Transcript How to Craft a Well-Written Grant Proposal

MBP 1018Y: Oncology
Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 12 noon
January 12 – May 04, 2011 inclusive
620 University Avenue, Room 7-709
(CFIBCR Seminar Room)
Outline
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Introductions
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Course Contact Information
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Significant Dates
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Course Overview – Goal, Format
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Course Evaluation
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Course Schedule
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Tutorial
Contact Information
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Course Coordinator: Dr. Brad Wouters
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Room 10-116, Princess Margaret Hospital
610 University Avenue
Tel: 416-581-7840
E-Mail: [email protected]
Teaching Assistant: Dr. Mahadeo Sukhai
(Day-to-day contact person)
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Room 9-620, Princess Margaret Hospital
610 University Avenue
Tel: 416-946-4501 x 5036
Email: [email protected]
Significant Dates
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January 12 - Introductory session
January 26 - Submission of abstract of thesis
project
February 09 - Submission of midterm
assignment
February 26 - Last date to drop Y/S courses
without academic penalty
April 6 - Last session
April 13 - Oral presentations – part 1
April 20 - Oral presentations – part 2
April 27 - Oral presentations – part 3 (if
necessary)
May 4 - Submission of final assignment
Course Goals
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.
Course Format
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Didactic lectures
– 12 sessions, led by experts in the field
– Theme: Personalized medicine
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“Journal Clubs”
– 12 sessions, held after each lecture
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Independent term project –
development and presentation of grant
proposal
Class Format
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Part 1: Didactic lecture, 45-50
minutes in length; followed by
discussion/Q&A
Class discussion on 1-2 papers
chosen by lecturer, led by
students (“Journal Club”)
Course Evaluation
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Participation (20%)
– Class attendance (if you are unable to attend with
reason, please notify Dr. Sukhai in advance)
– Leadership of journal club
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Midterm Assignment (15%)
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Term Paper (50%)
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Oral Presentation (15%)
Lecture Attendance
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MANDATORY
If you are unable to attend (for e.g., ill;
committee meeting; conference),
please notify Dr. Sukhai
– “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
Journal Club
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All students are expected to read the assigned papers in
advance of the class
– Papers will be posted 1 week in advance of the lecture where
possible; this depends on when we get them from the lecturer
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2-3 students will be assigned to lead the journal club
discussion in class
– Leaders will be notified in advance
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Come to the session with prepared questions and/or
discussion topics that arise from the selected manuscripts
– You are not expected to present the paper, figure-by-figure, but
instead to come prepared to discuss it and its implications to
translational oncology and personalized medicine
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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
– A straight PPT show will be frowned upon
Midterm Assignment
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“Letter-of-intent”/Statement of Research Interests
– 2 pages
– Single spaced
– Not including any necessary references or the title page
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Contents
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Clearly stated research question
Well-defined hypothesis
Two clearly-stated aims/objectives
Translational relevance
Human impact
“Set the Stage” for your final assignment
Midterm Assignment
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What is NOT necessary
– Detailed methodology
– Discussion of experimental plan
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DO NOT make this about your
research directly!
Midterm Assignment:
Research Plan
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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
Midterm Assignment:
Research Plan
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Why are we making you do this?
– 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
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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
Term Paper
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“Medical Biophysics Translational Research
Grant”
Full research proposal
– 5 pages
– Single spaced
– Not including figures, tables, references, title page
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This grant is to be built around the
translational research aim you designed for
the Midterm Assignment
Final Assignment: Grant
Proposal
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Longer and more complex than the
research plan
– 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
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Meant to be a “window into your
thought processes” if well written
Term Paper
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Components
– A brief introduction to the research area, including
literature review and rationale for your proposed study
– A clearly stated research question, and summary of the
preliminary data for the project (this can be derived from
the literature, with the appropriate references)
– A clearly stated hypothesis
– At least two specific aims of your research, including at
least one clear translational research aim
– The experimental approach, availability of samples,
methodologies, anticipated outcomes and potential
pitfalls of each aim should be laid out
– A clear description of the translational nature of the aim
should also be presented
– A statement of clinical relevance/impact
Oral Presentation
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Short (~10-12 minute) oral
presentation outlining your
research proposal
Focus on translational aims and
impact
“Interview” for grant proposal
Assignment Notes
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Late papers will not be accepted
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Electronic submissions are preferred
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Your research question CANNOT be derived from your own work
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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 Dr. Sukhai
What is Translational
Research?
