Archive for January, 2009
Traveling the Road of Career Development …Big E letters
We have a book at our house about a little boy that successfully mails a hug to his grandma. Of course the boy is really a pig and the letter carrier that hugs his grandma is a duck and all that hugging would probably lead to a lawsuit…but the point is that great things come in the mail sometimes. Reviewers will undoubtedly throw out your application if you try to send a hug to them, but you can line up highly regarded researchers to write Big E letters on your behalf.
Letters of reference are Big E letters. Big E letters say things like “I enthusiastically support”…or “her research is excellent”…or “he is exemplary”….
Don’t be confused. For mentored NIH career development awards, there are two types of documents that come from other individuals: 1) letters of reference and 2) statements from mentors, collaborators, and consultants. Both are required. The statements have specific guidelines that are clearly outlined in section 7.5.2 of the PHS 398 instructions. Within these statements, the individuals involved in your mentored research tell what they are going to do for you in your training, etc.
Big E reference letters must come from individuals that are not directly involved in your proposed research project (for example, advisory committee members may be acceptable Big E letter writers but mentors, collaborators, consultants may not). They do need to be individuals that can speak to your qualifications, training, and interests. When possible, select a mix of current and past referees. Senior-level professionals that will represent you wisely are best. Guidelines for reference letters are found in section 7.3 of the PHS 398 instructions.
Yes, you may have to get Big E letter writers started with a draft that includes information on your current research. However, do not allow that to cause you to underestimate the importance of the letters. They are vitally important in speaking to your ability to succeed and whether you are worthy of funding. If all other things are equal in the evaluation of your application, reference letters can make the difference in funding.
And funded applications make you want to hug someone….
Or don’t you like to write letters. I do because it’s such a swell way to keep from working and yet feel you’ve done something. ~Ernest Hemingway
Using Google Reader to keep up with Clinical & Translational Science literature
Google Reader is a web-based tool used to organize on-line content from websites into one place for easy access and viewing. It is one of many readers (also known as feed aggregators) that can be used to organize the latest updates from your scientific journals of choice into one place. At the Research Commons, we use Google Reader to keep up with Clinical & Translational Science (CTS) literature directly from on-line journals, PubMed and the Web of Science.
Here is what our Google Reader looks like:
Our Google Reader
To set up your own Google Reader, watch the following video: Getting Started with Google Reader (2minutes). Or follow the directions at the Google Reader Help Center.
Once you have your Google Reader set-up, consider subscribing to the following journals:
Journal of Translational Medicine
This is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal focusing on information derived from human experimentation so as to optimize the communication between basic and clinical science.
CTS: Clinical and Translational Science
This is a peer-reviewed journal that highlights investigative work bridging the gap between laboratory discovery and practice.
And don’t forget to subscribe to the CCTS Research Commons feed. Just click on the subscribe button at the top, left-hand side of this page.
Traveling the Road of Career Development, Part 1
You know me. I’m the gal with the cheesy “road” slide that talks about developing career development plans for NIH funding. You may have heard me speak at one of the Scientific Writing Seminars sponsored by our office and the CCTS. I’m also a regular presenter for the Office of Postdoctoral Education (OPE) at postdoc orientations and the OPE Grantwriting course. With flashdrive in hand, I’ve spoken to many of you about developing career development plans. I’m the one that encourages you to “take the reviewer by the hand” and lead them down the road of your story.
Cheese, yes. However, I keep using the road picture because I believe it conveys the point of a career development plan. Plant yourself on the pictured asphalt. You are a trying to get from point a to b in your research career. To do this, you need hard work, excellent research, some luck, and the biggie: time. The latter is that shiny and golden prize called “protected time.” This only comes about when someone sits down and writes a grant application. Sorry…but it looks like that person is you. As a compulsive list maker, I put together a list of 4 things that you need to consider before you start writing your hoping-to-be funded grant application.
- Plane, train, or automobile? What training mechanism will you use as your award vehicle? All of the NIH K award program announcements are available here and NRSA Fellowship awards are found here. Check the intent of the various awards and the eligibility requirements. Determine which one you think would work for your career stage and then read the accompanying program announcements.
