affect the perception of me? The answer is it shouldn’t, but it might. Here’s how you handle it. Continue reading “How to Explain Gaps in Your NIH Biosketch”

Strategies for the New NIH Biosketch Format (Part 3)

With the advent of the Contribution to Science (C2S) section as the major part of the new NIH biosketch format, the strategy for writing the (PS) has become a bit more complicated.

Today I offer a review of the NIH biosketch Personal Statement (PS) and pertinent strategies for this section in the new format that goes into effect on 25 May 2015. The function of the PS in the new format is the same as before, to “briefly describe why you are well-suited [sic] for your role in the project described in this application,” but with the advent of the Contribution to Science (C2S) section as the major part of the new biosketch, the strategy for writing the PS has become a bit more complicated.

Continue reading “Strategies for the New NIH Biosketch Format (Part 3)”

Strategies for the New NIH Biosketch Format (Part 2)

The new Contribution to Science section of the new NIH biosketch format is what seems to be exercising researchers the most. While comments in response to the initial announcement about these changes on Dr. Sally Rockey’s blog cover a wide range of anxieties pertaining to this change, the angst seems to boil down in many (but not all) cases to questions about length and motivation. Length is what it is, but regarding motivation: How do position yourself and phrase your descriptions if you don’t understand the motivation of the audience to which you are writing? In this post, I discuss the likely motivation behind this change and strategies for writing an effective, competitive Contribution to Science section.

Yesterday’s post discussed how the new NIH biosketch format is raising the anxiety levels of many researchers. I stick with my assertion that the change is likely inevitable, so the strategic researcher will channel that energy currently fueling the anxiety into developing a new, strategic, biosketch in the new format. Yesterday I reviewed some basic strategic concepts behind the biosketch in general, and today I will discuss some strategies specific to the new format of the NIH biosketch.

Continue reading “Strategies for the New NIH Biosketch Format (Part 2)”

Strategies for the New NIH Biosketch Format (Part I)

I understand the anxiety researchers are feeling about the change to the NIH biosketch format. However, I would suggest it is wise to accept the inevitability of the change and put that energy into focusing on some strategies for making yourself and your team shine in your new biosketches.

I led a seminar on the new NIH biosketch format earlier this week, and it was rough going. People don’t like change, and, as a result, almost every change will meet a certain amount of pushback. Those of us on the front lines are used to hearing the static from those affected by changes, but this was exceptional (although not unexpected). The online feedback regarding NIH’s initial post in May about the new format was mostly negative and sometimes fairly hostile, and some in the room this week voiced many of the same complaints about the format. I understand the anxiety researchers are feeling with this change; however, rather than go into any detail about the complaints about the new format (you can read them online at the link above and in response to NIH’s post on the subject this week), I would suggest it is wise to accept the inevitability of the change to the NIH biosketch format and put that energy into focusing on some strategies for making yourself and your team shine in your new biosketches.

For my part, for the next few days I will share some strategies for writing a competitive NIH biosketch using the new format.

Continue reading “Strategies for the New NIH Biosketch Format (Part I)”

The Value of Networking–Articulated in Terms of Extramural Funding, of Course!

Build your network, broaden your perspective, and watch what happens.

We can get very siloed in research. It’s a natural outcome when your focus is on learning and cultivating the intellect, but the problem is that fundable extramural proposals generally require solid teams. Research proposals are business proposals, and researchers need to consider that solid businesses with millions in earnings are often built on teams, so why shouldn’t successful million-dollar research projects also require teams?

It’s been quite a while since my last post, but I was taking some time to relax after finishing my MBA and to enjoy the honor of being the valedictorian. A bit of a re-boot of the systems. But today I want to wanted to get back to blogging by posting very briefly about the value of networking in terms of attracting extramural funding. It’s been on my mind a lot recently, and it’s a point that really cannot be made too frequently or too firmly.

We can get very siloed in research. It’s a natural outcome when your focus is on learning and cultivating the intellect, but the problem is that fundable extramural proposals generally require solid teams. Research proposals are business proposals, and researchers need to consider that solid businesses with millions in earnings are often built on teams, so why shouldn’t successful million-dollar research projects also require teams?

Continue reading “The Value of Networking–Articulated in Terms of Extramural Funding, of Course!”

NIH Announces Genomic Data Sharing Policy

Today, Dr. Sally Rockey, Deputy Director for Extramural Research at the NIH, announced in her blog that the NIH has published the final NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy. This policy requires that researchers proposing research that will result in “large-scale human or non-human genomic data” provide a genomic data sharing plan in their application for NIH funding (unless otherwise explicitly stated in the funding announcement). Continue reading “NIH Announces Genomic Data Sharing Policy”

NIH Investigator-Based Support Begins!

Just a quick update of note today, which is also a call to action:

Immediately following the joint announcement by Drs. Collins and Rockey yesterday of the NIH’s new investigator-based funding, NIGMS issued an RFI for an investigator-based pilot funding program. (I discussed this new funding model in yesterday’s post.) Similar announcements from NIH centers and programs will follow, and I would encourage all researchers interested in seeing this funding model succeed to take the time to respond to these RFIs. As I explained in yesterday’s blog, the NIH clearly recognizes the challenges being faced by researchers–especially new investigators–in the current funding climate and is working to make changes to improve the environment. The strategic researcher will take the time to learn about–and shape through responding to RFIs–these new opportunities as quickly as possible.

I will re-tweet these opportunities as they become available. My Twitter handle is @JKNByram, and my Twitter feed is available on this blog page, kellybyram.wordpress.com.  You are invited to follow me for timely updates.

More Changes to Funding at NIH to Benefit Researchers

Shrinking pools of research funding, lower success rates, and increasing resource scarcity at research institutions strain most researchers, but new researchers have had a particularly difficult time securing funding of late and many have left the field as a result. The NIH has signaled awareness of these pressures, announcing in April changes to the biosketch form that benefit new researchers and the replacement of the onerous “one resubmission” rule with a more relaxed policy.

Today, Dr. Sally Rockey and Dr. Francis Collins announced that the NIH would allow its centers and programs to offer longer, sustained funding to researchers in the model of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) “people, not projects” funding model. Continue reading “More Changes to Funding at NIH to Benefit Researchers”