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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:
– Human subjects (with malignancy or disease)
– Primary tissues/fluids (e.g., bone marrow samples or
tumour biopsies) derived from patients with malignancy
or disease
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You CANNOT use for this purpose:
– Mice or other animal models
– Cell lines derived from patients
– Other cell culture systems
But I Don’t Do
Translational Research!
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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:
– Basic research (with cell lines or animal models)
– Structural research
– Photonics or imaging research
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…There are translational applications in the
future – just think about them!
But I Don’t Do Oncology
Research!
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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.
Course Schedule
DATE
TOPIC
LECTURER
JAN. 12
Introduction
M. Sukhai
JAN. 19
Imaged based monitoring of individual response to treatment
G. Czarnota
JAN. 26
The importance of genetic variation in oncology
G. Liu
FEB. 02
Novel models and methods for assessment of new targeted agents in oncology
D. Hedley
FEB. 09
Lung cancer genomics and patient individualization
M. Tsao
FEB. 16
Image guided personalized therapy
D. Jaffray
FEB. 23
Cancer Immunotherapy
L. Hguyen
MAR. 02
Novel targeted drugs and their introduction in the clinic
L. Siu
MAR. 09
Tumor microenviornment and metabolism in radiation oncology
M. Milosevic
MAR. 16
Novel risk factors
N. Boyd
MAR. 23
Breast cancer oncogenesis and new targets
M. Reedjik
MAR. 30
Imaging in oncology
G. Stanisz
APR. 06
Novel targets in leukemia
M. Minden
APR. 13
Oral Presentation
Class
APR. 20
Oral Presentation
Class
APR. 27
Oral Presentation / Optional Tutorial Session
Class
MAY 04
Final Assignment Due
Tutorial 1: Analysis of
Primary Papers
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Rules of Reading a Paper
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Things to look for
CRITICAL
READING
2 Rules
Rule 1
Read the paper
Rule 1b
Read all of the paper
Rule 2
Look at the data
Critical Points
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Understand the details of the
research
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Initial observations/background
Formulate the question/problem
Is there a hypothesis?
Is the methodology valid?
Is the experiment appropriate?
Are the data of high quality?
Are the appropriate controls present?
Are the data consistent with other
Discussion Points
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Understand the details of the
research
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Initial observations/background
Formulate the question/problem
Is there a hypothesis?
Is the methodology valid?
Is the experiment appropriate?
Are the data of high quality?
Are the appropriate controls present?
Are the data consistent with other
Things to look for
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Was the methodology appropriate for the
question being asked?
Were the data consistent with the
methodology?
Were the data internally consistent?
Do the data make sense?
Were the controls appropriate?
Can you conclude what the authors
concluded from their data?
Do you agree/disagree with the authors’
interpretation?
Do you agree with the “big picture” the
authors present?
“The Matrix”
GOOD WRITING
GOOD WRITING
GOOD SCIENCE
BAD SCIENCE
BAD WRITING
BAD WRITING
GOOD SCIENCE
BAD SCIENCE
Hypotheses
Hypotheses
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Are supposed to be falsifiable
Can be specific
It’s OK if they end up being
WRONG!
Hypotheses MUST agree with the
objectives under investigation
A Bad Hypothesis
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Objective:
– To determine the association between
Gene X and patient outcome in AML
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Hypothesis:
– Gene X is associated with AML
– Gene X is involved in the DNA damage
response
– AML patients that demonstrate impaired
DNA damage have a poor prognosis
A Good Hypothesis
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Objective:
– To determine the association
between Gene X and patient
outcome in AML
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Hypothesis:
– Expression of Gene X is associated
with poor prognosis in AML
Optional Writing
Tutorials
…Will arrange if enough
students are interested
Questions?