- Use a map. After you select an award mechanism, read the instructions on how to submit the grant. Since you may have skipped over reading the program announcement like I told you to in #1…go on and read that now too. By the way, because grant writing didn’t already scare people enough, the NIH is moving all applications to an electronic submission process. Individual training grants are moving to electronic submission in 2009. See this timeline for the schedule for the different types, and this site has more than you ever wanted to know about the transition to and instructions for electronic submission.
- Select your destination. Define point b: What are your short and long term goals for not only your immediate research but your career? What burning research question are you trying to answer? What type of researcher do you want to grow up to be?
- Pick an excellent companion for your trip (this means have a really great mentor). I can’t say often enough how important it is to select someone that is a good “fit.” Some simple things to assess: has she mentored enough to have a track record? Does his research strength match up with your goals? Does she have independent (NIH or other peer-reviewed) funding in the same research area? Is he well-published? Mentoring relationships can be tricky, but you must advocate for yourself in finding the best one for you.
- On the road again. Now that you’ve ascertained whether you are eligible to apply, if your mentor is a fit, have read the instructions, and think you know which funding mechanism is right for you… you need to develop a personal map that will show the reviewers at the NIH that you know how you are getting from here to there. You know how the electronic navigation tools give you turn by turn instructions? Just like that, you need to give thought to the steps that you are going to take over the course of your proposed project that will develop your career. Putting that down on paper (along with other elements describing your scientific background to this point, the research environment, what your mentor will do for you, etc. ) makes up what is referred to as a career development plan. Planning and refining the career development plan is most of what I do around here (when not writing a blog or developing beautiful to-do lists). If you need help – contact me. We can have a sit-down on how to plan for your grant application. My office is in the sunny meadow just behind that row of trees in the front of the picture.
(ok, I’m really in Faculty Office Towers suite 1207 but I can dream.)
Melissa McBrayer
Four things you need to know about Clinical and Translational Science
1. What is Clinical and Translational Science? In a nutshell, Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) is the process of moving scientific discoveries from laboratories to actual clinical practices in a physician’s office that benefit a patient. Some refer to the process as the “bench to bedside” approach. The goal of CTS is to bridge what some biomedical researchers are calling the Valley of Death. Despite many scientific discoveries being made each year in the US about the causes of disease and disability, there is problem getting this information translated into drugs, medical treatment and clinical procedures for patients and communities needing health care.
2. The Different Types of CTS. There are three different types of CTS, commonly referred to as the 3Ts. The first is T1 (or Translation 1) which refers to the transformation of evidence from basic science research into practical, clinical procedures or methods that can be used to treat patients. Again, this is the “bench to bedside” approach. Next is T2 research which is a refinement of T1 research to determine what of the clinical procedures or methods work best for which patients in what situations. T3 research takes the translational one step further to indentify that best ways to implement the new clinical knowledge throughout the entire health care system so that all patients can benefit from the new medical treatments. T3 research is also known as practice-based research.
3. The Road Map. The NIH Roadmap is the strategic plan used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund and guide biomedical research in the United States. The NIH recognizes that many issues need to be addressed to improve biomedical research in the US so the roadmap includes three different initiatives. The first is the New Pathways to Discovery which funds research that will improve our understanding of the human body and complex biological systems. The next is Research Teams of the Future which focuses on improving how researchers work and collaborate with each other on scientific discoveries. The third and final is Re-engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise which aims to speed up and improve the transformation of scientific discoveries to real-life medical treatments byre-vitalizing research infrastructure in the US.
4. The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs). Since 2006, the NIH has funded 38 different CTSA academic research centers throughout the US. Institutions interested in establishing their own CTS research center apply for funding from the NIH through the CTSA funding mechanism. The purpose of these research centers is to conduct CTS research, train new researchers in CTS methods and improve the way in which CTS is conducted. In May 2008, UAB received CTSA funding from the NIH and established the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science.
