Transcript How to Craft a Well-Written Grant Proposal

Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 12 pm
January 7 – May 1, 2015
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Room 7-605
Introductions
 Course Contact Information
 Course Overview - Goal, Format
 Course Schedule
 Course Evaluation
 Term Project – Midterm Assignment, Term Paper
and Oral Presentation
 Significant Dates
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Name
 Research area
 Objective for attending this class
 Personal tidbit you would like to share
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Course Coordinator: Dr. Michael Reedijk
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Email: [email protected]
Teaching Assistant: Julia Izrailit (Day-to-day
contact person)
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PMH, Room 8-514
Tel: 416-946-4501 Ext.3590
Email: [email protected]
To expose graduate students to the concepts of
translational oncology (“from bench to bedside”)
through a series of seminar-type presentations
highlighting recent advances of translational
research
And,
 To motivate graduate students to apply the
concepts of translational oncology to their own
research through a series of written and oral
assignments.
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Didactic lecture, led by experts in the field, 4550 minutes in length; followed by
discussion/Q&A
 Class discussion on 2-3 papers chosen by
lecturer, led by students (“Journal Club”-1hr)
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Date
Title
Speaker
January 7, 2015
Introduction
Julia Izrailit
January 14, 2015
Imaged based monitoring of individual response to
treatment
Greg Czarnota
January 21, 2015
The importance of genetic variation in oncology
Geoffrey Liu
January 28, 2015
Novel models and methods for assessment of new
targeted agents in oncology
David Hedley
February 4, 2015
Perils and pitfalls in translational research
Norman Boyd
February 11, 2015 Epigenetic modifications as therapeutic targets
Daniel De Carvalho
February 18, 2015 Cancer Immunotherapy
Linh Nguyen
February 25, 2015 Breast cancer oncogenesis and new targets
Anne Koch
March 4, 2015
Towards personalized epigenomics
Mathieu Lupien
March 11, 2015
Lung cancer genomics and patient individualization
Ming Tsao
March 18, 2015
Tumor microenvironment and metabolism in radiation
oncology
Mike Milosevic
March 25, 2015
Novel targeted drugs and their introduction in the
clinic
Phil Bedard
April 1, 2015
Novel targets in leukemia
Mark Minden
April 8, 2015
Proposal presentations - part 1
April 15, 2015
Proposal presentations - part 2
May 1, 2014
Final assignment due
All students are expected to read the assigned
papers in advance of the class
 2-3 students will be assigned to lead the journal
club discussion in class
 Come to the session with prepared questions
and/or discussion topics that arise from the
selected manuscripts
 Be creative with the discussion period! Leaders can
feel free to coordinate with each other and
develop ways to engage their fellow students and
the lecturer in discussion
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Focus on “big picture” – implications of the
papers; integration with earlier concepts in the
course; impact on personalized medicine; what
comes next?
Engage all students in the discussion
Spread the facilitation duties among the team
Keep discussion lively and interesting
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Facilitate!
Be creative
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Mock debates (pro/con)
Play games with the audience
Snap group discussions
…The sky’s the limit
For advice and assistance, contact me
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Rely only on Powerpoint presentations
Dissect/critique the papers, figure by figure
Monopolize the discussion
Fail to engage your classmates
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Participation (20%)
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Class attendance (if you are unable to attend with
reason, please notify me in advance)
Leadership of journal club
Participation in journal club
Midterm Assignment (15%)
 Oral Presentation (15%)
 Term Paper (50%)
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MANDATORY
 If you are unable to attend (for e.g., ill;
committee meeting; conference), please notify
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“My experiment got in the way” is not an acceptable
excuse (speaks to time management skills)
“I needed to finish my assignment for X course” is also
not an acceptable excuse
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Group-developed project - grant application
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In these types of grants, often three to four linked
initiatives are submitted as part of a larger overall
research.
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Midterm: Individual letters of intent
Oral: Group presentation of project proposal
Final: Group project proposal
For example, a project in head and neck cancer may
involve biomarker identification and validation; imaging;
and new therapy development, all linked by common
themes and integrated with one another.
Demonstrates “team science” and the ability to
integrate concepts and ideas in a collaborative
environment
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Groups of 3-4
Each group identifies an overall topic or theme
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MUST be approved by me
No two groups can do the same topic
Topic choice is made on a first come-first served basis
What’s a topic/theme? Examples:
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A given tumor site
Multiple approaches to biomarker discovery/validation
Novel target discovery/experimental therapeutics
Combinations of the above
Anything you can think of!
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“Letter-of-intent”/Statement of Research Interests
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Contents
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INDIVIDUAL SUBMISSION
2 pages
Single spaced
Not including any necessary references or the title page
Clearly stated research question
Well-defined hypothesis
Two clearly-stated aims/objectives
Translational relevance/Human impact
Integration with overall group project
“Set the Stage” for your final assignment
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What is NOT necessary
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Detailed methodology
Discussion of experimental plan
DO NOT make this about your research directly!
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To verify this, we ask for a copy of your research abstract (e.g.,
your project proposal abstract from your first committee meeting
or qualifying/reclassification exam; or your student seminar
abstract)
Failure to abide by this rule will result in an automatic failing
grade in the course; there will be no opportunity for a make-up
assignment
You may stay within the same disease, but you must choose a
different aspect of it (for e.g., if you are working on a particular
signaling pathway, you cannot do that, but you can do something
based on imaging modalities in the same disease, or experimental
therapeutics, etc.)
You cannot work on the same protein
You may apply a technique you’re learning or working on currently
to your research question, but remember that a research question
isn’t based around a technique
You can, also, if you like, extrapolate from your research if it is
very basic, and consider how you would apply it 5 or 10 years
from now, in the clinical setting
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me
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“Set the Stage”
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Background of your question
Clinical and translational relevance
Rationale for your choice
What models and systems will you be using
You may outline your proposed study design, but
don’t make this the focus of your discussion
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Why are we making you do this?
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Experience with a different style of scientific writing
Grad students, post-docs and people applying for faculty
positions have to write these statements of research
interest in applying for fellowships/positions
Write for a general audience – OK to be
nontechnical
 Good practice to solidify your ideas before
launching into the more complex – and technical –
grant writing exercise
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Group (20-25 minute) oral presentation outlining
your research proposal
Focus on translational aims and impact
“Interview” for grant proposal
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“Medical Biophysics Translational Research Grant”
Full research proposal
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4 pages per group member
Single spaced
Not including figures, tables, references, title page
This grant is to be built around the translational
research aim(s) you designed for the Midterm
Assignment
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Longer and more complex than the midterm
assignment
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Similar to grant and fellowship proposals you will be
writing as a graduate student
Similar to the design for a reclass/qualifying exam
proposal
Intended to give you a sense of the form and function in
a scientific proposal
Meant to be a “window into your thought
processes” if well written
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Components
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Abstract of overall project (1 page)
Introduction and statement of relevance (2 pages)
Rationale and outline of objectives/hypotheses (1 page)
Each group member’s specific research proposal (4
pages, max, each – including a review of preliminary
data from the literature, 2 aims, and a statement of
translational implication)
A section on integration and an overall conclusion (1
page)
For the purposes of this grant, “Translational
Research” is defined to be use of clinically
obtained samples in at least one major aim of the
proposal
 Specifically, use of:
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Human subjects (with malignancy or disease)
Primary tissues/fluids (e.g., bone marrow samples or
tumour biopsies) derived from patients with malignancy or
disease
You CANNOT use for this purpose:
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Mice or other animal models
Cell lines derived from patients
Other cell culture systems
Don’t worry! Fewer of us than you might think do
purely translational research
 Objective of MBP 1018 is to develop your ability to
conceive of and integrate translational concepts
into your thinking
 If you do:
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Basic research (with cell lines or animal models)
Structural research
Photonics or imaging research
…There are translational applications in the future
– just think about them!
That’s OK – think about the pathways you work
on.
 Do they have application to cancer in some way?
 Can you draw connections outside of your own
immediate sphere of research?
 If you can, write about those connections.
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January 7 - Introductory session
 January 21 - Submission of abstract of term
project; groups identified and topics selected
 February 4 - Submission of midterm assignment
 February 23 - Last date to drop Y/S courses
without academic penalty
 April 1 - Last session
 April 8 - Oral presentations – part 1
 April 15 - Oral presentations – part 2
 May 1 - Submission of term paper
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